Am I the only one that is unimpressed with SWGE - where is the juice?

[Mickey of the Villages]

Am I the only one that is unimpressed (so far) with SWGE - where is the juice?

This thing cost $1 billion (with a "B") and covers 14 acres and does not have anywhere near the charm/wonder/fantasy/Disney of Main Street or Fantasyland or Cars Land or shoot even the Monorail for that matter (all far smaller and less expensive). I mean, so far the only ride is a big video game embedded in a movie set.

I get it, there is a tremendous fandom of 20somethings to 50somethings but I get the feeling that there is a lot of vlogging and show-the-internet-food of it all without anyone asking if this thing fits.

 

[Liljo22]

Have you been or just making a judgement off pics and video. I have not seen one person that has been there that has not been blown away. Some are not 100% in on MFSR but still enjoyed it. If the rumors of the Rise of the Resistance are true, that ride will be far and away the most technologically advanced and immersive experience in any theme park.

 

[Brett Wyman]

You lika da juice?

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

Have you been or just making a judgement off pics and video. I have not seen one person that has been there that has not been blown away. Some are not 100% in on MFSR but still enjoyed it. If the rumors of the Rise of the Resistance are true, that ride will be far and away the most technologically advanced and immersive experience in any theme park.

I have not been to SWGE. But I've watched hours and hours of live vlogs. I am a huge fan of everything Disney and want it to absolutely succeed. Maybe the juice is in Rise of the Resistance and Disney has just got the 'order of operations' wrong and should have opened the whole thing together. I feel that Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan create a first-person environment without the space requirements and spending of SWGE. These attractions are 50+ years old and still create a queue. Will SWGE age so well?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'm wondering a little bit also. I think it'll be amazing to see but was always a little disappointed that this new "world/land" was only going to have 2 attractions. And that particular type of attraction isn't #1 on my list. I see it as very cool the first time and slowly diminishing in time spent.

 

[fatmanatee]

Sorry this isn't for you and that's probably the case for others but a lot of other people are very much into it and it's fine.

 

[Liljo22]

I'm wondering a little bit also. I think it'll be amazing to see but was always a little disappointed that this new "world/land" was only going to have 2 attractions. And that particular type of attraction isn't #1 on my list. I see it as very cool the first time and slowly diminishing in time spent.

Rides or attractions? There are more than 2 attractions but there are 2 rides. 2 rides is pretty much the going rate for new lands. Hogsmeade added 1 new ride, NFL added 2, Daigon Alley added 2, Pandora added 2, TSL added 2. Given the budgets on these lands already, adding more than two rides doesn't seem to fit. Rides easily run $200 million each. Disney is leaving expansion pads for the lands to add future areas. You are already seeing that with adding back the TS restaurant area to TSL.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I'm wondering a little bit also. I think it'll be amazing to see but was always a little disappointed that this new "world/land" was only going to have 2 attractions. And that particular type of attraction isn't #1 on my list. I see it as very cool the first time and slowly diminishing in time spent.

That seems to be the formula lately, though, right? Storybook Circus - two attractions and a meet-and-greet. Pandora - two attractions. SWGE - two attractions. TSL is the exception it seems, but, even then, it's two new attractions with an old one built in by changing the entrance.

I think the land looks super cool, but, unless one ride is stellar, I too see that the interest in the land waning over time. I always thought the timing of this opening was a little odd. I would think they could have gotten more mileage out of it if the opening had coincided with the hype of Force Awakens, but instead, they are opening it basically as that trilogy ends and Disney has sort of admitted they oversaturated the market with all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars "fatigue" has set in. If one ride is great, though, it could have some lasting power. Pandora still gets very crowded because of FOP and I know a ton of people who love that ride but have never even seen the film.

I, for one, am looking forward to experiencing it, though. I am of the Star Wars generation and will never forget spending the summer of '77 standing in hot, asphalt movie theater parking lots over and over again hoping we could get in to see the film for the upteenth time (and those were the days when you couldn't pre-purchase tickets and we didn't know if we were getting in until we got to the box office!). My DS11 could almost not care less!

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

"... I am of the Star Wars generation and will never forget spending the summer of '77 standing in hot, asphalt movie theater parking lots over and over again hoping we could get in to see the film for the upteenth time ..."

I was in that parking lot too.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Every single time a land opens people are unimpressed before they set foot in it. I don't get it.

 

[fatmanatee]

And yeah, two rides is the status quo now, will be the same story with the Nintendo land being built at Universal and I think the same holds for Disney's Tokyo expansion. The rest is all "experiences" like Savi's and Oga's, or things like the wand ceremony at HP.

 

[StageTek]

I have been in the land. It's very different than the hours and hours of vlogs show. As a "old school" SW fan I'm disappointed that it isn't something familiar - like Mos Eisley for example - but I was impressed. But I can understand why you are not impressed. Even watching hours and hours of vlogs doesn't quite get the feel of the place. I felt exactly the same way before I walked into Pandora; not a fan of the movie, not impressed by all the videos I watched - very impressed when I finally walked into the place.

