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

[tirian]

I wouldn't exactly say that their backstories are hidden from the public. The entire cast of SWGE knows a solid amount about those characters (It was part of the initial training), and can help fill in the details if you ask them. But I know most people don't go to the land to ask about a side character, which is why it can seem like part of the story is lost.

You just confirmed my hunch that cast members do know about the backstories and side characters, but the public do not. Asking cast members to explain it isn't feasible for most people and especially the cast members who are busy doing their jobs even if they hate playing roles. Nobody in the YouTube blogs bothered with asking cast members about the backstories. The discovery of these stories would be a big deal to Star Wars fans. The reaction is indifference. No one cares. Galaxy's Edge is a bust. People want Original Trilogy.

FWIW, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to talk to people about Galaxy’s Edge since it was first announced. Nobody cares. There’s no excitement like Uni had surrounding the HP opening.

This is in my circle of about eighty friends and colleagues. At least five of them are SW fanatics who have little interest in the land. I can’t imagine how my own experience plays out across the general population.

Potter benefited from detailed books that described cultures and places, and movies with unique art direction. The public wanted to live inside that magical world.

The SW universe resembles many other sci-fi (space opera fantasy, whatever) movies, combined with a few third-world marketplaces. It isn’t a magical environment full of howling letters and house ghosts. To the average public, SW is about its beloved characters and sci-fi action; and the characters are missing from SWGE, while the action has (so far) been less thrilling than the Star Tours ride that’s been around since the 1980s (update notwithstanding).

I don’t know enough about SW fans to speak authoritatively, but it seems between abandoning the OT and the SW over-saturation, the hype train never really left the station. It’s one thing to get butts in theater seats for event movies that are scheduled during Christmas. It’s another thing to convince those people to book a vacation based on the movies.

 

[mickEblu]

FWIW, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to talk to people about Galaxy’s Edge since it was first announced. Nobody cares. There’s no excitement like Uni had surrounding the HP opening.

This is in my circle of about eighty friends and colleagues. At least five of them are SW fanatics who have little interest in the land. I can’t imagine how my own experience plays out across the general population.

Potter benefited from detailed books that described cultures and places, and movies with unique art direction. The public wanted to live inside that magical world.

The SW universe resembles many other sci-fi (space opera fantasy, whatever) movies, combined with a few third-world marketplaces. It isn’t a magical environment full of howling letters and house ghosts. To the average public, SW is about its beloved characters and sci-fi action; and the characters are missing from SWGE, while the action has (so far) been less thrilling than the Star Tours ride that’s been around since the 1980s (update notwithstanding).

I don’t know enough about SW fans to speak authoritatively, but it seems between abandoning the OT and the SW over-saturation, the hype train never really left the station. It’s one thing to get butts in theater seats for event movies that are scheduled during Christmas. It’s another thing to convince those people to book a vacation based on the movies.

Well said. What remains to be seen however is what happens when APs are unblocked and ROTR opens. ROTR has to be mind blowing at this point. Personally, I’ve seen enough to know that without some other changes, ROTR won’t be enough to change my perception of the land.

I predict that ROTR will be a good to great ride in some aspects but not mind blowing. Unblocked APs will be over it pretty quickly as the rest of us. Only difference is their are more of them. ROTR will create some big hype again when it opens and probably continue to have 2 hour ish waits for a long time. For some it may be great enough to change their perception of the land. For others like me I would need to see some more changes throughout the land.

 

[choco choco]

FWIW, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to talk to people about Galaxy’s Edge since it was first announced. Nobody cares. There’s no excitement like Uni had surrounding the HP opening.

This is in my circle of about eighty friends and colleagues. At least five of them are SW fanatics who have little interest in the land. I can’t imagine how my own experience plays out across the general population.

Potter benefited from detailed books that described cultures and places, and movies with unique art direction. The public wanted to live inside that magical world.

