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

[osufeth24]

Star Wars GE is a complete flop - on both coasts the wait times prove this

lol, ok.

low wait times does not equal flop. Not sure why people keep thinking this?

 

[yulilin3]

lol, ok.

low wait times does not equal flop. Not sure why people keep thinking this?

Only the ancients know

 

[EmJ]

Only the ancients know

I've said it before but the reason is that the low wait time is unexpected and, frankly, pretty shocking. Regardless of whether or not this ride has FP and regardless of how many people it can put through in an hour, every indication from Disney itself is that they expected this land to be so full you would have to join a boarding group just to get in. And not just on the first day, either, but for the first week and first month and maybe for the whole first year! For All The Reasons -- cost, fan controversy, AP blockouts, a (perhaps ill advised) two-phased opening, hurricanes, low season timing, and maybe (maybe!) a miscalculation on Disney's part regarding the demand for a land like this from people who are Star Wars fans but are not Disney fans -- it is not as busy as we were led to believe, and did believe, it would be. I mean, how many posts were there on this site and others strategically trying to figure out how to get into the land, when, how early to arrive, what order to do the attractions in, etc., etc., and it turned out to be largely unnecessary.

That does NOT mean the land is a "flop". It does NOT mean the land isn't amazing, immersive, stunning in its detail, perhaps even revolutionary once ROTR gets going. But it might mean that SWGE's unveiling didn't go as Disney forecasted, and people will naturally marvel at the unexpected. The thought now is that the masses will come when ROTR opens. I'll be totally honest and say that I'll join the "skeptical" column on that one. But again, that doesn't mean that I personally am not excited to go. I recently priced out how much I expect our family to spend in SWGE souvenirs alone, and let's just say I could buy an Annual Pass and then some with the same amount

 

[osufeth24]

The thing is, the parks across the board have been down the past 2 weeks

 

[EmJ]

The thing is, the parks across the board have been down the past 2 weeks

Like all theme parks generally (US, SeaWorld, etc.)? Or all Disney parks? One thing that has been interesting on the DL side is that even though AP passes are unblocked now and Halloween time has started, overall attendance hasn't really come up and all wait times are still low. This actually makes sense to me. If SWGE added significant square footage and new attractions for people to see, but did not add net new visitors (and we can be pretty certain it didn't based on Iger's comments), that means you have the same-ish number of people spread out over a larger area and visiting more attractions, so wait times across the board are down. Anecdotally, the same thing might be happening at HS, where people were commenting that lines at Toy Story Land are lower than ever. I have no statistics or proof to back up this theory, so take it for what it is.

 

[SMRT-1]

My point was they've already themed areas similar to what you said couldn't be themed.

I never said that it couldn't be themed. What I said is that given the "you are really there"-level of immersion that they were shooting for when designing SW:GE, a Hoth theme doesn't make sense.

And if we look into the details of your argument, Blizzard Beach is actually Florida-themed. The backstory is that it's an abandoned ski lodge - built on the site of a freak snow storm - that has been turned into a water park because the snow is melting in the Florida heat. So that's not the same thing as trying to present a believable, immersive ice planet in the middle of Florida (or California for that matter).

 

[yulilin3]

Like all theme parks generally (US, SeaWorld, etc.)? Or all Disney parks? One thing that has been interesting on the DL side is that even though AP passes are unblocked now and Halloween time has started, overall attendance hasn't really come up and all wait times are still low. This actually makes sense to me. If SWGE added significant square footage and new attractions for people to see, but did not add net new visitors (and we can be pretty certain it didn't based on Iger's comments), that means you have the same-ish number of people spread out over a larger area and visiting more attractions, so wait times across the board are down. Anecdotally, the same thing might be happening at HS, where people were commenting that lines at Toy Story Land are lower than ever. I have no statistics or proof to back up this theory, so take it for what it is.

