Inside Universal Forums

Welcome to the Inside Universal Forums! Register a free account today to become a member. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members and unlock our forums features!

  • Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Disneyland)

I think if this land had opened in Orlando, discussion would be much more lively because many of the regulars on these boards would likely have been able to get out there and check it out.

The irony, of course, is that when Orlando's does open, the discussion will probably still be relatively quiet because Disneyland will have sucked up all the focus months earlier.
 
I am currently here at dca after my stay at galaxy's edge. Me and my girlfriend both have the same feeling. Underwhelmed. Most of that is probably because of smugglers run being short. We re rode it but after knowing what happens it was boring. The land itself was super immersive though. I loved the cantina and overall look of the land but it seems empty for some reason. Probably will feel better once ROTR opens. Final score: 7/10
Blue milk is hit or miss. I liked it, most don't!
 
I am currently here at dca after my stay at galaxy's edge. Me and my girlfriend both have the same feeling. Underwhelmed. Most of that is probably because of smugglers run being short. We re rode it but after knowing what happens it was boring. The land itself was super immersive though. I loved the cantina and overall look of the land but it seems empty for some reason. Probably will feel better once ROTR opens. Final score: 7/10
Thanks for the review.
 
I for one am just a general theme park fan, but other forums have less civil and interesting discussions. I remember when this was OU, which is when I joined.

But we should get back on topic.
 
I think it's died because 1) everyone has kinda already said all there is to say about it at this point, and 2) some trolls who were stoking fires aren't here anymore. :)

I mean, I'm going on Thursday, but I probably wasn't going to post much about it because unless something is extremely different, there's not much more to add to the conversation. I'd imagine it being relatively quite here until either the next phase (end of reservations, opening of RotR) or a dramatic change in operations.

I disagree. I'd love to hear more reactions. Everyone has different experiences and frames of reference. Please share on your return.
 
I visited on Saturday. Some background. I am a huge Star Wars fan, I grew up with the movies and I am 30 years old. I am a theme park aficionado and I also love Disneyland and Universal Studios. Getting that out of the way I think I am pretty impartial when reviewing stuff. Even if I am a fan, I applaud hits and I am critical of misses. I am not in the camp of "Oh, I am a huge fan so I should love everything they try to shove down my throat" nor in the camp "let's hate everything because it's not exactly as in the book" or any toxic fanbase attitude. That being said. I was underwhelmed by Galaxy´s Edge and so was my party, which are as much regular guests as you can find.
First, theming is really good. The land is really immersive. I dig the idea of it being a planet not seen in the movies, since it opens a lot of possibilities on what to do with the land. They got the hint from Universal Creative of creating something that makes you think you are in a foreign land. It looks lived-in. Kudos to the art direction, BUT, the land feels empty. I am not talking about people (that an addition of aliens roaming around would be nice) but it's just that it's the biggest expansion to Disneyland, it has a lot of acres to it, but the whole thing feels like it wastes too much space just to have two rides and a lot of retail and dining. It feels like a glorified shopping mall. Once you ride Smuggler's Run, there is not much to do but to eat and buy a poop ton of stuff, oh and stand in line for everything. Stand in line to get into a shop, to get into a cantina, to do pretty much anything. It's not only a line, but a 1-hour-of-your-precious-time kind of line. I really felt sometimes Disney manipulating me with nostalgia to buy stuff at premium prices. Like the sole purpose of this land is making money. Even though the art direction is amazing, there is something off with the land. I have talked to people and to my party about what is it that it's lacking and no one can really put their finger on it, but I'd say it's atmosphere. There really is no music in the land, just some sounds but there is a kind of uncomfortable quietness to it all. I think some street performers like some struggling Batuunese (is that the demonym for people from Batuu?) bands of mismatched musicians would really breath life to the land, like a real market from a foreign land. Or some roaming musicians that stop, perform and put a hat to earn credits. Or maybe some music blasting from the speakers that has ethnic tones to it, like maybe is coming out of the stores.

