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

[shambolicdefending]

Funny thing is, that moment didn’t bother me. I rolled my eyes and thought it was too on-the-nose, but I chalked it up to an awkward attempt at “Girl Power.”

On the other hand, my sister—who is very strong-willed and “girl power” and all that—hated that scene and called it “pandering.” I guess this is where Marvel and Star Wars scripts are going now.

I want my nieces to have strong role models, but the clunky Hollywood virtue signals seem to say, “Look! You can be just like the guys!” instead of saying, “Look! Girls can do powerful things too!” And the solution comes down to true storytelling instead of shoving in a few faces at the last minute.

Diversity solely for the sake of diversity never works. It's kind of incredible how slow some people are to figure that out.

 

[tirian]

Diversity solely for the sake of diversity never works. It's kind of incredible how slow some people are to figure that out.

Hateful! Bigot! Phobic! Horrible! Hater! Blue Meanie!

 

[TROR]

The idea of a woman's value being determined by how much she can act like a man is complete counter-feminist yet leftist Hollywood still promotes it. I honestly don't understand.

 

[truecoat]

The idea of a woman's value being determined by how much she can act like a man is complete counter-feminist yet leftist Hollywood still promotes it. I honestly don't understand.

Give it a few years and maybe you will.

 

[TROR]

Give it a few years and maybe you will.

I'm going to become sexist in a few years?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Also from MiceChat:

"Guests seem to be confused by the Kylo Ren arrival moment in the First Order area of Black Spire Outpost. We’ve noted since the beginning that guests seem to expect some sort of show, but when they realize that it’s just how Kylo Ren starts his march around the land, they look around to see if there’s more and then just awkwardly walk away. It really is a golden opportunity for Disney to actually do a little show here. The guests already seem to expect it, so why not do something to fill the awkward void after Kylo walks off?

The same exact thing happens when Chewie and Rey do maintenance on the X-Wing. A crowd forms and waits for the show to start. Only it never does."

 

[Animaniac93-98]

There's a difference between "immersion" and "stupidity":

"As we pointed out last week, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the only land at Disneyland which doesn’t have entry signage. You see guests with maps trying to find the land and we are told that next to “Where’s the nearest bathroom,” “How do I get to Star Wars Land” is the next most asked thing of most Security and Custodial cast members."

"There are many doors to empty spaces in Star Wars land. Since most of the land requires a bit of trial and error to figure out which doors reveal hidden shops (such as Dok-Ondar’s or the Droid Depot) and which are dead ends, some doors now have trash cans in front of them so guests won’t be so confused.

- MiceChat

If you're paying customers don't know where your new ride is or what doors open, you're failing theme park 101.

 

[Mac Tonight]

There's a difference between "immersion" and "stupidity":

"As we pointed out last week, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the only land at Disneyland which doesn’t have entry signage. You see guests with maps trying to find the land and we are told that next to “Where’s the nearest bathroom,” “How do I get to Star Wars Land” is the next most asked thing of most Security and Custodial cast members."

"There are many doors to empty spaces in Star Wars land. Since most of the land requires a bit of trial and error to figure out which doors reveal hidden shops (such as Dok-Ondar’s or the Droid Depot) and which are dead ends, some doors now have trash cans in front of them so guests won’t be so confused.

- MiceChat

If you're paying customers don't know where you new ride is or what doors open, you're failing theme park 101.

I had that experience this weekend. On the first walk-through I had no idea where anything was. Only later did I spot very small signs pointing in vague directions to things, but no real visible signage. I only recognized the restrooms because they used the earthly male and female identifyers.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It's confusing enough to average Disney guests with knowledge of the parks. Foreigners? Good luck. This is just bad design. Take this immersion shtick too far and you lose functionality. It's like building a replica of Titanic and then separating everyone into different classes behind gates with an attraction in the bowels of the ship lacking clear signage.

 

[Rich T]

There's a difference between "immersion" and "stupidity":
...If you're paying customers don't know where you new ride is or what doors open, you're failing theme park 101.

It's almost as if some of the current crop of "Imagineers" have never actually visited a theme park in the real world and have no clue how actual guests behave... or what guests really want from a theme park visit.
(edit)
There are times I think the land was designed by people whose only previous projects were themed "Escape Rooms" or "Mystery Parties" for small groups of spoiled rich people.

 

[Mac Tonight]

It's almost as if some of the current crop of "Imagineers" have never actually visited a theme park in the real world and have no clue how actual guests behave... or what guests really want from a theme park visit.
(edit)
There are times I think the land was designed by people whose only previous projects were themed "Escape Rooms" or "Mystery Parties" for small groups of spoiled rich people.

Truthfully, they could easily turn the old ESPN Zone into a sweet series of Disney-themed escape rooms.

