News Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Historical Construction/Impressions

[Professortango1]

This.

WDW will always be the de facto flagship Disney resort. None of the other Disney properties come close to being on the same level as WDW.

If only they maintained/upgraded their attractions. Not only is there far less to do in each WDW park, but the rides feel incredibly dated like they haven't seen upgrades since the day they were built. Disneyland has quality and quantity, WDW has size and resort.

 

[Phroobar]

WDW's attendance is in steady decline? I had no idea.

Of course it is. Heck, you all complain about it in other areas of this board.

WDW's theme is come back later. They have new rides being built really slowly. Almost 2/3rds of DHS is under construction and they still can't get night time entertainment to work at Animal Kingdom. Both of these parks are half day at best. Very few rides have been updated or improved enough to make yearly tourists come back yet Disney increases the price again this year by 18%. More stuff is closed but prices continue to increase. Annual passes are expensive and a lot more restrictive than they have been in the past. Finally international tourism has taken a huge hit with the strong dollar and political problems overseas. Latin America has seen as much as 34% decrease in tourism to Florida. It also doesn't help having weather problems and bad publicity over wildlife attacks. Also the maintenance and upkeep has not been to Disney standards. It all feels like the Pressler era of the late 90's and early 2000. Besides even Disney itself admitted the attendance decline for Orlando in the second financial quarter with a slight increase last quarter.

All this while Disneyland is packed to the rafters.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

WDW's attendance is in steady decline? I had no idea.

Attendance at Epcot, DHS and DAK has been largely flat or declining most years (and the TEA guess numbers are not correct). MK's attendance has grown (though again the TEA number is not correct) but that is not a good thing. The 3 other parks are supposed to share the load and they don't, as there is very little draw. Disney has allowed WDW to fall into a very, very bad state of affairs and it will take 10+ years and billions of dollars to fix.

 

[danlb_2000]

It's gross. I don't think they have very good pizza ovens, and the ingredients are industrial-strength, canned not fresh, and not high quality. The crust tastes like baked Play-Doh.

While we wait for this week's pics and videos to come in from our usual Sunday sources this evening, here's a short 3 minute video of the Star Wars project at Disney World. This is taken from a great aerial vantage point (drone? helicopter? Cessna?) and shows both the Toy Story Land project and Star Wars.

Toy Story Land is the fenced in square on the upper left of the opening shot, with the most work done. I think it's safe to say here, in comparison to the current status in Anaheim, that WDW's version of Star Wars Land is around six months behind Anaheim's. But WDW gets points for that nice jazz piano they apparently play above their construction sites.

But we have it on such good authority that the DHS version is actually ahead of the DL one.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

If only they maintained/upgraded their attractions. Not only is there far less to do in each WDW park, but the rides feel incredibly dated like they haven't seen upgrades since the day they were built. Disneyland has quality and quantity, WDW has size and resort.

Agreed. However, even at DLR there's an air of staleness and corny nostalgia (Electrical Parade? Ugh) that holds tradition too firmly in check, not to mention DLR's short supply of world class resort hotel and dining offerings.

As a Disney fan and out of town visitor I'm grateful that things have improved so tremendously at Disneyland over the past 20 years, but from my perspective DLR sometimes feels a bit like a local hangout trying to play catch up with its bigger and more sophisticated siblings. Maybe comparing DL to MK makes sense, but to me there's just no match between DLR and WDW.

 

[Mike S]

Photo courtesy of @marni1971*

Gee, those paths into the land will sure have nothing on the ones in Disneyland when it comes to transporting you even when DL's will only be a bit longer

@phruby, stop. For the first time in a long time something amazing will be done here by all accounts and all this in addition to Avatar.

 

[Curious Constance]

Attendance at Epcot, DHS and DAK has been largely flat or declining most years (and the TEA guess numbers are not correct). MK's attendance has grown (though again the TEA number is not correct) but that is not a good thing. The 3 other parks are supposed to share the load and they don't, as there is very little draw. Disney has allowed WDW to fall into a very, very bad state of affairs and it will take 10+ years and billions of dollars to fix.

Is there anything I can do to help?

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Is there anything I can do to help?

Please tweet President Trump about it at least 40 times a day.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Please tweet President Trump about it at least 40 times a day.

We need to make Walt Disney World great again.