All the theme parks in Orlando at least, WDW, SW and UO, are experiencing low season and actually lower than last year during the same dates. Like people have commented it is low season, kids are back in school, no real international tourist season so obviously the crowds are lower. Of course Disney was expecting and hoping for a boost from SWGE and they have not gotten it, but to say that SWGE is a flop solely based on wait times of the Falcon is the incorrect way to look at it.

 

[montreid]

Just go see it - if you're a Disney park person who appreciates immersive experiences and anything close to a Star Wars fan -- you'll love it. It takes the elements of what is iconic of Star Wars and places the adventure at your fingertips. You CAN choose to recreate battles or specific scenarios of historic lore and retell the tales at A cantina that is similar to Mos Eisley styling, but different enough not to provoke perfectionists on replica concerns. Plenty of live action CM for role play throughout. Kids LOVE it. Water collectors, space port bustle....it all does quite well and fun to return to over-and-over again. Looking forward to it with each trip to DL to learn a little more and expand on this new land. Riding on Jungle Cruise for the 50+ time has been fun. I'm sure hoping the same for SR and ROTR.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

If I hadn't already planned to go to WDW in September, and I was planning a trip based on getting to see the new SWGE, I would not go until it was all available. It costs too much to stay at WDW and pay for tickets, food, etc to not get the full experience. So, I would wait until November, December at least, to go. We are going anyway, and having it open is an added bonus to us.
It has also been pointed out that wait times are not only spread out due to 3 hours of EEMH, plus, having been to WDW before fast passes, the lines move a lot faster when not jammed up with streams of people walking past you to get on the ride. I have stood in line for 45 minutes before for Test Track, where only a half dozen people were able to get in before the next batch of fps were let in. When it got close to an hour and we still had not moved up more than 20 or so people (some of it owing to people leaving) we finally gave it up and went single rider.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

I never said that it couldn't be themed. What I said is that given the "you are really there"-level of immersion that they were shooting for when designing SW:GE, a Hoth theme doesn't make sense.

And if we look into the details of your argument, Blizzard Beach is actually Florida-themed. The backstory is that it's an abandoned ski lodge - built on the site of a freak snow storm - that has been turned into a water park because the snow is melting in the Florida heat. So that's not the same thing as trying to present a believable, immersive ice planet in the middle of Florida (or California for that matter).

Very well stated. But Hoth would have been cool right? I love that part of empire strikes back.

 

[SMRT-1]

Very well stated. But Hoth would have been cool right? I love that part of empire strikes back.

Absolutely. I understand why they chose to create a new setting, but the fan in me would have also loved walking around in an OT location. I would have felt bad for the CMs that had to wear parkas, though.

 

[DLgal]

Absolutely. I understand why they chose to create a new setting, but the fan in me would have also loved walking around in an OT location. I would have felt bad for the CMs that had to wear parkas, though.

They could have made a Hoth RIDE though. All indoors. See: Frozen boat ride. Or the Antarctica/Penguin ride at Sea World.

When you use show buildings, you can create anything you want. Tokyo Disney Sea has an entire Little Mermaid "under the sea" themed land inside a giant dome. Heck, Pirates of the Caribbean takes you through an entire underground network of cold, dark caves...in Southern CA. I won't even go into the Indiana Jones ride. Outside theming isn't as important. You create the immersion inside the rides.

 

[rteetz]

SR has a huge hourly ride capacity. A lower wait time with no fp isn’t surprising.

It’s big but not Pirates or omnimover big.

 

[rteetz]

Like all theme parks generally (US, SeaWorld, etc.)? Or all Disney parks? One thing that has been interesting on the DL side is that even though AP passes are unblocked now and Halloween time has started, overall attendance hasn't really come up and all wait times are still low. This actually makes sense to me. If SWGE added significant square footage and new attractions for people to see, but did not add net new visitors (and we can be pretty certain it didn't based on Iger's comments), that means you have the same-ish number of people spread out over a larger area and visiting more attractions, so wait times across the board are down. Anecdotally, the same thing might be happening at HS, where people were commenting that lines at Toy Story Land are lower than ever. I have no statistics or proof to back up this theory, so take it for what it is.

