News Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opening day reports - Disney's Hollywood Studios

[danlb_2000]

Finally visited Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge today...

First up, the grand entrance is VERY underwhelming. Not Star Warsy at all, just rocks, and some faint music.

Once you get in further and saw a Gonk droid, and X- Wing, you felt it a bit, but still not much. The Falcon wa really cool, but ust seemed like it was out of place in an otherwise non Star Wars area.

I did luck on to what I think was about as much interaction as you could get. Chewie chose me to help him. Then got 5 other guys. Ultimately we found out it was because we were tall and had facial hair, and could be mistaken for Wookiee’s. And the First Order was after Wookiees. The Chewie character was very good, especially the voice. We had a contest to be the most like a Wookiee, and a I tied with another guy as winner. We won nothing, which was a let down. A cool coin or something would have been awesome.

Before the final battle, Rey came over and told me to fluff my hair out (I have a lot). She had the perfect voice and look. Both charactera were quite good, but the whole thing was ultimately pointless.

HOWEVER, later on, an hour later, 2 Stormtroopers walk by and one came up to me, asking if I was a Rebel, and was helping Wookiees. I said I had not hugged any Wookiees today ( a lie), and he walked on. I’m sure it was a coincidence, but for me, the whole “you will be tracked” sorta was true. It was sorta neat, but didn’t help the other problems.

The stores, I just looked in some, I wasn’t planning on spending money, so didn’t tempt myself. I did buy a Coke detonator.

Blue Milk: drank out of a screen authentic Tupperware cup I brought. It smelled and tasted “cheap”. Very artificial, not much flavor. Not “bad”, just not something I’d pay $1 an ounce for likely ever again. Especially since I’m not sure there is a single place to sit down in all of Batuu.

Smugglers Run: my wife has an assistance pass, and we were just let in, no wait. The Hondo AA is top notch, but since his face is so non human, it’s easy to pull off. His movements as a whole were good. I’m not a huge fan of the new trend of putting AAs in queues, not rides, but he is obviously top of he line, as he should be for this ride.

I was amazingly given a Pilot card, as was my three year old daughter. My wife got gunner. We went in to the chess room, and NO ONE was at the table. No interest. I went over for a quick video and pics, and got griped at for holding up my group. We were in there like 30 seconds. What’s the point? No wonder no one was at it, they weren’t given time. Remember when the insiders said we’d have time to enjoy the area as just our small group?

The jerk behind me was a backseat driver, telling me to pay attention to piloting, not videoing me and my family, I would have felt bad, if I noticed ANY connection between my lever moving and the ship movements. I know both jumps to warp speed happened at the instant I started moving the lever, not after I’d said “punch it Chewie”, and pulled it.

The interactive portion was just bad all around. We did harpoon the second stupid container, but lost it. We ended up owing money, likely due to my daughter. And she said we broke the ship, seeing the sparking and flashing, as we walked out what was ultimately the INSANELY long exit.

Would it be fun with 5 friends, yelling out quotes? Absolutely. But for the other 99.9% of riders, it is nothing more than a failure. The screen LOOKS like a screen. That’s why everyone likes FoP, it looks real, not like a screen. I don’t understand why they haven’t turned up the brightness, it’s an obvious issue. As a so called E ticket, it is definitely less impressive than StarTours 2, and about on par with the Original. Even In the pilot seat, the screen didn’t seem to totally envelop you, and who was the moron who didn’t put anti glare coating on the cockpit glass?

My wife, not a huge SW fan asked “how much did they spend on this” after riding.

Rise of the Resistance is going to have to be the mother of all E tickets to save this land.

I liked the Grand Ave entrance. I think the TSL entrance is much worse, and has some seriously bad visual intrusions from backstage.

 

[UNCgolf]

Theed is an exception, but it’s basically European neoclassical architecture that doesn’t feel like Star Wars at all. And I question whether there is any interest among Star Wars fans to visit said city.

