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

[yulilin3]

They made their money back off the The Force Awakens, it's all frosting since.

Good for them

 

[justtobeme2]

I'm with you on it. Two rides/attractions isn't really impressive to me. Yeah becoming the norm but not impressive. I've watched a few videos on it and can't say I am thrilled. We are going in Oct so we will see. I had high hopes it was going to be a lot of things to do other than shopping. We won't build a light saber and we won't build a droid and (I) won't ride ride simulators as they make me sick, and shopping isn't something we enjoy...having said all that I hope it's a great success for others but don't give me the "it's expensive for Disney" thing as they have the $$ to do anything they want but raising prices and adding paid for events to make their stockholders more happy seems to be the order for the day.

 

[eliseisawkward]

They made their money back off the The Force Awakens, it's all frosting since.

The Force Awakens did not make back what Disney invested in buying Star Wars. The movie grossed just over $2 billion on a production budget of around $250million if I remember correctly. That’s not anywhere near the $6 billion they’ve invested in the franchise purchase and land builds.

 

[KayMichigan]

To me a high quality lightsaber would cut granite like butter. These don't cut butter like butter.

But seriously I like the lightsaber thing, I'm just having fun. We can use our imaginations cutting granite, right?

You're paying $200 for the experience and for the fact you can build it yourself. The lightsabers themselves aren't particularly high quality, you can get better ones for less money elsewhere.

 

[andyw715]

US spent 300mil on a new rollercoaster, I'd say 1B on a brand new land is a good deal!

 

[rteetz]

US spent 300mil on a new rollercoaster, I'd say 1B on a brand new land is a good deal!

Well... Not really. Both Potter lands cost under $500 million I believe. Not sure what the new coaster cost though.

 

[yulilin3]

Well... Not really. Both Potter lands cost under $500 million I believe. Not sure what the new coaster cost though.

It cost $300 million

 

[monkyby87]

The level of detail and immersion at Hogsmeade is so great that there's comparatively little room for improvement, and Disney and Universal have made huge investments - both financial and in design/engineering - for very small gains. For detail and immersion of these areas to continue to improve will require more and more resources for smaller and smaller gains - diminishing returns.

For the overall detail of GE to be enough to get me excited about seeing it, there would have to be aspects that are really unique and over the top. That's not to say that I don't and won't appreciate the work that's been put into it - I just don't see it as being something that sets GE above Diagon Alley, Pandora, or any of the highly immersive areas.

I'm aware of the hype surrounding ROTR & really hope it lives up to it. I will definitely ride it and experience all of GE at some point in the future, if not in November when I'm there. Maybe seeing it first hand will change my attitude about it, but for now my attitude is "meh."

I kind of struggle with the HP lands in this regard; yeah, the immersion and scenery surrounding you is pretty great, but they're also kind of small. I think Diagon Alley is a lot better for the immersion, as it's a more closed off space. Hogsmeade I'm just not super impressed with. So I think there certainly can be improvement.

 

[fatmanatee]

It cost $300 million

Still a bit surprised by this (maybe because a lot of the ride is outdoors?). I guess that's the baseline price for a major attraction now?

 

[ELLH]

Land looks very cool and very detailed. Details will be more appreciated by people into Star Wars though. I like Star Wars but I’m not a die hard fan who’s wished to see these things in full form. I’m deff gonna check it out and enjoy it but it’ll say it again and again, this isn’t Disney to me. Star Wars, Marvel, none is what I think of when I hear the word Disney. Nor will they be the things that bring me back

I understand that sentiment. But consider it like this: all of these things are "Disney" for younger generations. My 8yo daughter has/will grow up with Marvel and Star Wars under the Disney umbrella. If Disney were trying to only cater to the audience who remembers this 'classical Disney' then they'd be out of business within a generation.

 

[rteetz]

Still a bit surprised by this (maybe because a lot of the ride is outdoors?). I guess that's the baseline price for a major attraction now?