The SW universe resembles many other sci-fi (space opera fantasy, whatever) movies, combined with a few third-world marketplaces. It isn’t a magical environment full of howling letters and house ghosts. To the average public, SW is about its beloved characters and sci-fi action; and the characters are missing from SWGE, while the action has (so far) been less thrilling than the Star Tours ride that’s been around since the 1980s (update notwithstanding).

I don’t know enough about SW fans to speak authoritatively, but it seems between abandoning the OT and the SW over-saturation, the hype train never really left the station. It’s one thing to get butts in theater seats for event movies that are scheduled during Christmas. It’s another thing to convince those people to book a vacation based on the movies.

My own anecdote. I've asked co-workers who have been to Star Wars Land if they got the $200 lightsaber. To which they replied that most of the people buying those lightsabers were older, middle-aged dudes who had that geeky-"refuse to act their age" air about them and that, frankly, it was embarrassing to be associated with them by buying said lightsaber. Not to mention the awkwardness of carrying those things around for the rest of the day (people were shoving them inbetween their legs while riding Space Mountain, for instance).

It is my personal conviction that Star Wars is an outdated Gen X property that seems more popular than it is simply because that generation dominates the positions of power, controling the publicity, marketing and online presence enough that they use those avenues to push their childhood nostalgia onto the rest of popular culture (i.e. the remakes of Top Gun and Cats - both 80's staples plus whatever other multitude of examples you can choose from). No other generation cares about Star Wars much, especially not kids. Is the fact that a kid has a lot of Star Wars toys a reflection of what the kid wants or because the parent who pays is trying to foist onto them something of their own youth? Deep down, like soul-deep, does the younger generation really have any connection to this property?

I think Disney made a grave error in equating an outspoken, loud but small contingent of fans as universal appeal. This is the danger, warned by basically every theme park connoisseur in the past twenty years, of using IP properties in theme park design.

 

[TROR]

My own anecdote. I've asked co-workers who have been to Star Wars Land if they got the $200 lightsaber. To which they replied that most of the people buying those lightsabers were older, middle-aged dudes who had that geeky-"refuse to act their age" air about them and that, frankly, it was embarrassing to be associated with them by buying said lightsaber. Not to mention the awkwardness of carrying those things around for the rest of the day (people were shoving them inbetween their legs while riding Space Mountain, for instance).

It is my personal conviction that Star Wars is an outdated Gen X property that seems more popular than it is simply because that generation dominates the positions of power, controling the publicity, marketing and online presence enough that they use those avenues to push their childhood nostalgia onto the rest of popular culture (i.e. the remakes of Top Gun and Cats - both 80's staples plus whatever other multitude of examples you can choose from). No other generation cares about Star Wars much, especially not kids. Is the fact that a kid has a lot of Star Wars toys a reflection of what the kid wants or because the parent who pays is trying to foist onto them something of their own youth? Deep down, like soul-deep, does the younger generation really have any connection to this property?

I think Disney made a grave error in equating an outspoken, loud but small contingent of fans as universal appeal. This is the danger, warned by basically every theme park connoisseur in the past twenty years, of using IP properties in theme park design.

There's definitely still a love of Star Wars amongst younger generations, though. I worked with kids in a classroom this summer and can definitely testify that they liked Star Wars, though with some not as much as Marvel. That said, I agree that making it OT based would've been too pandering to a bunch of neckbeard losers who never matured.

 

[Incomudro]

Well said. What remains to be seen however is what happens when APs are unblocked and ROTR opens. ROTR has to be mind blowing at this point. Personally, I’ve seen enough to know that without some other changes, ROTR won’t be enough to change my perception of the land.

I predict that ROTR will be a good to great ride in some aspects but not mind blowing. Unblocked APs will be over it pretty quickly as the rest of us. Only difference is their are more of them. ROTR will create some big hype again when it opens and probably continue to have 2 hour ish waits for a long time. For some it may be great enough to change their perception of the land. For others like me I would need to see some more changes throughout the land.

