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News Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opening day reports - Disney's Hollywood Studios
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Capsin4
Well-Known Member
Not really the same right? You can still get in standby so you’d count that time instead. FP isn’t a wait time to get into standby.
Movielover
Well-Known Member
Fixed that for you!
Steph15251
Well-Known Member
When I went I only saw one stormtrooper ,my twin and I keep on saying they needed more ,even a outdoor show ,would benefit the land.
Movielover
Well-Known Member
You mean like the First Order show involving Kylo over at the Tie Echelon and the Resistance show over at the X-Wing Fighter in the Resistance base?
KevinPage
Well-Known Member
So I read the Mkcechat article and it makes me go “meh”.
I don’t believe Chapek has a creative bone in his body or actually cares about the parks on any personal level BUT a couple of points to consider:
1. WDI is not god, just because they come up with an idea doesn’t make it viable or have operating sense. Sure, I’m generally gonna side with them over management but the realities of life dictate operational efficiency, costs, etc. No guest wants a ride that never works and takes hours to get on.
2. I take the rumors about budget cuts with a grain of salt (in most cases). All budgets are essentially cut over time, as initial ideas are pie in the sky and as things get further along in the planning phase, reality and what makes sense/is actually needed usually sets in. That’s not to say I’m pleased with how everything eventually turns out (ie -Toy Story Land, cheap and soulless) or other examples of obvious cost cutting measures)
3. The live entertainment features and interactive elements were pretty bold. Do I want them? YES. Does the land need them as this exact moment in time? Probably not. Maybe, just maybe, having the budget slashed for these things turns out to be a blessing in disguise, if management is panicking as much as people claim they are (which I don’t think they are).
4. Disney basically wants to get 2 grand openings for each park out of this and looks like they will. Waiting to open with both rides (which would have delayed things as Rise seems super complicated to get running properly, and that’s WDI fault) would have angered people and caused an even greater swell of people at a single grand opening. This dual opening of rides helps get the land functioning and allowing (most) people to enjoy it now.
5. Based on my opening day visit, Disney isn’t hurting for money with the amount of lines there are for $100 droids, $200 lightsabers, 90 minute waits for Doc Ondar’s, consistently packed cantina and $8 milk.
6. Maybe I’m too much of a realist but expecting every single planned idea they had for rides, attractions, restaurants, etc. to come to fruition and be there on opening day is simply not logical. Most of those idea can still be implemented, should they chose to going forward.
I don’t believe Chapek has a creative bone in his body or actually cares about the parks on any personal level BUT a couple of points to consider:
1. WDI is not god, just because they come up with an idea doesn’t make it viable or have operating sense. Sure, I’m generally gonna side with them over management but the realities of life dictate operational efficiency, costs, etc. No guest wants a ride that never works and takes hours to get on.
2. I take the rumors about budget cuts with a grain of salt (in most cases). All budgets are essentially cut over time, as initial ideas are pie in the sky and as things get further along in the planning phase, reality and what makes sense/is actually needed usually sets in. That’s not to say I’m pleased with how everything eventually turns out (ie -Toy Story Land, cheap and soulless) or other examples of obvious cost cutting measures)
3. The live entertainment features and interactive elements were pretty bold. Do I want them? YES. Does the land need them as this exact moment in time? Probably not. Maybe, just maybe, having the budget slashed for these things turns out to be a blessing in disguise, if management is panicking as much as people claim they are (which I don’t think they are).
4. Disney basically wants to get 2 grand openings for each park out of this and looks like they will. Waiting to open with both rides (which would have delayed things as Rise seems super complicated to get running properly, and that’s WDI fault) would have angered people and caused an even greater swell of people at a single grand opening. This dual opening of rides helps get the land functioning and allowing (most) people to enjoy it now.
5. Based on my opening day visit, Disney isn’t hurting for money with the amount of lines there are for $100 droids, $200 lightsabers, 90 minute waits for Doc Ondar’s, consistently packed cantina and $8 milk.
6. Maybe I’m too much of a realist but expecting every single planned idea they had for rides, attractions, restaurants, etc. to come to fruition and be there on opening day is simply not logical. Most of those idea can still be implemented, should they chose to going forward.
Steph15251
Well-Known Member
Anything to add more to the land but with that said I do think HS has too much Star Wars stuff.
bclane
Well-Known Member
There is actually a lot of awesome things going on at SWGE and I really do love the place. I think the main problem with it, as many people have repeatedly stated, is that Disney didn’t deliver everything they led people to believe was gonna be there. I mean, just looking at some of the concept art, it looks like there were gonna be exotic aliens everywhere. I envisioned things like sitting by an alien at the Cantina who would just growl at me when I tried to talk to him/her and practically tripping over droids and street performers as I was being pursued by a bounty hunter after crashing the Falcon. I know it probably sounds silly if you aren’t a Star Wars fan, but that’s kind of what I know I was hoping for.
The fact still remains that as far as "grand openings" go, this one (and the one in Aneheim) were far from the spectacular level they were expecting. That does not mean the land is a failure. It just shows how out of touch management is in terms of operating a theme park.
