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

[TalkingHead]

Indeed. It gave me a real appreciation of the detail and design. It’s technically a stunning accomplishment. That’s what makes the overall feel more baffling.

Do you think the details don’t translate because the land needs more kinetic action to sell them?

And what were your feelings on the area music/soundtrack?

 

[The_Jobu]

Indeed. It gave me a real appreciation of the detail and design. It’s technically a stunning accomplishment. That’s what makes the overall feel more baffling.

Does this mean we will soon see Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run 2019 by Martin? ; )

 

[marni1971]

And what were your feelings on the area music/soundtrack?

Mixed. The spot fx work. More so when someone triggers additional audio. Music everywhere wouldn’t have worked IMHO. But as a transition I think it would benefit some of the deader areas (especially around the berm and Rise entrance)

 

[Stripes]

Its big. As a design the buildings look great. Huge amount of detail. As a land it’s odd. The rise area is almost like it is not part of the land. This isn’t helped by the landscaped berm; it gives the whole area an unfinished feeling. You go from elaborately detailed alleyways to a wasteland with lamp posts.

Definitely. Walking through it I had the conscious thought that they did this because they expect long lines and wanted to use a lot of the space as overflow queue.

As I said we found the buildings to be hugely detailed inside and out. We walked around, looked inside and out, walked the market area and yes, it’s a market. No, they didn’t get one dime from us. I felt strangely unaffected by being in Star Wars Land. I had no connection. I was a huge fan as a kid, and still am to a certain degree. Maybe it’s IP fatigue. Maybe it’s because it’s the Disney version and not the “real” version. We were also lucky to be toured by someone from Glendale who worked on the majority of the land and an gained interesting insight into it and it’s details.

I feel like music here would go a long way here. I know you've said you don't think music would've worked. I encourage you to watch this video. In my opinion, the addition of music solidifies the land as "Star Wars."

some of the bigger issues run deeper

Would you mind elaborating on some of these? Personally, I think the Disneyland version has a very drab color scheme.

DHS:

DL:

We were also lucky to be toured by someone from Glendale who worked on the majority of the land and an gained interesting insight into it and it’s details.

Did your tour guide say anything about shows or roaming droids/drones?

 

[marni1971]

Would you mind elaborating on some of these?

Chosen timeframe, lack of OT, lack of... real attractions. Too many stores vs not enough to actually do.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

I felt strangely unaffected by being in Star Wars Land. I had no connection. I was a huge fan as a kid, and still am to a certain degree. Maybe it’s IP fatigue. Maybe it’s because it’s the Disney version and not the “real” version.

Interesting to hear. Do you think you would still feel this way if they kept in elements of the land that were cut from the budget or does the current state of the IP leave too much of a bad taste in your mouth for any improvements to significantly overcome?

 

[Stripes]

Too many stores vs not enough to actually do.

Do you think the missing interactivity would help to address this? I hope that some of this missing interactivity includes the droids/drones. Interacting with the roaming droids would be really cool. I also hope that some of this interactivity is separate from the app, and requires some physical interaction.

Obviously shows would help a lot as well.

 

[marni1971]

Interesting to hear. Do you think you would still feel this way if they kept in elements of the land that were cut from the budget or does the current state of the IP leave too much of a bad taste in your mouth for any improvements to significantly overcome?

Do you think the missing interactivity would help to address this? I hope that some of this missing interactivity includes the droids/drones. Interacting with the roaming droids would be really cool. I also hope that some of this interactivity is separate from the app, and requires some physical interaction.

Obviously shows would help a lot as well.

I really don’t know. I felt disappointment having followed this project for several years. You all know how I bigged it up. I was surprised. Personally droids or similar wouldn’t be enough for me. I want my Star Wars. And I want a land that feels “right”. We discussed this for days after the initial visit (we as in friends with experience in theme park operations) and we all struggled to put our fingers on “it”. The only certainty is we’re not the only ones to feel the same. I really hope a fix can be found. Enough blood sweat and tears went into it, the technicalities are stunning, but right now it’s certainly less than the sum of its parts.

