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

[knewton64]

After trying to fit SWGE into my upcoming WDW / DCL adventures, I have to unfortunately express great dismay over the ungodly amount of wait time -
standing in lines -

and more lines.....

and more lines -

from the time you get up ...
to the time you wait in line for a bus at Pop....
from the time you leave the bus....

from the time you wait in line at HS (at 6am)....
from the time you actually make it to the SWGE que line.....

to the time your group number is called ----

to the time you actually make it onto the M Falcon.


That I looked at that and realized that i would be looking at about anywhere from a 3 to 5 hour delay.....


standing in various lines.......

all over ONE attraction that is about 15 minutes in lenght -


*** IMO.... THATS INSANE!***


So after calling WDW resorts to express my point of view, I have decided to use the am of my day four and go see MK's 'Keys to the Kingdom" tour followed by MNSSHP -

Now is SWGE a "hit?"


IMO, yes.... in about a year once they remove all the restrictions....

chill out on restrictions placed on Tier 1 vs tier 2 FPs etc.......

chill out on the 4 hour window.........


chill out and actually let the lone attraction at this time be FP, etc....


Until then, count me out -





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[yorkieteacher]

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!
[/QUOTE]
Similar situation is my main reason I want to go-it was the first movie my husband and I saw together as a married couple, and our first child, a son born in 1980, grew up with all the toys. His son, age 6, is also growing up loving Star Wars with some encouragement from his dad. We will have this grandson with us in September, and although didn't initially plan to go into GE, now are since we were able to get a reservation for Oga's. And grandson is "over the moon", pun intended!

 

[YawningDodo]

I find the roleplaying intentions of the land both intimidating and exciting. I ask myself "who would I be?" or "what am I trying to accomplish?" trying to come up with little skits I could play out in there. Sadly my makeup is not that imaginative, but I appreciate the challenge.

Not having read too much about people's specific experiences in SWGE to avoid spoilers, I'm curious about how deep into the roleplaying the cast members are. I'm cautiously excited about that part. This summer I visited a theme park in Utah called Evermore that's 100% about the roleplay--no rides at all, but every single person who works there is in character the entire time and the entire point is to wander the land getting to know the characters, fulfilling quests for them, solving puzzles you find in the environment, etc. I don't expect anything on that level from Disney, but there is really something to be said for just being given the opportunity to explore a detailed environment and a cast of characters. I'm planning to do two mornings there on my trip in January, and the first morning I have reservations to build a droid and have a drink (well, up to two drinks ) at Oga's...and outside of those two items I might not "accomplish" anything beyond just wandering around and looking at things.

I was a little surprised they didn't set it on Tatooine, and I've never watched the shows so I had never heard of Batuu before all this. I'm not disappointed, though; from everything I've seen in pictures this place still screams Star Wars to me. Also, building Tatooine in Florida sounds thematically inappropriate to me since guests would see the "desert" get doused on a near daily basis.

 

[nancipants]

Visited Galaxy's Edge during a cast member preview yesterday. It is everything I've ever wanted, even with the gross heat and my swollen and painful feet (I'm 22 weeks pregnant). I teared up when I saw the X-wing and while at Savi's. Obviously I couldn't go on the Falcon, but my husband said it was amazing - and it's not the marquee ride!

 

[yulilin3]

Visited Galaxy's Edge during a cast member preview yesterday. It is everything I've ever wanted, even with the gross heat and my swollen and painful feet (I'm 22 weeks pregnant). I teared up when I saw the X-wing and while at Savi's. Obviously I couldn't go on the Falcon, but my husband said it was amazing - and it's not the marquee ride!

OMG cannot imagine walking around in this mess and pregnant. Glad you had fun.

 

[nancipants]

OMG cannot imagine walking around in this mess and pregnant. Glad you had fun.

I saw several other pregnant women walking around and wanted to hug them all in solidarity! We got to DHS around 8:30 and were in the land from around 10 to around 4:45. By the end of the day I wanted to cry thinking about having to walk back to the car! But it was soooooo worth it. Especially later on in the afternoon after our Savi's reservation when it seemed like the entire land had cleared out. I have pictures of my husband and I in front of the Falcon and there's NOBODY around. We went to Docking Bay 7 with no wait and the Falcon was a walk-on (they went on twice). Dok Ondar's, which had been wall to wall people earlier in the day, was almost empty. I really wanted to stay longer because I knew I'd never see the land again so empty, but between the heat, my feet, and the next wave of guests coming in, we decided to head out. I can't wait to go again next week for the passholder preview!

