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

[TP2000]

I had a thought earlier this evening... Disney talks "immersion" yet you can't touch a single ship (the MF:SR *ride* notwithstanding). They're all behind gates, faux walls or up high. Where's the connection? It's like walking around a Star Wars museum, not an immersive land.

I had the same thought when I spent the evening in Star Wars Land.

In their defense, you do have to take certain precautions and design decisions to deal with 50,000 people per day wandering through the land. That's totally understandable.

But it's so blatantly obvious that everything is behind fences and barriers and off limits in Star Wars Land. Then when you add in the fact that almost everything is static and unmoving, the end result is a land that feels oddly sterile and lifeless to walk through. It's like an elaborate department store window display, but completely frozen.

Bright Suns!

 

[monothingie]

So I’m sitting here in the United lounge at MCO waiting for my flight so I just wanted to throw my thoughts about SWGE out.

The land itself is stunning, the focus on details and sight lines surpasses Pandora. The scale of everything is perfect from virtually all angles. I didn’t particularly miss back ground music, I actually enjoyed the transition music into SWGE. I made it w point to only enter SWGE via Grand. The transition and reveal gave me goosebumps each time. The number of streetmosphere performers was was more than I expected. Lots of SW characters all over the place. Storm Troopers on rooftops and mingling was great. I must add the time to visit the land is at night. Totally different vibe and feel. Much better.

The shops were good. There were a lot of them, but they were often too crowded to explore fully. I did do the droid depot and we got two droids. I had a 530 reservation but they were dead and took us at 1230. The building process is cool and based on what the droids are capable of $99 isn’t bad. I didn’t do the lightsaber because I had no interest.

Food was mediocre at best. The QS was in a word Bleh. Just a play on everything else you get at a theme park qs. The milk stand was nicely done, but the actual “milk” was flavorless. The only way I enjoyed it was having the adult versions. Blue with rum is the way to give it some kick and flavor. Ogas was cool but not worth a second trip. (I canceled my second ADR). Getting in with an ADR was painless and the wait staff were fantastic. Drinks were interesting. The fuzzy tauntaun will surprise you. (It’s a flour based mixture which gives you the zing)

Falcon was a mixed bag. I rode it three times each as a different position and my attitude about the ride changed depending on the role. Thanks to no FP wait times posted for 50-70 minutes were always 1/3 to 1/2 the posted wait. I really enjoyed the queue. Very well done. I’m mixed about the comedic voice overs. While I enjoyed the humor it was very cutesy and I don’t know how well it meshed with such a serious land. But Hondos character always brought a sense of lightheartedness. The ride set pieces and vehicle was fantastic. The actual ride itself felt and looked like a console video game. So much possibility and so many millions of dollars and this was the best they could do with the graphics?

SR drags down what is an overall great expansion. It’s a shame that things were cut but that’s seems to be par for the course under the current regime. Overall it gets an incomplete because it’s not done yet.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

...It's like an elaborate department store window display, but completely frozen...

Bingo. One (later two) rides; everything else (14 stores/eateries IIRC) is for sale, be it food, drink or trinkets.

 

[Hawg G]

I had the same thought when I spent the evening in Star Wars Land.

In their defense, you do have to take certain precautions and design decisions to deal with 50,000 people per day wandering through the land. That's totally understandable.

But it's so blatantly obvious that everything is behind fences and barriers and off limits in Star Wars Land. Then when you add in the fact that almost everything is static and unmoving, the end result is a land that feels oddly sterile and lifeless to walk through. It's like an elaborate department store window display, but completely frozen.

Bright Suns!

You can walk right up to Hogwarts Express and the NIght Bus, or whatever it's called.

 

[DKampy]

Bingo. One (later two) rides; everything else (14 stores/eateries IIRC) is for sale, be it food, drink or trinkets.

Have never been, but how is that different from the Harry Potter lands,..a couple of rides and stores/eateries, That seems to be the trend in theme park lands.

 

[Mickeyboof]

Have never been, but how is that different from the Harry Potter lands,..a couple of rides and stores/eateries, That seems to be the trend in theme park lands.

Quality, integrity, narrative and passion is the difference.

 

[TalkingHead]

Have never been, but how is that different from the Harry Potter lands,..a couple of rides and stores/eateries, That seems to be the trend in theme park lands.

The Potter lands do have live entertainment and Ollivanders, the wand store, has a type of show that doesn’t involve an upcharge. The money exchange in Diagon is a kind of additional interaction for guests.

The shop windows in the Potter lands have always seemed like the most underrated part of the lands. I remember hearing that Tony Baxter was photographing each of them when he visited.

I’m surprised that Disney didn’t come up with something comparable for Star Wars. Imagine windows looking in on droid shops with an alien shopkeeper asleep behind the counter. That’s the sort of thing I really thought would equal or surpass the Potter atmosphere.

 

[Kram Sacul]

I had the same thought when I spent the evening in Star Wars Land.

