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

[180º]

When you say things like that... it calls into question your taste level. FotLK is very highly rated and enjoyed and even the theme park purists among us like it. I mean, you're entitled to your opinion, but you should know its a very small minority opinion.

FOTLK and Nemo are my two favorite live shows at the resort, by far. I admit some of my love for Lion King is nostalgia, but Nemo in particular is very high quality.

 

[dweezil78]

Animal Kingdom has great themeing and looks great (when areas are blocked off by walls and nets). The problem is the park has mediocre rides. Kali is the worst rafting ride I've experienced, and it sits a few miles away from one of the best out there (Popeye and Bluto's Bilgerat Barges). Dinosaur is okay, but clearly a downgrade from Indy. Everest has some interesting ideas, but the pacing of the ride is really broken up into these short staccato segments ending with a broken effect. Kilimanjaro Saffari had potential, but budget cuts and broken effects have left it devoid of the Disney touch. It's a cool thing to see the animals up close, but I can do that at a Safari park too. Disney had the idea to do something more than a safari tour, but that's what it devolved into. Festival of the Lion King is incredibly cheap feeling and Nemo was cute enough, but the giant box and theme don't really fit Dinoland.

The park really needed Beastly Kingdom. I mean, the advertising and park logo all depicting the dragon is what drew me in as a kid. Dinosaurs, dragons, wild animals! Sounds pretty cool. All the animals of earth; real, extinct, or even mythological. Unfortunately, all we got was a cave which shoots fire.

I've heard Flight of Passage is amazing, so that gives me hope. But then Navi River Journey has been routinely voted "not worth it," and it seems like we have yet another Animal Kingdom "Cool idea but lazy execution" attraction.

Honestly, I think Pandora was their backdoor way of funding Beastly Kingdom under a different name. It’ll take them no time at all to remove any trace of Avatar if they ever want to.

 

[Phroobar]

When you say things like that... it calls into question your taste level. FotLK is very highly rated and enjoyed and even the theme park purists among us like it. I mean, you're entitled to your opinion, but you should know its a very small minority opinion.

FotLK may be very highly rated in Florida but all I see is recycled old Lion King parade floats from Disneyland used in show. However I did enjoy the show. Nemo was better.

 

[Professortango1]

When you say things like that... it calls into question your taste level. FotLK is very highly rated and enjoyed and even the theme park purists among us like it. I mean, you're entitled to your opinion, but you should know its a very small minority opinion.

I was so confused when I heard how praised the show was. We were looking forward to it, as my girlfriend loves Lion King. Then we enter a large empty warehouse and see the same parade floats we saw at Disneyland decades ago. It was like they couldn't decide what tone they wanted. An artistic pageant by the locales to tell this story through tribal song, dance, and art or a Disney magic show with characters brought to life. It was part Little Mermaid at DHS and part tribal variety show. It has fire dancers and a guy in a giant Timon costume running around clumbsily to pre-recorded schtick. Those are two very different types of shows. Maybe if they picked one, they could build an appropriate theatre space for the show too, other than a big industrial warehouse.

And all I said about the show is that it felt cheap. Can you argue it doesn't seem cheap? Old parade floats in a large warehouse. A walk around character costume being used when everyone else is dressed theatrically. Compare it to Aladdin. Or The Spirit of Pocahontas. Or even Frozen. It does feel pretty cheap, even if you like the performances and circus routines in the show.

 

[Professortango1]

FOTLK and Nemo are my two favorite live shows at the resort, by far. I admit some of my love for Lion King is nostalgia, but Nemo in particular is very high quality.

Nemo is a decent show. I wish the set had more levels as most of the action is on the stage floor, but its a fun show. My biggest objection to Nemo is the boxy theatre building and its placement in Dinoland. Nothing about Nemo screams dinosaurs nor ties into the story of the land.

 

[Little Green Men]

Animal Kingdom has great themeing and looks great (when areas are blocked off by walls and nets). The problem is the park has mediocre rides. Kali is the worst rafting ride I've experienced, and it sits a few miles away from one of the best out there (Popeye and Bluto's Bilgerat Barges). Dinosaur is okay, but clearly a downgrade from Indy. Everest has some interesting ideas, but the pacing of the ride is really broken up into these short staccato segments ending with a broken effect. Kilimanjaro Saffari had potential, but budget cuts and broken effects have left it devoid of the Disney touch. It's a cool thing to see the animals up close, but I can do that at a Safari park too. Disney had the idea to do something more than a safari tour, but that's what it devolved into. Festival of the Lion King is incredibly cheap feeling and Nemo was cute enough, but the giant box and theme don't really fit Dinoland.

The park really needed Beastly Kingdom. I mean, the advertising and park logo all depicting the dragon is what drew me in as a kid. Dinosaurs, dragons, wild animals! Sounds pretty cool. All the animals of earth; real, extinct, or even mythological. Unfortunately, all we got was a cave which shoots fire.

I've heard Flight of Passage is amazing, so that gives me hope. But then Navi River Journey has been routinely voted "not worth it," and it seems like we have yet another Animal Kingdom "Cool idea but lazy execution" attraction.

kilimanjaro had budget cuts? I don't see that at all. It's currently one of the longest rides at Disney parks. Getting rid of the little red storyline is hardly a budget cut when they replaced a little elephant Statue with two areas of all new animal environments. Dinosaur is not Indy and should be considered its own entity. River Journey is a C ticket, if you think of it in terms of a ride like Peter Pan (WDW version) it's a nice slow ride, one sorely needed at DAK

 

[Professortango1]

kilimanjaro had budget cuts? I don't see that at all. It's currently one of the longest rides at Disney parks. Getting rid of the little red storyline is hardly a budget cut when they replaced a little elephant Statue with two areas of all new animal environments. Dinosaur is not Indy and should be considered its own entity. River Journey is a C ticket, if you think of it in terms of a ride like Peter Pan (WDW version) it's a nice slow ride, one sorely needed at DAK

The collapsing bridge over the crocs was meant to be a bigger moment. And there were other planned moments as well. We've also lost the speeding truck and some other effects which did make it into the attraction's finale.

