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

[The Mur]

I am enjoying this thread even more than the old MiceChat WoC construction thread.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Just when things were getting good and wigs begin flying, our favorite lady blogger shows up to steer us back to Star Wars Land...

Here the very latest from the top of Tarzan's Treehouse (another Disneyland exclusive no one in Florida envies).

It looks incredible, and blends with Frontierland nicely. I remember how confused and skeptical I was when they revealed the location for SW:GE at DL, but as it evolves it becomes apparent that the location and theme are genius.

 

[mickEblu]

It looks incredible, and blends with Frontierland nicely. I remember how confused and skeptical I was when they revealed the location for SW:GE at DL, but as it evolves it becomes apparent that the location and theme are genius.

It does look nice but I cannot let myself get caught up in the moment and forget about the old wall of trees, the old Big Thunder Trail and the ambiance of the lower level of Hungry Bear being right on the water. The old north ROA to new north ROA is what Grizzly Peak is to Cars Land. The old North ROA felt real and organic like Grizzly Peak. The new north ROA is well done like Cars Land but feels much more Man-made if you will.

Anyway, I do think the SWL rocks when finished will look really nice as a backdrop for the ROA. Its also very clear that this was the best place SWL could go at DL proper. It will also be nice to be able to **almost** circumnavigate the park with the new Critter Country path eventhough it came with a cost. Big Thunder Trail is also well done and is nice in a different way. I guess you could say it feels much more like the “Wild West” and not some random place in the wilderness.

 

[dweezil78]

It does look nice but I cannot let myself get caught up in the moment and forget about the old wall of trees, the old Big Thunder Trail and the ambiance of the lower level of Hungry Bear being right on the water. The old north ROA to new north ROA is what Grizzly Peak is to Cars Land. The old North ROA felt real and organic like Grizzly Peak. The new north ROA is well done like Cars Land but feels much more Man-made if you will.

Just remind yourself that you live in a pretty spectacular state with natural beauty and amazing forests/parks everywhere if that's what you really need. Crazy looking otherworldly mountains, on the other hand, are hard to come by. (Ok, yes, we have those in places too...but still!)

 

[mickEblu]

Just remind yourself that you live in a pretty spectacular state with natural beauty and amazing forests/parks everywhere if that's what you really need. Crazy looking otherworldly mountains, on the other hand, are hard to come by. (Ok, yes, we have those in places too...but still!)

Haha true but I wasn’t talking about the other worldly SWL mountains. I was comparing the old wall of trees to the new berm/ rock-work of the new ROA. Both are emulating nature and real places.

Side note: I don’t find SWLs mountains all that other wordly on their own. I don’t think they were going for other worldly or they wouldn’t have chosen them to blend in with the ROA. I think It’s everything else we see in the concept art combined with the SWL mountains that makes them feel more alien. I don’t think we ll be able to see that stuff from the ROA though.

 

[dweezil78]

Haha true but I wasn’t talking about the other worldly SWL mountains. I was comparing the old wall of trees to the new berm/ rock-work of the new ROA. Both are emulating nature and real places.

Side note: I don’t find SWLs mountains all that other wordly on their own. I don’t think they were going for other worldly or they wouldn’t have chosen them to blend in with the ROA. I think It’s everything else we see in the concept art combined with the SWL mountains that makes them feel more alien.

Ah gotcha... I'm looking ahead to when the full picture is complete. I really think it'll be worth it when it all comes together!

 

[mickEblu]

Ah gotcha... I'm looking ahead to when the full picture is complete. I really think it'll be worth it when it all comes together!

I’m sure it ll be really nice. Just think we lost some nice things in the process.

 

[dweezil78]

And that's a good thing? Yeah DL needs to either put something on it's PM track or demolish it, but I don't think a 50 year old automated tram posing as the future of transit is something to brag about.

Sorry... you're wrong. The WDW Peoplemover is a glorious thing. It is almost always my first and last ride in the MK!!!

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

You want to leave that guy alone. He's, uh...he's grouchy.

