Wizards give smackdown to droids

[Da Bird is Da Word]

It’s no surprise that Harry Potter land is better. It’s bigger, there’s two of them connected by a themed train ride and there’s more attractions. It’s been out longer. It’ll be neat to see how they expand SWGE in the future.

 

[Raineman]

I feel like a broken record saying this, but-for anyone on this post or on similar posts that are making any statements regarding new lands/attractions that they haven't experienced yet, your opinions do not hold any weight, IMO. It should be very apparent to anyone who has ever watched YouTube videos of an attraction/land either before or after actually visiting it, that videos and pictures do not and cannot fully convey the full experience. Unless you've been to Galaxy's Edge, unless you've been on Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure, your opinions on them are nothing more than speculation.

 

[Amidala]

NOT EVEN CLOSE, BUD!

I'm not sure what all this Star Wars hype and game changing talk is all about. Universal's Potter in Orlando is still is the one to beat in the industry.

35+ acres vs 14 of highly immersive placesetting.

4 E ticketish/ super headining rides and 1 lower tiered ride vs 2 headliners.

Hagrid opened and it's beyond a phenomenal experience.......best ride on US soil, I say. We'll see about Rise of Resistance but for now Magical Creatures is the supreme attraction and Harry easily holds the crown

This has already been said, but this comparison makes no sense. When WWOHP first opened, Hogwarts/Hogsmeade in IOA was the only area, and FJ was technically the only original ride. WWoHP repurposed Merlinwood rides for the remaining two attractions (FotH and Dragon Challenge). AFAIK, these were simple reskins (paint jobs and signage swaps), not even on the level of the Pixar Pier attraction rethemes. GE was built from scratch, so leaning on rethemes to bulk up the attraction offerings wasn't an option for Disney.

It's been practically a DECADE since WWOHP opened at IOA, and yes, a second land and multiple attractions have been added since. If ten years pass and GE remains untouched (especially in FL where the footprint is so much larger) this argument will hold water. Until then...I don't really get it.

Seems like you're oddly celebrating that? It's been operating just fine for the last 5 days from what I've heard. Wanna talk about how Rise of the Resistance has been delayed indefinitely? At least Hagrid's is operating when they said it was going to. #Shade

From what I understand, GE was set to open along w/ ROTR later this year, but Disney decided to open the land early since everything else was completed ahead of schedule. You can call that a money hungry move, but at the same time...nothing is stopping guests from booking their trips in late 2019/early 2020 when ROTR will be open. If the land had held off opening until ROTR was complete, you would have had to wait 'til then anyway...

I love WWOHP (and even worked HE there for a short time) and agree it's likely easier to "transport" people, since WW pulls locations directly from the books/films. People (myself included) have spent their childhoods dreaming of visiting places like Hogwarts, Hogsmeade & Diagon Alley, whereas Batuu was created specifically for GE. There are definitely still elements of wish-fulfillment (flying the Falcon being the most obvious example) but I think it's fair to say GE has to work a bit harder to achieve the same level of immersion. That being said...doesn't necessarily mean WWOHP is better executed than GE. I'll be visiting GE for the first time in August, excited to see & compare for myself.

 

[General Mayhem]

This has already been said, but this comparison makes no sense. When WWOHP first opened, Hogwarts/Hogsmeade in IOA was the only area, and FJ was technically the only original ride. WWoHP repurposed Merlinwood rides for the remaining two attractions (FotH and Dragon Challenge). AFAIK, these were simple reskins (paint jobs and signage swaps), not even on the level of the Pixar Pier attraction rethemes. GE was built from scratch, so leaning on rethemes to bulk up the attraction offerings wasn't an option for Disney.

It's been practically a DECADE since WWOHP opened at IOA, and yes, a second land and multiple attractions have been added since. If ten years pass and GE remains untouched (especially in FL where the footprint is so much larger) this argument will hold water. Until then...I don't really get it.



From what I understand, GE was set to open along w/ ROTR later this year, but Disney decided to open the land early since everything else was completed ahead of schedule. You can call that a money hungry move, but at the same time...nothing is stopping guests from booking their trips in late 2019/early 2020 when ROTR will be open. If the land had held off opening until ROTR was complete, you would have had to wait 'til then anyway...

I love WWOHP (and even worked HE there for a short time) and agree it's likely easier to "transport" people, since WW pulls locations directly from the books/films. People (myself included) have spent their childhoods dreaming of visiting places like Hogwarts, Hogsmeade & Diagon Alley, whereas Batuu was created specifically for GE. There are definitely still elements of wish-fulfillment (flying the Falcon being the most obvious example) but I think it's fair to say GE has to work a bit harder to achieve the same level of immersion. That being said...doesn't necessarily mean WWOHP is better executed than GE. I'll be visiting GE for the first time in August, excited to see & compare for myself.