Unfortunately, there's more weight on RoR to be mind blowing now, since it didn't open with the land and since the land's reception has been less than spectacular.

 

[NateD1226]

 

[T.Will]

Unfortunately, there's more weight on RoR to be mind blowing now, since it didn't open with the land and since the land's reception has been less than spectacular.

RotR's situation reminds me of Daikatana and Duke Nukem Forever. Overhyped games that took too long to come out. I don't think it'll be as drastic as those games, but Rise could face some of the same fallout if that revolutionary experience isn't there.

 

[DanielBB8]

Deep down, like soul-deep, does the younger generation really have any connection to this property?

I think Disney made a grave error in equating an outspoken, loud but small contingent of fans as universal appeal. This is the danger, warned by basically every theme park connoisseur in the past twenty years, of using IP properties in theme park design.

The younger generation should find the sequel trilogy appealing, but it's proven the audience doesn't exist. Disney is NOT appealing to the audience that would have liked Star Wars Land. Instead, they are clearing the field for something else. We just have to see what this new audience is because Batuu is beyond. Beyond any Star Wars sequel.

Galaxy's Edge needs Rise of Resistance and Batuu to be featured in Rise of Skywalker.

 

[RobWDW1971]

And it appears you can book up to 14 days in advance so no more 7:00 wake up calls.

 

[mickEblu]

Thanks for the heads up! Just booked Sunday night for a party of 6. An infant and toddler count right? Haha.

Sweet. No strangers at my table.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Which Disneyland attraction has the most riders since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened? You’ll be surprised

A Mississippi family visiting Disneyland was recognized as the 1 millionth riders of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

www.ocregister.com

>>Touring Plans, which uses big data and statistical analysis to calculate daily crowd sizes and ride wait times at theme parks, says that based on the available information Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has averaged about 27,000 riders per day since May 31, approximately 76% of the attraction’s ride capacity.

That pales in comparison to It’s a Small World (57,000 riders per day) and Pirates of the Carribbean (55,000) during the same period and is just short of Big Thunder Mountain (35,000), Hyperspace Mountain (31,000) and Indiana Jones Adventure (31,000), according to Touring Plans estimates.

You read that right: The half century-old Small World is way more popular than the 2-month-old Smugglers Run.

But of course, Small World and Pirates are high-capacity people-eater rides that vacuum up visitors and often still manage to maintain relatively short wait times.

Disneyland officials said Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has performed extremely well with very little downtime during the million-rider run thanks to the hard work and dedication of cast members and Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of the company.

“Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is among our highest rated attractions and we are thrilled by the guest reviews we have received since opening,” Disneyland officials said in a statement.<<

So let's look at those questions.

(Asked at the ride's exit)

1. Did you just ride Millennium Falcon? - 100% Yes

2. Are you enjoying your day at the Disneyland Park? - 90% Yes

Thank you for answering, here is a Food Voucher.

3. Did you enjoy this experience - 90% yes.

 

[tirian]

The younger generation should find the sequel trilogy appealing, but it's proven the audience doesn't exist. Disney is NOT appealing to the audience that would have liked Star Wars Land. Instead, they are clearing the field for something else. We just have to see what this new audience is because Batuu is beyond. Beyond any Star Wars sequel.

Galaxy's Edge needs Rise of Resistance and Batuu to be featured in Rise of Skywalker.

The lackluster toy sales were bad enough for the industry to take note that classic SW still sells whereas the new trilogy does not. That’s a proven fact backed up by data.

So maybe the lessons for WDI are (1) new attractions that don’t rely on IP should be completely new, and (2) new attractions based on IP should utilize the IP people love instead of making off-brand experiences based on it.

SWGE isn’t new or “beyond,” and it also isn’t the SW guests expect. It’s like an off-brand Oreo.

“This is not the IP you are looking for.”

 

[GingerGirl3]

The lackluster toy sales were bad enough for the industry to take note that classic SW still sells whereas the new trilogy does not. That’s a proven fact backed up by data.