 

[Incomudro]

I lived in the Southeast for many years in the 20th century, and it was miserable. I'm a West Coast native, so it was a horrible shock when I first got there, and I sort of got used to it after a couple years, but I will never in a million years ever move back. It's been awhile since I've gone to WDW (always January), and I get my non-Disneyland fix by heading to the overseas parks lately, but my God the climate and weather in Orlando is abysmal about 11 months out of the year. I just don't know how or why people go there on purpose.

I can only imagine the horrors of the WDW version of Star Wars Land in the summer of 2020 when the lines are four hours long, the temp is 97 and the humidity is 80% and everyone just aches for that daily 3 o'clock rainstorm to blow through.



Of for gosh sakes, it isn't that bad. It's not particularly good, but it's not that bad. Here it is in all its 1980 glory...

It's not the heat, it's the humidity.
And the gondola's won't be air conditioned.

 

[TROR]

WDW NT shared these images for Galaxy's Edge. I'm guessing they're new photos but they don't exactly show any new information. Lot of detail on these sets, though, which is pretty exciting for what it means for the rest of the land.

 

[Disney Irish]

Haha true but I wasn’t talking about the other worldly SWL mountains. I was comparing the old wall of trees to the new berm/ rock-work of the new ROA. Both are emulating nature and real places.

Side note: I don’t find SWLs mountains all that other wordly on their own. I don’t think they were going for other worldly or they wouldn’t have chosen them to blend in with the ROA. I think It’s everything else we see in the concept art combined with the SWL mountains that makes them feel more alien. I don’t think we ll be able to see that stuff from the ROA though.

Remember though that old wall of trees you look on so fondly was not created overnight. It took decades to get that. As time goes on the growth (or overgrowth depending on how you look at it) of trees will be back and everything will blend in nicely. Patience my friend....

 

[mickEblu]

Remember though that old wall of trees you look on so fondly was not created overnight. It took decades to get that. As time goes on the growth (or overgrowth depending on how you look at it) of trees will be back and everything will blend in nicely. Patience my friend....

Well that’s precicely why I’m so fond of them. 60 year old plus trees aren’t things that are replaceable. 2-3 decades to see some nice growth is a lonnnnng time to be patient.

 

[Disney Irish]

Well that’s precicely why I’m so fond of them. 60 year old plus trees aren’t things that are replaceable. 2-3 decades to seem some nice growth is a lonnnnng time to be patient.

Except once its done there will be mountains as a vista view through the trees. And from what I've seen (in person and on video) the trees they have planted are filling in nicely. So its not going to take 2-3 decades to get similar but enhanced views.

And lets not forget we get the added views of the new waterfalls for added ambiance.

So all and all this is a net gain.

 

[mickEblu]

Except once its done there will be mountains as a vista view through the trees. And from what I've seen (in person and on video) the trees they have planted are filling in nicely. So its not going to take 2-3 decades to get similar but enhanced views.

And lets not forget we get the added views of the new waterfalls for added ambiance.

So all and all this is a net gain.

I do agree that this will **most likely** be a net gain when you consider what we re getting with SWL and especially since we still have a nice looking ROA. However, I do think it will take 2-3 decades for those trees to look anywhere near how they did pre SWL construction. With that said, I’m not sure they even want that type of growth, now that they have the SWL Mountain peaks in the background.

To be honest, I’m not crazy about the waterfalls they added to the ROA. They re kind of underwhelming. I’m much more impressed with the waterfalls at Grizzly Peak. Not talking about the size although that might be influencing my opinion. Frog Jumping Falls (the small waterfall off the beaten path) at Grizzly Peak I think is more impressive to me.

 

[Disney Irish]

I do agree that this will **most likely** be a net gain when you consider what we re getting with SWL and especially since we still have a nice looking ROA. However, I do think it will take 2-3 decades for those trees to look anywhere near how they did pre SWL construction. With that said, I’m not sure they even want that type of growth, now that they have the SWL Mountain peaks in the background.

To be honest, I’m not crazy about the waterfalls they added to the ROA. They re kind of underwhelming. I’m much more impressed with the waterfalls at Grizzly Peak. Not talking about the size although that might be influencing my opinion. Frog Jumping Falls (the small waterfall off the beaten path) at Grizzly Peak I think is more impressive to me.

