Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Disneyland)

[Viator]

This is just sad to see. Although I guess Potter charges for their interactive experience, but at least in that case you're getting a wand for it and not just throwing away money on your phone. The Play Disney Parks app legitimately sucks from an interactivity standpoint and is another app that eats your battery. Glad this isn't something I intended on doing anyway.

I'd honestly say that the Wands are in a way, a completely unique experience, as it offers practical use of what your purchasing within the land.

It's times like this where I genuinely wonder why they never tried to apply doing something similar to the wands, but with the force.

 

[themeparkshark]

Do you realize how much less there is to do at USH than DL? One ride having those kind of crowds means nothing when there's only about what, 6-7 rides in the park + the tram.

This is word for word what I said

 

[Nick]

I'd honestly say that the Wands are in a way, a completely unique experience, as it offers practical use of what your purchasing within the land.

It's times like this where I genuinely wonder why they never tried to apply doing something similar to the wands, but with the force.

I agree, that's what I was saying. The only force-laden thing that could work as a physical/interactive element would be a Lightsaber... but even then I have trouble seeing that work.

This is word for word what I said

I'm sorry if you're ego is hurt over that, but I honestly have no idea what you said/when you said it as I didn't see it.

 

[themeparkshark]

I'm sorry if your ego is hurt over that, but I honestly have no idea what you said/when you said it as I didn't see it.

It’s not about an ego or a fight. I’m saying I agree with what you said.

 

[devinp267]

This is just sad to see. Although I guess Potter charges for their interactive experience, but at least in that case you're getting a wand for it and not just throwing away money on your phone. The Play Disney Parks app legitimately sucks from an interactivity standpoint and is another app that eats your battery. Glad this isn't something I intended on doing anyway.

I'd honestly say that the Wands are in a way, a completely unique experience, as it offers practical use of what your purchasing within the land.

It's times like this where I genuinely wonder why they never tried to apply doing something similar to the wands, but with the force.

I agree, that's what I was saying. The only force-laden thing that could work as a physical/interactive element would be a Lightsaber... but even then I have trouble seeing that work.

Disney is the entertainment king, they could've had something more interactive than an app and they failed on that front. Not only that, you can't even have the lightsaber or droid out. Its just not what it could've been, looks amazing though.

 

[sparky]

I'd honestly say that the Wands are in a way, a completely unique experience, as it offers practical use of what your purchasing within the land.

It's times like this where I genuinely wonder why they never tried to apply doing something similar to the wands, but with the force.

They could easily add a Jedi training experience for free. Have the kid wave their hand and a rock rises, or a broom etc. When my son was at that age he would have loved that.

 

[Nick]

It’s not about an ego or a fight. I’m saying I agree with what you said.

Sorry for misunderstanding. The ride thing is a pretty easy conclusion to come to when you think of how monolithic Disneyland is from a rides perspective and how... small USH is on the same topic.

But again, this shouldn't be about Uni vs. Dis. I like it when we talk beyond surface level (which, essentially a lot of people seem to be insinuating since crowds aren't stretched to Mickey & Friends that this thing is a failure). I like talking about substance over surface. It's fine to argue to me that the substance isn't there or what-not, but the people experiencing the land right now are having A+++ experiences. I think Disney would much rather have that than have to compensate thousands of guests for a poor experience. As someone else said earlier in the thread, this mostly highlights how locals heavy Disneyland is and they've blocked out almost every level of pass (and CMs had been blocked out until they weren't).

I think the major blunders Disneyland made here come down to a few things:

• Opening DL and WDW separately. Causes confusion among the masses.
• Opening either SWGE without RotR. Makes the land feel incomplete - because it is.
• They scared people away. They hyped it up to being so damn crowded, that it seems a lot of people just got scared off.

Yes, DL is a locals heavy park, but i've been over the summer in both 2016 and 2017 and both times, APs were blocked out and it was EXTREMELY busy. These types of crowds just aren't normal and won't continue at Disneyland.

Disney is the entertainment king, they could've had something more interactive than an app and they failed on that front. Not only that, you can't even have the lightsaber or droid out. Its just not what it could've been, looks amazing though.

I sort of get not having the droid out, but just like I scratch my head at them not letting people dress up in a Jedi Robe that they just bought from a store in SWGE, I don't get why Sabers can't be out. Makes no sense. Just walk through Hogsmeade or Diagon alley. That's part of what creates the immersion - the guests wandering around in character themselves.

To me I feel like this is a policy that Disney is going to have to seriously rethink.

 

[Evan]

 

[Nick]

This is one of those "Talent recognizes Talent" situations. Just like how WDI toured the wizarding world years ago.

Also doesn't hurt that Trowbridge used to work on the other side

EDIT: Oh, and based on the pics and stuff i'm seeing, Batuu is practically a ghost town today. No lines for food, droid depot or even Smugglers Run.

 

[JungleSkip]

EDIT: Oh, and based on the pics and stuff i'm seeing, Batuu is practically a ghost town today. No lines for food, droid depot or even Smugglers Run.

I’m honestly baffled at this point. I always said I thought people were way overblowing just how crowded this would end up being, but I still expected the place to be relatively crowded.

Gotta figure AP blackouts are gonna be lifted soon

 

[Nick]

I’m honestly baffled at this point. I always said I thought people were way overblowing just how crowded this would end up being, but I still expected the place to be relatively crowded.

