Old Mouseketeer
Well-Known Member
We seem to be going back and forth on the entertainment thing. So many of my contacts in Entertainment have retired or moved on. I do still know a couple of techs and performers from outside theater and one guy in a production support position I met while doing college theater in a galaxy century far far away. In past decades my connections were much deeper..
What I have gleaned over the past decade is that there is actually a fairly strong commitment high up at the resort. I have heard of days when live performers and M&Gs were cut because of rain, wind, or fire and there was great concern at the very top and thatTDA and WDPR still see live entertainment as a critical component of the Disney Parks experience. That's why on a given day at DL you could have over 300 performers and over 700 personnel combined, including shows, bands, parades, and characters (but not including guest groups).
For SW:GE I don't think it's mainly a budget issue--I think it's mainly related to crowding and safety and the unpredictability thereof. Major infrastructure requires at least a five-year lead time with around three years alone for construction. Below the top tier of Entertainment offerings (new parade/fireworks/theatrical) that may be reduced to less than a year, especially when a lot of the preplanning is already done. I don't really know what the scope of their original vision was. There was talk of a live show in the (cancelled/postponed?) table-service restaurant adjoining the Cantina. There were online rumors of articulated (moving head) aliens, although I never picked up anything from my Bothans. There were permits for practical bridges and a prefab spaceship for stunt performers.
As I've said elsewhere I have heard there will be an atmosphere character program roughly the size of Launch Bay when it had the March of the First Order contingent (but no inside M&G). For the time being, original trilogy characters will stay at Launch Bay and current trilogy characters will relocate to GE. I've heard Troopers, Kylo, Rey, and possibly Chewie. Not sure about Phasma. They have advertised auditions for one union role, but I'm not sure what that will be. I have also heard of another atmo character I'm not familiar with and I'm not at liberty to talk about it until later.
If there is a money issue, I think it's mostly that they don't want to invest in something they're not sure will work. They also have to maintain the safety of their performers and guests. However, I do think we will see some good live entertainment over time. I certainly don't know everything and I think there are some sizeable gaps in my info. But that's my best guess.
Edit: Speaking of cheaping out, I'm not sure this has been reported. I recently heard that the reason they closed Jedi Academy at DL (But not WDW) is the cost overruns on World of Color. Supposedly they cut after-hours technician coverage on WoC and an access cover/door was left open which jammed the mechanism when they raised/lowered one of the three grids of fountains/effects. I'm told it was a management screw-up, but that resort management wouldn't allocate additional money to fix it. So Entertainment had to scrape up some money by cancelling some shows. Bye-bye Jedi, Hook and Ladder, one of the NOS combos, and the AGVA in Boot Strappers (the singing, non-instrumental performer). I don't think this impacted Farley the Fiddler--I think he just retired. There may have been a couple of other cuts I don't remember. Anyway, that was a new piece of info for me recently.
What I have gleaned over the past decade is that there is actually a fairly strong commitment high up at the resort. I have heard of days when live performers and M&Gs were cut because of rain, wind, or fire and there was great concern at the very top and thatTDA and WDPR still see live entertainment as a critical component of the Disney Parks experience. That's why on a given day at DL you could have over 300 performers and over 700 personnel combined, including shows, bands, parades, and characters (but not including guest groups).
For SW:GE I don't think it's mainly a budget issue--I think it's mainly related to crowding and safety and the unpredictability thereof. Major infrastructure requires at least a five-year lead time with around three years alone for construction. Below the top tier of Entertainment offerings (new parade/fireworks/theatrical) that may be reduced to less than a year, especially when a lot of the preplanning is already done. I don't really know what the scope of their original vision was. There was talk of a live show in the (cancelled/postponed?) table-service restaurant adjoining the Cantina. There were online rumors of articulated (moving head) aliens, although I never picked up anything from my Bothans. There were permits for practical bridges and a prefab spaceship for stunt performers.
As I've said elsewhere I have heard there will be an atmosphere character program roughly the size of Launch Bay when it had the March of the First Order contingent (but no inside M&G). For the time being, original trilogy characters will stay at Launch Bay and current trilogy characters will relocate to GE. I've heard Troopers, Kylo, Rey, and possibly Chewie. Not sure about Phasma. They have advertised auditions for one union role, but I'm not sure what that will be. I have also heard of another atmo character I'm not familiar with and I'm not at liberty to talk about it until later.
If there is a money issue, I think it's mostly that they don't want to invest in something they're not sure will work. They also have to maintain the safety of their performers and guests. However, I do think we will see some good live entertainment over time. I certainly don't know everything and I think there are some sizeable gaps in my info. But that's my best guess.
Edit: Speaking of cheaping out, I'm not sure this has been reported. I recently heard that the reason they closed Jedi Academy at DL (But not WDW) is the cost overruns on World of Color. Supposedly they cut after-hours technician coverage on WoC and an access cover/door was left open which jammed the mechanism when they raised/lowered one of the three grids of fountains/effects. I'm told it was a management screw-up, but that resort management wouldn't allocate additional money to fix it. So Entertainment had to scrape up some money by cancelling some shows. Bye-bye Jedi, Hook and Ladder, one of the NOS combos, and the AGVA in Boot Strappers (the singing, non-instrumental performer). I don't think this impacted Farley the Fiddler--I think he just retired. There may have been a couple of other cuts I don't remember. Anyway, that was a new piece of info for me recently.
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