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

[HauntedPirate]

If you think about it, this is such an exciting time for DHS. In a matter of like two years they have added not one, not two, not three, but FOUR high capacity, high quality, large-scale attractions that appeal to the masses. That's a very sizable capacity jump!

And they didn't have to remove anything to do it, it's MAGICAL!!!

Does Alien Swirling Saucers count as a "high capacity, high quality, large-scale attraction"? Asking for a friend.

 

[Spash007]

I can almost sense the disappointment in one or two on here that the day seems to have gone so well.

More so than that, it seems like people are just plain grumpy today across the board. I'm guessing a number of people woke upa bit too early this morning, and now are yelling at strangers on the internet

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And they didn't have to remove anything to do it, it's MAGICAL!!!

Does Alien Swirling Saucers count as a "high capacity, high quality, large-scale attraction"? Asking for a friend.

The only flaw in that theory is that 2 rides are not high capacity...and the MF is decent - not outstanding...

They also haven’t opened the resistance ride or the railway...so they cannot be labeled “high quality” as of yet.

The other 3 are not exactly slam dunks either...if we’re being really honest

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm counting Runaway Railway, RoR, MF, and the Toy Story Coaster. For those four major attractions (I'm not going to argue if all four are E's - I think they are to the majority of visitors), we traded in GMR and the Studio Tour which were high capacity but so unpopular they were never being utilized at high capacity. The net result is a ton of extra capacity that people want to fill.

So yeah...couple of flaws then.

 

[Spash007]

I’m glad it’s “gone well”...

But what has been proven. The wait times for both the land entry and the MF have fallen all
Day.

So here’s what I propose:
We wait to declare “success”
Until we see how it looks for a week? Say like the 3rd week of september...then we watch a week when the crowds pick up - day mid October - and see how it looks.

There aren’t a lot of people there right now -
I bet the storms have impacted it some - and the other parks appear to be light right now.

I'm torn between whether the falling wait times are a measure of success or failure. Increased wait times attributed to FP+ are a failure. Yet lower wait times are a failure too? Not goading you on, just something curious I've noticed, and also can see the argument for both. In this case, I'm willing to say that the boarding groups may have worked. It also could have been that the die hards that wanted to see it on opening day rushed to get there right away, while the average joe's all stayed out of dodge to avoid the crowds. That said, I'm also wondering what will happen in the coming weeks - there are so many other factors that come into play on opening day, especially before a hurricane, that it can't really be taken as a success or failure at this point.

 

[mergatroid]

I’m glad it’s “gone well”...

But what has been proven. The wait times for both the land entry and the MF have fallen all
Day.

So here’s what I propose:
We wait to declare “success”
Until we see how it looks for a week? Say like the 3rd week of september...then we watch a week when the crowds pick up - day mid October - and see how it looks.

There aren’t a lot of people there right now -
I bet the storms have impacted it some - and the other parks appear to be light right now.

None of that really bothers me, I'm more interested in enjoying it when we visit in two weeks. Of course the crowds will drop and then pick up when ROTR opens. Success to me is how much I enjoy it rather than the number of people in line on a Wednesday at 3:34pm in November.

Obviously numbers will dictate wait times and expansion ideas but they interest me less than how fun it is. The 'success' I saw today were videos of people getting excited as a group, cheering, laughing, bonding and getting excited as they anticipated the park opening. That to the visitor is what matters most, it was quite moving seeing hundreds of people cheering as they entered the land and is exactly what makes a day like today special.

Meanwhile there's a tiny minority who give the perception that they're desperate to spin today negatively or have a predetermined agenda but maybe I'm just reading it wrong?

 

[Clyde Birdbrain]

We walked in just after they started free flow. There is a long line snaking around corners for Smugglers Run, but listed wait was still only 120. As we were waiting for a PhotoPass (lots of those) another guest told us he just did MFSR single rider with only a 20 min wait. There are a lot of lines for stores, but we just walked into Docking Bay 7 and could order with no wait. Food was there in a few minutes and it was easy to find a table. We have a reservation for Oga’s in a little bit and we’ll try MFSR after that. Land looks amazing. Loving it so far.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm torn between whether the falling wait times are a measure of success or failure. Increased wait times attributed to FP+ are a failure. Yet lower wait times are a failure too? Not goading you on, just something curious I've noticed, and also can see the argument for both. In this case, I'm willing to say that the boarding groups may have worked. It also could have been that the die hards that wanted to see it on opening day rushed to get there right away, while the average joe's all stayed out of dodge to avoid the crowds. That said, I'm also wondering what will happen in the coming weeks - there are so many other factors that come into play on opening day, especially before a hurricane, that it can't really be taken as a success or failure at this point.

No I hear you.

Lots of jury deliberation on both Star Wars lands is needed.

As far as how to Judge success or failure: it’s complicated...
Disney wants increased profits and revenues...no matter what. They’d prefer higher attendance and high spending per guest. That’s easy.

