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

[UNCgolf]

I walked around SWGE and felt it was immersive and I didn't spend a dime. What is it about Diagon Alley that makes it so much better other than the fact that the shops are famous from the books and films?

That basically is what makes it better for most people, and Star Wars was always going to suffer in that comparison have no matter what they chose to do. I'm not going to repeat what I said a few posts earlier but it's just a shame Naboo and Coruscant are associated with the prequels because they both would have made for more interesting/better settings than Batuu.

 

[Steph15251]

Not sure I follow?
Last time I went to Potter world, they had a dueling dragon ride, a ride in the castle, a train ride and another ride in a bank.
Cool place to walk and explore with solid rides.

People come for the rides... ROTR isn’t open yet and that’s what is causing the problems.
The ride that opened at Star Wars land isn’t as good as the two main rides in toy story land.... that’s another problem.

For me I think MF is better then TSMM but not SDD

 

[Tom Morrow]

That basically is what makes it better for most people, and Star Wars was always going to suffer in that comparison have no matter what they chose to do. I'm not going to repeat what I said a few posts earlier but it's just a shame Naboo and Coruscant are associated with the prequels because they both would have made for more interesting/better settings than Batuu.

The problem with both of those is that they don't have a memorable enough look to them that screams "Star Wars". For Naboo, I mean, without checking the films, can anyone describe the look of it, aside from the Gungan city? Coruscant also borders a bit too much on "generic futuristic sci-fi." Most of the more iconic moments from Star Wars have taken place on planets that are more underdeveloped, rough, and gritty. The most iconic one would clearly by Tattooine, but then, by choosing Tattooine they are limiting themselves to things that are linked to Tattooine. That is why I think creating a new, original planet that draws parallels to Tattooine and others was a brilliant decision. Where they dropped the ball was insisting on hard defining it as taking place during the new trilogy, when a more timeless, vague, opened-ended approach that allows for elements from all of the films would have been more preferable.

 

[UNCgolf]

The problem with both of those is that they don't have a memorable enough look to them that screams "Star Wars". For Naboo, I mean, without checking the films, can anyone describe the look of it, aside from the Gungan city? Coruscant also borders a bit too much on "generic futuristic sci-fi." Most of the more iconic moments from Star Wars have taken place on planets that are more underdeveloped, rough, and gritty. The most iconic one would clearly by Tattooine, but then, by choosing Tattooine they are limiting themselves to things that are linked to Tattooine. That is why I think creating a new, original planet that draws parallels to Tattooine and others was a brilliant decision. Where they dropped the ball was insisting on hard defining it as taking place during the new trilogy, when a more timeless, vague, opened-ended approach that allows for elements from all of the films would have been more preferable.

I think Naboo would have been the best option (if it wasn't so intrinsically tied to the prequels) because of how visually striking it would be in a way Batuu isn't. Batuu seems like a knock-off Tatooine without the benefit of getting to use the Mos Eisley cantina. It's not that it's bad... it just doesn't jump out at me as Star Wars (but, again, I don't think they had good options for that to begin with) and it doesn't really grab you the way something like Pandora does (or Naboo could). But I do understand why they chose it.

Coruscant could have been really cool, but I think it would have cost far more money to do it justice -- and, like you said, it could have come across as a generic sci-fi city.

 

[wdisney9000]

When Tinker Bell, Rapunzel and Tiana have longer waits than Smugglers Run.

 

[Rogue1138]

The prequels aren't as iconic as the original trilogy. But just like the sequels, it's all a package deal now.

While I agree, there is a large chunk of fandom who rate Prequel movies higher than the Originals. It's all a matter of what you grew up with. The issue comes with people who are gatekeeping the fandom. There's 11 movies and three animated series. You do not have to like all of it. It's when you say you hate one series and everything is awful because of it. You can absolutely despise the Sequels but out there is some kid who absolutely loves them. Can you be disappointed it's Kylo and not Vader in SW:GE? For sure! People just need to be the adults in the room and realize in today's age of social media that the bad behavior of some fans will be carried on by the children of tomorrow. Is that the fandom we want to have? I sure don't.

