Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Disney's Hollywood Studios)

[Alicia]

Bio is over Star Wars.

EDIT: Just the one Star Wars pic... On to the Universal threads!

 

[Mad Dog]

Touring Plans, in their WDW Crowd Calendar update today, emphasized how soft Disney's hotel bookings are for the next months, and into the Fall. I'm guessing WDW will do whatever they can to get this land opened as soon as they can. I'm betting on October, free Duff's in hand.

 

[belloq87]

When Disney publicizes a "Late Fall 2019" for arguably the most anticipated land opening in their history, and with Mickey and Minnie also potentially not making a summer opening, I don't know what they're expecting to happen. People don't book vacations for Incredibles meet and greets.

 

[Mad Dog]

When Disney publicizes a "Late Fall 2019" for arguably the most anticipated land opening in their history, and with Mickey and Minnie also potentially not making a summer opening, I don't know what they're expecting to happen. People don't book vacations for Incredibles meet and greets.

Now Disney's Marketing changed the announcement to "Fall Opening". That may just be to get people to book earlier ...OR...?

 

[shiekra38]

I wonder if we'll see a WDW opening situation where people think it's going to be so busy that they avoid the area for a while

 

[Nick]

When Disney publicizes a "Late Fall 2019" for arguably the most anticipated land opening in their history, and with Mickey and Minnie also potentially not making a summer opening, I don't know what they're expecting to happen. People don't book vacations for Incredibles meet and greets.

Runaway Railway has a possibility of opening in July, but it all depends on how testing goes.

 

[NuteGunrayWasFramed]

Random Thought: Do you think they’ll implement a lottery admittance system to deal with the crowds similar to the Japanese parks run fastpasses? I could see them using “book with a deluxe or DVC hotel and be guaranteed admittance!” There is no way they’ll be able to run this like a typical expansion.

 

[SkiBum]

I wonder if we'll see a WDW opening situation where people think it's going to be so busy that they avoid the area for a while

My guess is that some will skip. However, Pandora was packed and remains busy to this day. I think that there will be a large number of people who just wait for the rides without regard for the time spent. The basic mentality of "Hey, we'll only do it this once."

 

[rastuso]

Random Thought: Do you think they’ll implement a lottery admittance system to deal with the crowds similar to the Japanese parks run fastpasses? I could see them using “book with a deluxe or DVC hotel and be guaranteed admittance!” There is no way they’ll be able to run this like a typical expansion.

I think they will HAVE to do something different. The question is whether Disney is smart enough to do it that way from the start, or if they have a few disaster weeks before the damage control.

The biggest issue will be crowd control. So many people will gladly get in 3 hour lines, hell a 2 hour line foe the Cantina. Then they will not want to leave the land. Yet folks with FP+s they've had for 67 or so days will keep pouring in.

Seeing the craziness for Pandora, with a much weaker IP, one crap ride, one overhyped ride, and a fairly big restaurant, I really think SWGE will be insane.

Universal dealt with it for Potter, with a similar crazy fan base.
But DizNoids are on a whole other level. They'll wait an hour to get a damn popcorn bucket. There will be thousands in line for pins the first day.

And they will just keep coming to Disney for years. People still swear Navi River Journey is worth a 2 hour wait. Just let that sink in...

 

[NuteGunrayWasFramed]

I think they will HAVE to do something different. The question is whether Disney is smart enough to do it that way from the start, or if they have a few disaster weeks before the damage control.

The biggest issue will be crowd control. So many people will gladly get in 3 hour lines, hell a 2 hour line foe the Cantina. Then they will not want to leave the land. Yet folks with FP+s they've had for 67 or so days will keep pouring in.

Seeing the craziness for Pandora, with a much weaker IP, one crap ride, one overhyped ride, and a fairly big restaurant, I really think SWGE will be insane.

Universal dealt with it for Potter, with a similar crazy fan base.
But DizNoids are on a whole other level. They'll wait an hour to get a damn popcorn bucket. There will be thousands in line for pins the first day.

