Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Disneyland)

[SailwiththeTide]

-----------

Disney set up temporary turnstiles and ticket stations yesterday. They were expecting much larger crowds than they got. This isn't a death knell nor does it mean they handled everything perfectly. They got less than they expected, and I think many Disney fans are disappointed they don't have an IOA Hogsmeade photo of their own so they're falling back to "exactly what they wanted!"

I believe SWGE can, itself, be hitting or surpassing the goals they set, but the rest of the park is empty and likely not hitting their financial goals. The fact many people who follow and study these things are FREAKING OUT about them lifting block outs so quickly is telling.







I wonder if the same people praising the lack of lines as a genius move on Disney's part will then turn around in September and point to hours and hours long waits as also a success. My guess is they totally will because it's not about guest satisfaction or doing things right, it's that what Disney is right, even if the goal posts or expectations change minute by minute.

Even though the last month has been quite at the parks Disney's knee jerk reaction to open up to CM's seems like a poor move. Yeah they can Block them out anytime they want so it is easy to control, but as a customer not unblocking Deluxe passes seems like a slap in the face.

 

[Ryan]

I wonder if the same people praising the lack of lines as a genius move on Disney's part will then turn around in September and point to hours and hours long waits as also a success. My guess is they totally will because it's not about guest satisfaction or doing things right, it's that what Disney is right, even if the goal posts or expectations change minute by minute.

I've stated this many times but it's snake eat tail. There are many people who also are thirsty to see Disney fail and that rather annoys me. They clearly overplayed their hand a bit, but some are acting like this is A) a catastrophic failure or B) something to laugh at because of the "pixie dusters" who go around crapping all over Hagrid's foibles at the current moment. (which is also lame)

Regardless, I think we can all agree this has nothing to do with "the land/IP just wasn't as popular as Disney thought it was" but instead multiple other factors including an overcompensation towards blocking people out in a park that's largely driven by its locals.

 

[themeparkshark]

Regardless, I think we can all agree this has nothing to do with "the land/IP just wasn't as popular as Disney thought it was" but instead multiple other factors including an overcompensation towards blocking people out in a park that's largely driven by its locals.

100% right! Smugglers had a current wait time posted of 110 minutes. We are weeks into this thing now! Saying Galaxy’s Edge is anything outside of a success is comical. Only thing that could have been done better is ROTR, but that is almost strategic at this point.

If Disney opened this in September, where no blackout dates apply across the board, had one set opening date without reservations AND opened with ROTR, people would have camped for days AND the entire park would have reached capacity within opening hour. The difference is a staggered opening with much more positive press and customer satisfaction.

The only downside is theme park bloggers and theme park enthusiasts think it’s a failure because it missed the mark of hysteria that Hogsmeade had. If you really consider my points above, I think you’ll see why this thing is awesome and how smoothly it’s going even without ROTR.

 

[Ryan]

Disneyland does seem a lot more crowded today already, I'll give it that.

 

[s8film40]

Regardless, I think we can all agree this has nothing to do with "the land/IP just wasn't as popular as Disney thought it was" but instead multiple other factors including an overcompensation towards blocking people out in a park that's largely driven by its locals.

I agree with this and I think it really highlights the bigger issue, that Disney is reaching a breaking point where they just can't control crowds with pricing. I suspect when the AP blackouts are lifted we're going to see a huge rush and serious crowding issues. This has been an issue with Disneyland for a while, where it seems to be an all or nothing type thing.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I've stated this many times but it's snake eat tail. There are many people who also are thirsty to see Disney fail and that rather annoys me. They clearly overplayed their hand a bit, but some are acting like this is A) a catastrophic failure or B) something to laugh at because of the "pixie dusters" who go around crapping all over Hagrid's foibles at the current moment. (which is also lame)

Regardless, I think we can all agree this has nothing to do with "the land/IP just wasn't as popular as Disney thought it was" but instead multiple other factors including an overcompensation towards blocking people out in a park that's largely driven by its locals.

I think there’s an angle of “the demand isn’t there” but we’re so far away from that possibly being an isolating variable it’s not worth discussing.

 

[Ryan]

I think that variable can be discussed when DHS opens at the very best.