The waterfalls are there for ambiance. The one at Grizzly Peak was, in my opinion, to pay homage to the Yosemite Falls, so it had to be grander.

But with the trees, they didn't plant baby trees. They replanted medium growth trees. They'll be full grown in no time. And I would imagine since they are doing all they can to blend in everything I would expect them to allow continued growth.

 

[mickEblu]

The waterfalls are there for ambiance. The one at Grizzly Peak was, in my opinion, to pay homage to the Yosemite Falls, so it had to be grander.

But with the trees, they didn't plant baby trees. They replanted medium growth trees. They'll be full grown in no time. And I would imagine since they are doing all they can to blend in everything I would expect them to allow continued growth.

I think you re right with the larger waterfall. That’s why I included the smaller waterfall at Grizzly Peak as an example that I am not only considering size. Even the smaller waterfall and it’s rock work at Grizzly Peak are more impressive to me. Maybe because you can get up and close? Maybe the color of the rocks and all the surrounding trees? For whatever reason the design of the waterfalls at the ROA don’t do much for me. I mean they re ok but I feel like something is off. Maybe it’s too bare? They do work with the scale and vibe of the ROA though.

So the medium growth trees will mature into 60-100 foot tall trees in no time?

 

[Disney Irish]

I think you re right with the larger waterfall. That’s why I included the smaller waterfall at Grizzly Peak as an example that I am not only considering size. Even the smaller waterfall and it’s rock work at Grizzly Peak are more impressive to me. Maybe because you can get up and close? Maybe the color of the rocks and all the surrounding trees? For whatever reason the design of the waterfalls at the ROA don’t do much for me. I mean they re ok but I feel like something is off. Maybe it’s too bare? They do work with the scale and vibe of the ROA though.

So the medium growth trees will mature into 60-100 foot tall trees in no time?

When I say no time, I mean in less than 10 years. Also growth and filling in doesn't just mean tall either. If I recall they are using bald cypress which grow 1-2 feet a year. Since they are already medium growth, after a couple seasons they will be wider and taller and seem much fuller.

However I doubt if they will ever get to 60-100 foot trees as that would be taller than the mountains behind them.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I think you re right with the larger waterfall. That’s why I included the smaller waterfall at Grizzly Peak as an example that I am not only considering size. Even the smaller waterfall and it’s rock work at Grizzly Peak are more impressive to me. Maybe because you can get up and close? Maybe the color of the rocks and all the surrounding trees? For whatever reason the design of the waterfalls at the ROA don’t do much for me. I mean they re ok but I feel like something is off. Maybe it’s too bare? They do work with the scale and vibe of the ROA though.

So the medium growth trees will mature into 60-100 foot tall trees in no time?

There are definitely scale issues with these new scenes. I don't want to say it doesn't work or fit in DL. It felt to me like they crammed so much stuff into that section of the river, they didn't take the time to make sure it all worked. It's a bit slapped together in that regard. You have this grand VistaVision reveal as you come around, but dinky waterfalls and trees. Some animated "Indians" and animals, many static and chintzy. You can also see backstage and unflattering angles from the left side of the train.

It's a confusing mixture of epic, chintzy, and charming. I think it shows that the Imagineers of today show potential, but they're still not on the level of the WED Enterprises guys.

 

[mickEblu]

There are definitely scale issues with these new scenes. I don't want to say it doesn't work or fit in DL. It felt to me like they crammed so much stuff into that section of the river, they didn't take the time to make sure it all worked. It's a bit slapped together in that regard. You have this grand VistaVision reveal as you come around, but dinky waterfalls and trees. Some animated "Indians" and animals, many static and chintzy. You can also see backstage and unflattering angles from the left side of the train.

It's a confusing mixture of epic, chintzy, and charming. I think it shows that the Imagineers of today show potential, but they're still not on the level of the WED Enterprises guys.

Maybe you re right. Maybe that’s what bothers me about it. I figured the scale of the waterfalls worked but if they made them even another 10 -15 feet taller that would have probably made a big difference.