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

[Old Mouseketeer]

I hate to be "that person", but I've read through countless pages in this thread, as well as google searched, and I never could quite find the answer.

Regarding Rise of the Resistance, is it a largely physical set a la Forbidden Journey/Frozen/etc, primarily screens a la Gringotts, or is it a mixture? Will there be AAs? Watching the teaser video that was supposedly shot in the attraction....I guess I just can't quite grasp what is happening. Can somebody explain this to me like I am a moron (bc I am), or at least point me to somewhere that does? haha

Gaaaggghhhhh!!! My computer just ate my detailed response I was writing.

Short version because I have to go right now: Between the renderings that have been released, footage from the recent promo, and details we could discern from construction before they finished the exterior skin, Alcatraz/RotR looks to be heavy on practical sets. At least 3/4 of this would be on two levels with the full-height AT-AT room near the East end and huge Hanger Bay at the West end.

I want to go back to something I heard from an insider a year or two ago (after construction started and we could see how enormous the show buildings are): they said Imagineering was throwing everything they had into this and that it would be the new "giant-killer" in the industry. This, more than Pandora, would be Disney's response to Universal's Harry Potter. So I expect some surprises over what we have heard or conjectured.

 

[chadwpalm]

Gaaaggghhhhh!!! My computer just ate my detailed response I was writing.

Short version because I have to go right now: Between the renderings that have been released, footage from the recent promo, and details we could discern from construction before they finished the exterior skin, Alcatraz/RotR looks to be heavy on practical sets. At least 3/4 of this would be on two levels with the full-height AT-AT room near the East end and huge Hanger Bay at the West end.

I want to go back to something I heard from an insider a year or two ago (after construction started and we could see how enormous the show buildings are): they said Imagineering was throwing everything they had into this and that it would be the new "giant-killer" in the industry. This, more than Pandora, would be Disney's response to Universal's Harry Potter. So I expect some surprises over what we have heard or conjectured.

This is from one of the original articles back in 2016 that MiceAge did.
http://micechat.com/140271-disneyland-rumor-update-star-wars/

As an additional point of reference, Disneyland’s Pirates has 75 animatronic figures, but Alcatraz [what is now called Rise of the Risistance] will have over 150 animatronic Stormtroopers alone, plus additional animatronic Star Wars characters from the tiny to the gargantuan. With Star Wars, WDI wants to blow your mind when it comes to what you think a Disneyland ride can do and how you interact with it.

Obviously this is a third-party report and should be taken with a few grains of salt, but it has always kept my excitement going when it comes to AA's being used over screens. I think there will be a large screen in the hanger and ones at windows for sure, but I think it will mostly be practical sets and AA's with other effects in between like blaster effects. None of the early animatics of the ride showed people wearing 3D glasses.

 

[Professortango1]

One thing to remember about the Mansion queue is that originally behind the brick wall there was a large grass lawn in front of the crypts with the headstones--it wasn't all switchbacks. During peak days (mostly summer) they would add an extended queue across the front fence all the way down to the exit. They eliminated this prior to the 1973 opening of Bear Country to increase capacity of the walkway.

Oh I know, but it still was this awkward raised lawn area. And not a great build up to exploring a haunted mansion. The outside of Disneyland's Mansion is far too clean and nonthreatening for me. I wish they had a queue through an overgrown greenhouse or a vine-choked garden with landscaping overtaking statues. My favorite element of the HM queue is actually the Fastpass Distribution area.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

Why are there theme park vehicles and a speed ramp in this plain black-walled room?

I gotta say that even experiencing it as an 8 year old for the first time in 1971 this part completely threw off the illusion of being in a haunted house for me. You're basically on a group tour of a spook house and suddenly you're reminded that your in Disneyland, which is fine, but for some first timers the arrival at the doom buggy platform is bound to be be a bit jarring.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Disney really needs to re-do the loading area of the Haunted Mansion,. The endless void look really doesn't work with all those lights that were put there to prevent lawsuits. Even remodeling it to look like an ordinary room in a Victorian house with a few creepy portraits on the wall would be much appreciated.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

I personally only rode Mission to Mars as a kid and I barely remember that. So others can comment on the original. The Moonliner Rocket was removed by that point.