 

[themeparkshark]

I think that variable can be discussed when DHS opens at the very best.

Great point! Definitely right

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I think that variable can be discussed when DHS opens at the very best.

I mean Pandora has lines soooooo

I think both will have to be looked at separate due to the different markets they go after. DL is the worlds largest regional park, WDW is the vacation kingdom.

 

[shiekra38]

I mean Pandora has lines soooooo

I think both will have to be looked at separate due to the different markets they go after. DL is the worlds largest regional park, WDW is the vacation kingdom.

I feel the Florida version of SWL will carry the success of the two, as, realistically, the land is not designed for people who go all the time...I also feel Disney Orlando is concerning themselves less and less with those folks

 

[rastuso]

Iger's already saying he's blown away by the spending capita at the moment.

I gotta assume there is a heavy correlation between die hard fans getting to the land ASAP, and the guests willing to buy a $200 light saber.

I do think the light saber line will die off fairly quickly.

 

[Trumen882]

I feel the Florida version of SWL will carry the success of the two, as, realistically, the land is not designed for people who go all the time...I also feel Disney Orlando is concerning themselves less and less with those folks

I think you are right. Also Orlando’s Star Wars Land will be a lot more popular since it’s located in a park that needs an extra land/attraction way more than DL

 

[Ryan]

I gotta assume there is a heavy correlation between die hard fans getting to the land ASAP, and the guests willing to buy a $200 light saber.

I do think the light saber line will die off fairly quickly.

Highly doubt that considering the capacity.

 

[rastuso]

100% right! Smugglers had a current wait time posted of 110 minutes. We are weeks into this thing now! Saying Galaxy’s Edge is anything outside of a success is comical. Only thing that could have been done better is ROTR, but that is almost strategic at this point.

If Disney opened this in September, where no blackout dates apply across the board, had one set opening date without reservations AND opened with ROTR, people would have camped for days AND the entire park would have reached capacity within opening hour. The difference is a staggered opening with much more positive press and customer satisfaction.

The only downside is theme park bloggers and theme park enthusiasts think it’s a failure because it missed the mark of hysteria that Hogsmeade had. If you really consider my points above, I think you’ll see why this thing is awesome and how smoothly it’s going even without ROTR.

When was the last NEW ride opening at Disneyland? Pooh? Not surprising a new ride has a long line.

An empty park has to be making a HUGE impact to those in charge.

And opening up to non paying CMs is a VERY perplexing move. That will bring in a lot of low paid kids with very little spending money, and friends who can slip them freebies, and let them in FP queues without FPs. And that will do nothing but make the park experience for actual paying customers with money worse.

It makes no sense unless Disney has some very distressing internal numbers, and hotel ressies throughout the summer are dismal in Anaheim.

 

[Ryan]

I think the idea is to bring their families.

 

[themeparkshark]

When was the last NEW ride opening at Disneyland? Pooh? Not surprising a new ride has a long line.

An empty park has to be making a HUGE impact to those in charge.

And opening up to non paying CMs is a VERY perplexing move. That will bring in a lot of low paid kids with very little spending money, and friends who can slip them freebies, and let them in FP queues without FPs. And that will do nothing but make the park experience for actual paying customers with money worse.

It makes no sense unless Disney has some very distressing internal numbers, and hotel ressies throughout the summer are dismal in Anaheim.

I wouldn’t say this is an issue. I would just say that the staggered opening is doing its job and disney is slowly returning to normal operation. One little step every so often until it reaches a boiling point. So far, so good.

 

[Trumen882]

The idea is that if they unblock some annual pass holders they are devaluing the annual passes that are unblocked currently. This would cause their value to decrease. By unblocking CMs they get around this issue

 

[Evan]

Marketing the low crowds:

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort Opens with ‘Out of this World’ Guest Experience | Disney Parks Blog

 

[Ryan]

What's funny is that if they're marketing low crowds and crowds appear... well...

 

[devinp267]

The boiling point is inevitable, and i get what they are doing now, but if it's hurting you now was it worth it? Especially knowing that when the flood gates open it's gonna happen anyway? I think they believe they are getting rid of enough people doing this phase, not!