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

[Jamesh22]

I really have to assume they never wanted to open like this... but the ROTR issues put them way too far behind to not open the entire thing.

I'd like to believe that was the case, and it probably is, but I'm far too cynical!

The trouble is we are seeing a pattern here:

• Pixar Pier - opens with 2 rides missing which open 6 months later
• SWGE - opens with the main ride missing
• Avengers Crapus - opening with 1 ride and main e-ticket coming when they can figure out what it actually is

I hope this is because of things which are outside their control (ie what is rumoured to have happened with ROTR) but it looks like accounting saying the cost of investment has to be spread over 2 seasons.

 

[Nick]

You think the optics of long lines are to excite the park guest and FOMO? Bless your heart.
Enormous lines do not make more people want to go. It's actually quite the opposite.

The shareholders on the other hand...

Yeah, when I told people I knew that Hagrid had a posted 10 hour wait on opening day, literally everyone said "why would anyone wait that long?". There's no FOMO when you hear things like that, but it does spark interest in why they were willing to wait so long. I think what @Legacy is sort of saying is that Universal at least got the press because they got the visual, which was all free advertising for their ride. Disney isn't getting that.

Although, I must say, the Potter lands are much smaller than GE in terms of guest space. Disney did a good job of setting up the extended queue so that it wouldn't ever have to leave the land yesterday (at worst the backup plan was to go down the service road near the MMRR show building).

 

[Freak]

I'd like to believe that was the case, and it probably is, but I'm far too cynical!

The trouble is we are seeing a pattern here:

• Pixar Pier - opens with 2 rides missing which open 6 months later
• SWGE - opens with the main ride missing
• Avengers Crapess - opening with 1 ride and main e-ticket coming when they can figure out what it actually is

I hope this is because of things which are outside their control (ie what is rumoured to have happened with ROTR) but it looks like accounting saying the cost of investment has to be spread over 2 seasons.

With rumors going around about Disney potentially cooking the books (I mean, it’s serious enough to where the SEC is looking at it), I wouldn’t put it past them for thinking this way.

 

[Legacy]

You think the optics of long lines are to excite the park guest and FOMO? Bless your heart.
Enormous lines do not make more people want to go. It's actually quite the opposite.

#AmBlessed

Yeah, when I told people I knew that Hagrid had a posted 10 hour wait on opening day, literally everyone said "why would anyone wait that long?". There's no FOMO when you hear things like that, but it does spark interest in why they were willing to wait so long. I think what @Legacy is sort of saying is that Universal at least got the press because they got the visual, which was all free advertising for their ride. Disney isn't getting that.

Although, I must say, the Potter lands are much smaller than GE in terms of guest space. Disney did a good job of setting up the extended queue so that it wouldn't ever have to leave the land yesterday (at worst the backup plan was to go down the service road near the MMRR show building).

@Nick explains it more eloquently. Long lines draw attention. News of 10 hour waits doesn't make people want to wait with them--it makes them want to see why people are waiting that long. The optics have an effect on the long term relevancy of an attraction internally and externally.

 

[SeventyOne]

I 100% agree with you. But the opening is very important. It determines if Disney will invest in theme parks again at this scale.

FIFY.

If Potter disproved the idea that Orlando is a mature market, I fear this opening will reinforce it again. It begins to look like Potter was the outlier, and that new attractions just redistribute crowds instead of bringing in new guests.

I repeat myself again and again but for non-Annual Passholder lifestylers, days in Orlando are a zero sum game. A day at Epic Universe is a day not spent at a Disney park. And probably a night not spent in a Disney resort. If opening cool new stuff in your parks isn't enough to bring in new guests to stay in those resorts, then you have to try another tack--probably something resort based. (EMH and expanded FP windows are existing examples of this.) Whatever those changes are, they generally aren't good for lifestyler fans like are on these boards.

This!!! This is what I don't understand is the smarmy attitude some Uni fans have about this not hitting expectations. Do they not realize this will effect the whole industry... especially Epic Universe.

My friend Zane (who may be lurking here) made an excellent point: if Star Wars fans can see everything in Batuu by 3 or 4 pm--and if crowds stay at current levels or drop they can--it's actually a boon for HHN this year. What would you rather do, sit in your hotel room, go to Not So Scary, or go check out that event up the street with three other 80s genre-adjacent IPs in its lineup?

