Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[tirian]

You may not have liked it (which is, of course, fine), but surveys done (and I mean real, scientifically conducted surveys, not internet polls) have shown that the vast majority of the movie going public loved the movie.

The public makes “Fast & Furious” and “Transformers” movies hits too. That doesn’t mean they’re better than something like “The Wizard of Oz” or “Citizen Kane,” which were notorious flops on their initial releases.

But none of that matters. Regardless of its big BO, Lucasfilm has admitted “Last Jedi” was a weak movie, and that they need to course-correct “Skywalker.”

 

[Movielover]

Lucasfilm has admitted “Last Jedi” was a weak movie, and that they need to course-correct “Skywalker.

Can you please provide a source or link from Lucasfilm of this statement?

 

[jt04]

You may not have liked it (which is, of course, fine), but surveys done (and I mean real, scientifically conducted surveys, not internet polls) have shown that the vast majority of the movie going public loved the movie.

Not as much as they loved TFA.

 

[jt04]

What are your sources for saying that they are controlling entry today?

Yesterday the app showed the land closed with an option to sign up for a boarding group about an hour or so later. Until 5 pm when it was open to all. Today it has showed open to all with no boarding groups all day.

I was at DL last Tuesday so checking waiting times constantly all day to plan my next moves. This week the same rides have much shorter waits than they did last Tuesday. Except for the Falcon which was artificially controlled last week but not today. Lots of people decided to go last week rather than this week because they were scared of the crowds.

Some of this is news to me. I'll be watching for more information.

 

[brettf22]

Some of this is news to me. I'll be watching for more information.

Just download the Disneyland app, and you can follow along yourself. They have not restricted access at all today either.

 

[tirian]

Can you please provide a source or link from Lucasfilm of this statement?

How J.J. Abrams Can Get Star Wars Back On Track

J.J. Abrams has the unenviable task of course correcting Star Wars after two films that were not universally loved. Here are some ways he might try to do that.

www.cinemablend.com

Run a search on JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Bob Iger, Mark Hamill, etc. and their responses to Solo. That’s where they mention Last Jedi.

I think it’s important to differentiate the complaints people at Lucasfilm ARE acknowledging versus those they aren’t. Who is Rey? Why did the casino planet waste screen time? Why were Luke and the Jedi symbolically destroyed? Why can a random boy suddenly gain Jedi powers with a broomstick? — plus — Why are there so many SW movies being made back-to-back? Is the market over saturated?

Important things to note:
(1) Nobody at Lucasfilm or Disney has said Jedi was terrible or awful, and nobody has apologized for it.

(2) Abrams did initially blame fanboys for “hating women” and other tripe nonsense that makes Hollywood hearts flutter with excuses for weak screenwriting.

(3) Abrams later confessed Last Jedi went in a direction he didn’t intend, but he still refused to say anything poor about it.

(4) Lucasfilm has frequently stated its intention to correct the course of the franchise after Solo didn’t meet expectations, and Skywalker is supposed to be more fan-friendly than the common complaints about Last Jedi...

(5)...but again, this is about Last Jedi’s poor reputation among SW fans for writing and consistency errors, and its perceived affects on the BO performance of Solo — not about responding to specific fanboy backlash re: women or other headline-grabbing statements.

And since this doesn’t have anything to do with SWGE, I’ll stop talking about it.

 

[drod1985]

And since this doesn’t have anything to do with SWGE, I’ll stop talking about it.

This is the second time today I've seen somebody post "here's my full rebuttal to this argument, but it's off topic so we should stop talking about it."

Just take it to the Animations, Movie and TV forum and tag your debate partner(s) there instead.

 

[drod1985]

I don't know why I'm surprised. According to Blog Mickey in-app purchases to expand the GE datapad are coming.

Maybe, just maybe, you can buy these with the in-game credits and not money?

 

[WDW Pro]

Man and here I was thinking that Disney got a big cut from the gazillion toys and other Star Wars branded items that are sold practically everywhere. SW generates $2-3 billion a year just from merchandise sales.

"Disney’s remarks mirror the numbers Hasbro reported for its partner brands. Star Wars merchandise sales have been declining ever since October 2016 (remember that Disney’s fiscal year ends in September).
But not only merchandise seems to be affected, since Star Wars book sales and comic book sales are also down. So Star Wars as a whole seems to be in decline at the moment.

Now, it’s impossible to say how much of the revenue and ratings decline is due to decreasing Star Wars merchandise and book sales, Disney has an expansive list of licensed products out there.
But Disney’s fiscal year 2018 saw three major Star Wars releases, Battlefront II, The Last Jedi and Solo. That overall Consumer Products & Interactive revenue and earnings are down nevertheless should be reason to be worried for Disney. We’ve never had as much Star Wars content as in that period and if Star Wars was still a powerhouse revenue should have increased, especially given Marvel’s strong performance. But all signs we have say that 2018 was a very bad year for Star Wars merchandise and Disney sees this as decreased revenue from licensing, books and games.

And to add insult to injury Disney doesn’t mention Solo – A Star Wars Story by name even once in its report. When they talk about significant studio releases The Last Jedi is listed among “other significant titles”, but Marvel is mentioned first and foremost when Disney talks about increased revenue for their Studio Entertainment segment."