In their defense, you do have to take certain precautions and design decisions to deal with 50,000 people per day wandering through the land. That's totally understandable.

But it's so blatantly obvious that everything is behind fences and barriers and off limits in Star Wars Land. Then when you add in the fact that almost everything is static and unmoving, the end result is a land that feels oddly sterile and lifeless to walk through. It's like an elaborate department store window display, but completely frozen.

Bright Suns!

You mean you don’t erect a little fence when you park your Tesla?

The ships and droids behind fences are definitely because of the sad reality of crowd concerns. I can just imagine people climbing over everything and the riff raff etching their initials into the paneling. Also people bumping their heads underneath the Falcon.

Bright Suns. Deal with it.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

I had the same thought when I spent the evening in Star Wars Land.

In their defense, you do have to take certain precautions and design decisions to deal with 50,000 people per day wandering through the land. That's totally understandable.

But it's so blatantly obvious that everything is behind fences and barriers and off limits in Star Wars Land. Then when you add in the fact that almost everything is static and unmoving, the end result is a land that feels oddly sterile and lifeless to walk through. It's like an elaborate department store window display, but completely frozen.

Bright Suns!

Yet they advertise the ride with no fence around the falcon and storm troopers and aliens walking by even a Hammer head alien. This is the most blatant case of false advertising since my lawsuit against the filmmakers of THE NEVER ENDING STORY

 

[Hawg G]

Yet they advertise the ride with no fence around the falcon and storm troopers and aliens walking by even a Hammer head alien. This is the most blatant case of false advertising since my lawsuit against the filmmakers of THE NEVER ENDING STORY

Yeah, doing some of the promotional stuff before the fence was around the MF was a bit slimy, IMHO. Makes you wonder if it was a last minute addition.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So I’m sitting here in the United lounge at MCO waiting for my flight so I just wanted to throw my thoughts about SWGE out.

The land itself is stunning, the focus on details and sight lines surpasses Pandora. The scale of everything is perfect from virtually all angles. I didn’t particularly miss back ground music, I actually enjoyed the transition music into SWGE. I made it w point to only enter SWGE via Grand. The transition and reveal gave me goosebumps each time. The number of streetmosphere performers was was more than I expected. Lots of SW characters all over the place. Storm Troopers on rooftops and mingling was great. I must add the time to visit the land is at night. Totally different vibe and feel. Much better.

The shops were good. There were a lot of them, but they were often too crowded to explore fully. I did do the droid depot and we got two droids. I had a 530 reservation but they were dead and took us at 1230. The building process is cool and based on what the droids are capable of $99 isn’t bad. I didn’t do the lightsaber because I had no interest.

Food was mediocre at best. The QS was in a word Bleh. Just a play on everything else you get at a theme park qs. The milk stand was nicely done, but the actual “milk” was flavorless. The only way I enjoyed it was having the adult versions. Blue with rum is the way to give it some kick and flavor. Ogas was cool but not worth a second trip. (I canceled my second ADR). Getting in with an ADR was painless and the wait staff were fantastic. Drinks were interesting. The fuzzy tauntaun will surprise you. (It’s a flour based mixture which gives you the zing)

Falcon was a mixed bag. I rode it three times each as a different position and my attitude about the ride changed depending on the role. Thanks to no FP wait times posted for 50-70 minutes were always 1/3 to 1/2 the posted wait. I really enjoyed the queue. Very well done. I’m mixed about the comedic voice overs. While I enjoyed the humor it was very cutesy and I don’t know how well it meshed with such a serious land. But Hondos character always brought a sense of lightheartedness. The ride set pieces and vehicle was fantastic. The actual ride itself felt and looked like a console video game. So much possibility and so many millions of dollars and this was the best they could do with the graphics?

SR drags down what is an overall great expansion. It’s a shame that things were cut but that’s seems to be par for the course under the current regime. Overall it gets an incomplete because it’s not done yet.

So this type of review is common. You’re telling me what’s “good”...but overall not convincing me it’s a fun place

(Full disclaimer: I had the same overall take in Anaheim...I just didn’t partake of the upsells in general because they haven’t given me a reason to due to IP mismanagement)

Have never been, but how is that different from the Harry Potter lands,..a couple of rides and stores/eateries, That seems to be the trend in theme park lands.

Apparently...giving people what stokes their imagination in the books/movies actually worked there?

Who knew?

(Again...it’s an IP problem)

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You mean you don’t erect a little fence when you park your Tesla?

The ships and droids behind fences are definitely because of the sad reality of crowd concerns. I can just imagine people climbing over everything and the riff raff etching their initials into the paneling. Also people bumping their heads underneath the Falcon.

Bright Suns. Deal with it.

In 30+ years in Disney parks...I’ve still yet to encounter the legendary “riff raff”

So If they were to have those types of issues...they could go deep into the Disney archives (I think it’s the Wells building) and unearth this concept called “an operational budget”. It’s crazy...but effective.