 

[Stripes]

I really don’t know. I felt disappointment having followed this project for several years. You all know how I bigged it up. I was surprised. Personally droids or similar wouldn’t be enough for me. I want my Star Wars. And I want a land that feels “right”. We discussed this for days after the initial visit (we as in friends with experience in theme park operations) and we all struggled to put our fingers on “it”. The only certainty is we’re not the only ones to feel the same. I really hope a fix can be found. Enough blood sweat and tears went into it, the technicalities are stunning, but right now it’s certainly less than the sum of its parts.

Having been to the Anaheim version too, I definitely agree that the land is less than the sum of its parts. That’s a very apt description. Something does not feel right about the land and yet it’s very hard to put your finger on exactly what it is.

 

[bclane]

I really don’t know. I felt disappointment having followed this project for several years. You all know how I bigged it up. I was surprised. Personally droids or similar wouldn’t be enough for me. I want my Star Wars. And I want a land that feels “right”. We discussed this for days after the initial visit (we as in friends with experience in theme park operations) and we all struggled to put our fingers on “it”. The only certainty is we’re not the only ones to feel the same. I really hope a fix can be found. Enough blood sweat and tears went into it, the technicalities are stunning, but right now it’s certainly less than the sum of its parts.

Were you able to discuss your disappointment and offer suggestions with your Disney contacts and/or the tour guide that took you around? If so, I'm wondering how receptive they were to it.

 

[marni1971]

Were you able to discuss your disappointment and offer suggestions with your Disney contacts and/or the tour guide that took you around? If so, I'm wondering how receptive they were to it.

Nope. It was a strictly informal look at some of the lands hidden details and design objectives. I wouldn’t have presumed to criticise it to those who gave up their time for me. Besides, they’re not the ones who make the decisions.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Disclaimer; this is my view of the Anaheim version but I was asked to post in both forums.

Its big. As a design the buildings look great. Huge amount of detail. As a land it’s odd. The rise area is almost like it is not part of the land. This isn’t helped by the landscaped berm; it gives the whole area an unfinished feeling. You go from elaborately detailed alleyways to a wasteland with lamp posts.

As I said we found the buildings to be hugely detailed inside and out. We walked around, looked inside and out, walked the market area and yes, it’s a market. No, they didn’t get one dime from us. I felt strangely unaffected by being in Star Wars Land. I had no connection. I was a huge fan as a kid, and still am to a certain degree. Maybe it’s IP fatigue. Maybe it’s because it’s the Disney version and not the “real” version. We were also lucky to be toured by someone from Glendale who worked on the majority of the land and an gained interesting insight into it and it’s details.

The Falcon ride... again, it’a big. Again, I felt disconnected. It’s the Disney version. We wanted to be mentored by Han Solo and have Vader chasing us. Again, detail was everywhere but to what end? We felt the overall experience to be lacklustre. The boarding cards weren’t explained. The plot was confusing (and a Disney plot). I was a pilot and got lucky; other party members were sat further back and complained of the view (or lack of). My biggest gripe aside from plot was the projection system. It’s too dark. On Star Tours anything naturally lit (like a planets surface) is blindingly bright. On this it’s muddling mediocre. It all seemed false, like the projection it is. And I know how it works and how complex the system is, this isn’t just an uninformed comment. Explosions should be blinding and crisp. They just looked like being projected by a worn out projector. Overall I expected more (and Ive said on these boards in the past). The queue was a D. The ride... a D. Just. Which came as a surprise knowing the engineering complexities behind it. We had no desire to ride again, even when the wait time was consistently lower than the parks E tickets.

Overall, it felt like a land trying to please to hard. Not enough to actually do beyond the fluff. Rise will go some way to remedy this (it’s virtually ready; the dates are a corporate decision) but some of the bigger issues run deeper. We ended up visiting the land more to use it as a path from Frontierland to Critter Country more than we did to go in it.

