SuddenStorm
Well-Known Member
The land is a failure in the sense that it failed to deliver on what Disney had promised for years. I'm still waiting for a bounty hunter to approach me in the cantina and tell me how Hondo put a price on my head... or for the price haggling in the shops... or for the droids and characters wandering the land. It's a failure in the sense it didn't deliver on the standard set by the rest of Disneyland Park.
I think the land is a lesson in marketing just as much as a lesson in themed design.
Fundamentals in themed design were ignored- the standard that a land should simply be a setting that provides guidelines to the creatives to create a cohesive experience, without requiring guests to study and learn the story for enjoyment. Cars Land doesn't require you to have seen Cars, Potter doesn't require you to have seen any of the movies. The lack of kinetic energy, proper area music, characters, and live entertainment also drag the land down.
Fundamentals in customer service were ignored- like, you know, actually answering customer questions.
Fundamentals in food were ignored- the reviews for the f&b in the land are mixed- Ronto Wrap is said to be good but pricy. Blue Milk is nasty, and was even compared to house paint by Jim Hill. The small cantina and lack of table service restaurant are also issues.
Fundamentals in marketing were ignored as well. Talk about over promising and under delivering...
The Falcon ride is limited only by it's poor mission. It's a video game- the easiest fix will be simply designing a better mission. Star Tours was good not because of the ride system, but because of the incredibly well executed ride film.
Let's look at the positives.
Rise of the Resistance is a fun ride. Sure, it's no Mansion, Pirates, Splash, or Indy- but it's fun. It's gonna be a winner over here in Anaheim, and should do wonders for getting traffic flow in the land. It's just gonna need a creative overhaul as the Disney characters become irrelevant in the next few years.
Most of the issues with marketing, service, and food can (and will) be corrected. Live entertainment and proper music can be added in. The Falcon can get new missions.
The land itself is beautiful, and seeing the Falcon is a draw dropping experience (even if the iteration of the Falcon built represents a continuity error, since it has the wrong dish for the time frame depicted).
This land is a solid template that Disney can improve upon over the next 10 years to deliver on the Star Wars Land we've always wanted.
