Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[TP2000]

You only get once chance to impress and bask in the positive press / reviews, and TDA kinda blew it unfortunately.

Exactly!

Let's see what improvements TDO can pull off in 90 days for DHS. An exact clone that is just as static and lifeless won't be a good sign that Mr. Chapek learned a lesson.

Thank you for your honest take on the land. Was it busy when you were there? I'm wondering if the level of crowds (or lack thereof) has an effect on how "alive" or "dead" the land feels.

That's a great question, and I think it's going to play into the DHS version.

I think it's important to remember that Star Wars Land was expertly designed, so it has all these little courtyards and terraces and alleys and nooks and crannies, but it is also clearly designed to handle LARGE numbers of people at a time.

I walked into the land through the middle entrance, which is the Toy Story Land entrance at DHS, and things got immediately hushed after you left the sounds piped into the tunnel. And the general vibe and crowd level in the "village" area and around the Falcon was exactly like this photo and I arrived at this dusky time of evening too; it was not abandoned, but not crawling with people, just clumps of people wandering around with a 15 minute wait time for the Falcon ride.

There were plenty of other people there, so it was obvious you didn't have the place to yourself. The queue for Falcon had plenty of chatty people in it, as it clipped along briskly with a 15 minute wait. (The joys of no Fastpass!) The shops and restaurants all had at least a few other people browsing and ordering besides myself. It's just there were no long lines for anything, and plenty of bored CM's just standing around chatting with each other about regular stuff.

But once the impressive visuals of the land wore off after about 30 minutes of wandering, I just sort of thought it felt flat and lifeless. There's no music. There's no action. There are some weird sound effects and animal noises, but you rarely actually see anything that causes those sound effects or moves or animates or emotes. Black Spire Outpost is supposed to be an off the beaten path backwater, but I don't think it's supposed to feel static and lifeless.

I'm sure one of the things TDO will be doing differently for DHS is the way they handle marketing, messaging, ticketing and park logistics to prevent the lack of crowds that Disneyland got the first six weeks. I'm sure the DHS version will be much more crowded right out of the box. But I don't think adding more tourists to the land will fix the problems it has with story and interactivity and charm.

What's absolutely hilarious is that Mr. Chapek and the Disney Press Machine kept telling us over and over again for the last four years that this land will be IMMERSIVE! We will be IMMERSED in Star Wars. Whatever happened to all that immersion?

 

[TP2000]

This is not the Disneyland thread.

Very valid point, my friend.

And yet, at this point in the construction at DHS when all of the cranes and construction have been removed and they are down to simply stocking R2D2 salad bowls on the shelves inside Droid Depot, I'm not sure how we don't keep coming back to the first hand reviews and experiences some of us have had inside the Disneyland version of this land. These are basically two identically cloned lands, with a single cloned ride and the same cloned stores and restaurants that opened eight weeks ago in Anaheim that will open four weeks from now in Orlando.

At this late stage in the DHS development, I'm not sure how we continue to pretend this land isn't already open and operating 16 hours per day 2,500 miles to the west? So many of the questions and comments here about DHS can already be answered by looking what is already happening in Anaheim.

But your point is still a valid one, and we should try and focus our conversation here on how the DHS version will operate once it opens and not just turn it into a Disneyland TR thread.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Very valid point, my friend.

And yet, at this point in the construction at DHS when all of the cranes and construction have been removed and they are down to simply stocking R2D2 salad bowls on the shelves inside Droid Depot, I'm not sure how we don't keep coming back to the first hand reviews and experiences some of us have had inside the Disneyland version of this land. These are basically two identically cloned lands, with a single cloned ride and the same cloned stores and restaurants that opened eight weeks ago in Anaheim that will open four weeks from now in Orlando.

At this late stage in the DHS development, I'm not sure how we continue to pretend this land isn't already open and operating 16 hours per day 2,500 miles to the west? So many of the questions and comments here about DHS can already be answered by looking what is already happening in Anaheim.

But your point is still a valid one, and we should try and focus our conversation here on how the DHS version will operate once it opens and not just turn it into a Disneyland TR thread.

Yeah, but you and the handful of crew left in the DL thread are just saying the same things over and over again. You're only circle massaging eachother at this point. You all had your say, and then some. And it's starting to infect this thread. Let's not be crass about this.