So maybe the lessons for WDI are (1) new attractions that don’t rely on IP should be completely new, and (2) new attractions based on IP should utilize the IP people love instead of making off-brand experiences based on it.

SWGE isn’t new or “beyond,” and it also isn’t the SW guests expect. It’s like an off-brand Oreo.

“This is not the IP you are looking for.”

It’s a great point about the toys. I really don’t think my kids generation are big SW fans. My kids never wanted the toys. My son liked Finn but never really connected with the movies. My daughter likes Rey but again not into the movies. They LOVE Marvel and will happily watch those movies over and were excited to go to the movies but never asked about SW. Their friends are the same way. My brother loved SW as a kid, he had a themed birthday party and lots of toys and tried to get his kids into it but they’d rather watch Marvel. Disney better right the ship before they lose the next generation of buyers for all things SW. Ironically the next phase of Marvel looking really lame could help if they can turn out better SW movies.

 

[tirian]

It’s a great point about the toys. I really don’t think my kids generation are big SW fans. My kids never wanted the toys. My son liked Finn but never really connected with the movies. My daughter likes Rey but again not into the movies. They LOVE Marvel and will happily watch those movies over and were excited to go to the movies but never asked about SW. Their friends are the same way. My brother loved SW as a kid, he had a themed birthday party and lots of toys and tried to get his kids into it but they’d rather watch Marvel. Disney better right the ship before they lose the next generation of buyers for all things SW. Ironically the next phase of Marvel looking really lame could help if they can turn out better SW movies.

Off-topic: MCU phase 4 looks boring. Without the investment in the infinity stones, I have zero interest in the new movies. The selling point at Comic-Con was “Look! Diversity!” instead of strong storytelling, perhaps to appeal to...idk. Maybe the Hollywood execs could pat themselves on the back for checking boxes? Maybe it made HuffPost and Vox writers happy?

The Marvel and Star Wars movies should reflect the diversity of the real world by simply including it in their good stories, instead of making the casting itself the point. That’s merely stunt casting.

I wonder how long it’ll take for the general public to get tired of these new spaghetti westerns/beach movies/superhero products.

 

[TROR]

Off-topic: MCU phase 4 looks boring. Without the investment in the infinity stones, I have zero interest in the new movies. The selling point at Comic-Con was “Look! Diversity!” instead of strong storytelling, perhaps to appeal to...idk. Maybe the Hollywood execs could pat themselves on the back for checking boxes? Maybe it made HuffPost and Vox writers happy?

The Marvel and Star Wars movies should reflect the diversity of the real world by simply including it in their good stories, instead of making the casting itself the point. That’s merely stunt casting.

I wonder how long it’ll take for the general public to get tired of these new spaghetti westerns/beach movies/superhero products.

If Endgame to Far From Home’s Box office is any sign, they’re on a downward trajectory.

I know my friends and I, who aren’t hardcore fans and tend to enjoy the movies, have been felt unsatisfied and bored with some of the later installments.

 

[DanielBB8]

The lackluster toy sales were bad enough for the industry to take note that classic SW still sells whereas the new trilogy does not. That’s a proven fact backed up by data.

So maybe the lessons for WDI are (1) new attractions that don’t rely on IP should be completely new, and (2) new attractions based on IP should utilize the IP people love instead of making off-brand experiences based on it.

SWGE isn’t new or “beyond,” and it also isn’t the SW guests expect. It’s like an off-brand Oreo.

“This is not the IP you are looking for.”

I would not call it “off brand” since Galaxy’s Edge is clearly IP based on the Sequel trilogy that hasn’t yet arrived. That’s why I call it “beyond”. If you prefer another definition, it’s a “spin-off”.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Are we in rerun season? Or has the show gotten to the point where the writers are re-using old storylines?