And they will just keep coming to Disney for years. People still swear Navi River Journey is worth a 2 hour wait. Just let that sink in...

I mean, I’m a Disney freak. I think both Universal and Disney put out quality product. I definitely would like to see some way for this to not be completely botched due to crowds.

 

[Disneyhead]

I mean, I’m a Disney freak. I think both Universal and Disney put out quality product. I definitely would like to see some way for this to not be completely botched due to crowds.

DHS is going to be a train wreck. It doesn't have the capacity nor the infrastructure to handle the crowds.

 

[NuteGunrayWasFramed]

DHS is going to be a train wreck. It doesn't have the capacity nor the infrastructure to handle the crowds.

Which is why I’m wondering how they’ll handle it. It’s not like Disney isn’t aware of the demand and that this demand may actually partially hurt business. I truly feel like the Japanese parks (both Disney and Universal) have mastered capacity issues and the lottery system seems to be a proven method.

 

[rastuso]

DHS is going to be a train wreck. It doesn't have the capacity nor the infrastructure to handle the crowds.

Exactly. When Potter opened, if you had to escape, you had a HUGE park. A big restroom in Jurassic Park and Lost Continent nearby. Plenty of big restaurants nearby.

DHS has the already packed Toy Story Land nearby. And then the Muppets area, then a bathroom by Star Tours. And Pizza Rizzo closed, so the lovely Commissary is available, and of course the Drive In place. Oh wait, you need a ressie there months in advance.

Yeah, gonna be great.

 

[rastuso]

Which is why I’m wondering how they’ll handle it. It’s not like Disney isn’t aware of the demand and that this demand may actually partially hurt business. I truly feel like the Japanese parks (both Disney and Universal) have mastered capacity issues and the lottery system seems to be a proven method.

Does Tokyo Disneyland do lottery for rides? When I was there, admittedly 10 years ago, they had lottery for good seats for the night show, and that was it.

If they did a lottery for anything at WDW, they would need to triple the size of Guest Relations first. Since that construction hasn't started, I hope that isn't their plan.

Nothing will hurt WDW's business. That is what got us into this mess in the first place. You can count on half the number of good rides AT BEST on a WDW park day now than just about 10 years ago. And the price has damn near doubled in that time, and perks removed. Nobody cared, and kept coming in droves.

Some flag went up internally, leading to D23 2017's unprecedented announcements, and actual fast(ish) construction timelines.

Problem is, most of the parks' infrastructures are already maxed out, and unless SW has 2 or 3 copies of the cantina, and 4 bathrooms, including one in each attraction line, it ain't gonna be enough.

 

[Nick]

I think they will HAVE to do something different. The question is whether Disney is smart enough to do it that way from the start, or if they have a few disaster weeks before the damage control.

The biggest issue will be crowd control. So many people will gladly get in 3 hour lines, hell a 2 hour line foe the Cantina. Then they will not want to leave the land. Yet folks with FP+s they've had for 67 or so days will keep pouring in.

Seeing the craziness for Pandora, with a much weaker IP, one crap ride, one overhyped ride, and a fairly big restaurant, I really think SWGE will be insane.

Universal dealt with it for Potter, with a similar crazy fan base.
But DizNoids are on a whole other level. They'll wait an hour to get a damn popcorn bucket. There will be thousands in line for pins the first day.

And they will just keep coming to Disney for years. People still swear Navi River Journey is worth a 2 hour wait. Just let that sink in...

Ok you’re gonna back up this claim with specifics on people that say NRJ is worth a 2 hour wait. Who? I’ve never heard ANYONE say it’s worth that kind of a wait.

 

[NuteGunrayWasFramed]

Does Tokyo Disneyland do lottery for rides? When I was there, admittedly 10 years ago, they had lottery for good seats for the night show, and that was it.

If they did a lottery for anything at WDW, they would need to triple the size of Guest Relations first. Since that construction hasn't started, I hope that isn't their plan.

Nothing will hurt WDW's business. That is what got us into this mess in the first place. You can count on half the number of good rides AT BEST on a WDW park day now than just about 10 years ago. And the price has damn near doubled in that time, and perks removed. Nobody cared, and kept coming in droves.