For us...it’s hard to label because the prebooked ride system and upsells have completely screwed with how we used to judge satisfaction.

There’s no good answer to your questions

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We walked in just after they started free flow. There is a long line snaking around corners for Smugglers Run, but listed wait was still only 120. As we were waiting for a PhotoPass (lots of those) another guest told us he just did MFSR single rider with only a 20 min wait. There are a lot of lines for stores, but we just walked into Docking Bay 7 and could order with no wait. Food was there in a few minutes and it was easy to find a table. We have a reservation for Oga’s in a little bit and we’ll try MF after that. Land looks amazing. Loving it so far.

They shut the virtual queue down already!?!?

 

[Andrew C]

"That land needed boarding group until 3:00 PM, it's a massive success"
"The land only needed boarding groups until 3:00 PM, it's a massive failure"

The extremes on either end are very loud today. haha

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In the world of theme park attractions all four are considered high quality and high capacity. The vast majority would agree with this. That doesn't mean YOU like them, or that they are Omnimovers. Ever heard of a gray area? Not everything is black and white - actually almost nothing is.

Whoever considers a ride that’s still under construction “high quality” needs a correspondence course in critical thinking

 

[bryanfze55]

Disney dining is what really made me love the place in the first place. Good food and good memories.

Restaurants can do that. And the Oogle’s...or whether it was called...in Disneyland was perhaps the most egregious “fake restaurant” Bill I’ve seen.



I am too...quality and price are moving on opposite vectors...one down, one up.


See how complicated some of us CAN be? Not blanket spite or blanket praise...or what I like to call: “normal mature human thought patterns”

I agree that things shouldn’t be black and white. We all have our own view. Me, I’m fairly new to Disney and felt that the table service has been expensive and mediocre since I’ve been going. So it’s not something I center my trips around. And I don’t care if Disney builds any new table service to be honest. Had I first visited WDW twenty years ago, my views may very well be different. Your view should be respected and appreciated.

I enjoy the quick service, particularly at Disneyland. I feel it has gotten much better the last five years, though also pricier of course.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If RoR is what it's supposed to be, then the lands will be a great success. A Harry Potter-sized success (what Disney probably wanted)? No. They aren't and won't be that. But a place where families have lots of fun for decades to come, AND (especially at DL) a good sized capacity increase? Yes and Yes. Worth $2B? Hard to say.

Fair...

The problem with this “if ROTR” thing is that this stance caught fire really only after details of the falcon ride hit the public consciousness and Disneyland - face it - has been a disaster from are Star Wars PR perspective. (Roll tape on that)

It’s a trackless - which wdw fans may not realize is the modern day doom buggy - based on the Farce Awakens.

I hope it’s cool...it’s not a slam dunk though. The simulator combo thing revealed last weekend is promising - I will say.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Enough has been released about and the technology behind it, as well as Disney's general track record, to conclude it will be a high quality offering.

What track record are you speaking of? The mediocre toy story land and “new” magic kingdom one? Or the avatar one?

 

[tissandtully]

I love I can ask a simple question in this forum, but it gets drowned out by the back and forth bickering.

 

[danlb_2000]

Ignore the resident Curmudgeons - trust me, they are jealous they can't be there with you. You WILL enjoy it if you want to. It's a billion dollar land with details galore. People are nitpicking, Monday morning quarterbacking, complaining, and panning it because it makes them feel good in some sort of odd (and rather sad) way.

But there are also people who have legitmate criticisms of it. This is why I like these forums, if you put aside the extremes there is still a pretty balanced set of opinions here. I would not want to participate in a forum where everyone just praised everything.

 

[mergatroid]

I love I can ask a simple question in this forum, but it gets drowned out by the back and forth bickering.

No it doesn't

 

[trainplane3]

And once you’re in, you can stay as long as you like.

Literally the exact reason why I made a Cantina reservation. I'm taking friends that don't go to WDW as much as I do (once every 3-5 years vs me at 1-2 a year) and I wanted to get them into the land. So I made a saber reservation for myself and then after that's done everyone else can come in for Oga's, walk around, maybe shop, and go back to the room. They're pretty excited about it too.

 

[tissandtully]

I love I can ask a simple question in this forum, but it gets drowned out by the back and forth bickering.

Literally just wanna know what parking was like today. Hardly any of this stuff has anything to do with opening day reports.

 

[mergatroid]

Ignore the resident Curmudgeons - trust me, they are jealous they can't be there with you. You WILL enjoy it if you want to. It's a billion dollar land with details galore. People are nitpicking, Monday morning quarterbacking, complaining, and panning it because it makes them feel good in some sort of odd (and rather sad) way.

Well it's just their opinion. It does baffle me though how a tiny number who admit they're not interested in this Disney offering seemingly, have nothing better to do than spend hours posting about it online? But let's remember it's subjective and those who don't like it shouldn't affect how others see it.