SWWs all about the merchandise?

[WDW1974]

Kevin Yee has an interesting column up on this year's Star Wars Weekends.
While he seems excited by the new merchandise (wonder how much will be at Prop Control and the outlets!), he does talk about the feeling of sameness (staleness?) of the event in general.

Do you think it's because they never add anything new to the event ... or because they have the same tired 'only at a comics convention' talent lineup?

http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky052112a.htm

 

[Captain Chaos]

Kevin Yee has an interesting column up on this year's Star Wars Weekends.
While he seems excited by the new merchandise (wonder how much will be at Prop Control and the outlets!), he does talk about the feeling of sameness (staleness?) of the event in general.

Do you think it's because they never add anything new to the event ... or because they have the same tired 'only at a comics convention' talent lineup?

http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky052112a.htm

Comic Conventions get better talent.. More headliners as well... When I hear the list of "celebrities" for SWW, I think, WHO??? People who wouldn't even qualify got Dancing With the Has-Beens and Never Will Be's on ABC....

So, yes, it is all about ripping off Star Wars fans for merchandise they don't need...

 

[WDW1974]

Comic Conventions get better talent.. More headliners as well... When I hear the list of "celebrities" for SWW, I think, WHO??? People who wouldn't even qualify got Dancing With the Has-Beens and Never Will Be's on ABC....

So, yes, it is all about ripping off Star Wars fans for merchandise they don't need...

Well, Disney is all about going cheap on talent. That, sadly, is nothing new.

A little birdie sent me the tentative list of talent that is being invited to the DCA reopening bash and except for ABC talent (that almost has no choice but to appear) and the Disney geeks in Hollywood, it's a bunch of mostly C-listers at best.

And, no, I can't share the info. Sorry.

But wonder what kind of reaction Disney would get if they actually got a Harrison Ford or Samuel Jackson type ... or even Luke Skywalker himself to appear.

I don't watch Clones Wars. I am not interested in its voice talent. I don't care about Ray Park, Lee has more of a personality and can handle a light sabre better too!

 

[RSoxNo1]

The unique merchandise is a huge step in the right direction. Star Wars is a franchise that should be fueling merchandise sales at DHS, and really should be a franchise that is featured in multiple rides on that side of the park.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Anything less than them building a full scale replica of the death star will not work for me in the future.

 

[maxairmike]

Anything less than them building a full scale replica of the death star will not work for me in the future.

SpaceX needs to have a few more successful launches before that can happen.

 

[disney fan 13]

Anything less than them building a full scale replica of the death star will not work for me in the future.

Hey, get in line, i'm still waiting for my XJ7 X-Wing...

 

[unkadug]

Anything less than them building a full scale replica of the death star will not work for me in the future.

:lol:

For some reason, I keep picturing Spaceship Earth as the Death Star.

 

[RSoxNo1]

:lol:

For some reason, I keep picturing Spaceship Earth as the Death Star.

I think you could do it with the Magic Memories and You projectors

 

[maxairmike]

Okay, who has the SSE as the Death Star picture? I can't find it. :lol:

 

[TheGenXer]

Was accidentally at SWW once. And I just remember wondering "why don't they have some of this stuff as permanent additions to the park?" R2 rolling around the area, the cool action figure box that you can pose for picture in, etc. The new Star Tours is completely awesome. But go crazy with some Star Wars stuff already!

 

[zooey]

Actually, I think the shows they do at SWW is the best part. Hyperspace Hoopla is always entertaining. And the merchandise, while abundant, is usually interesting or unique enough to warrant existing.

I'm a big Star Wars fan so maybe I'm just giving it a pass, but it doesn't feel stale to me at all. I think it's great, especially for something that doesn't have an additional cost added to day's admission.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Well, Disney is all about going cheap on talent. That, sadly, is nothing new.

A little birdie sent me the tentative list of talent that is being invited to the DCA reopening bash and except for ABC talent (that almost has no choice but to appear) and the Disney geeks in Hollywood, it's a bunch of mostly C-listers at best.

And, no, I can't share the info. Sorry.

But wonder what kind of reaction Disney would get if they actually got a Harrison Ford or Samuel Jackson type ... or even Luke Skywalker himself to appear.

I don't watch Clones Wars. I am not interested in its voice talent. I don't care about Ray Park, Lee has more of a personality and can handle a light sabre better too!

Would be a major score if they can get real celebrities... But, they will only get C listers (and I am being generous calling some of these so called celebs C listers)...

 

[WDWFigment]

Kevin Yee has an interesting column up on this year's Star Wars Weekends.
While he seems excited by the new merchandise (wonder how much will be at Prop Control and the outlets!), he does talk about the feeling of sameness (staleness?) of the event in general.

Do you think it's because they never add anything new to the event ... or because they have the same tired 'only at a comics convention' talent lineup?

http://miceage.micechat.com/kevinyee/ky052112a.htm

I'm surprised Kevin (seems to) give the appearance of "Darth's Maul" a pass. I went over there out of curiosity (I have no interest in Star Wars merchandise), and it was abundantly clear that the building is very temporary. It reminds me of something we had in Indy in which they sold merchandise for the Super Bowl.

That stuck out to me more than anything else. I certainly wouldn't want Disney to go the Epcot route and close an attraction to have a more permanent location, and I can sort of understand the use of a temporary location because it only runs a few weekends, but there must be a better answer.

Overall, I thought the event was fun--albeit packed. I wish there were more to the parade/motorcade (and it ran on the full route) and more in general to dilute the crowds (many lines for characters looked like they exceeded an hour each). The seminars were really fun and interesting, with plenty of appeal to non-fans as well as fans. Overall, it was a good time, but for the crowds it draws there could definitely be more to it.