Food. Well, there a lot of mix reviews with good reason. The food in general is good. The dishes we tried were really good and the desserts as well. We tried the Fried Endorian Tip Yip and the shrimp noodle salad. They were both really good, but the Tip Yip might leave you a bit hungry. The Batuu Bon was amazing and I had a specialty non alcoholic drink, the Sour Sarlacc, which was also tasty, BUT the butterber-killer blue and green milks are just a huge miss for me. From my party only one enjoyed a milk and it was the blue one. The rest couldn't finish up their drinks and I definitely don't look forward to buying it again. Both taste like molten candy and I think that the combination of ingredients and flavors just make it taste funny. When we went on our reservation, the milk stand was empty, and this was supposed to have endless lines. I think they thought they could beat Butterbeer, but I think a reformulation is coming soon.

Smuggler's Run. This was a huge letdown to all my party. The queue is impressive and immersive. You really get excited when you enter for the first time to the Falcon. I rode my first time as a gunner and I must say it was a letdown. I don't know who came up with the idea that there was not going to be an issue if you didn't get to pilot the falcon, even more so when considering that gunners and engineers really get the short straw. If you are in those two positions, it sucks because you won't be able to pay attention to the action happening because you have to be looking at your buttons or else you will fail the mission, but it's really not that engaging since you have to press like 4 buttons at random. My party came out and was a bit confused on why they decided to build this ride, preventing people from enjoying the experience because everyone will want to pilot the Falcon and few will get to do it. We rode it a second time and I got to be a pilot and the experience was better and more enjoyable BUT I see this ride as one I won't mind skipping, since you will enjoy it only as a pilot and it's not even that impressive. It's like Star Tours but a bit worse since the imagery is not even attempting to be photoreal. It feels more intimate and the glass-free 3D effect is really cool but I just don't understand why they decided to build that ride and worse of it all to anchor the whole land for at least 4 months. So many other things would have worked better, like a hybrid of Forbidden Journey and Peter Pan, the cabin hanging from the ceiling and a type of tumble dryer system that could flip the cabin 360º and take it through some practical sets and some projections to make it more thrilling.

All in all, it's not a misfire from Disney. The level of detail and money they poured into the land shows. Maybe the problems I see are easily fixable in the future and that is what soft openings are for, but my gut tells me that maybe the land had a design problem. Too early to tell. The land feels incomplete, because it is, the flagship attraction is not opening until maybe October or November if we are lucky. Time will tell if once that ROTR opens, the land will feel complete or better.
 
I visited on Saturday. Some background. I am a huge Star Wars fan, I grew up with the movies and I am 30 years old. I am a theme park aficionado and I also love Disneyland and Universal Studios. Getting that out of the way I think I am pretty impartial when reviewing stuff. Even if I am a fan, I applaud hits and I am critical of misses. I am not in the camp of "Oh, I am a huge fan so I should love everything they try to shove down my throat" nor in the camp "let's hate everything because it's not exactly as in the book" or any toxic fanbase attitude. That being said. I was underwhelmed by Galaxy´s Edge and so was my party, which are as much regular guests as you can find.
First, theming is really good. The land is really immersive. I dig the idea of it being a planet not seen in the movies, since it opens a lot of possibilities on what to do with the land. They got the hint from Universal Creative of creating something that makes you think you are in a foreign land. It looks lived-in. Kudos to the art direction, BUT, the land feels empty. I am not talking about people (that an addition of aliens roaming around would be nice) but it's just that it's the biggest expansion to Disneyland, it has a lot of acres to it, but the whole thing feels like it wastes too much space just to have two rides and a lot of retail and dining. It feels like a glorified shopping mall. Once you ride Smuggler's Run, there is not much to do but to eat and buy a poop ton of stuff, oh and stand in line for everything. Stand in line to get into a shop, to get into a cantina, to do pretty much anything. It's not only a line, but a 1-hour-of-your-precious-time kind of line. I really felt sometimes Disney manipulating me with nostalgia to buy stuff at premium prices. Like the sole purpose of this land is making money. Even though the art direction is amazing, there is something off with the land. I have talked to people and to my party about what is it that it's lacking and no one can really put their finger on it, but I'd say it's atmosphere. There really is no music in the land, just some sounds but there is a kind of uncomfortable quietness to it all. I think some street performers like some struggling Batuunese (is that the demonym for people from Batuu?) bands of mismatched musicians would really breath life to the land, like a real market from a foreign land. Or some roaming musicians that stop, perform and put a hat to earn credits. Or maybe some music blasting from the speakers that has ethnic tones to it, like maybe is coming out of the stores.