Well that was disappointing. I’ve been to the DL version of GE a few times and probably had the opposite experience of you each time. Most likely because I’m not bothered by the sequel trilogy timeline or that it’s a “Disney version”. At least we can agree the scale and detail in the land is top notch. Did you go into Dok Ondar’s? Did you see the land at night?

I still appreciate your thoughts.

 

[marni1971]

At least we can agree the scale and detail in the land is top notch. Did you go into Dok Ondar’s? Did you see the land at night?

I still appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you. It is, I don’t know, and yes. Night lighting of the built area is stunning. Did you know there is a two and a half hour long moon lighting effect?

 

[Kram Sacul]

Thank you. It is, I don’t know, and yes. Night lighting of the built area is stunning. Did you know there is a two and a half hour long moon lighting effect?

Yes, I’ve heard that the lighting has a transition. It’s really pretty. I’m assuming DHS has the same thing.

 

[Donaldfan1934]

I really don’t know. I felt disappointment having followed this project for several years. You all know how I bigged it up. I was surprised. Personally droids or similar wouldn’t be enough for me. I want my Star Wars. And I want a land that feels “right”. We discussed this for days after the initial visit (we as in friends with experience in theme park operations) and we all struggled to put our fingers on “it”. The only certainty is we’re not the only ones to feel the same. I really hope a fix can be found. Enough blood sweat and tears went into it, the technicalities are stunning, but right now it’s certainly less than the sum of its parts.

I hope they’re able to find a fix too, but the fact that nobody has been able to narrow down what exactly is wrong with the land is a bit concerning to me. It makes me concerned that Disney will ultimately learn the wrong lesson from all this.

Although I have yet to see the land for myself, I get the sense that outside of the connection to the current slate of films, which Disney couldn’t have anticipated being much of a problem until the land well into construction on both coasts, the problem is not so much what they did do, but what they didn’t do. If Disney somehow renders the entire conceit of what the Imagineers did with Batuu a failure rather than look for ways to improve upon what most agree are good bones, the future of the land, as well as the parks as a whole, will be a bit more bleak for the foreseeable future.

 

[Kate F]

First results when I type in Galaxy’s Edge on YT:

 

[SparkyMG]

First results when I type in Galaxy’s Edge on YT:
View attachment 416531

YT is personalizing your search results based on what you've previously viewed. When I search on YT, I get different results with plenty of positive reviews.

 

[Steph15251]

Chosen timeframe, lack of OT, lack of... real attractions. Too many stores vs not enough to actually do.

I feel they need to add a show and a 3rd ride nothing too big just another ride and a TSR ,I feel they have the room.

 

[planodisney]

Having been to the Anaheim version too, I definitely agree that the land is less than the sum of its parts. That’s a very apt description. Something does not feel right about the land and yet it’s very hard to put your finger on exactly what it is.

The biggest part of what doesn’t feel right is that there just isn’t enough fun stuff to do. That’s what theme parks are supposed to be. FUN. ROTR will go a long way in addressing this and hopefully some additions over time.
As someone who just visited GE in September, how anyone could be disappointed with the the theming, architecture, structural design is beyond my comprehension. My family and I were blown away. However we had more fun in Toy Stiry because there was simply more to do. Can’t wait to visit after ROTR opens and pumps up that area of the park with energy.

 

[Kram Sacul]

The biggest part of what doesn’t feel right is that there just isn’t enough fun stuff to do. That’s what theme parks are supposed to be. FUN. ROTR will go a long way in addressing this and hopefully some additions over time.
As someone who just visited GE in September, how anyone could be disappointed with the the theming, architecture, structural design is beyond my comprehension. My family and I were blown away. However we had more fun in Toy Stiry because there was simply more to do. Can’t wait to visit after ROTR opens and pumps up that area of the park with energy.

At this point GE is a lot like DHS not too long ago. Lots of little details and atmosphere to look at but since there’s only going to be two rides it can only keep you in the land for so long. Hopefully more things get added in time like shows. No lame spinners though.