They have one of the most popular IP's of all time with one of the largest fan bases ever and countless possibilities to choose from in an already established and proven story line spanning over decades and the grand opening (for both coasts) saw crowd levels that didnt rival a busy summer day at the parks. A majority of SWGE is based on a story line people have not fallen in love with and are unfamiliar with.
The fact that blue milk and sitting in the Falcon are the some of the most popular aspects of the land is proof that fans who visit actually want something related to the IP that is actually part of the IP itself. Again, not saying the land is a failure and Disney is gonna loose money. But the executives sure do know how to screw up a one car parade.
KevinPage
Well-Known Member
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Wholeheartedly disagree. I’m an old fogey and have no problem with the land being based on a newly created area and tied to the new films. I’d call a 5 hour line and thousand of people lined up at 4am a success. |
What would you call the rest of the day, after about 1 pm, and the rest of the weekend? That 5 hour line was down to 65 minutes at some points on the first day, (which is great for the guests who were there). Many other attractions have had the same (if not longer) waits on their opening day as well and the wait times didnt go down at all. The second day of a brand spanking new Star Wars Land? Average crowd levels.
It was indeed a crowded opening and I have no problem calling it a success, but it wasnt sustained longer than a few hours which is what my point was. They expected much, much more, and quite frankly, it should have been much much more considering the IP they were working with. Please dont take my post as "bashing" SWGE, because its not. The executives who thought they would only need to tweet, "its open" deserve the bashing for being so arrogant.
drod1985
Well-Known Member
I don't know man. I was there on opening day and the vibe was electric. The park was packed through about 5pm, and then the crowds receded a bit, but were still heavy. The overall sentiments from all the other guests we spoke to seemed to be pretty great, and everybody in my party loved it. As of now if there's any disappointment in attendance I'd chalk that up to external factors like ticket prices, AP block-outs (at DL specifically), and the looming hurricane.
mikejs78
Well-Known Member
The line never hit 65 min on opening day. Lowest was 75 at 6 PM, 14 hours after the park opened.
Line was > 2 hours until 4 PM, 12 hours after the park opened.
Until 11 hours after the park opened, (3PM) there was a virtual queue before you could even line up.
So there were at least 4 hour waits until about 3 PM, after which it dipped before picking up at night... Never in park history has there been an opening with park hours as long as GE and with a virtual queue before you could even get in line.
The following days the ride has held consistently high wait times, being one of the two longest on property at any time. This as crowds across the resort were at record lows due to the fact that it is a) the only slow season left, and b) a hurricane was predicted.
I suspect that September will be fairly light, but by mid-October, they will be using the virtual queue system again. And once Rise opens, all bets are off.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
It's not logical to expect them to build what was already on the blueprints when they committed $1 billion to the project?
Would the sit down restaurant have really broken the bank when it would have supplied its own revenue stream?
You're not being a "realist", your trying to justify poor short-term decision making by the world's largest media company.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
I still say that this opening is proof that FP+ screws things up for guests. We've had multiple posters saying that the land was really busy and Smuggler's Run has had wait times over an hour consistently. Do we know if it's had any kind of down-time? Even if it was only one "cockpit"? We've been trained to expect ridiculous waits thanks to FP+...which is really sad when you think about it.
mikejs78
Well-Known Member
I would not say it's proof. I'd say that when Disney adds FP+ if we see the wait times jump, then we will have proof.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
Agreed...and while I'm not a betting woman, I suspect that's what will happen.
Dan Deesnee
Well-Known Member
To be honest, without FP+ I would have gone maybe twice in the past 5 years instead of 8 times to WDW. I love the Fast Pass system and think it is nearly flawless. We're able to walk into the park we planned to hit that morning and immediately ride 3 great rides usually ones that have long lines (to me waiting any longer than 30 minutes is too much, I have three kids under 9 years old). We can then pick a new Fast Pass ride through the day using the app. We are constantly able to snag stuff like Mine Train and Flight of Passage. I just pick the time and refresh while snacking on something, etc.
Works great, I estimate that over 8 trips we've waited in line maybe 1-2 hours per day combined. That's counting the 5-15 minutes you someone's wait on ultra popular rides even with a fast pass. My kids are tall for their age and fearless. Our trips are pure magic every single time and FP+ plays a big part.
It's all subjective though, just my opinions and experience. I hope the Falcon gets FP by the time we go in Nov.
bclane
Well-Known Member
Speaking of FP and wait times. Yesterday at AK we got in a line for NRJ that was advertised as 20min. The line winded through some (but not all) of the outside portion of the queue and from past experience I was thinking there is no way this is only taking 20 min. We stayed because it was moving really fast though. When we got close enough, we noticed that no one was coming through the fast pass line (I actually didn’t see anyone coming through that line but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any). My question is, are they limiting NRJ fast passes now? I mean, the line moved really fast. They are also asking parties of two to share rows with other parties of two which really helps move the line along. Anyway, that was the first time I had seen the line move that fast at NRJ and also not seen any FP people come through. Not saying there wasn’t any, I just didn’t see any when I was paying attention and there is usually a steady stream of them. We got through the line in less than 20 min and normally it would have taken well over an hour based on past visits. Yes a small portion of the inside switchbacks was closed but not much.