*hides*

 

[TP2000]

I don't six months covers it. As far as I know, SWL at WDW is shooting for 2021 while it will go online at DLR by late 2018. WDW just sucks at life.

Wow. Interesting. Judging by the looks of things now, based on how Cars Land looked in Summer 2010 two years before opening, I would think Late 2018 for the land's opening is really pushing it. June, 2010 exactly two years before Cars Land grand opening, the track for Racers was already laid, the ride warehouses were nearly complete, and structural steel was going up on the facades and cliffs.

Again, I'm only going on how things look on the ground, but I would think it looks like "Spring 2019" for Disneyland (and that means March or early April, not June 20th) and would imagine Christmas 2019 optimistically for WDW, or Spring 2020 for WDW if things go slow.

But 2021 for WDW? Why take so long? As if the two small rides of Toy Story Land, bringing DHS to a whopping seven rides, will do anything to bring people in while they wait for Star Wars? Baffling.

Oh my god, by the time it opens, I'll be turning 43!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know of a very good Botox man in Yorba Linda. We can go together a month before the grand opening so we look fresh for the TV cameras. Quiet little classy shopping center, tucked in the back. No one will see us.

Just in time for phase 2 of DL's SWL to start up.

I think it's pretty much a done deal that Phase 2 on the "Expansion Pad" behind the Millennium Falcon ride is actually Arendelle.

 

[Ismael Flores]

You also know those cabanas are destined to come to Anaheim right?

I keep hearing about this cabanas possibly coming to Disneyland, I am just curious as to where people think they would even fit in Disneyland.

There just isnt any room like they have at WDW to add cabanas for guests anywhere in Disneyland. The walkways are allready crowded and the park uses every inch of real estate it can for daily operations.

I really doubt they would be added to Star Wars expansion after all the work that is being put in place to make the land looked themed to the environment. Unless they themed to Star wars and are hidden at the western entrance area of the land.

Only other area would be Tomorrowland but where would that be? could it be on the second level of the innoventions building? maybe that would be the only place they would go but im sure they would want them somewhere where people can see them and promoted

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I know of a very good Botox man in Yorba Linda. We can go together a month before the grand opening so we look fresh for the TV cameras. Quiet little classy shopping center, tucked in the back. No one will see us.

Can I join? lol

 

[TP2000]

My rebel spies tell me they have seen the pallets of canned ingredients behind Pizza Port in the hot sun. So very not promising.

That explains it. When the modern world has places like Pizza Press or Blaze, there's no excuse for the canned 1990's pizza at Pizza Port.

 

[TP2000]

Can I join? lol

Of course! And there's a gelato place next door, for recovery.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

There just isnt any room like they have at WDW to add cabanas for guests anywhere in Disneyland.

The only places I can think of that make sense at the moment, at least from a service perspective, are a few existing dining establishments in prime locations. For instance restaurants in NOS and Frontierland that have dining patios with views of the ROA, or at the Plaza Inn and Jolly Holiday overlooking the Hub.

 

[Professortango1]

Agreed. However, even at DLR there's an air of staleness and corny nostalgia (Electrical Parade? Ugh) that holds tradition too firmly in check, not to mention DLR's short supply of world class resort hotel and dining offerings.

As a Disney fan and out of town visitor I'm grateful that things have improved so tremendously at Disneyland over the past 20 years, but from my perspective DLR sometimes feels a bit like a local hangout trying to play catch up with its bigger and more sophisticated siblings. Maybe comparing DL to MK makes sense, but to me there's just no match between DLR and WDW.

Yeah, the Electrical Parade was retired for a reason. WDW snatched it up and I'm sad to see it returning now. I bet if WDW hadn't grabbed it, the parade would be dismantled and gone for good by now.

I don't mind the hotel offerings, as my hotel in Florida wasn't anything special. And the dining is meh at both coasts. WDW has more options, but most of it is still theme park food. Be Our Guest is pretty, but the food is average at best. Skipper Cantina had some eclectic dishes, but wasn't anything incredible. Got a soured milkshake at Disney Studios and it's basic burger food there. EPCOT is the only mark that has some good restaurants, and even they aren't anything more special than the Storyteller Cafe or Carthay Circle Theatre in Calufornia. Some of the hotels have better options, but I don't really venture out to the hotels as I'm there for the theme parks and not restaurants. I've come to accept that most food at Disney is Coco's food at Cheesecake Factory prices, no matter which coast we're on. Luckily, I go for experiences over cuisine.