 

[Mad Dog]

Joe reporting on the Disneyland thread that they're cutting four shows to try to fix the bottom line. Whether people want to accept it or not, a failure has trickle down ramifications. And instead of the Executives who made bad decisions taking substantial pay cuts, they seem to always go after the Equity actors/shows and parades to balance their mistakes. And once entertainment disappears, it often never comes back. Sad.

 

[Tbad556]

Joe reporting on the Disneyland thread that they're cutting four shows to try to fix the bottom line. Whether people want to accept it or not, a failure has trickle down ramifications. And instead of the Executives who made bad decisions taking substantial pay cuts, they seem to always go after the Equity actors/shows and parades to balance their mistakes. And once entertainment disappears, it often never comes back. Sad.

Exactly. This is a key example of why we're discussing the attendance. It would be silly to act like the same thing can't happen over here if GE doesn't perform up to a certain standard. I personally don't want the land to fail by any means, but you also have to be realistic about what could potentially happen here if it isn't a smash success. Star Wars is not something that should underperform and high expectations are bound to be attached to it. This isn't just a fanboy debate. Expansions can be affected. Existing things can be affected. CM hours can be affected. Etc.

 

[SeventyOne]

Joe reporting on the Disneyland thread that they're cutting four shows to try to fix the bottom line. Whether people want to accept it or not, a failure has trickle down ramifications. And instead of the Executives who made bad decisions taking substantial pay cuts, they seem to always go after the Equity actors/shows and parades to balance their mistakes. And once entertainment disappears, it often never comes back. Sad.

I'm sure they cut outside Entertainment, too -- it's just an extra 20 minutes to get a burger or the noticeable trash overflowing a can in Adventureland doesn't drive blogger headlines like more noticeable Entertainment cuts do.

 

[devinp267]

This!!! This is what I don't understand is the smarmy attitude some Uni fans have about this not hitting expectations. Do they not realize this will effect the whole industry... especially Epic Universe.

I'm not really that worried. I honestly think people are starting to become averse to the overcrowding of the parks... and people are willing to wait longer to avoid waiting in massive lines. Avatar/Gringots etc. set a standard that going to see a new ride or park area opening week will be a disaster... The 5+ hour waits were all over social media. I don't think average people want to spend their 2k+ vacation standing shoulder to shoulder in super long lines.

Nahhh.. it's seriously starting too look like there wasn't a strong demand for a star wars land. I think Star wars already being present also contributed.

 

[Freak]

Well if Rey turns out to be able to time travel and basically be Shmi Skywalker in the last movie, I don’t think that’s going to help RotR or this land overall.

 

[devinp267]

Well if Rey turns out to be able to time travel and basically be Shmi Skywalker in the last movie, I don’t think that’s going to help RotR or this land overall.

I......

 

[Mad Dog]

Nahhh.. it's seriously starting too look like there wasn't a strong demand for a star wars land. I think Star wars already being present also contributed.

There might be something to that theory....
* Star Tours 1 & 2, Laser Training and Star Wars Weekends
*The Star Wars Experience....Hyped like it was a new land or major expansion the way Disney marketed it a couple of years ago. Heck, I think they marketed it more than GESWL.
*Now. GESWL with it's second attraction not done.
Fans attitude. Heh, it's beautiful and immersive , but ho hum, we've seen this before....for like forever, in a theme park far far away.
...I'm not saying everyone thinks like this, but there's probably a pretty big segment that does, or is just confused by the marketing

 

[Scott W.]

I've mentioned this in the past, but I don't see it as a negative because when I see pictures of SWGE or when I was there yesterday, I felt Star Wars oozing from the land, I don't think of Epcot's Morocco at all.

WDI did say that they took a trip to Morocco so they could get inspirations for the Black Spire Marketplace.

I get an Animal Kingdom vibe from it.

Joe reporting on the Disneyland thread that they're cutting four shows to try to fix the bottom line. Whether people want to accept it or not, a failure has trickle down ramifications. And instead of the Executives who made bad decisions taking substantial pay cuts, they seem to always go after the Equity actors/shows and parades to balance their mistakes. And once entertainment disappears, it often never comes back. Sad.