 

[Markstudy]

There is no Yoda, no Darth Vader, no R2, no Luke, no Han, no Leia, working theory is that Lucas gets 25% royalty for original characters so Disney is being penny wise and pound foolish. I have no real interest in the First Order reminds me of WWII Nanzi....too serious for fun time. I love Disney, love Star Wars... but I don’t see any original Star Wars in Star Wars land?.?? Anyone want to explain why?

 

[MarkinNM]

There is no Yoda, no Darth Vader, no R2, no Luke, no Han, no Leia, working theory is that Lucas gets 25% royalty for original characters so Disney is being penny wise and pound foolish. I have no real interest in the First Order reminds me of WWII Nanzi....too serious for fun time. I love Disney, love Star Wars... but I don’t see any original Star Wars in Star Wars land?.?? Anyone want to explain why?

Again all those guys are dead...................Lucas got paid once and does not get anything else money wise from Disney, Disney OWNS everything Star Wars "When George Lucas sold his company, Lucasfilm Limited, to the Walt Disney Company in 2012, he sold all of the rights to intellectual properties Lucasfilm owned, including: The Star Wars franchise and brand, which includes the five Star Wars films produced by Lucasfilm before 2012 "

 

[DLgal]

Again all those guys are dead...................Lucas got paid once and does not get anything else money wise from Disney, Disney OWNS everything Star Wars "When George Lucas sold his company, Lucasfilm Limited, to the Walt Disney Company in 2012, he sold all of the rights to intellectual properties Lucasfilm owned, including: The Star Wars franchise and brand, which includes the five Star Wars films produced by Lucasfilm before 2012 "

Technically, they are ALL "dead" since this all happened a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

 

[yulilin3]

There is no Yoda, no Darth Vader, no R2, no Luke, no Han, no Leia, working theory is that Lucas gets 25% royalty for original characters so Disney is being penny wise and pound foolish. I have no real interest in the First Order reminds me of WWII Nanzi....too serious for fun time. I love Disney, love Star Wars... but I don’t see any original Star Wars in Star Wars land?.?? Anyone want to explain why?

If you read the thread there's a couple of times that it's explained that you do see original sw all around. And also explained why it's set in this particular time period
Plus Leia is fighting against the first order, she's the general so she has bigger things to do but she did send Vi Moradi to Batuu to gather Intel
You can hear Yoda (Disney got Frank Oz for his voice) in Savi's.
Hate to break it to you but the original Stormtroopers along with Vader were also modeled after WWIi

 

[andyw715]

If you read the Aftermath trilogy books you'll learn how relevant Batuu and the New Order actually are.

 

[nancipants]

I have no real interest in the First Order reminds me of WWII Nanzi....too serious for fun time.

The First Order reminds you of Nazis, but not the Empire?

 

[Nancyg56]

Okay, this is a perspective from a Mom who stood in lines that were never ending because my son wanted to see every stinkin Star Wars movie there was. More than once. I made Darth Vader, R2D2, and CP3O birthday cakes and I bought all the toys, etc for the kids, and at that time I even knew what ever y one of those creatures was called, the names of every character, and every place in those movies. Today, I can barely recall a single thing. What I do remember vividly and very fondly is how I felt with my kids when we went to the movies, celebrated birthdays and discovered what Santa left under the tree. I do not need to have anything in GE be accurate in order for me to recapture that time in my life. I have not seen any of the new movies and have no intention of doing so in order to experience a trip into this new Land.

I understand that this Land is a disappointment to some, a disgrace to others, and out of place to others. That is okay. I think that there is enough throughout WDW for everyone who visits to find something they love and something they avoid. I am reserving judgement until I visit myself, however if I do not go on one attraction but the Land brings me to a Galaxy Far Far Away, it will be enough for me.

 

[DuskKodesh]

I get where the older fans are coming from but in this time period it would just be so awkward to shoehorn in the older charact

Not having read too much about people's specific experiences in SWGE to avoid spoilers, I'm curious about how deep into the roleplaying the cast members are. I'm cautiously excited about that part. This summer I visited a theme park in Utah called Evermore that's 100% about the roleplay--no rides at all, but every single person who works there is in character the entire time and the entire point is to wander the land getting to know the characters, fulfilling quests for them, solving puzzles you find in the environment, etc. I don't expect anything on that level from Disney, but there is really something to be said for just being given the opportunity to explore a detailed environment and a cast of characters. I'm planning to do two mornings there on my trip in January, and the first morning I have reservations to build a droid and have a drink (well, up to two drinks ) at Oga's...and outside of those two items I might not "accomplish" anything beyond just wandering around and looking at things.

I was a little surprised they didn't set it on Tatooine, and I've never watched the shows so I had never heard of Batuu before all this. I'm not disappointed, though; from everything I've seen in pictures this place still screams Star Wars to me. Also, building Tatooine in Florida sounds thematically inappropriate to me since guests would see the "desert" get doused on a near daily basis.

