Star Wars Land announced for Disney's Hollywood Studios

[mmouse]

You will read a lot of good and a lot of bad reviews. I look at it this way... On Saturday I got to experience what its like to be in the Star Wars Galaxy. Was it a place in one of the movies? no, but for 4 hours I was transported to a Galaxy Far Far Away (sorry for corniness there) and had a great time with my family. Got to pilot the Millennium Falcon, build a lightsaber, stand next to the Falcon and hear what it sounds like. Ate "local" food and saw several characters roaming throughout. It was a day to remember and can't wait to get back and experience it again with RotR. Well done Disney, you added more to the experience that is Disney World and with all that's still being built, my family looks forward to the next few years of additions.

Short and sweet review as there are hundreds of other reviews to read. The land is beautiful, they did a fabulous job and we felt immersed immediately. The Millennium Falcon replica is amazing and the ride was fun! Had a great experience and can not wait to go back. Savi's work shop was well thought out, kids and wife really enjoyed it. Made 2 lightsabers, (been saving for awhile) and as a guy, mid 40's, who grew up with Star Wars, I can say that my dream of having a lightsaber has been fulfilled. Watching my kids partake made it even that more special.

Got to to try several food items throughout and look forward to going back for more. The Ribs at docking bay 7 were just ok but the turkey jerky (sweet), popcorn and Ronto Wrap were really good.

Loved the sound effects throughout and overall felt like we were transported away from Hollywood Studios. My older son (12) spent a lot of time on the play Disney App and cant wait to go back for more. It really added a lot to the experience for him. I decided to keep my head up and take in all the sights and sounds and figured the app is for another day.

Hope everyone gets to experience it soon. Enjoy!

 

[The_Jobu]

Personally, when I see stuff about "no OT presence in the land", it seems to come more from a place of "I hate TLJ and what Disney has done to my favorite characters" more than an actual problem with the land. I think it is a surrogate complaint.

That’s a very bizarre assumption for a straight forward complaint. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

[Rider]

I forgot to mention, while I posted a few here there are a ton more photos I uploaded to my Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cchard/albums/72157710399383551

 

[The_Jobu]

You will read a lot of good and a lot of bad reviews. I look at it this way... On Saturday I got to experience what its like to be in the Star Wars Galaxy. Was it a place in one of the movies? no, but for 4 hours I was transported to a Galaxy Far Far Away (sorry for corniness there) and had a great time with my family. Got to pilot the Millennium Falcon, build a lightsaber, stand next to the Falcon and hear what it sounds like. Ate "local" food and saw several characters roaming throughout. It was a day to remember and can't wait to get back and experience it again with RotR. Well done Disney, you added more to the experience that is Disney World and with all that's still being built, my family looks forward to the next few years of additions.

Short and sweet review as there are hundreds of other reviews to read. The land is beautiful, they did a fabulous job and we felt immersed immediately. The Millennium Falcon replica is amazing and the ride was fun! Had a great experience and can not wait to go back. Savi's work shop was well thought out, kids and wife really enjoyed it. Made 2 lightsabers, (been saving for awhile) and as a guy, mid 40's, who grew up with Star Wars, I can say that my dream of having a lightsaber has been fulfilled. Watching my kids partake made it even that more special.

Got to to try several food items throughout and look forward to going back for more. The Ribs at docking bay 7 were just ok but the turkey jerky (sweet), popcorn and Ronto Wrap were really good.

Loved the sound effects throughout and overall felt like we were transported away from Hollywood Studios. My older son (12) spent a lot of time on the play Disney App and cant wait to go back for more. It really added a lot to the experience for him. I decided to keep my head up and take in all the sights and sounds and figured the app is for another day.

Hope everyone gets to experience it soon. Enjoy!

Glad you and your family had a great time. I still suspect the area is between the two extremes that keep appearing. Hope to see it myself in 2020.

 

[bclane]

So I’m here and I’m pretty much losing my fool mind right now!
I’m so happy!!! The detail of the land is beyond my wildest dreams. This is a planet right out of Star Wars even if it’s one we’ve never seen in the movies before. Yes I wish there was Star Wars music playing and more aliens but i’m too busy loving this place to really care. I can’t wait for all of you to experience it!

 

[sedati]

I forgot to mention, while I posted a few here there are a ton more photos I uploaded to my Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cchard/albums/72157710399383551

View attachment 399375

Great pics, much appreciated.
Has anyone been able to spot the Muppet Vision or GMR buildings from within the land?