I said it in another thread, but it's a shame that all the visually interesting planets are in the prequels. I think Theed would have been a MUCH better choice (as would Coruscant, although I don't know if it would have been possible to do it justice without spending far more money). It would have the visual impact that most other possibilities don't. There is still a significant difference between Tatooine and Batuu, though -- sure, they would have looked somewhat similar, but Tatooine has the benefit of a setting that was actually in the movies with specific iconic locations.

I'm not a fan of the prequels, but I don't think that matters for something like Star Wars land -- you just want the place to be interesting. And Theed would have been far more interesting for non-Star Wars fans the way Pandora is still interesting for people who do not care about Avatar in the slightest.

They also could have just created a new location with actual visual interest.

 

[The_Jobu]

Idk if this is an unpopular or even correct opinion but I think that if it was a boy instead of a girl saying "I waited my whole life for this" in the Falcon the ad would be more effective. Fact of the matter is that more boys than girls like Star Wars.

That goes against all their efforts to change those demographics however.

 

[Kram Sacul]

So it looks like to you, if someone doesn't give an overwhelming positive review of the land then they should not be taken seriously.

A review that isn’t just a wall of misery would help a lot with credibility.

 

[danlb_2000]

A review that isn’t just a wall of misery would help a lot with credibility.

Which proves my point, you are only looking for positive reviews. I think a well thought out negative review has just as much credibility as a positive one. IMHO, a lot of the negative reviews are warranted.

 

[Jones14]

That goes against all their efforts to change those demographics however.

I think it’s more expand than change (small but important difference between the two). Star Wars is *already* cool to boys, so the goal now is to extend that marketing to their sisters in the hopes that the parents will buy four tickets to the next movie instead of two.

You see the same logic in reverse with stuff like Frozen, which has Sven and Olaf running around in the trailers to help draw boys into the princess movie. The girls are already going to see it, but if you can pull in boys too you can get twice the profit from one product.

 

[The_Jobu]

I think it’s more expand than change (small but important difference between the two). Star Wars is *already* cool to boys, so the goal now is to extend that marketing to their sisters in the hopes that the parents will buy four tickets to the next movie instead of two.

You see the same logic in reverse with stuff like Frozen, which has Sven and Olaf running around in the trailers to help draw boys into the princess movie. The girls are already going to see it, but if you can pull in boys too you can get twice the profit from one product.

Expanding is still changing, but I hear your point. I feel a differentiation however between adding in a "prince" to sell an extra doll vs the noted political motives of Star Wars execs and creators. But this isn't the thread for that.

 

[Communicora]

Expanding the marketing perhaps, but girls have been a part of the Star Wars audience from the beginning. Princess Leia was an exciting character for girls like me.

 

[The_Jobu]

Expanding the marketing perhaps, but girls have been a part of the Star Wars audience from the beginning. Princess Leia was an exciting character for girls like me.

Quite so. She was an exiting character for boys like me as well. There's a set of sociological fallacies in the political push for "inclusion" that are at play behind the scenes that make some frustrated. I don't want to derail, but it's a substantial debate topic.

 

[Jones14]

Expanding the marketing perhaps, but girls have been a part of the Star Wars audience from the beginning. Princess Leia was an exciting character for girls like me.

Oh, absolutely; Leia changed the sci-fi game for women all by herself in terms of the actual content, but the marketing/toys/etc for younger audiences seemed squarely aimed at boys for the longest time.

To bring it back to the ad, I think the misstep isn’t in the gender, but in the age of the central character. It’d be much easier to sell “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this” if Mom or Dad were saying it instead.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

A review that isn’t just a wall of misery would help a lot with credibility.

Now it’s my turn:

Just Stop.

 

[wdisney9000]

https://people.com/parents/serena-williams-birthday-disney-world-star-wars-daughter-olympia/

Yeahhhh... Theyre not desperate at all to pump up Galxys Edge image/popularity.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I think it's interesting that many comment that Galaxy's Edge is "dull" but Hogsmeade never got this response despite a much duller color scheme.

But, I don't think this is hypocritical. I actually think it's a genuine feeling that is the result of a lack of auditory stimulation rather than visual.

Color scheme is part of it, but Hogsmeade recreated the familiar and prays on the previous emotions attached to that familiarity. I don't disagree with the creative choice of Batuu at all, but had they set the land in Tatooine it would at least have the emotional attachment component.