Gotta figure AP blackouts are gonna be lifted soon

On the plus side, it's a great time for an impromptu trip to Disneyland!

 

[themeparkshark]

This is really cool seeing Mark in the park! Hope this gets some juices and hunger flowing for UFW.

Sorry for misunderstanding. The ride thing is a pretty easy conclusion to come to when you think of how monolithic Disneyland is from a rides perspective and how... small USH is on the same topic.

No problem! I didn’t wang to quote the entirety of what you wrote here burn i agree with you wholeheartedly. Truly feels like an echo of my words and I’m glad I’m not the only one that thinks this thing is a success. You hit the nail on the head here and I wish more people would understand that customer satisfaction is through the roof right now! I got to ride smugglers 3 times during my reservation period for gods sake! and people are also buying $200+ lightsabers in mass!! They aren’t hurting and I think your post was super well informed.

 

[Nick]

I’m honestly baffled at this point. I always said I thought people were way overblowing just how crowded this would end up being, but I still expected the place to be relatively crowded.

Gotta figure AP blackouts are gonna be lifted soon

Also, to add one more thing: These crowds aren't normal. They're far below normal, which makes it all the more head-scratching. A new blockbuster land opens and less people show up than to when Pixar Pier opened? This is normally the time of year when tourists carry the load at DL... but I think marketing scared them all away and now they're left with a relatively empty park and a bunch of APs that are blocked out.

 

[Scott W.]

This is one of those "Talent recognizes Talent" situations. Just like how WDI toured the wizarding world years ago.

Also doesn't hurt that Trowbridge used to work on the other side

EDIT: Oh, and based on the pics and stuff i'm seeing, Batuu is practically a ghost town today. No lines for food, droid depot or even Smugglers Run.

This reminds me of the Old Firm. As far as sports rivalries go, this is probably the most brutal, the world has ever seen:
Old Firm - Wikipedia

You would have fights on the pitches, fans would stab each other, it used to be as bad as it could possibly get.

But, beyond the pitch, a lot of the players would be good friends. They would play football one day and then play golf and go to the pub the next.

Universal and Disney seem very much the same. It's the fans who are escalating the rivalry.

 

[Mad Dog]

And an example of why Universal doesn't like to get too out front with openings. Sometimes the hype creates a lot of negatives, ie. people staying away from the parks for various reasons....expect too many crowds....delay vacations for new stuff....so on and so on.

 

[Clive]

As this obvious underperformance continues, I'm becoming convinced the issue is a combination of high prices + the lack of Rise of Resistance.

They had hoped they'd get vacationers & single day purchases after blocking most annual passholders and employees. But single day purchases are too expensive to justify a trip to an incomplete land for most people, it would seem. That entire demographic seems to be waiting for Rise of the Resistance before they show up.

In other words... I think the crowds will come, i.e. crowds beyond the usual AP onslaught. But they're waiting to get the maximum bang for their buck, and I don't blame them.

 

[Nick]

As this obvious underperformance continues, I'm becoming convinced the issue is a combination of high prices + the lack of Rise of Resistance.

They had hoped they'd get vacationers & single day purchases after blocking most annual passholders and employees. But single day purchases are too expensive to justify a trip to an incomplete land for most people, it would seem. That entire demographic seems to be waiting for Rise of the Resistance before they show up.

In other words... I think the crowds will come, i.e. crowds beyond the usual AP onslaught. But they're waiting to get the maximum bang for their buck, and I don't blame them.

And honestly if you're gonna delay a vacation that far already, might as well be a little more patient and wait for DCA to open Spider-Man next year. Then you're really getting the bang for your buck.

 

[Mad Dog]

This is one of those "Talent recognizes Talent" situations. Just like how WDI toured the wizarding world years ago.

Also doesn't hurt that Trowbridge used to work on the other side

EDIT: Oh, and based on the pics and stuff i'm seeing, Batuu is practically a ghost town today. No lines for food, droid depot or even Smugglers Run.

Wow, I saw those photos, ghost town for sure. I bet there's a lot of scrambling going on in Burbank to come up with an appropriate change in plans and response....This is the type of thing I'm sure they'll do plenty of internal studies on so it doesn't happen this way again. Lots of money left on the table in the past 30 days.....and...this may be something Universal will learn from when open up FW.

 

[Nick]

Wow, I saw those photos, ghost town for sure. I bet there's a lot of scrambling going on in Burbank to come up with an appropriate change in plans and response....This is the type of thing I'm sure they'll do plenty of internal studies on so it doesn't happen this way again. Lots of money left on the table in the past 30 days.....and...this may be something Universal will learn from when open up FW.

I don't really feel bad for the billion dollar media conglomerate losing a little bit of money. The park/land will get back to normal over time. And tbh, Can you really count it as money left on the table over the past month when Monday was originally supposed to be the grand opening of the land anyway?

 

[Mad Dog]

I don't really feel bad for the billion dollar media conglomerate losing a little bit of money. The park/land will get back to normal over time. And tbh, Can you really count it as money left on the table over the past month when Monday was originally supposed to be the grand opening of the land anyway?

Money left on the table with Disneyland attendance way slower than normal for this time of year for apx. 30 days now.