 

[Rogue1138]

The problem with both of those is that they don't have a memorable enough look to them that screams "Star Wars". For Naboo, I mean, without checking the films, can anyone describe the look of it, aside from the Gungan city? Coruscant also borders a bit too much on "generic futuristic sci-fi." Most of the more iconic moments from Star Wars have taken place on planets that are more underdeveloped, rough, and gritty. The most iconic one would clearly by Tattooine, but then, by choosing Tattooine they are limiting themselves to things that are linked to Tattooine. That is why I think creating a new, original planet that draws parallels to Tattooine and others was a brilliant decision. Where they dropped the ball was insisting on hard defining it as taking place during the new trilogy, when a more timeless, vague, opened-ended approach that allows for elements from all of the films would have been more preferable.

I think Tatooine would be way more iconic but it would be hard to explain how a desert planet gets rain every day at 4pm.

Naboo is based off Italy, so there's nothing space opera about it. Like everyone said, Coruscant is that kind of generic sci-fi planet. Problem is Star Wars is notorious for the single biome planet, so you either make a swamp planet, a jungle planet, a snow planet, etc. I think they should've gone the Rogue One route with the tropical beach planet and then could've tied in a Star Wars waterpark.

I haven't been to SW:GE yet and nothing I've seen disappoints me but I think there was two directions Disney could've steered into: hard immersion with the aliens and droids walking around OR Star Wars IP land that is just a bunch of Star Wars greatest hits. They went the former and then cut the budgets.

 

[Yellow Strap]

When Tinker Bell, Rapunzel and Tiana have longer waits than Smugglers Run.

View attachment 412327

When TinkerBell, Repunzel and Tiana have the same rider capacity as SR and can move lines just as fast, let me know the real comparison.

 

[LukeS7]

I think they should've gone the Rogue One route with the tropical beach planet and then could've tied in a Star Wars waterpark.

I know this was meant sarcastically, but it made me realize: Jedha would've actually been a good choice for the park. We know it gets destroyed later so it makes worrying about what happens in the theme park altering canon too much a null point and it allows original character usage. It also has the Empire harnessing Kyber Crystals which could've tied easily into the saber workshop

 

[Rogue1138]

I know this was meant sarcastically, but it made me realize: Jedha would've actually been a good choice for the park. We know it gets destroyed later so it makes worrying about what happens in the theme park altering canon too much a null point and it allows original character usage. It also has the Empire harnessing Kyber Crystals which could've tied easily into the saber workshop

I had the same thought and if you look at SW:GE it does have a lot of Jedha vibes. As it stands now, they could really pivot to any time in the Star Wars Saga. The area itself if you switch out the characters and reface the vehicles, doesn't really change. Even MFSR could be redialogued to reflect other time periods. RotR is the one that locks them into the Sequel era when that opens.

I love the Disney SW films. TLJ and Rogue One now top my top favorites and I grew up with the originals. They just need to market it as exciting and fun and their response the last few years is "Here's Star Wars, love it or hate it. Make us money." I have several friends who love the new content but are really burned out based on the marketing (or lack of).

 

[wdisney9000]

When TinkerBell, Repunzel and Tiana has the same rider capacity as SR and can move lines just as fast, let me know the real comparison.

The wait times displayed for the M&G's are not any higher than they normally are. Smugglers Run just might not be as popular as some have wanted it to be. I just checked again and Haunted Mansion currently has a higher wait time than Smugglers Run. So does Test Track and Pirates of The Caribbean. Is that a fair enough comparison for rider capacity? Im sure someone will have an excuse as to why they all have higher wait times than SR.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

The wait times displayed for the M&G's are not any higher than they normally are. Smugglers Run just might not be as popular as some have wanted it to be. I just checked again and Haunted Mansion currently has a higher wait time than Smugglers Run. So does Test Track and Pirates of The Caribbean. Is that a fair enough comparison for rider capacity? Im sure someone will have an excuse as to why they all have higher wait times than SR.

It isn't. Test Track and Pirates both have FP plus activated on them, Smuggler's Run does not.

 

[wdisney9000]

It isn't. Test Track and Pirates both have FP plus activated on them, Smuggler's Run does not.