Evermore! I've been watching the things about that on youtube and plan on RPing my vampire character there whenever I can go. The immersive nature makes me giddy! That said I absolutely LOVE what Disney is trying to do with GE. Honestly they could have gone to any time period and planet to please me (Maybe no naboo since me and swimming have ISSUES) but its the planet-customized slang, backstory, and characters that make me happy. My biggest fear about this is what happened with Pandora. I read up on the story and cast interaction, the words in Navi, the foods... but by the time I'd made it there it had been open months and the cast seemed worn down on the entire idea of an otherworldly tourist destination. When I bought a banshee I had to ask to do the pledge the cast member said no one wanted to do it, they took some offerings off the Satuli menu, guests around me all just seemed to want to hustle on and off the rides and look at nothing.No one knew any words in Navi, even cast. I really hope that guests don't break down the immersiveness of the land to please the cranky guests. I need to find a shirt or button along the lines of 'I won't break the magic' or 'I like to pretend'. More guests need to keep the attitude of not ruining the illusion for others. Much like when a little girl in line for Ariel with me asked why she had flippers again if she'd been given legs. "It's because Triton lets her come visit her family and she needs flippers for that, silly. He uses his magic."

 

[Paul Francis]

I think Disney had the right idea going with the new trilogy. They were coming off a 4 billion dollar purchase of the franchise, it's based in the current trilogy timeline (where the company is spending hundreds of millions), TFA had a ton of momentum before and after it's release, but once TLJ came out the momentum was gone. Star Wars merchandise sales were extremely poor, popularity greatly diminished, and even the next film (solo) tanked at the box office. After TLJ it seems the franchise isn't in a good place, and everyone is questioning everything including SWGE. It's unprecedented how quickly things changed within the franchise and Disney is blamed for "ruining Star Wars", whether that's fair or not is surly debatable.

 

[DLgal]

I think Disney had the right idea going with the new trilogy. They were coming off a 4 billion dollar purchase of the franchise, it's based in the current trilogy timeline (where the company is spending hundreds of millions), TFA had a ton of momentum before and after it's release, but once TLJ came out the momentum was gone. Star Wars merchandise sales were extremely poor, popularity greatly diminished, and even the next film (solo) tanked at the box office. After TLJ it seems the franchise isn't in a good place, and everyone is questioning everything including SWGE. It's unprecedented how quickly things changed within the franchise and Disney is blamed for "ruining Star Wars", whether that's fair or not is surly debatable.

I don't think it was necessarily a good idea to design the land and go "all in" on the new trilogy for exactly the reasons you mentioned. It did NOT take off as expected, popularity wise.

Now something like Marvel has had the completely opposite fan reaction. Since Disney bought it, interest has just gone up and up and those movies have almost all been universal slam dunks, both at the box office and as something fans are just eating up. I actually expect the Marvel land at DCA to be WAY more popular than SWGE. It's interesting to see the different trajectories these two IP purchases have had.

The gamble paid off with Marvel. It did not with Star Wars.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I didn't "hate" TLJ, but it wasn't what people wanted. The backlash seemed to have been immediate. Maybe the next film will help.

As for the classic characters, their time has to be over. They've aged. Carrie Fisher is dead. Harrison Ford wanted Star Wars behind him. Hamill will be back though.

 

[YawningDodo]

I get where the older fans are coming from but in this time period it would just be so awkward to shoehorn in the older charact


Evermore! I've been watching the things about that on youtube and plan on RPing my vampire character there whenever I can go. The immersive nature makes me giddy! That said I absolutely LOVE what Disney is trying to do with GE. Honestly they could have gone to any time period and planet to please me (Maybe no naboo since me and swimming have ISSUES) but its the planet-customized slang, backstory, and characters that make me happy. My biggest fear about this is what happened with Pandora. I read up on the story and cast interaction, the words in Navi, the foods... but by the time I'd made it there it had been open months and the cast seemed worn down on the entire idea of an otherworldly tourist destination. When I bought a banshee I had to ask to do the pledge the cast member said no one wanted to do it, they took some offerings off the Satuli menu, guests around me all just seemed to want to hustle on and off the rides and look at nothing.No one knew any words in Navi, even cast. I really hope that guests don't break down the immersiveness of the land to please the cranky guests. I need to find a shirt or button along the lines of 'I won't break the magic' or 'I like to pretend'. More guests need to keep the attitude of not ruining the illusion for others. Much like when a little girl in line for Ariel with me asked why she had flippers again if she'd been given legs. "It's because Triton lets her come visit her family and she needs flippers for that, silly. He uses his magic."