All Disney parks for sure. I haven’t paid a ton of attention to other companies.

Disney did report lower attendance in their last quarterly report:

 

[rteetz]

They could have made a Hoth RIDE though. All indoors. See: Frozen boat ride. Or the Antarctica/Penguin ride at Sea World.

When you use show buildings, you can create anything you want. Tokyo Disney Sea has an entire Little Mermaid "under the sea" themed land inside a giant dome. Heck, Pirates of the Caribbean takes you through an entire underground network of cold, dark caves...in Southern CA. I won't even go into the Indiana Jones ride. Outside theming isn't as important. You create the immersion inside the rides.

These big immersive lands don’t work like that though. Potter, Pandora, and SWGE have to be highly themed inside and out. That’s just where we are in the theme park world right now.

 

[jacobjboyle84]

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 "

Ok but Vader and Phasma are out walking around Studios multiple times a day...?

 

[MarkinNM]

Ok but Vader and Phasma are out walking around Studios multiple times a day...?

And did you see the "Disney" stamp on the clothes......and so??

 

[only hope]

Ok but Vader and Phasma are out walking around Studios multiple times a day...?

There’s a “show” in front of the Chinese theater where clips of SW characters play and the character comes on stage. I think Vader and Phasma are in that. Vader meets in Launch Bay where he stays put in one place and you go to him, along with BB-8 and oddly, Chewie. But the only characters that are walking around are the ones in Batuu- Rey, Finn, Chewie, Kylo Ren, Vi, and troopers.

 

[EmJ]

These big immersive lands don’t work like that though. Potter, Pandora, and SWGE have to be highly themed inside and out. That’s just where we are in the theme park world right now.

Honestly, Disney's mistake, for those who believe there was one (and I understand there are those who believe there wasn't) might have been setting the expectation that THIS immersive land was going to upend the Boy Wizard down the road, reclaim the title of Most Innovative Immersion In A Theme Park from Universal, and draw not-ordinarily-theme-park-people to Disney. Because that is what was telegraphed, and so far, it hasn't materialized (thereby causing some to focus on the fact that it hasn't materialized and driving everyone who loves the land crazy).

If Disney had either (1) set the expectation that they were going to create an elaborate and meticulously detailed Star Wars-inspired land for Disney fans; or (2) followed through on a lot of the immersive elements that were either cut (stunt shows, aliens, Equity actors, droids and drones rolling/flying about) or that were never feasible to begin with (personalized interactions with CM's depending on your chosen alliance and skill on MFSR), they might have gotten there. They might STILL get there yet, as ROTR should completely reset the bar for theme park rides if it works as advertised, and there is no reason they can't decide to invest in stunt shows, aliens, droids, drones, etc.

 

[DLgal]

Honestly, Disney's mistake, for those who believe there was one (and I understand there are those who believe there wasn't) might have been setting the expectation that THIS immersive land was going to upend the Boy Wizard down the road, reclaim the title of Most Innovative Immersion In A Theme Park from Universal, and draw not-ordinarily-theme-park-people to Disney. Because that is what was telegraphed, and so far, it hasn't materialized (thereby causing some to focus on the fact that it hasn't materialized and driving everyone who loves the land crazy).

If Disney had either (1) set the expectation that they were going to create a elaborate and meticulously detailed Star Wars-inspired land for Disney fans; or (2) followed through on a lot of the immersive elements that were either cut (stunt shows, aliens, Equity actors, droids and drones rolling/flying about) or that were never feasible to begin with (personalized interactions with CM's depending on your chosen alliance and skill on MFSR), they might have gotten there. They might STILL get there yet, as ROTR should completely reset the bar for theme park rides if it works as advertised, and there is no reason they can't decide to invest in stunt shows, aliens, droids, drones, etc.

Nailed it.