 

[Marc Davis Fan]

I’ve been trying to figure out why the effect of Galaxy’s Edge differs so much from that of Pandora (which also has no music!), and I think there are a few reasons:

1. Pandora is beautiful. Black Spire Outpost is incredibly impressive (I’ve already spent many hours there, obviously at the DL version), but it’s forboding rather than aesthetically pleasing.

2. Waterfalls. That gives Pandora the kinetic energy that GE lacks. Some roaming droids and the like would go a LONG way. Star Wars is kinetic. The land should reflect that. (And kinetics are incredibly important - that’s why Walt had boats, trains, Main Street Vehicles, etc.)

3. For GE West, it is shockingly different from the “optimism and reassurance” vibe of ALL the rest of Disneyland. I would say this is such a dramatic contrast that it feels downright bizzare. At DHS, the land will feel less out of place, and thus will work a lot better.

4. There’s no anchor attraction. It would be like opening Pandora with no FoP. RotR will change the dynamic of the land (well, if it works).

Long story short: placement in DHS, some roaming droids and perhaps aliens, and RotR will make the DHS GE a fine land - and indeed, one of the very best in Orlando.

 

[TP2000]

Yeah, but you and the handful of crew left in the DL thread are just saying the same things over and over again. You're only circle massaging eachother at this point. You all had your say, and then some. And it's starting to infect this thread. Let's not be crass about this.

Fair point. I will let it lie.

And the good news for all of us is that in just a couple of weeks there will be plenty of first hand accounts and TR's and opinions coming in from the previews of the DHS clone of Star Wars Land! No one will ever have to reference Disneyland and DHS in the same thread again.

Until the Mickey's Toontown version of Runaway Railway opens in 2022.

 

[danlb_2000]

Yeah, but you and the handful of crew left in the DL thread are just saying the same things over and over again.....

Like almost every other thread on the board?

 

[jt04]

Like almost every other thread on the board?

This has been a more extreme version of coaching people on talking points. TP2000 must have gone to wdw74's social media boot camp.

 

[MisterPenguin]

This has been a more extreme version of coaching people on talking points. TP2000 must have gone to wdw74's social media boot camp.

You're not helping.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Fair point. I will let it lie.

And the good news for all of us is that in just a couple of weeks there will be plenty of first hand accounts and TR's and opinions coming in from the previews of the DHS clone of Star Wars Land! No one will ever have to reference Disneyland and DHS in the same thread again.

Until the Mickey's Toontown version of Runaway Railway opens in 2022.

Thank-you. Let's wait a week for DHS's to be open, then we can all be crass.

 

[Bleed0range]

I’ve been trying to figure out why the effect of Galaxy’s Edge differs so much from that of Pandora (which also has no music!), and I think there are a few reasons:

1. Pandora is beautiful. Black Spire Outpost is incredibly impressive (I’ve already spent many hours there, obviously at the DL version), but it’s forboding rather than aesthetically pleasing.

2. Waterfalls. That gives Pandora the kinetic energy that GE lacks. Some roaming droids and the like would go a LONG way. Star Wars is kinetic. The land should reflect that. (And kinetics are incredibly important - that’s why Walt had boats, trains, Main Street Vehicles, etc.)

3. For GE West, it is shockingly different from the “optimism and reassurance” vibe of ALL the rest of Disneyland. I would say this is such a dramatic contrast that it feels downright bizzare. At DHS, the land will feel less out of place, and thus will work a lot better.

4. There’s no anchor attraction. It would be like opening Pandora with no FoP. RotR will change the dynamic of the land (well, if it works).

Long story short: placement in DHS, some roaming droids and perhaps aliens, and RotR will make the DHS GE a fine land - and indeed, one of the very best in Orlando.

They could have just as easily had a waterfall located somewhere in Blackspire Outpost. Tbh, they could have made the outpost have natural waterfalls and springs. And they even did have that in the early concept art. It would have made the place a lot nicer.

 

[TJJohn12]

3. For GE West, it is shockingly different from the “optimism and reassurance” vibe of ALL the rest of Disneyland. I would say this is such a dramatic contrast that it feels downright bizzare. At DHS, the land will feel less out of place, and thus will work a lot better.

This. This all day long. This ‘til the cows come home.