Hyperspace Hoopla was a lot of fun and the highlight of the festivities for us (we had only seen it once prior at the Jedi stage--it was definitely better in front of the BAH), but I'm curious as to how 'serious' Star Wars fans perceive it. Does seeing C-3PO and Chewbacca doing bother any Star Wars fans? Some Disney fans were up in arms over Modern Family...I'd assume Star Wars fans are similar with their characters.

 

[71jason]

Comic Conventions get better talent.. More headliners as well... When I hear the list of "celebrities" for SWW, I think, WHO??? People who wouldn't even qualify got Dancing With the Has-Beens and Never Will Be's on ABC....

So, yes, it is all about ripping off Star Wars fans for merchandise they don't need...

It does seem they have have phased out background characters from the real movies for voice talent from the Clone Wars cartoon.

But wonder what kind of reaction Disney would get if they actually got a Harrison Ford or Samuel Jackson type ... or even Luke Skywalker himself to appear.

They have to keep guests from lining up the night before for Chewbacca and R2D2...a chance for a free meeting with an actual celebrity would overwhelm WDW's infrastructure worse than New Years Eve.

I'm surprised Kevin (seems to) give the appearance of "Darth's Maul" a pass. I went over there out of curiosity (I have no interest in Star Wars merchandise), and it was abundantly clear that the building is very temporary. It reminds me of something we had in Indy in which they sold merchandise for the Super Bowl.

Haven't been this year (or even last year IIRC), but I also found the stores comparable to a pop-up Halloween store. Cheesy, but doesn't stop the Disney/Star Wars fanbois from lining up at 6:00 am to get those limited edition pins!

A good friend of mine postulates that the "Star Wars Weekend" may be the single most important reason Harry Potter ended up with Universal rather than Disney. The blatant cash-ins, the misuse of the characters in the Hoopla--seems to be the sort of thing JK Rowling was scared would happen to her creations. Of course, George Lucas is too busy swimming in a pool of $100s ala Scrooge McDuck and doing bad things to my childhood to care.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Hyperspace Hoopla was a lot of fun, but I'm curious as to how 'serious' Star Wars fans perceive it. Does seeing C-3PO and Chewbacca doing bother any Star Wars fans? Some Disney fans were up in arms over Modern Family...I'd assume Star Wars fans are similar with their characters.

I've read comments elsewhere complaining about it on those grounds, but given the number of "official" poorly done SW stuff (Holiday Special, Prequels, Clone Wars movie, original movie revisions etc. that the fans hate too) this is hardly the worst thing done with those characters and at least is entertaining.

 

[WDWFigment]

I've read comments elsewhere complaining about it on those grounds, but given the number of "official" poorly done SW stuff (Holiday Special, Prequels, Clone Wars movie, original movie revisions etc. that the fans hate too) this is hardly the worst thing done with those characters and at least is entertaining.

Good point. As someone who doesn't have any emotional investment in the Star Wars universe, I didn't care at all. I thought it was by far the most enjoyable part of the day. Very fun show. I just wonder how others might perceive it.

When we last saw it in front of the Jedi stage, it was less crowded than it was this year in front of the BAH stage. As SWW continues to become more and more popular, I think it might be time to consider two Hyperspace Hoopla shows per day.

 

[Scar]

It also looks like Hoopla is a bit later this year. 8 PM. IIRC it has not been this late in a while.

My daughter (12) and I have taken a mini Daddy-daughter holiday during SWW the last six years or so and really enjoy it.

Again, this is something WDW doesn't HAVE to do and they don't charge extra for it. Are the celebs as good as the conventions? No. But I also don't have to pay extra beyond by APs to get in and enjoy it. And the autographs are free, vs paying for autographs after already paying to get into the convention.

 

[KevinYee]

I would like to see Hoopla moved, actually.

At a minimum, the stage should be next to the tipboard and FACING the big hat. Why? Because the ground slopes that way. The current stage setup means that the further back you are, the LOWER you are in elevation. Not good for sightlines. Add in kids on shoulders and raised-up cameras, and it all stinks.

Better: put it in a theater. Indy is fine, or Beauty if you have to. Heck, I'd even take Fantasmic, though they would never fill those seats. Or would they?

And yes, two shows per day.

As for the temporary tent that is Darth's Mall, they did it last year, and I try to reserve rants for things that are new. I'm not even sure if I ranted about it last year. yes, it's temporary, but the former home of the store is now ground zero for NextGen testing and thus off-limits, so they had to do something.

The event is definitely more about merchandising than anything else. Part of me is OK with that, if the merch is going to be interesting. The things that interest me are CROSSOVER things with the Disney universe, so Star Tours primarily. And this year's set of merch did a great job with that.

Rowling went to Universal mostly because she wanted creative control (down to final approval on the size of shops, etc) - I would be surprised if SWW had much to do with it. She was actively in talks with Disney first. Had she gotten creative final say, I have little doubt she would have gone with Disney.

 

[erasure fan1]

I don't watch Clones Wars. I am not interested in its voice talent. I don't care about Ray Park, Lee has more of a personality and can handle a light sabre better too!

Oh come on, the guy who voiced Watto is top notch! Haters gonna hate. :lol:

Was accidentally at SWW once. And I just remember wondering "why don't they have some of this stuff as permanent additions to the park?" R2 rolling around the area, the cool action figure box that you can pose for picture in, etc. The new Star Tours is completely awesome. But go crazy with some Star Wars stuff already!

I agree big time. I have always wondered why the dont have photo ops with Chewy, R2-D2, stormtroopers, Vader.... all the time. With all the meet and greets they do, Im sure these would be amongst the most popular if they did it.