GE was supposed to open with both attractions (Rise being its star attraction). This is the equivalent of opening Pandora with only Navi River Journey and telling guests that FoP won't open for 3-6 months.

 

[the_rich]

It wasnt supposed to be open at all yet. They opened the land early.

 

[Amidala]

GE was supposed to open with both attractions (Rise being its star attraction). This is the equivalent of opening Pandora with only Navi River Journey and telling guests that FoP won't open for 3-6 months.

It was supposed to open with both attractions in late 2019. Instead it opened several months ahead of schedule with one attraction. YMMV on whether this was a net gain or a lateral move for guests, but I can't really see a downside to it? Like I said, guests are welcome to visit the land in late 2019 when GE was originally slated to open & will be able to experience both attractions at that time. Guests who don't care (or just don't know) about ROTR's absence will get to experience the land much earlier than expected. It seems like a pretty fair trade-off to me, but I know some would rather the land open "complete" or not at all.

 

[mergatroid]

Lot's of delays with the new ride at Universal, people complaining about complete lack of communication from the managers to guests and queuing for hours and then being turned away. Whilst I'm not personally that bothered about this and appreciate that with new attractions teething problems are inevitable, with the OP wanting to judge the magnificence of it I'm sure he'll be happy to justify all the issues?

 

[General Mayhem]

It was supposed to open with both attractions in late 2019. Instead it opened several months ahead of schedule with one attraction. YMMV on whether this was a net gain or a lateral move for guests, but I can't really see a downside to it? Like I said, guests are welcome to visit the land in late 2019 when GE was originally slated to open & will be able to experience both attractions at that time. Guests who don't care (or just don't know) about ROTR's absence will get to experience the land much earlier than expected. It seems like a pretty fair trade-off to me, but I know some would rather the land open "complete" or not at all.

Lot's of delays with the new ride at Universal, people complaining about complete lack of communication from the managers to guests and queuing for hours and then being turned away. Whilst I'm not personally that bothered about this and appreciate that with new attractions teething problems are inevitable, with the OP wanting to judge the magnificence of it I'm sure he'll be happy to justify all the issues?

Same thing happened with FoP Stop playing.

 

[mergatroid]

Same thing happened with FoP Stop playing.

That would be relevant if he was comparing Pandora with Potter but he's specifically comparing it with Galaxy's Edge so it's not.

For what it's worth lots of attractions have teething problems be it at Disney or Universal and I'd hazard a guess that they'll be days when Galaxy's Edge doesn't run to plan. The op for whatever reason wants to get a response by comparing GE to Potter, anyone who responds (including you) is therefore 'playing' with him. I'm just interested in how he'll respond to all the issues people are having trying to ride Hagrid's magical creatures motorbike adventure as he's saying the 'experience' is blowing Disney's out of the water. I guess queuing up for 4-5 hours to be told that the rides out for the day is a fantastic way to spend the day and just what Universal were aiming for in their original planning stage

 

[General Mayhem]

That would be relevant if he was comparing Pandora with Potter but he's specifically comparing it with Galaxy's Edge so it's not.

For what it's worth lots of attractions have teething problems be it at Disney or Universal and I'd hazard a guess that they'll be days when Galaxy's Edge doesn't run to plan. The op for whatever reason wants to get a response by comparing GE to Potter, anyone who responds (including you) is therefore 'playing' with him. I'm just interested in how he'll respond to all the issues people are having trying to ride Hagrid's magical creatures motorbike adventure as he's saying the 'experience' is blowing Disney's out of the water. I guess queuing up for 4-5 hours to be told that the rides out for the day is a fantastic way to spend the day and just what Universal were aiming for in their original planning stage

I just rode it on Sunday and waited 70 minutes, calm down dude.

 

[mergatroid]

I just rode it on Sunday and waited 70 minutes, calm down dude.

I'm perfectly calm dude, stop playing

 

[General Mayhem]

I'm perfectly calm dude, stop playing

You're the one playing games posting the same video a second time because no one commented on it the first time.

 

[mergatroid]

You're the one playing games posting the same video a second time because no one commented on it the first time.

Seriously, you're now surmising the thinking behind what I do on here? That would be like me saying "Ooh look at you replying to me again trying to show off to everyone on here how 'edgy' you are". I don't know if you are but if we're going to make childish accusations then why not eh?