 

[Phroobar]

It's almost as if some of the current crop of "Imagineers" have never actually visited a theme park in the real world and have no clue how actual guests behave... or what guests really want from a theme park visit.
(edit)
There are times I think the land was designed by people whose only previous projects were themed "Escape Rooms" or "Mystery Parties" for small groups of spoiled rich people.

Obviously this current crop of "Imagineers" like to get sloshed based on the number of micro breweries and bars they keep building.

 

[Snow Queen]

Truthfully, they could easily turn the old ESPN Zone into a sweet series of Disney-themed escape rooms.

You know what... that would probably be the only time I was interested in doing an escape room.

 

[Phroobar]

You know what... that would probably be the only time I was interested in doing an escape room.

You are held prisoner by a Disney villain. You have to escape her layer.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

It's a no-brainer to greenlight more booze establishments for profits. But it does also reveal a shocking lack of integrity by the higher-ups. I still don't think booze should be in the Magic Kingdoms.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Bad design, blah, blah, blah. I actually really like the detailed doorways and passages. Confusing for newbie guests? Sure, but Main Street has a few of the same issues. Toontown is another one.

The Kylo Ren “show” really needs to be a show. Stunts, 50 stormtroopers and maybe a public execution.

 

[FerretAfros]

There's a difference between "immersion" and "stupidity":

"As we pointed out last week, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the only land at Disneyland which doesn’t have entry signage. You see guests with maps trying to find the land and we are told that next to “Where’s the nearest bathroom,” “How do I get to Star Wars Land” is the next most asked thing of most Security and Custodial cast members."

"There are many doors to empty spaces in Star Wars land. Since most of the land requires a bit of trial and error to figure out which doors reveal hidden shops (such as Dok-Ondar’s or the Droid Depot) and which are dead ends, some doors now have trash cans in front of them so guests won’t be so confused.

- MiceChat

If you're paying customers don't know where your new ride is or what doors open, you're failing theme park 101.

This sounds very similar to the early days of DAK, where the designers wanted to encourage guests to slow down, get off the beaten path, and look for the details and animal exhibits along the way. In an effort to make it feel more real, they intentionally avoided the traditional subliminal indicators of where the main destinations were. Instead of guests finding surprise discoveries scattered around, they got frustrated by the backtracking, dead ends, and aimless wandering.

And how did it work out? They had to go back and add tons of wayfinding signage all over the park. These signs go beyond the occasional discreet placard pointing the way to another land, and instead have prominent signage for specific attractions, restrooms, and restaurants throughout the park.

Because they were added due to guest complaints after the fact, they intentionally stand out from their surroundings, rather than blend in an area-appropriate way. In a park known for its wide variety of shapes, textures, and colors, these same red rectangular signs were added indiscriminately throughout the various lands. Ironically, perhaps more than any intentional design feature, these signs are the repeating element that ties the entire park together

There's even a pair of oversized toucans pointing the way to the park exit, which is invisible behind the lush Oasis exhibits. Most theme parks are like casinos, trying to keep visitors in place for as long as possible, but this one has neon-colored signs pointing the way out. (For what it's worth, I believe these were actually part of the original design)

When they added Pandora a couple years ago, once again the designers tried to outsmart themselves, and created a twisting network of paths with no clear destination. Even the attraction entrances were designed without mentioning the name of the attraction itself, just signs indicating standby and FP. But within weeks, the operations team had to add "temporary" mobile signs scattered around the land, directing the way to common destinations. Years later, these "temporary" signs are still in place, with no permanent solution in sight.

The only other location I can think of with similar signage is in TDS's Lost River Delta, on the path between Port Discovery and the Indiana Jones entrance. Unlike these intentionally-confusing layouts, that's just a linear corridor of about 200 yards with no meaningful structures along the way, only a small meet & greet that was added a few years after park opening. Instead of trying to make order out of chaos, the signs there are simply intended to reassure guests that the wide-but-meandering pathway continues on to the rest of the park.

The false doorways and alien text in Galaxy's Edge take this all a step further, purposefully introducing elements that (at best) have no meaning to park guests or (at worst) are intentionally misleading. These are the types of flaws that annoy me the most from WDI, because they aren't due to financial, technical, or physical constraints: they're entirely based on the design team trying too hard to be clever and not understanding how their product fundamentally works. Yes, they should keep pushing the limits of what we expect to find in a theme park, but they still need to make it a user-friendly experience. In so many ways in recent years, they've proven repeatedly that they just don't know how these places operate on a daily basis.

 

[MisterPenguin]

They should definitely put up signs everywhere.

All in Aurebesch.

 

[Kram Sacul]

GE is so confusing it’s a wonder how anyone ever got out.

 

[180º]

GE is so confusing it’s a wonder how anyone ever got out.

Actually, they’re still there. A growing slave labor force in Rise of the Resistance, repeatedly digging up and resurfacing the floor until the ride finally works.