 

[erasure fan1]

Personally, when I see stuff about "no OT presence in the land", it seems to come more from a place of "I hate TLJ and what Disney has done to my favorite characters" more than an actual problem with the land. I think it is a surrogate complaint.

I'd definitely say it's a valid complaint. Like it or not, agree or not, GE hasn't really wowed the world. Supporters can spew nonsense about the OT fans are the minority, and there isn't a way to incorporate the OT... Even if last jedi was better than force awakens, and everyone universally loved it, that wouldn't change the complaints people have with GE. I've been thinking a lot about this and I do really think Disney missed a huge opportunity with GE. Right or wrong, there is a perception of the land, and it leaning heavily to the meh side.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

We really enjoyed Galaxy's Edge during our preview the other day. Quick thoughts:

• Smugglers Run was actually more enjoyable than we expected. We didn't care what our pilots did and honestly, I was having so much fun smashing buttons that I'm not sure I even remember the story. Big re-ride potential.
• The land is extremely detailed. Small things like blaster marks, "dirt" etc really make the land look convincing.
• Sound didn't seem to be an issue. I paid attention after the conversation here and was surprised that there was almost always something to hear that made the land feel alive. Ships blasting off, radio communications, engines, etc.
• The Rise of the Resistance area obviously feels a bit empty...but that should be fixed once the ride goes online.
• Characters walking around is fantastic. Needs to be seen more in Disney World.
• Cast members did an amazing job bringing things to life. Some amazing interactions that made the land feel more believable and alive.
• Bit bummed there weren't drones (ships) in the sky.

Overall, great visit! The land exceeded our expectations and that's before the ride we're particularly looking forward to even opens.

 

[The_Jobu]

I was having so much fun smashing buttons that I'm not sure I even remember the story.

That doesn’t sound very encouraging about the ride or the SW content....

Glad you had fun though.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

That doesn’t sound very encouraging about the ride or the SW content....

Glad you had fun though.

We were engineers and there's a lot going on all at once, to be honest. There were maybe 8 or 9 buttons/switches that lit up to be pressed throughout the ride, so your attention is constantly shifting back and forth from the screen to the side with the buttons. Not focusing on the screen the whole time seems like it's part of the experience, so that's why it seems like it'll need repeat rides. It really boiled down to shoot the bad guys, don't run into things and repair the ship.

That being said, hitting the button that fired the harpoon was very satisfying.

 

[The_Jobu]

We were engineers and there's a lot going on all at once, to be honest. There were maybe 8 or 9 buttons/switches that lit up to be pressed throughout the ride, so your attention is constantly shifting back and forth from the screen to the side with the buttons. Not focusing on the screen the whole time seems like it's part of the experience, so that's why it seems like it'll need repeat rides. It really boiled down to shoot the bad guys, don't run into things and repair the ship.

That being said, hitting the button that fired the harpoon was very satisfying.

It’s good you had fun, that’s ultimately the goal of any ride. I was just thinking out loud and over analyzing as we tend to do around here.

 

[doctornick]

• Sound didn't seem to be an issue. I paid attention after the conversation here and was surprised that there was almost always something to hear that made the land feel alive. Ships blasting off, radio communications, engines, etc.

My guess is that the reactions fall into three broad categories based on what I'd read:

1. If your expectation is to hear John Williams music or other stuff (like the cantina song) from the films, you are disappointed
2. IF you were expecting "uplifting" background music, especially as a way of harmonizing with the rest of DL, you are disappointed (this is particular to DLR and especially those who have felt SW:GE was a poor fit for the park to begin with).
3. If you were expecting background sounds that you'd find in a spaceport to help sell the location, you're happy


I'm not saying any of those are more valid than any other, but it could simply be that various people wanted different things. As has been pointed out here, it is probably impossible for Disney to please all people all the time with this stuff.

Also, of course, I'm being overly broad here and obviously taste or interests are more nuanced. I was just trying to point out that it's not that any opinion is "wrong" just people have different thoughts are what is "ideal" for a theme park land.