Food. Well, there a lot of mix reviews with good reason. The food in general is good. The dishes we tried were really good and the desserts as well. We tried the Fried Endorian Tip Yip and the shrimp noodle salad. They were both really good, but the Tip Yip might leave you a bit hungry. The Batuu Bon was amazing and I had a specialty non alcoholic drink, the Sour Sarlacc, which was also tasty, BUT the butterber-killer blue and green milks are just a huge miss for me. From my party only one enjoyed a milk and it was the blue one. The rest couldn't finish up their drinks and I definitely don't look forward to buying it again. Both taste like molten candy and I think that the combination of ingredients and flavors just make it taste funny. When we went on our reservation, the milk stand was empty, and this was supposed to have endless lines. I think they thought they could beat Butterbeer, but I think a reformulation is coming soon.

Smuggler's Run. This was a huge letdown to all my party. The queue is impressive and immersive. You really get excited when you enter for the first time to the Falcon. I rode my first time as a gunner and I must say it was a letdown. I don't know who came up with the idea that there was not going to be an issue if you didn't get to pilot the falcon, even more so when considering that gunners and engineers really get the short straw. If you are in those two positions, it sucks because you won't be able to pay attention to the action happening because you have to be looking at your buttons or else you will fail the mission, but it's really not that engaging since you have to press like 4 buttons at random. My party came out and was a bit confused on why they decided to build this ride, preventing people from enjoying the experience because everyone will want to pilot the Falcon and few will get to do it. We rode it a second time and I got to be a pilot and the experience was better and more enjoyable BUT I see this ride as one I won't mind skipping, since you will enjoy it only as a pilot and it's not even that impressive. It's like Star Tours but a bit worse since the imagery is not even attempting to be photoreal. It feels more intimate and the glass-free 3D effect is really cool but I just don't understand why they decided to build that ride and worse of it all to anchor the whole land for at least 4 months. So many other things would have worked better, like a hybrid of Forbidden Journey and Peter Pan, the cabin hanging from the ceiling and a type of tumble dryer system that could flip the cabin 360º and take it through some practical sets and some projections to make it more thrilling.

All in all, it's not a misfire from Disney. The level of detail and money they poured into the land shows. Maybe the problems I see are easily fixable in the future and that is what soft openings are for, but my gut tells me that maybe the land had a design problem. Too early to tell. The land feels incomplete, because it is, the flagship attraction is not opening until maybe October or November if we are lucky. Time will tell if once that ROTR opens, the land will feel complete or better.
Thanks for the review. I'm glad people are back now discussing the land. Good conversation keeps these forums flowing. That said, I've always especially valued regular posters reviews. They help me the most when it comes time to best plan my initial forays into a new land or a new ride, which in GESWL will be mid November. I'm hoping Disney changes their mind and gets RotR out there soon since it seems needed in the land. The one, to me, biggest miss, which is easily fixable, seems to be the lack of John Williams magnificent SW music when you enter the land. I've always thought the single most essential thing that brings the Potter lands to life, and elicits emotion, is the beautiful Potter music playing as you enter Hogsmeade & Diagon. That sets the table for all the other wonders that follow.
 
Thanks for the review. I'm glad people are back now discussing the land. Good conversation keeps these forums flowing. That said, I've always especially valued regular posters reviews. They help me the most when it comes time to best plan my initial forays into a new land or a new ride, which in GESWL will be mid November. I'm hoping Disney changes their mind and gets RotR out there soon since it seems needed in the land. The one, to me, biggest miss, which is easily fixable, seems to be the lack of John Williams magnificent SW music when you enter the land. I've always thought the single most essential thing that brings the Potter lands to life, and elicits emotion, is the beautiful Potter music playing as you enter Hogsmeade & Diagon. That sets the table for all the other wonders that follow.