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/2019-01-14-disneys-2018-annual-report-sees-star-wars-in-decline/

Additionally, note that Star Wars merchandise revenue does not equate profits. Hasbro has been very vocal in noting that Star Wars declines in sales have hurt them badly, and they get a significant portion of the revenues -- not just Disney. That's not considering the retail chains, the supply chains, the cost or production, etc.

You clearly misread my post.

Last Jedi made a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean people were happy with it.

Since that is your point, I think you're accurate.

You may not have liked it (which is, of course, fine), but surveys done (and I mean real, scientifically conducted surveys, not internet polls) have shown that the vast majority of the movie going public loved the movie.

Those "real, scientific" surveys don't exist. The only thing they did with Last Jedi even close to that is the CinemaScore, which is often manipulated within the industry. TLJ was bludgeoned on every single site where fans could leave reviews, and the MetaCritic audience score is a miserable 4.4.

https://www.metacritic.com/movie/star-wars-episode-viii---the-last-jedi

 

[RobWDW1971]

Some of this is news to me. I'll be watching for more information.

The new land has been wide open with no restrictions since 5:00 on Monday. Parks continue to be incredibly slow in the middle of summer - I haven't seen Pirates with more than a 5 minute wait this week. Will change once the AP's are unblocked and ROTR finally opens, but going to be an ugly summer.

 

[jt04]

The new land has been wide open with no restrictions since 5:00 on Monday. Parks continue to be incredibly slow in the middle of summer - I haven't seen Pirates with more than a 5 minute wait this week. Will change once the AP's are unblocked and ROTR finally opens, but going to be an ugly summer.

SoCal must be in recession. This is a narrow window for people to get to see GE with light crowds.

 

[RobWDW1971]

SoCal must be in recession. This is a narrow window for people to get to see GE with light crowds.

Falcon ride currently at only 50 minutes with land wide open and both Space Mountain and Indy down. Good time to come!

 

[WDW Pro]

SoCal must be in recession. This is a narrow window for people to get to see GE with light crowds.

If so, it's the only place in the country. Sub 4% unemployment rate means this is just about as good as it gets. Enjoy the economy while this ride lasts.

 

[jt04]

If so, it's the only place in the country. Sub 4% unemployment rate means this is just about as good as it gets. Enjoy the economy while this ride lasts.

It might very well be the only place. I'm convinced economic growth is almost entirely dependent on stable energy costs. The USA finally has some say in the matter. They don't understand that in California.

Not a political statement just about energy costs impacting the Disneyland customer base potentially. IMO.

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

I'm guessing interest in GE will pickup quite a bit when new content (movies/shows) are released. But, I'm wondering if they end up putting this SW hotel on hold. I thought it was a bad idea from the beginning.

 

[WDW Pro]

I'm guessing interest in GE will pickup quite a bit when new content (movies/shows) are released. But, I'm wondering if they end up putting this SW hotel on hold. I thought it was a bad idea from the beginning.

It's already vertical with concept art out there. Their best chance right now is to knock it out of the ballpark with Episode 9. If not, they've done real damage to the franchise for a significant amount of time. Imagine if in Endgame, Ironman's character arc was completely flipped at the last minute, and he literally died of exhaustion after skipping out on any real fight. That would be ridiculously stupid and people would be fleeing Marvel like crazy. Instead they did it the right way and people love Marvel even more. Yet, Lucasfilm actually went full stupid with Luke, and did so after 40 years of people waiting to see him as a Jedi Master. Genius!

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

Marvel is much bigger than Iron Man. Just as SW is much bigger than Luke. And SW has survived after much worse movies than TLJ.

My point though, is Disney seems to have gotten way too aggressive with the SW IP in their parks. And I'm saying this a huge SW fan.

 

[KevinPage]

So because the lines are not 10 hours long and they've worked out a good virtual system, it's a failure?

People need to get a grip

Exactly. Disney doesn’t of guests with a silly PR stunt and that’s a bad thing?!?!?! LOL

OMG, TLJ didn’t make 50 bajillion dollars therefore Star Wars is on life support and Disney is losing $$$.

 

[jt04]

Exactly. Disney doesn’t **** of guests with a silly PR stunt and that’s a bad thing?!?!?! LOL

OMG, TLJ didn’t make 50 bajillion dollars therefore Star Wars is on life support and Disney is losing $$$.

Episode 9 and RotR will cause them to run to their next fake news cause of the month. I have high hopes for Ep. 9.

 

[TP2000]

So because the lines are not 10 hours long and they've worked out a good virtual system, it's a failure?

People need to get a grip

The Virtual Queue system was turned off in late afternoon on the first day (Monday), and has not been turned on since. For the past two days Star Wars Land has just been open access to anyone who wants to wander in, all day from 8:00AM to Midnight.

The weather in Anaheim is typically SoCal summer perfect; here at 3:00 PM it is currently sunny and 74 degrees with a light sea breeze.

Here is a tweet from about an hour ago, which sums it all up. All other E Tickets in both Disneyland and DCA currently have a 5 to 30 minute wait. Both parks are basically dead.



EDIT: Now at 4:00pm Disneyland time, the current posted wait time for Millennium Falcon is 35 minutes.