By no means am I advocating that recreating the known entity/environment is the only option. I definitely don't think that's always the case.

 

[RobWDW1971]

Color scheme is part of it, but Hogmeade recreated the familiar and prays on the previous emotions attached to that familiarity. I don't disagree with the creative choice of Batuu at all, but had they set the land in Tatooine it would at least have the emotional attachment component.

By no means am I advocating that recreating the known entity/environment is the only option. I definitely don't think that's always the case.

And it's such a strange argument as if Congress passed a law decreeing that any Star Wars lands must be set in any one location at all. They did this IMO simply to shamelessly copy the success of the two Harry Potter lands without even considering does the massive Star Wars universe and cast of characters fit into this concept.

The simple answer is they do not and it was a terrible fundamental creative choice to try to create this generic catch-all location as a specific time/place background for the non-existent characters.

I haven't seen many people complain about the execution and detail of the bombed out, beige concrete buildings and rocks, which are very interesting to look at on your first visit (after that, not so much).

The issue is the lack of emotion, characters from all eras, action, whimsy, fun, excitement, iconic music, and the actual population of Batuu.

Like it has been said before, they built a detailed Westworld movie set and then decided to not pay to build the robots that inhabit it.

THAT is why the land is a deserted, dull, depressing abandoned movie set with REALLY detailed bombed out buildings, broken droids, rusted equipment, big rocks, and a great looking Falcon.

But it will never be a "Star Wars" land without significant roaming aliens, droids, Jedi, bounty hunters, etc. It is just unfortunately a creative mess right now.

Til the Spires!

 

[ChrisFL]

 

[wdisney9000]

And it's such a strange argument as if Congress passed a law decreeing that any Star Wars lands must be set in any one location at all. They did this IMO simply to shamelessly copy the success of the two Harry Potter lands without even considering does the massive Star Wars universe and cast of characters fit into this concept.

The simple answer is they do not and it was a terrible fundamental creative choice to try to create this generic catch-all location as a specific time/place background for the non-existent characters.

I haven't seen many people complain about the execution and detail of the bombed out, beige concrete buildings and rocks, which are very interesting to look at on your first visit (after that, not so much).

The issue is the lack of emotion, characters from all eras, action, whimsy, fun, excitement, iconic music, and the actual population of Batuu.

Like it has been said before, they built a detailed Westworld movie set and then decided to not pay to build the robots that inhabit it.

THAT is why the land is a deserted, dull, depressing abandoned movie set with REALLY detailed bombed out buildings, broken droids, rusted equipment, big rocks, and a great looking Falcon.

But it will never be a "Star Wars" land without significant roaming aliens, droids, Jedi, bounty hunters, etc. It is just unfortunately a creative mess right now.

Til the Spires!

But you can use your smartphone to "hack" various features of the land, just like they did in the Star Wars movies!!! Oh wait ...

 

[trainplane3]

This has to be canon since the land is approved by Disney. I was expecting to see the MF blown up but being traded away for some ketchup and mustard in TRoS would be a twist no one would expect.

 

[MisterPenguin]

But they're *Force* Condiments!

 

[Kram Sacul]

Which proves my point, you are only looking for positive reviews. I think a well thought out negative review has just as much credibility as a positive one. IMHO, a lot of the negative reviews are warranted.

Wow, really? I’m pretty sure I’m looking for balanced reviews. The land has it’s issues and deserves flack for some missing elements but it’s very hard to believe someone that has nothing but negative things to say. It not only comes across as fake but fatiguing to read through(ie DL forum).

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Wow, really? I’m pretty sure I’m looking for balanced reviews. The land has it’s issues and deserves flack for some missing elements but it’s very hard to believe someone that has nothing but negative things to say. It not only comes across as fake but fatiguing to read through(ie DL forum).

So you’re setting the criteria of what an acceptable opinion is?

I get it...there’s trolling on BOTH ends of the spectrum.

But why call out the outliers? Too negative? We know...everyone does.

Just like adults using the word “magic” will cause tooth decay to the reader