Some flag went up internally, leading to D23 2017's unprecedented announcements, and actual fast(ish) construction timelines.

Problem is, most of the parks' infrastructures are already maxed out, and unless SW has 2 or 3 copies of the cantina, and 4 bathrooms, including one in each attraction line, it ain't gonna be enough.

They do lottery for the shows (Universal does it for HHN) and I think you can make that work. Here’s another idea: for the first few months eliminate the FastPass lines, they literally only add time to standby. Make the entrance to GE a separate FastPass booking. Think of it as a dining reservation but in this case a time slot in which you can be in GE (you have to leave at a certain point...how they’d enforce that I’m not sure.) People who have paid to stay on Disney property have an extra perk, the experience isn’t completely jam-packed, and it isn’t too far off from the system already in place. Coming from working in the parks, admittedly a few years ago, I definitely see Disney anticipating this one. The infrastructure isn’t maxed out, Disney just chooses to not run them at full capacity for the sake of reducing overhead. And trust me, plenty of factors reduced numbers in 2016 resulting in temporary halting of DAK’s nighttime hours, so Disney isn’t untouchable there.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Operation wise:

Morning: Star Wars Hotel Guests & Early Morning Magic
During the day: Separate queue entries for Star Wars Hotel guests, dining reservations, fastpass reservations, regular folks, and any packages they sell.
Evening: Interchange between Extra Magic Hours and Disney After Hours

SWGE will more than likely be operating from 7AM to 12AM on most days.

 

[rastuso]

Ok you’re gonna back up this claim with specifics on people that say NRJ is worth a 2 hour wait. Who? I’ve never heard ANYONE say it’s worth that kind of a wait.

It's been open almost 2 years and it still has a line that long, even in November.

 

[Nick]

It's been open almost 2 years and it still has a line that long, even in November.

It’s actually around 60 minutes most of the time outside of peak seasons. And just because people randomly get in line for a ride doesn’t mean they thought it was worth it.

Anyone who gets into lines that long are likely tourists who don’t know what they’re waiting for, not NRJ fanboys parading it’s brilliance. It’s a side effect of the park suffering from a lack of ride capacity.

 

[rastuso]

They do lottery for the shows (Universal does it for HHN) and I think you can make that work. Here’s another idea: for the first few months eliminate the FastPass lines, they literally only add time to standby. Make the entrance to GE a separate FastPass booking. Think of it as a dining reservation but in this case a time slot in which you can be in GE (you have to leave at a certain point...how they’d enforce that I’m not sure.) People who have paid to stay on Disney property have an extra perk, the experience isn’t completely jam-packed, and it isn’t too far off from the system already in place. Coming from working in the parks, admittedly a few years ago, I definitely see Disney anticipating this one. The infrastructure isn’t maxed out, Disney just chooses to not run them at full capacity for the sake of reducing overhead. And trust me, plenty of factors reduced numbers in 2016 resulting in temporary halting of DAK’s nighttime hours, so Disney isn’t untouchable there.

They can throttle entry to GE, but as you say, it will be VERY difficult to push folks out. And with whatever FP system they use, there will be a constant flow that MUST be let in.

They could limit access to ONLY those with FP, but that wouldn't go over well.

I was at Disney Studios Paris right when Ratatouille opened, and they were controlling people coming in to the "land". I think the FP machines were distributing a very low ratio to standby in comparison to what WDW seems to operate at, and ran out very quickly. WDW could do that, have FP+, but have it only be 30% of the capacity, which would also help with the inevitable downtime. Then throttle entrance to FP holders, which would be a low number, and then bring in others as they can. But that will just push the line out in to the park, and create a furious mob every day of folks who pay a hundred dollars a head to wait all day and never ride anything at SWGE. Although, that is probably inevitable.

IMHO, they have backed themselves in to a corner with their stupid FP+ system, with a very high FP ratio to standby. It works horribly on any new rides (Pandora, Dwarf Hill), and will be completely horrific for SWGE.