Just an FYI, the Falcon is a YT-1300f Corellian freighter. Despite its prominence in the SW universe its not a unique ship, its just outdated so there weren't many around. So the Imagineers could say the one out front is another YT-1300f model that Hondo is using for spare parts. This is so he can retrofit the Falcon's cabin with more seats for our smuggling mission.

But from what we know that is not the case. the one out front is supposed to be the legendary falcon from the films not another of the same model. hence the dish used in the current films. it is more than safe to assume that.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Do you think the ride will look like this?

View attachment 332781

I don't know. I just know from what I have read on here it is some type of carousel simulator type ride.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

I just love the fact Disney will be getting yet another mountain landmark! SWL will be the fifth one in the park after SM, Splash, BTM and obviously Matterhorn. That's what I love about the park, all those mountain tops hovering throughout the park. SWL is going to be so cool to see theirs up front. .

don't forget space mountain. still a mountain.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

I rode the original Flight to the Moon that is in the picture, plus the post-1967 version and Mission to Mars. And I rode it at least once in Florida mid-'70s. FttM/MtM was a direct predecessor to Star Tours and Milennium Falcon. It was very immersive for its time. The 1955 version had cabin vibration effects and the 1967 model had hydraulics that made your seat cushion lift and fall. This was very new stuff for its time. Star Tours added full motion simulation and now MF:SR will feature a high degree of game console-style interactivity. From 1955 to 1969 the idea of space travel and visiting the moon was a big part of popular culture. In the 1960s and '70s film and TV such as Star Trek, 2001 and Star Wars expanded this interest into further exploration. There is a fairly direct path of development through these attractions, including seeing your ship (or one just like it) out front or in the preshow queue.

At this point I think this dead horse has been beaten to a pulp and will never get up and gallop.

thank you for more info on the ride.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Disney really needs to re-do the loading area of the Haunted Mansion,. The endless void look really doesn't work with all those lights that were put there to prevent lawsuits. Even remodeling it to look like an ordinary room in a Victorian house with a few creepy portraits on the wall would be much appreciated.

This is a terrible idea.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

The queue looks nothing like an outdoor garden/yard of a Mansion. The main pathway is fine, but the back part of the queue behind the brick wall is pretty terrible. Not to mention the fact there are gravestones directly over crypts. The elevator is wonderful, but how do we magically see through a scrim ceiling? Why are there theme park vehicles and a speed ramp in this plain black-walled room?

I'm not saying these are big problems, but if you're looking to nitpick about a ride which doesn't have information out about it yet, you might as well acknowledge every issue and logic problem which is present elsewhere in the theme park.

I disagree with all your points. here is why:
1. the mansion at the end of the day is a theme park attraction. we all know this so it is going to have a que with switch backs. all rides have switch back ques. so you are always going to be reminded you are in a theme park ride however for this particular ride, once you are past that entrance gate, you are in the world of the ride. the mansion was designed as a complete experience. you are immersed because you are in a gated front yard of a mansion. cut off from the rest of Disneyland. sure there are que poles for swtich backs and such but you gotta take in the architecture of the mansion. and the eerie still ness of the yard. you pass by the grave stones. once you are in that gate you belong to the mansion. and keep in mind, the original yard was much different. it has been changed over the years to accommodate the crowds.
2. the ghost host is the one who allows us to see past the scrim but in the story it is not a scrim. you know it is but it is the roof of the room and the ghost host allows you to see past it to see the hanging figure. again this is the magic of the mansion. the stretching room and the portrait hall are still part of the que but once you are inside the façade the story really takes off to full immersion to involve you to make you forget you are not on the ride yet.
3. I have covered this before, the lobby is a endless void and the ghost host is the one providing you vehicles. it was better looking when the spider was there and they came from out of the spider web but it is to show you that you are not in a normal house. it is purley haunted by the great beyond. it is supposed to make you feel uneasy, even the cast members are out of the world in their attitude makes you question if they are sane people. that is why Florida's mansion fails. you are just in a lobby and for some reason ride vheicles are there. but in DISNEYLAND they are not of this world. that is the point of the scene. we are the guests of the ghosts.
and again the nitpick about not going into the falcon façade is my own personal hangup I have. FOR ME. I am not hoping the ride fails. I hope the ride is awesome. I hope it rivals star tours and space mountain combined. I hope I end up loving the heck out of it. but that little thing in the back of my head will always bug me that they could not find a way to make the physical falcon façade the enterance to the ride that takes you into the show building like so many other classic rides at the same park. I think people picked up my nit pick and just slammed me for it as me saying the ride is going to suck. I am not saying that. I hope it rocks. I just have a minor nitpick personal to me and wanted to share my view and everyone jumped on me. sorry for the length of this post.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Oh I know, but it still was this awkward raised lawn area. And not a great build up to exploring a haunted mansion. The outside of Disneyland's Mansion is far too clean and nonthreatening for me. I wish they had a queue through an overgrown greenhouse or a vine-choked garden with landscaping overtaking statues. My favorite element of the HM queue is actually the Fastpass Distribution area.