And I do consider Dinosaur its own ride, but its hard not to compare it to Indy when its the exact same ride vehicle and track. Indy pulls off massive sets and a thrilling adventure. Dinosaur is far too dark and empty with voiceovers which hurt the experience instead of enhance. The updated version is better, but still it failed to wow me in a Disney way.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Honestly, I think Pandora was their backdoor way of funding Beastly Kingdom under a different name. It’ll take them no time at all to remove any trace of Avatar if they ever want to.

The irony is that Disney will own whatever rights 20th Century Fox has to the film once the acquisition of that studio is complete unleashing yet another multi-billion dollar franchise for Disney to milk to death. Apparently The Lord really does work in mysterious ways.

 

[Hattieboxghost110]

kilimanjaro had budget cuts? I don't see that at all. It's currently one of the longest rides at Disney parks. Getting rid of the little red storyline is hardly a budget cut when they replaced a little elephant Statue with two areas of all new animal environments. Dinosaur is not Indy and should be considered its own entity. River Journey is a C ticket, if you think of it in terms of a ride like Peter Pan (WDW version) it's a nice slow ride, one sorely needed at DAK

I'm just suuuuuper happy that Disneyland has Indy, instead of Dinosaur. That's all I have to say.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Helllllo there! I prefer CTX.

 

[Hattieboxghost110]

Helllllo there! I prefer CTX.

View attachment 264202

Why?

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It's DAK's charm central. From the Bill Nye narration in line to the dino head on a stick chasing you and the time travel tunnel that looks like inside of a giant toaster. All while Seeker bickers with the computer.

"Not our dino!"

 

[MisterPenguin]

And all I said about the show is that it felt cheap. Can you argue it doesn't seem cheap? Old parade floats in a large warehouse. A walk around character costume being used when everyone else is dressed theatrically. Compare it to Aladdin. Or The Spirit of Pocahontas. Or even Frozen. It does feel pretty cheap, even if you like the performances and circus routines in the show.

I never saw the floats as floats. If they're old and recycled, then they hold up well over time and the animatronic (are they? or are they puppeted?) animals look good and have great expression, IMO.

You then have the live performance with live singing, dancing, and acrobatics. And the songs are great. And they use the songs of the movie without it being a book report. And it has humor. And audience participation.

Comparing it to full (or nearly full) length Broadway show spectacles is apples to oranges. FotLK has as much, if not better, setting than Broadway shows like Godspell. It's a more intimate and interactive show. Also, I've seen Patti Lupone in several Broadway shows and I caught her in Sweeney Todd where there were only five performers on stage and they were doing all the parts and all the instruments too. Super minimal, but fantastic. So, I don't see a boxy warehouse as being a limitation. I've seen top notch Broadway musicals in such a setting or on small, plain stages. Never thought of them as cheap.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The irony is that Disney will own whatever rights 20th Century Fox has to the film once the acquisition of that studio is complete unleashing yet another multi-billion dollar franchise for Disney to milk to death. Apparently The Lord really does work in mysterious ways.

Fox was just the distributor. I'd wager much that Cameron and Lightstorm retained all rights. That's why he was able to lease it to Disney and not Fox leasing Avatar to Disney.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Fox was just the distributor. I'd wager much that Cameron and Lightstorm retained all rights. That's why he was able to lease it to Disney and not Fox leasing Avatar to Disney.

Understood, but as the new distributor it would be foolish for Disney to not try and leverage its considerable power and influence across multiple businesses to create a massive Avatar franchise. What's the point of purchasing Fox if they aren't going to at least attempt to capitalize on the studio's most valuable assets in whatever way they can? Likewise, Lightroom or Cameron aren't going to build their own Avatar theme park in China or release the next film without Disney/Fox. Synergy. Synergy. Synergy.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Cameron? Lightstorm? Fox?

Oh, we're talking about Avatar...

 

[180º]

Why?

That’s proprietary.

 

[No Name]

Fake weathering is problematic unless it contributes to a story and/or theme that jives with the rest of the park. In my opinion.

In Animal Kingdom, it contributes to the theme of conservation by putting the beauty of nature over that of human intervention. The force theme is strong with this one. A company tries to operate a destructive railway through the Forbidden Mountain and the Yeti overcomes their efforts. People destroy habitats with illegal logging and the area is turned into a rapids ride to fund conservation efforts. Etc. In the newest expansion, the RDA had previously harmed Pandora in many ways, such as by drilling a borehole through a mountain to extract unobtainium. The native Na'vi had driven them off the planet and a new Pandora Conservation Initiative exists to restore the environment. Long paragraph.

Weathering is a storytelling device as well, making clear the difference between the old RDA facilities and the new PCI ones. In Galaxy's Edge, it looks like it'll be used to show that the people are being oppressed by the First Oder. They are too poor to properly upkeep facilities while the First Order has enough money to make all their stuff super sleek and shiny. That is fine story-wise. But every other land in Disneyland is an optimistic celebration of its glorified heyday. So, does a land that's far from its heyday jive with the rest of the park? I would say no. I also wouldn't say it jives wonderfully with the Hollywood that never was and always will be, but that's not this thread.

I wish they'd taken their respective parks into more consideration. It would've been very possible. They did it with Pandora.
For a company all about synergy, they've forgotten about synergizing with the rest of the park.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

That’s proprietary.

He he he he...

 

[Hattieboxghost110]

That’s proprietary.

LMAO! LOL! ROFL!