 

[bclane]

Ok so after spending four plus glorious hours in Galaxy’s Edge today, here is my professional opinion. It was absolutely breathtaking, but definitely needs more to do. Not that I was bored. I definitely wasn’t. It’s just I wanted to know that I could spend all day there but I kinda realized after a while that I’d already pretty much seen it all and I just wanted more. What’s there is amazing don’t get me wrong. I mean I truly loved it, but the experience will be better exponentially once RotR opens and if they add more little shows and interactive stuff around the land. As we were walking out I got a notice that the play app thing was up and an invitation to try it out but I didn’t get to since we had to go. That will probably help a lot and I wish I would have been able to try it out. I thought it wasn’t supposed to be working yet though so maybe it was a false alarm?? Anyway, we got to pilot the Falcon the second time around and enjoyed it way way way more than being an engineer. Interacting with the walk around characters was really fun. Even some of the Black Spire locals were very much in character and I enjoyed interacting with them. The food was fantastic. The Felician Garden thing was the best plant based thing we’ve had at Disney. Vegetarians rejoice! Oga’s was brilliant. Why they made it so small is just mind blowing. They could open four more of those and still fill them. Rex was perfect. They need to add aliens, music, the stunt show, drones and outside animatronics and the place would be practically perfect imo. We didn’t get to try the blue milk as I wanted to save something for next time. Spoke to a few different people who said they really enjoyed it though. Also, DL’s Rey is a better look a like but the girl playing Rey tonight did a wonderful job interacting with people. She was very kind to an awful lot of people. In conclusion, I was blown away, but can definitely agree with the critics who lament them cutting so much that was promised.

 

[Mike S]

Walked around Star Wars Land over here in Cali for a bit today. Not really a full exploration but the architecture is very well done from what I’ve seen (expected). I’ll ride the Falcon tomorrow probably. I did just get off my first ever ride of Hyperspace Mountain though and I have to say a brand new roller coaster built with that type of story/tech involved from the start would’ve been absolutely perfect for this land. Maybe my opinion on that will change when I finally experience what the Falcon is like but that’s how I feel now.

Also, it does feel weird not seeing more than Stormtroopers and Chewie walking around when they promised and hyped much more like bounty hunters and aliens.

 

[WDWTrojan]

See, I don't get this. So,there is appropriate background audio. As long as there is sounds,why would it be "depressing"? It would be silly and out of place to have John Williams music blasting in the middle of the marketplace without any premise. It sounds like the Imagineers continued the trend they used for BGM in Pandora, which has largely been commended as appropriate for the immersion for the land.

As I've said before, I think there would be appriopriate places to use the movie music - like in the entrance/transition into the land or in the queues or during the rides. But having appropriate sounds for the main part of the land enhances the immersion, rather than detract from it. I do think perhaps there is the opportunity to use the First Order or even the Imperial march as a diegetic sound in the First Order area like propoganda (the way such music was used in Solo and before that in Rebels).

Take Harambe, a bombed out, dilapidated African village. Remove the uplifting African music, charming acts and replace it with the sound effects of bombs/guns/planes in the background. It doesn't work. It totally changes your feeling towards the place.

 

[doctornick]

Take Harambe, a bombed out, dilapidated African village. Remove the uplifting African music, charming acts and replace it with the sound effects of bombs/guns/planes in the background. It doesn't work. It totally changes your feeling towards the place.

I haven't been, so I'm not in a position to really say, but all the pictures I've seen of GE do not look "bombed out" or "dilapidated". Used and lived in? Sure. But I don't get the depressing angle. It looks like a frontier town in space that has seen some action as part of a military conflict. Pretty much what you would expect from Star Wars.

Now, I get the critique that it is out of place with the rest of "optimistic" DL (though I think it is overblown). But why wouldn't a land based on Star Wars have sounds emulating fighting or radio communications or space ships taking off? That seems like exactly what one would expect.

Again, I haven't been, so I might be off. I do get that the land needs more activity (or at least bigger crowds) to feel "alive".

 

[Mike S]

I flew the Falcon. The feeling I had when first walking into either Harry Potter land finally hit me. Very fun ride. Doing what I’ve seen in the movies I grew up with... I felt like a kid.

 

[Incomudro]

Take Harambe, a bombed out, dilapidated African village. Remove the uplifting African music, charming acts and replace it with the sound effects of bombs/guns/planes in the background. It doesn't work. It totally changes your feeling towards the place.

Sorry, but I'm not buying the idea that GE feels like a depressing, bombed out place.
It looks awful Disney-like to me.

 

[beertiki]

We went to the AP preview in Orlando last night. On the way there, I was excited, 14 year old me back in 1983 was excited too, and glad that I would still enjoy Star Wars at age 50. On our way home now, and was sent a guest survey. I rated the Falcon ride as "just ok", seeing a life size falcon, walking in its hallways, and sitting in the cockpit was better than the ride itself. Hopefully ROTR is better.

 

[GoPatriots19]

I was at DHS on Saturday and I really liked the tunnel and how that transition was done. The different placement of the X-Wing with the back drop and the crater from Rex's tumble to Batuu were really cool. The more I ride the falcon the more fun it is, at some point some new missions will really plus this attraction. All in all we had a great time.