I just gave a balanced reply to the op for giggles as much as anything. I've admitted that all parks including Disney have 'teething problems' with attractions and even threw in that I imagine GE will have it's off days also. It would appear however that you seem a bit defensive about anything that seems a tad critical about Potter. If so that's fine you're entitled to have that view and share it on here. As you're monitoring my posts on the subject you'll have no doubt read my comments on the Universal section where I've said how great the ride looks (apart from my minor quibble about the painted building) and again how technical issues often plague new attractions including Disneys.

 

[mergatroid]

Star Wars land is good - but it's not a game changer.

Only opening one ride, one of which isn't earth shattering, has been a move that has misfired in my opinion.

That's a fair enough comment at where we stand today. In context to this thread however the OP is comparing both Potter lands combined along with new attractions that were added after their opening and comparing them to a land partially opened in one Disney park and not open at all in another. Unless he knows somebody who works at Disneyland who's snook him in and let him ride ROTR then it's a bit presumptuous to make any claims as to what this land will be like in 6 months time when it's working fully as designed. That's probably the point when fairer comparisons can be made but even then Potter will have had more time to add attractions but I think I could live with comparisons then. On reading his post for the very first time my first thought was "I think he's worried that GE might get better reviews than Potter so he's taking a cheap shot now whilst it's opened with just the one working ride"? Of course that's just my gut reaction, he may believe everything he says and if so that's fine, it's pretty subjective.

I take your point about opening the land with one ride 'misfiring' as it's your opinion and therefore perfectly valid. I think personally though that had Disney announced "We can open this land earlier than scheduled with one attraction not yet open, or wait until it's all completed" that the majority of people would choose the open it earlier option (I've done no market research on this, just going off my feelings here). We'd booked our trip this September early on this year thinking there was zero chance of GE being open but did so anyway as our AP's expire in October and we like that time of year. Having it open 2 weeks before we arrive is a huge bonus for us, but we're going fully aware that the headliner attraction won't be open then and yet would prefer that to not having it open at all. I do feel sorry for anyone going to GE thinking it's fully open when it's not, though Disney do seem to be doing a fair bit to promote that fact and let their guests decide whether they want to go now or wait a little longer

 

[Raineman]

Star Wars land is good - but it's not a game changer.

Only opening one ride, one of which isn't earth shattering, has been a move that has misfired in my opinion.

Have you been to Galaxy's Edge yet? Not sure how many times I've mentioned it in this thread, but-if you've visited it and had a chance to experience it, then your opinion is valid. If you've only seen YouTube videos and/or pictures, you can't make a definitive statement on how good it is or isn't, and your opinion is 100% speculation. Not trying to belabor the point, but nothing at a theme park (or at any kind of vacation destination) can be fully judged unless the person judging it has been there. There was alot of this in the last 2 years with Pandora and TSL-people were even saying how good or bad these lands were even before they opened.

 

[Kamikaze]

GE was supposed to open with both attractions (Rise being its star attraction). This is the equivalent of opening Pandora with only Navi River Journey and telling guests that FoP won't open for 3-6 months.

Except Smuggler's Run is an E-Ticket on its own. NRJ is not.

 

[Kamikaze]

Star Wars land is good - but it's not a game changer.

Only opening one ride, one of which isn't earth shattering, has been a move that has misfired in my opinion.

But it is. If this is the bar Disney is setting going forward, it certainly changes what people will consider a great experience at the parks.

 

[Tom Morrow]

It’s no surprise that Harry Potter land is better. It’s bigger, there’s two of them connected by a themed train ride and there’s more attractions. It’s been out longer. It’ll be neat to see how they expand SWGE in the future.

Maybe you missed this post from a few pages ago. It's not bigger.

35 acres, eh?

1. how much of that is taken up by a land hogging coaster?
2. how bad did you measure it? Even including the coaster, it’s nowhere near 35 acres.

Also, if we’re counting all the Harry Potter rides, we’ll be counting Star Tours too. That’s 4 E-ticket-esque attractions to Star Wars’ 3. Let’s take a look at non-ride land area, shall we?
View attachment 381364
View attachment 381365

 

[Tom Morrow]

A quick lesson in theme park design:

This -

Is not more immersive than these:

Hagrid's is a realllly fun ride, but it's no game changer. It honestly doesn't even live it to the immersion of Forbidden Journey and Diagon Alley. If SWGE isn't a game changer, it certainly has raised the bar to the new standard.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

 

[The_Jobu]

I'm with you but it bums me out they didn't using an original trilogy location for the land. I feel like some of the emotional connection gets lost with a place that has no significant meaning to the (original) movies we love. I understand they need to create something new and will cater to all demographics, but a hoth, endor, etc. would have sealed it for me

Exactly my thoughts. I’m hoping to go to WDW in 2020 already. I’ll check out SWL if it’s not too busy, but just because it’s new. If it’s packed I don’t mind riding Star Tours instead to get my fix.