Evermore was fantastic and it sounds like you'd love it! I wish I'd put a little more forethought into what character I was going to be for it; I went in costume but I had only a very vague idea of what I was going for. I was with some pretty outgoing friends, though, so it was a bit less pressure in general. They'll absolutely meet you where you are (i.e. you don't have to dress up or pretend to be a character), but I think it's more fun to do a full buy-in. I will say that while the park was still visibly unfinished, it was much larger and more polished overall than I expected. We spent two full evenings there and didn't feel like we'd come anywhere near exhausting what it had to offer. Also, re: vampire character...may I ask if you play tabletop or if this would be a LARP character?

But yeah, I'm concerned about the longevity of the roleplaying aspect of the land since it's not really what Disney typically does and I suspect it may be hard for them to procure and retain CMs who will go all in on it...especially if, as you say, guests are grumpy and un-fun about it. Evermore has the advantage of being a (much) smaller park with that as its main focus; everyone who goes there or works there is in it for the RP so it seems more sustainable to me.

I didn't "hate" TLJ, but it wasn't what people wanted. The backlash seemed to have been immediate. Maybe the next film will help.

As for the classic characters, their time has to be over. They've aged. Carrie Fisher is dead. Harrison Ford wanted Star Wars behind him. Hamill will be back though.

It's almost like TLJ is the middle film of a trilogy and as such is designed to generate more questions than it answers and to put the characters in a predicament that looks dark and unsolvable......

I know those are not the reasons people will give for disliking TLJ, but I am set to reserve final judgment until I see how it fits within the context of the full story. It's not my favorite Star Wars movie, but it's still better than the prequels and it doesn't take away from my love of TFA.

 

[DuskKodesh]

Evermore was fantastic and it sounds like you'd love it! I wish I'd put a little more forethought into what character I was going to be for it; I went in costume but I had only a very vague idea of what I was going for. I was with some pretty outgoing friends, though, so it was a bit less pressure in general. They'll absolutely meet you where you are (i.e. you don't have to dress up or pretend to be a character), but I think it's more fun to do a full buy-in. I will say that while the park was still visibly unfinished, it was much larger and more polished overall than I expected. We spent two full evenings there and didn't feel like we'd come anywhere near exhausting what it had to offer. Also, re: vampire character...may I ask if you play tabletop or if this would be a LARP character?

But yeah, I'm concerned about the longevity of the roleplaying aspect of the land since it's not really what Disney typically does and I suspect it may be hard for them to procure and retain CMs who will go all in on it...especially if, as you say, guests are grumpy and un-fun about it. Evermore has the advantage of being a (much) smaller park with that as its main focus; everyone who goes there or works there is in it for the RP so it seems more sustainable to me.

It's almost like TLJ is the middle film of a trilogy and as such is designed to generate more questions than it answers and to put the characters in a predicament that looks dark and unsolvable......

I know those are not the reasons people will give for disliking TLJ, but I am set to reserve final judgment until I see how it fits within the context of the full story. It's not my favorite Star Wars movie, but it's still better than the prequels and it doesn't take away from my love of TFA.

Kinda neither? I've done a lot of tabletop and LARP but this guy is from a chat/message program RP and honestly started as a medieval fantasy bend on a Marvel character... my fave Marvel character. He's gotten distanced enough to obtain OC status. I notice you're a Doc Strange fan and you can probably guess who my guy is as they were on a team together for a while (Midnight Sons).

Ummm Star Wars chatter to keep this on topic! I enjoyed TFA but honest to god I loved Rebels and I'm hoping there's lots of Rebels references around the land. Some of the newer stuff is great, even considering reading some books so I can be well versed in Dark Spire Outpost knowledge (Though I'll prolly end up binging lore videos on Youtube...)

 

[YawningDodo]

Kinda neither? I've done a lot of tabletop and LARP but this guy is from a chat/message program RP and honestly started as a medieval fantasy bend on a Marvel character... my fave Marvel character. He's gotten distanced enough to obtain OC status. I notice you're a Doc Strange fan and you can probably guess who my guy is as they were on a team together for a while (Midnight Sons).

Ummm Star Wars chatter to keep this on topic! I enjoyed TFA but honest to god I loved Rebels and I'm hoping there's lots of Rebels references around the land. Some of the newer stuff is great, even considering reading some books so I can be well versed in Dark Spire Outpost knowledge (Though I'll prolly end up binging lore videos on Youtube...)

Yeah, probably best to get back on topic--cool to meet someone with shared interests though!

I remember reading a few years back that Disney was trying to gear toward Rebels and so forth because that's what a lot of younger Star Wars fans are more closely engaged with. I haven't watched Rebels myself (keep thinking I should), but it seems to me that this is just the culmination of that strategy. SWGE isn't classic Star Wars because they're capitalizing on what the current younger fans have grown up with/are growing up with.