 

[monothingie]

So this type of review is common. You’re telling me what’s “good”...but overall not convincing me it’s a fun place

In its current incomplete state it is a fun place and very well done, but not something that I would specifically make a trip to WDW for.

Like opening up Pandora with only the Navi River Journey, or TSL with Swirling Saucers only.

ROTR will certainly help things, but expectations are very high and Disney has been known to disappoint by chopping stuff. But also remember WDW isn't just Star Wars. There are three other gates competing for your attention. Even with ROTR I really don't think its going to change the needle much after its initial debut.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In its current incomplete state it is a fun place and very well done, but not something that I would specifically make a trip to WDW for.

Like opening up Pandora with only the Navi River Journey, or TSL with Swirling Saucers only.

ROTR will certainly help things, but expectations are very high and Disney has been known to disappoint by chopping stuff. But also remember WDW isn't just Star Wars. There are three other gates competing for your attention. Even with ROTR I really don't think its going to change the needle much after its initial debut.

ROTR...I love how we have acronyms for things before they are built ...is a ride. One ride. Maybe it’s as good as mystic manor?

Will that change the vibe of the place? Make the chosen locale feel less mundane?

Don’t know...but the spin the minute they shut down the virtual queue in Disneyland has been consistent on this one ride...I’ll give it that. “Consistency”

I still think...and this I can’t shake now almost 2 months later...is that it’s a poor draw on the IP.

And since life is all about “equilibrium”...the fact the avatar IP didn’t really matter to the build,it’s flip on this one.

 

[Stevie Amsterdam]

The ships and droids behind fences are definitely because of the sad reality of crowd concerns. I can just imagine people climbing over everything [...]

Like these nice folks, as seen in DLP? Smh...

Fences aren't always a bad thing. They are, unfortunately, a necessity in managing (the lack of) guest behavior.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Like these nice folks, as seen in DLP? Smh...

Fences aren't always a bad thing. They are, unfortunately, a necessity in managing (the lack of) guest behavior.

So you're comparing a different demographic of people in a foreign country at a different park (and clearly a failure of the CMs)... But beyond that, there's a difference between landscaping and a prop. Set up a sacrificial one that people can have their way with and take selfies next to.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Like these nice folks, as seen in DLP? Smh...

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Fences aren't always a bad thing. They are, unfortunately, a necessity in managing (the lack of) guest behavior.

Can you show me the pictures just after? Where everything looks the same as it did before they showed up?

That doesn’t eliminate the concept I’m advocating: pay US minimum wage (or less...the dirty little secret) to watch your spaces

 

[Timmay]

So this type of review is common. You’re telling me what’s “good”...but overall not convincing me it’s a fun place

(Full disclaimer: I had the same overall take in Anaheim...I just didn’t partake of the upsells in general because they haven’t given me a reason to due to IP mismanagement)

Apparently...giving people what stokes their imagination in the books/movies actually worked there?

Who knew?

(Again...it’s an IP problem)

How can anyone be convinced about something being fun...which is completely subjective in nature? Also, given your opinion is clearly made up, what point is there to it.

The comparison to the HP areas is always going to fail for a clearly defined and fundamental reason. The HP series has less than a handful of locations, and each are very carefully and painstakingly detailed in the books. They become as alive and intricate as the characters themselves. Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade then become iconic because of this. It’s easy to reproduce three or four places that have had such attention to descriptive detail. There is no imagination involved for the visitor. The details have already been set for them.

The same can’t be said for the SW locations. First, they dwarf the HP locations is size and number, and second the movies do not go into nearly the descriptive detail of these locations. How is it possible to include all of these in a single land in a single park. I enjoyed SWGE a lot...but remember it is all completely subjective. It’s not objective at all. Let’s stop making out that it is.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

How can anyone be convinced about something being fun...which is completely subjective in nature? Also, given your opinion is clearly made up, what point is there to it.

The comparison to the HP areas is always going to fail for a clearly defined and fundamental reason. The HP series has less than a handful of locations, and each are very carefully and painstakingly detailed in the books. They become as alive and intricate as the characters themselves. Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade then become iconic because of this. It’s easy to reproduce three or four places that have had such attention to descriptive detail. There is no imagination involved for the visitor. The details have already been set for them.

The same can’t be said for the SW locations. First, they dwarf the HP locations is size and number, and second the movies do not go into nearly the descriptive detail of these locations. How is it possible to include all of these in a single land in a single park. I enjoyed SWGE a lot...but remember it is all completely subjective. It’s not objective at all. Let’s stop making out that it is.

Let’s back up...what in the HELL are you talking about??

You win the prize for today...do you want to read that again?

 

[Timmay]

Let’s back up...what in the HELL are you talking about??

You win the prize for today...do you want to read that again?

So you’re saying your mind isn’t made up as to it being fun or not?

I didn’t make any indication of how you personally felt about it, just that trying to convince someone on the subjective topic of fun is fruitless.