I was actually thinking of entering Jurassic Park's "island". That music sets the tone so well. Kong's area music also just puts you there. I understand that they want the land to feel real (most of us don't have background music surrounding us wherever we go) but music sets the tone. Technically, you're entering a movie's realm and movie's have music typically. Especially those in the Star Wars realm. Millennium Falcon area could have music from the movies and variations of them that could light and adventurous. Rise of the Resistance could have darker music with Imperial tones as you cross through the area outside the ride. Again, I've not been there, though, and thus don't have actual experience in that land. I do think that Disney's Pandora area would benefit with some more background music from "Avatar" to bring you into that movie's setting as well. I'm just comparing that experience with what I've read for SW:GE.
 
I was actually thinking of entering Jurassic Park's "island". That music sets the tone so well. Kong's area music also just puts you there. I understand that they want the land to feel real (most of us don't have background music surrounding us wherever we go) but music sets the tone. Technically, you're entering a movie's realm and movie's have music typically. Especially those in the Star Wars realm. Millennium Falcon area could have music from the movies and variations of them that could light and adventurous. Rise of the Resistance could have darker music with Imperial tones as you cross through the area outside the ride. Again, I've not been there, though, and thus don't have actual experience in that land. I do think that Disney's Pandora area would benefit with some more background music from "Avatar" to bring you into that movie's setting as well. I'm just comparing that experience with what I've read for SW:GE.
Completely agree with you. JP music sends a shiver up my back. Even the NY section of USF when they play the Sinatra etc. music , gets me & Alene psyched for the area. We sometimes go and dance in the street for a bit, even. Music brings everything to life in the 'theme park worlds'. .
 
I was actually thinking of entering Jurassic Park's "island". That music sets the tone so well. Kong's area music also just puts you there. I understand that they want the land to feel real (most of us don't have background music surrounding us wherever we go) but music sets the tone. Technically, you're entering a movie's realm and movie's have music typically. Especially those in the Star Wars realm. Millennium Falcon area could have music from the movies and variations of them that could light and adventurous. Rise of the Resistance could have darker music with Imperial tones as you cross through the area outside the ride. Again, I've not been there, though, and thus don't have actual experience in that land. I do think that Disney's Pandora area would benefit with some more background music from "Avatar" to bring you into that movie's setting as well. I'm just comparing that experience with what I've read for SW:GE.
I think that is one huge problem. The land feels a little too real in some aspects, like no music or ambiance because this is a "real planet". But the quietness is just off. You do get to hear some spaceships landing and taking off, but still, the whole things feels awkward

You are right. Disney famously created the sounds system for Disneyland, for the music to slowly blend when moving from lands. Music is an important part of theme parks
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@smoaT , thanks for the awesome review! I really appreciate the honest as well as detailed assessment. Hopefully they are considering the feedback and considering some tweaks to the experience.

In that regard, do we know if Disney doing any exit polls or soliciting feedback from visitors?
 
Just something to consider (and I think this was in an article that someone linked). This is the importance of music for these experiences in my opinion:

Sadly, I won't get to really experience SW:GE until next February at DHS. I really wanted to go to Disneyland but that just wasn't going to work this year.
 
Just something to consider (and I think this was in an article that someone linked). This is the importance of music for these experiences in my opinion:

Sadly, I won't get to really experience SW:GE until next February at DHS. I really wanted to go to Disneyland but that just wasn't going to work this year.

Funny you should mention that. Long long ago I read an interview article with Lucas concerning the first Star Wars, that he had mortgaged most of his financial assets to produce, along with the money from other sources. He said he & his wife were reviewing the original just about completed film before the music and sound and special effects had been added. He said he told his wife that they were in trouble since this movie doesn't look very good, at this stage. Well, after adding music and sound effects it became a completely different animal. The rest is history. ....Yes, music is often a prime factor.
 
Sorry, I haven’t been following this closely. Do they have a “force be with you” class for young people? Something where they make powerful magical things happen by using the force?
 
Sorry, I haven’t been following this closely. Do they have a “force be with you” class for young people? Something where they make powerful magical things happen by using the force?

They have not reintroduced the Jedi Academy, and as far as I know there don't appear to be plans to do so... probably a victim due to the "hyper immersion" ambition despite its popularity.
 
I thought I had read multiple times that John Williams created a custom score just for this land. Where is it used then?
 
Top