I’m not so sure about that number either. Diagon Alley as a whole cost less than that. Toy Story Land cost a bit over that. The coaster looks incredible but Universal is typically much better about costs.

 

[yulilin3]

I’m not so sure about that number either. Diagon Alley as a whole cost less than that. Toy Story Land cost a bit over that. The coaster looks incredible but Universal is typically much better about costs.

I'm just citing this https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/13/hou...y-potter-coaster-at-universal-in-orlando.html

 

[rteetz]

I'm just citing this https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/13/hou...y-potter-coaster-at-universal-in-orlando.html

Thanks, not doubting the number really just surprised Universal would spend that much when they have done more for less.

 

[yulilin3]

Thanks, not doubting the number really just surprised Universal would spend that much when they have done more for less.

it's a really great ride. My favorite coaster in Orlando now.

 

[kbelle8995]

I find it interesting that right now the second ride in Galaxy Edge is not open. I hope Rise of the Resistance in not the new Test Track. I remember they kept changing the opening date for when they opened Test track. It went from Spring to summer to fall opening. The detail of what I've seen at Disneyland looks incredible. I hope they have many shaded areas in the WDW version.

I adore Diagon Alley its so fantastic.

 

[Truxi]

As I understand it, RotR isn't opening late, the rest of the land is opening early. So doesn't seem to be the same.

Now, will it probably be down a bit early on as they deal with it at major capacity? Probably. It happens.

 

[rteetz]

As I understand it, RotR isn't opening late, the rest of the land is opening early. So doesn't seem to be the same.

Now, will it probably be down a bit early on as they deal with it at major capacity? Probably. It happens.

Sort of. RotR is definitely having some issues though.

 

[TommyJK]

The level of detail and immersion at Hogsmeade is so great that there's comparatively little room for improvement, and Disney and Universal have made huge investments - both financial and in design/engineering - for very small gains.

I wouldn't say these most recent additions of highly immersed experiences have had "very small gains". The numbers say the exact opposite if we look at new highly themed lands:

In 2010 when Hogsmeade opened at Islands of adventure, it resulted in a 32% increase in attendance that year. And in 2011 it further increased 29% attendance over the previous year. That's rediculous attendance gains over 2 years after it opened.

In 2014 when Diagon Alley opened up, USF saw a 17% increase in attendance that year, and another 16% increase for 2015

In 2017 when Pandora opened, AK saw a 16% increase that year, and another 10% the following year.

Double digit attendance gains are HUGE and are typically never seen year over year at a Theme Park. And looking at all of the Theme Park attendance figures since 2010, no park in North America has seen double digit attendance gains outside of the above mentioned (well, Universal Hollywood also saw double digit gains when they opened their Harry Potter land)

 

[gharter]

From the videos I seen of the land, it looks amazing.
Only 2 rides in a land, it seems thats what Universal did with both HP lands there when they opened, then added.
Would I spend hours waiting for one of the rides at SWGE, to build a lightsaber or droid? No.
But I hope to be able to go in and enjoy SWGE.

 

[hedg12]

I wouldn't say these most recent additions of highly immersed experiences have had "very small gains". The numbers say the exact opposite if we look at new highly themed lands:

In 2010 when Hogsmeade opened at Islands of adventure, it resulted in a 32% increase in attendance that year. And in 2011 it further increased 29% attendance over the previous year. That's rediculous attendance gains over 2 years after it opened.

In 2014 when Diagon Alley opened up, USF saw a 17% increase in attendance that year, and another 16% increase for 2015

In 2017 when Pandora opened, AK saw a 16% increase that year, and another 10% the following year.

Double digit attendance gains are HUGE and are typically never seen year over year at a Theme Park. And looking at all of the Theme Park attendance figures since 2010, no park in North America has seen double digit attendance gains outside of the above mentioned (well, Universal Hollywood also saw double digit gains when they opened their Harry Potter land)

I'm not referring to improvements in terms of attendance. I'm referring to improvements in realism and detail of these areas - I.E. there's arguably not much more detail in Pandora than there is in Hogsmeade.