 

[yulilin3]

Everyone always seems to forget that MGM Studios opened with, guess what, only 2 attractions
SWGE is not going to be for everyone but it it a hit with SW fans young and old alike. I couldn't care less if there is a ride, to me the attraction is the land itself and they did a fantastic job, imho. There's always a group that will not like it and that's ok too

 

[FCDub]

Every single time a land opens people are unimpressed before they set foot in it. I don't get it.

I get the feeling the OP is not a huge Star Wars fan. Just watching videos of the lightsaber building, I started to get emotional. The interior queue of the Falcon is astonishing. It's my childhood coming to life in front of me. That is charm/wonder/fantasy – that's the juice.

 

[FCDub]

I also wonder what the "charm" of the monorail is ... The urine smell? The possibility of the door falling off while you're riding it?

 

[ErinsMommy]

I also wonder what the "charm" of the monorail is ... The urine smell? The possibility of the door falling off while you're riding it?

I have never smelled urine? Maybe sweat - especially at night when people are in sweat covered clothes, but thankfully I've been spared the urine smell. I encountered enough of that riding the NYC subways over the years.

 

[Truxi]

I mean, the whole land itself seems to be a bunch of mini-attractions. There are two rides, but loads of interactions. It's practically a scavenger hunt!

As for Star Wars fatigue...I think that's more for adults getting tired of constant internet battles. But for kids? I don't think it's likely, especially with Disney changing up the focus to TV shows over movies for the next little while. That's a way to get kids very invested in Star Wars, but specifically in the idea of being spacers and rebels themselves--and GE lets them do exactly that.

I can only imagine what 10-year-old me would have done if this had been on the table a few decades ago. Lost my dang mind, that's for sure.

 

[wareagle57]

I haven't been yet, but as of now I'm a critic. I think the rides will both blow me away, especially RotR. But my criticism really has nothing to do with the quality of the land. It looks super impressive, though still not the same as Pandora, Diagon Alley, or even Carsland. I think the land was built strategically based on synergy and promoting future movies instead of giving Star Wars fans the same experience Harry Potter fans get to enjoy. I haven't waited my entire life to go to Battuu. I haven't waited my entire life to visit a knockoff of Mos Eisley Cantina. It's immersive and incredibly detailed...but it's an incredibly detailed place we've never seen or cared about before. And I just think it's a shame we were robbed of that and told that this is "better" because it gives them more creative freedom.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I haven't been yet, but as of now I'm a critic. I think the rides will both blow me away, especially RotR. But my criticism really has nothing to do with the quality of the land. It looks super impressive, though still not the same as Pandora, Diagon Alley, or even Carsland. I think the land was built strategically based on synergy and promoting future movies instead of giving Star Wars fans the same experience Harry Potter fans get to enjoy. I haven't waited my entire life to go to Battuu. I haven't waited my entire life to visit a knockoff of Mos Eisley Cantina. It's immersive and incredibly detailed...but it's an incredibly detailed place we've never seen or cared about before. And I just think it's a shame we were robbed of that and told that this is "better" because it gives them more creative freedom.

It's definitely different- but I think they are going for that this is for your adventure in the Star Wars Universe - not to be set in adventures that have already happened and you are more of just a ln observer.

And if they did a land from the original trilogy which one? Whichever one they pick a bunch of fans would be pissed they didn't pick something else. Now, if they did an entire 5th gate where they could multiple lands to hit a lot of the key areas, that I could see working better

I totally get your point of view and reasoning but I do also get the logic behind what they did decide to do

 

[yulilin3]

I haven't been yet, but as of now I'm a critic. I think the rides will both blow me away, especially RotR. But my criticism really has nothing to do with the quality of the land. It looks super impressive, though still not the same as Pandora, Diagon Alley, or even Carsland. I think the land was built strategically based on synergy and promoting future movies instead of giving Star Wars fans the same experience Harry Potter fans get to enjoy. I haven't waited my entire life to go to Battuu. I haven't waited my entire life to visit a knockoff of Mos Eisley Cantina. It's immersive and incredibly detailed...but it's an incredibly detailed place we've never seen or cared about before. And I just think it's a shame we were robbed of that and told that this is "better" because it gives them more creative freedom.

I'm all about being critical but I would change your "it's a shame we were robbed" to "I was robbed" It's a personal observation not an all inclusive statement
I've been a SW fan all my life (45 years old now) and I love all the movies, the original ones more than the new ones, I attended SW conventions, SWW, Celebration, to me. the land is perfect. You are creating your own SW story, I don't need to be in Tattooine or Hoth or Mustafar, I think they created a land thata is distinctly SW. HP had the advantage of having only 2 main locations, Hogsmead and Diagon Alley, with SW there are so many planets, moons, cities cited that someone would've been upset that their favorite place wasn't represented.