this right here shows why you miss the point of that scene. you are not in a normal house. these vehicles are from another dimension if you will. this is why the florida mansion fails. I 100% agree with @George lucas ona bench when he says what you are suggesting is a terrible idea. it would undercut the theme of the scene

 

[Sharon&Susan]

This is a terrible idea.

Remodeling the load area, or making it look like an ordinary Victorian mansion (which I'd argue that the foyer already looks like it could belong in a normal Victorian manor)?

 

[Sharon&Susan]

undercut the theme of the scene

It was undercut when they put a source of light every 2 feet along the path, ruining the illusion of an endless void.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Remodeling the load area, or making it look like an ordinary Victorian mansion (which I'd argue that the foyer already looks like it could belong in a normal Victorian manor)?

both

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

It was undercut when they put a source of light every 2 feet along the path, ruining the illusion of an endless void.

I agree the lighting could use some work back to how it used to be, but the the spirit and theme and intention of the scene still work. and should be left as is and not remodeled.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

I agree the lighting could use some work back to how it used to be...

That’s the problem, if Disney’s lawyers have anything to say the load area will forever remain a shell of what it used to be. The second best solution is better than the best solution that never works. (It’s exactly what WED did with the Endless Hallway and completely changed the effect to something else that actually worked ) And, no I do not just want a generic Victorian Room, I just want something that works.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

That’s the problem, if Disney’s lawyers have anything to say the load area will forever remain a shell of what it used to be. The second best solution is better than the best solution that never works. (It’s exactly what WED did with the Endless Hallway and completely changed the effect to something else that actually worked ) And, no I do not just want a generic Victorian Room, I just want something that works.

my counter point though is even with the lighting issue the effect still works fine and needs to be left alone or we may end up with HATBOX GHOSTS on sticks.

 

[Mojavelove]

It was undercut when they put a source of light every 2 feet along the path, ruining the illusion of an endless void.

I could not agree more! I loved the dark mystery before the pathway lights were installed. The black emptiness of the endless void allowed ones imagination to fill in all that one cannot see.

 

[fctiger]

I wish DCA had more mountains :-(

I still think they need to add an extension of the rocky cliffs behind the eastern helix to help hide that awful background.
That corner of the Pier looks messy with all the structures from Katella and the power lines mixed in with the structures of Pixar pier.

At least they should consider landscaping the inside of the helix with a mixture of Palms, trees.

They can certainly have a few more. But I sill love the bear sculpture mountain in Grizzly Peak (remember when that use to be promoted as the main landmark when DCA first opened) and of course Cadillac Range in RSR is still probably one of the most awe inspiring landmarks in the whole resort. The only other mountain range that competes with that one is Mysterious Island in TDS (and that place has an active volcano). I honestly never thought we would get anything so awe inspiring as Mysterious Island anywhere else, definitely not in DCA lol. So I'll take it.