Youre saying that Smugglers Run has lower wait times because it does not have FP+?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Youre saying that Smugglers Run has lower wait times because it does not have FP+?

Yep. Search the boards and you'll learn why.

 

[UNCgolf]

Youre saying that Smugglers Run has lower wait times because it does not have FP+?

Yeah. FastPass increases standby wait times. It makes sense because the FP riders keep cutting in front of people waiting standby.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Youre saying that Smugglers Run has lower wait times because it does not have FP+?

The wait time for rides with FP+ is for the stand by line. It doesn't take into account all the people with FP who only have a one to ten minute wait. If you counted their times and averaged it with the standby wait times, then the average wait time would be much, much lower than the FP wait time.

Or, consider this, let's say Disney decides to favor the FP riders even more so. And they put standby guests on the ride only after a hundred FP guests get on. That would blow up the standby wait time to several hours. But that extra long wait time doesn't tell you that the ride suddenly became that much more popular.

 

[wdisney9000]

Yep. Search the boards and you'll learn why.

Yeah. FastPass increases standby wait times. It makes sense because the FP riders keep cutting in front of people waiting standby.

Good points. I guess we will see a dramatic increase in wait times if/when they add FP+ to it?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Good points. I guess we will see a dramatic increase in wait times if/when they add FP+ to it?

Absolutely.

 

[Surferboy567]

Absolutely.

SR also has a lot more capacity then those attractions...translating to less waits

 

[scottieRoss]

Just got back from my second trip to Walt Disney World this fall. I live in San Antonio and had planned the trip this week since early Spring. This was to celebrate my husbands 40th Birthday. Made the trip in August to experience Galaxy's Edge on opening day and just went for the one day on Aug 29.
So this was the real trip to explore Batuu. Here are my quick impressions

Opening of Galaxy's Edge was like the opening night for one of the films. Crowd excitement was high as we lined up at the resort bus stops at 2:30 am and entered the park at 4:00. Excitement was high, crowds were enjoying the energy while it was still the middle of the night.
Did not get to explore much of Batuu, as we were in the line ringing the land for hours. The cast members were great, even being just as tired as we were. Loved the character interactions while we were in line. Storm Troopers were everywhere. Finally rode Smugglers Run about 8:30 in the morning and got to be pilots. Crashed the Falcon and considered myself a true failure. Had a Ronto Wrap for breakfast and then headed back to the resort. We went back to Batuu in the evening and explored. Really liked the Data Pad app and enjoyed making things happen all over. We spent a couple of hours just exploring. Had a NA drink in the cantina and loved the ambiance and DJ Rex. The drink was good and then had dinner at Docking Bay 7. Overall it was a lot of fun and not expensive. Spend 100 on RT Spirit tickets, 109 at Pop Century and less than a hundred on food and drinks on Batuu.

Came back on Monday night and visited Batuu on Tuesday morning at 6am. Spent 3 hours on planet and rode Smugglers Run once. Engineer this time. Green lights kept me busy. Did some more hacking and tried breakfast at Docking Bay 7. Missed the Sporks and asked CM about it. She replied that the First Order took them away because they do not want the citizens to be happy. Maybe I can find some if I search the land. When I told her I was friends with Kylo, she got short with me and looked like she had seen a ghost. It was great!!
Made 2 more trips to Batuu over the course of the week, got much better at piloting the Falcon and enjoyed the food. Built a droid this time. (My dogs are scared of it now that I am home) Love the interactions on the Data Pad, could have spent many more hours. The character interactions are one of the greatest parts. Chewie and his handler were trying to get people at Ronto's to buy food for Chewie. Rey was great with all the little girls that want to grow up to be just like her. Cast Members were great. You play along with them and it gets really entertaining. Kylo ignored me like we were never friends, guess he could not recognize me through the mask. Just wish I knew what the max score was on MF, Hondo is greedy and keeps taking so much of my profit for himself.

For the record, I am a 52 year old guy that has never role played, never been to a Con, went to a Rennaisance Festival once and wore my shorts and TShirt. And I loved it. Planning a trip for December to ride Rise. Even though I am drawn to the dark side, I think it sounds like a great attraction.