Disney must have looked at Universal spending a fortune and getting massive returns and my concern is that Disney will simply look at this and think that investment isn’t worth it. Any big future projects could be put on hold and I think D23’s lacklustre performance might be the start of that.

There might be something to that theory....
* Star Tours 1 & 2, Laser Training and Star Wars Weekends
*The Star Wars Experience....Hyped like it was a new land or major expansion the way Disney marketed it a couple of years ago. Heck, I think they marketed it more than GESWL.
*Now. GESWL with it's second attraction not done.
Fans attitude. Heh, it's beautiful and immersive , but ho hum, we've seen this before....for like forever, in a theme park far far away.
...I'm not saying everyone thinks like this, but there's probably a pretty big segment that does, or is just confused by the marketing

Add in merchandise. Star Wars merchandise is available every where and has been for 40+ years.

It’s also a hotly debated topic but the recent movies haven’t been stellar and I think we’re in a situation of it all being too much and saturating the market.

 

[WebHead1138]

I get an Animal Kingdom vibe from it.



Disney must have looked at Universal spending a fortune and getting massive returns and my concern is that Disney will simply look at this and think that investment isn’t worth it. Any big future projects could be put on hold and I think D23’s lacklustre performance might be the start of that.



Add in merchandise. Star Wars merchandise is available every where and has been for 40+ years.

It’s also a hotly debated topic but the recent movies haven’t been stellar and I think we’re in a situation of it all being too much and saturating the market.

The Last Jedi is the worst thing ever made by a human.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The Last Jedi is the worst thing ever made by a human.

I assume you are use hyper exaggeration as a method of parody, right?

 

[Jamesh22]

I think if this had opened in 2016 just after Force Awakens it would be a different story. In 2019 it feels like it's coming after SW has peaked.

Like others have said, we have already had Star Wars in the parks for decades, there wasn't necessarily the pent up demand they assumed.

That said... ROTR looks INCREDIBLE, and could literally turn everything around if it really is a new benchmark attraction.

 

[Jonea32]

I think the next 12 months will be a better indicator of overall performance. A lot of travellers (especially overseas) had their holiday plans in place by the time Disney announced SWGE would open in August and not December as everyone expected so would have been unable to change plans at the drop of a hat. Poor hotel occupancy backs some of this up.

As a side note to give some perspective, since spring time the holiday groups in the UK have been heavily advertising Star Wars breaks for Feb 2020 onwards and not Fall 2019 which I've found telling.

Throw in only 1 ride, a potential hurricane, DL already being open, kids being back in school and DHS being bloated with Star Wars and Im not entirely surprised how the last few days have unfolded.

Will Disney be disappointed that the opening didn't raise the bar? Probably, however, I believe 2020 will be a much bigger year for the mouse and normal service will resume. As a theme park fan I hope that's the case anyway.

 

[Scott W.]

I think if this had opened in 2016 just after Force Awakens it would be a different story. In 2019 it feels like it's coming after SW has peaked.

Like others have said, we have already had Star Wars in the parks for decades, there wasn't necessarily the pent up demand they assumed.

That said... ROTR looks INCREDIBLE, and could literally turn everything around if it really is a new benchmark attraction.

I think they had to wait to see what happens with the current trilogy. It seems like episode IX has the potential to be a return to greatness and if it is, waiting until it’s release would have been a better plan to open the land. A good movie paired with ROTR is a good combo.

Breaking it down to its absolute foundation, a good land needs anchored by a good ride. Avatar would have been a washout without Flight of Passage and nobody is prepared to spend the kind of money Disney asks for pretty buildings and a gift shop.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

The Last Jedi is the worst thing ever made by a human.

Seen the Prequels? Not even close. It may not be everyones cup of tea but I just re-watched the last jedi and kinda liked it more than the first time. YMMV but not even close to the most thing ever made.

 

[JawsVictim]

The Last Jedi is the worst thing ever made by a human.

It’s a lot better than any of the prequels.

Edit:

Seen the Prequels? Not even close. It may not be everyones cup of tea but I just re-watched the last jedi and kinda liked it more than the first time. YMMV but not even close to the most thing ever made.

You beat me to it!