Castle Parks have a theme of optimism, which does exist in the Star Wars canon, but is wrapped up in war and a fight against fascism. It’s much different than the “pure” optimism of the rest of DL. DHS has the space for that sort of thematic complexity in a way Castle Park’s don’t. I’m excited because TDO shouldn’t need to do much to differentiate their edition of the land BECAUSE it’s a better thematic fit.

 

[TJJohn12]

They could have just as easily had a waterfall located somewhere in Blackspire Outpost. Tbh, they could have made the outpost have natural waterfalls and springs. And they even did have that in the early concept art. It would have made the place a lot nicer.

View attachment 393517

Wasn’t this water feature cut from the TSL entrance relatively late? @MisterPenguin - am I misremembering this was still appearing in early permits?

 

[WDWFANSINCE81]

Having been out west to see Galaxy's Edge...my experience is similar...feels dead and lifeless. No doubt it is gorgeous and physically impressive with infinite details. But after an hour...not much to do. I think one of the HUGE mistakes as the over promise on "Live your own Stars Wars adventure"....how? On my cell phone? Hard pass. There are no characters to interact with, there is nothing to do other than push buttons on a simulator (a good one at that), there is no story to carry forward. Disney forgot people are visiting a theme park...where is the fun, humor, action and music that makes Star Wars so good. Maybe once Rise opens but until then the entire land is a strong MEH. Not what they want with a billion dollars spent.

 

[CinematicFusion]

At the end of the day, what Star Wars ride would you have rather had. (No wrong answer)

1. A fully immersive dark/thrill ride featuring Han,Luke,Leia and their side kicks battling Darth Vader

2. Or same concept featuring Rey, Poe, Finn battling Ren?

Again, no wrong answer

 

[mikejs78]

At the end of the day, what Star Wars ride would you have rather had. (No wrong answer)

1. A fully immersive dark/thrill ride featuring Han,Luke,Leia and their side kicks battling Darth Vader

2. Or same concept featuring Rey, Poe, Finn battling Ren?

Again, no wrong answer

Either tbh... I'm more attached to the Original Trilogy characters, but my kids are more attached to the sequel trilogy characters.

 

[TP2000]

At the end of the day, what Star Wars ride would you have rather had. (No wrong answer)

1. A fully immersive dark/thrill ride featuring Han,Luke,Leia and their side kicks battling Darth Vader

2. Or same concept featuring Rey, Poe, Finn battling Ren?

Again, no wrong answer

I vote for the characters in Option #1, all of whom I know by face and by personality.

The characters in Option #2 I'm vaguely familiar with, but I couldn't tell you which mono-syllabic name goes with which of these characters; spunky girl, black guy who used to be Stormtrooper, shirtless bad guy. But wait, that's only three. Who is the fourth one? (I'm serious.)

 

[bclane]

At the end of the day, what Star Wars ride would you have rather had. (No wrong answer)

1. A fully immersive dark/thrill ride featuring Han,Luke,Leia and their side kicks battling Darth Vader

2. Or same concept featuring Rey, Poe, Finn battling Ren?

Again, no wrong answer

i’d prefer the OT, but honestly I’d be fine with either. I just wish they would have given us actual gunner roles like you see in the movies, and given full flight control to one pilot at a time (they could have switched to the co-pilot mid ride due to technical difficulties or whatever) and figured out something better for the engineers to do. That would have probably made a lot more people happy.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I vote for the characters in Option #1, all of whom I know by face and by personality.

The characters in Option #2 I'm vaguely familiar with, but I couldn't tell you which mono-syllabic name goes with which of these characters; spunky girl, black guy who used to be Stormtrooper, shirtless bad guy. But wait, that's only three. Who is the fourth one? (I'm serious.)

Poe is the good guy pilot who teams up with black guy who used to be a Stormtrooper.

 

[Chomama]

At the end of the day, what Star Wars ride would you have rather had. (No wrong answer)

1. A fully immersive dark/thrill ride featuring Han,Luke,Leia and their side kicks battling Darth Vader

2. Or same concept featuring Rey, Poe, Finn battling Ren?

Again, no wrong answer

#1 for sure would have been our family’s preference. However #2 could have also been fun

 

[The_Jobu]

I agree if you could find the other extreme. Heck, even a few more people that kind of liked the land would be refreshing. Hopefully when the DHS version opens we’ll get a wider range of opinions and not the same doom and gloom we’ve heard for the past few months.

I think if you look at people who haven't been yet, you can find both extremes on this board. People who have actually gone seem to be more even keeled about it.