See, this is a perfect example of how WDI deserves some of the blame for this.
The WDI execs spent way too much time in a Glendale conference room three years ago and decided by decree that whatever "trilogy" Boba Fett is from that he can't exist on Batuu in whatever timeframe or trilogy Batuu is in.
So now you've got this nice family from British Columbia who go to Disneyland (substitute them with a nice family from Ontario for WDW) and Dad and the kids are excited to see Boba Fett in Tomorrowland. So they get their picture taken with him, standing in front of a generic mod ice cream stand with the Mickey Mouse bags hanging from the side. And the family loves the photo, high fives Boba Fett, and then wanders over to ride the Finding Nemo Submarines. Yay! Fun!
Because somehow that actual real-world scenario playing out daily for paying Disneyland customers is better than having them pose for that same photo with Boba Fett in front of
this Billion Dollar backdrop they just built????
That's the part where WDI deserves some of the blame here. The WDI execs overthought this, they got way too literal and nit picky. All the Star Wars characters should be found in the Star Wars Land they just built. If Boba Fett is cool enough to be on the Disneyland and WDW payrolls, he needs to be in Star Wars Land. There's nothing to be gained for the Disney Parks "brand" or overall "experience" by having the Canadian family pose with Boba Fett in front of the Mickey Mouse ice cream cart when they could be posed in front of the cliffs of Batuu instead.
At some point, someone of authority in Burbank needs to drive over to Glendale and kick out all of those Imagineers from their cushy conference rooms with the catered quinoa bowls and artisanal teas.
Make them go spend a week at Disneyland and WDW and stand there and talk to actual customers. Hang out in the crummy cafeteria with the CM's eating stale chicken nuggets instead of quinoa bowls and pick their brains. Learn how a theme park actually works and what theme park customers actually want.
WDI is treating Batuu as if all the entertainment wasn't cut from the budget and as if it's the Star Wars version of Colonial Williamsburg, and that's a huge mistake. They have completely overthought this and are so far out of touch with their own consumers and their own company's operational standards that the Star Wars Land experience is suffering and the overall Disney Parks brand is being damaged. That's just stupid of WDI to not know that.