The same exact parties have been through this conversation already. I’ll once again quote myself.

interesting info. thank you for sharing. did not know her voice could be heard because not one blogger has reported it and i have not heard it on any you tube video for the following reasons: 1. rex is in there constantly playing music and is very loud, 2 the guests packed into the cantina at cpacity making it a very loud place ontop of rex. so once again this is HORRIBLE PLANING BY DISNEY. if having a disemboided voice of a characther we cant see come on once in a while that we cant hear over rex or the guests talking is stupid and a poor explanation for a characther the place is named after that we still dont see or know who they are or are familar with or care about. so my point still stands.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Its not lazy story telling, you're just not accepting of the story provided in the land (not that you've actually been to it).

How about this. Oga passed away and the cantina kept the name in order to pay respects to the original proprietor. There could be many other stories for why Oga isn't there. Not everything is going to be handed to you, sometimes you have to go discover things for yourself, this is what the whole immersive aspect is suppose to be about. You the guest experiencing a world in the Star Wars Universe and discovering all the details both large and small. Details that you may not see the first time there, leading to the eventual repeatability of the land. It is also not meant to be experienced from behind a computer screeen, but rather up close and in-person.

Also the fact that Dok is there in Dok Ondar's is beside the point, its a different establishment with a different backstory.

One last thing, the land is suppose to grow in terms of story over time. We'll see if they actually do it, but the land is suppose to be updated on a regular basis in order to progress the story of the land. So just because something isn't explained today doesn't mean it won't be explained in the future.

You put more thought into your Oga story and Disney did on theirs or the entire land to begin with. and its cute you think they are going to update the story of the land over time and you fell for that line. Its adorable to see someone that naive still exists.

 

[Disney Irish]

interesting info. thank you for sharing. did not know her voice could be heard because not one blogger has reported it and i have not heard it on any you tube video for the following reasons: 1. rex is in there constantly playing music and is very loud, 2 the guests packed into the cantina at cpacity making it a very loud place ontop of rex. so once again this is HORRIBLE PLANING BY DISNEY. if having a disemboided voice of a characther we cant see come on once in a while that we cant hear over rex or the guests talking is stupid and a poor explanation for a characther the place is named after that we still dont see or know who they are or are familar with or care about. so my point still stands.

Its cute how you still are using videos as your basis for what is and isn't in the land. Even after you've been proven wrong a lot of times including this time.

You put more thought into your Oga story and Disney did on theirs or the entire land to begin with. and its cute you think they are going to update the story of the land over time and you fell for that line. Its adorable to see someone that naive still exists.

It’s adorable that you still think there needs to be a person named Oga physically within the building.

So now that the mutual condescension is over. The land is less than 2 months old, and things are already changing within the land. The land was always meant to change over time, not just story but overall, and appears to be happening.

For example in the most recent MiceAge report (take it with a grain of salt) they're reporting Disney is already tinkering with adding additional music within different areas of the land. So one of the largest complaints about the land, lack of music, is being addressed. So tell me again how I'm being naive.....

But again you wouldn't know about any of that because its not in some video.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Its cute how you still are using videos as your basis for what is and isn't in the land. Even after you've been proven wrong a lot of times including this time.


It’s adorable that you still think there needs to be a person named Oga physically within the building.

So now that the mutual condescension is over. The land is less than 2 months old, and things are already changing within the land. The land was always meant to change over time, not just story but overall, and appears to be happening.

For example in the most recent MiceAge report (take it with a grain of salt) they're reporting Disney is already tinkering with adding additional music within different areas of the land. So one of the largest complaints about the land, lack of music, is being addressed. So tell me again how I'm being naive.....

But again you wouldn't know about any of that because its not in some video.

i have yet to be proven wrong. HD videos are the 2nd best thing to being there and are good enough to form a educated opinion my good sir. Like I dont have to ride Jurassic World to know it is very lame and has a middle section that is boring and a ending that makes no sense because i have seen several ride povs to form a opinion. and i wasnt being condenscending. i mean it. its cute you are naive to take WDI words at face value.