 

[TP2000]

I keep hearing about this cabanas possibly coming to Disneyland, I am just curious as to where people think they would even fit in Disneyland.

There just isnt any room like they have at WDW to add cabanas for guests anywhere in Disneyland. The walkways are allready crowded and the park uses every inch of real estate it can for daily operations.

I really doubt they would be added to Star Wars expansion after all the work that is being put in place to make the land looked themed to the environment. Unless they themed to Star wars and are hidden at the western entrance area of the land.

Only other area would be Tomorrowland but where would that be? could it be on the second level of the innoventions building? maybe that would be the only place they would go but im sure they would want them somewhere where people can see them and promoted

I would not be surprised to see this Cabana concept show up at Disneyland, assuming the test goes well for WDW.

But at Disneyland they tend to have a sharper sense of style for stuff like this. I could see them installing rooftop lounge type spaces for the Cabanas. And they may not need to be formal Cabanas if they were on upper levels or roofs, as the privacy would be there and you'd just need some design work to create compartmentalized spaces for each tenant.

You could use the upstairs dining room at Golden Vine Winery, or even repurpose the upstairs cocktail lounge there that is open to the public but can be overlooked by non-AP's. The western facing upstairs terrace of Carthay Circle could also work. Or the roof of the Grange Hall in Cars Land where ABC always does their live weatherman shots from.

They seem to have used up the upstairs space in New Orleans Square for the Club 33 expansion, but what about the upper levels of Adventureland? In Star Wars Land the possibilities are nearly unlimited since it has yet to be built.

I bet they could find some unused space on second floors and rooftops for this concept. They certainly won't be plopping plastic tents from Home Depot on the ground like the WDW management did.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Yeah, the Electrical Parade was retired for a reason. WDW snatched it up and I'm sad to see it returning now. I bet if WDW hadn't grabbed it, the parade would be dismantled and gone for good by now.

I don't mind the hotel offerings, as my hotel in Florida wasn't anything special. And the dining is meh at both coasts. WDW has more options, but most of it is still theme park food. Be Our Guest is pretty, but the food is average at best. Skipper Cantina had some eclectic dishes, but wasn't anything incredible. Got a soured milkshake at Disney Studios and it's basic burger food there. EPCOT is the only mark that has some good restaurants, and even they aren't anything more special than the Storyteller Cafe or Carthay Circle Theatre in Calufornia. Some of the hotels have better options, but I don't really venture out to the hotels as I'm there for the theme parks and not restaurants. I've come to accept that most food at Disney is Coco's food at Cheesecake Factory prices, no matter which coast we're on. Luckily, I go for experiences over cuisine.

Yeah, as a west coaster without kids I'm satisfied with what DLR has to offer. I'm pretty sure I'd feel differently though if I had a family, or lived elsewhere in the US or outside of the country and was trying to decide which of the two properties to visit.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Please tweet President Trump about it at least 40 times a day.

Disney "Together, we'll grab Star Wars fans by the ......"

 

[SSG]

I would not be surprised to see this Cabana concept show up at Disneyland, assuming the test goes well for WDW.

But at Disneyland they tend to have a sharper sense of style for stuff like this. I could see them installing rooftop lounge type spaces for the Cabanas. And they may not need to be formal Cabanas if they were on upper levels or roofs, as the privacy would be there and you'd just need some design work to create compartmentalized spaces for each tenant.

You could use the upstairs dining room at Golden Vine Winery, or even repurpose the upstairs cocktail lounge there that is open to the public but can be overlooked by non-AP's. The western facing upstairs terrace of Carthay Circle could also work. Or the roof of the Grange Hall in Cars Land where ABC always does their live weatherman shots from.

They seem to have used up the upstairs space in New Orleans Square for the Club 33 expansion, but what about the upper levels of Adventureland? In Star Wars Land the possibilities are nearly unlimited since it has yet to be built.

I bet they could find some unused space on second floors and rooftops for this concept. They certainly won't be plopping plastic tents from Home Depot on the ground like the WDW management did.

Now I know why the People Mover track has never been removed.