Galaxy's Edge Performance and Evolution Discussion

[monkyby87]

So in terms of evolution... IMO those new food names that just came out (see the food sticky) are a really good balance for fans/theming/immersion and dumb theme park visitors like myself. Just enough theming to make it appropriate for the land, but with enough basic description in the name of the dish to make it easy to order quickly/efficiently for people not well-versed in the offerings.

Solid move from my perspective.

I agree. Even for the most diehard fans, the Star Wars name of the food didn't make it too easy to know what it was, and I'm guessing the CM's got a lot of questions as to what it actually was. This makes it pretty clear what it is, while still offering the Star Wars feel that they were going for. It's the perfect example of the evolution of the land.

 

[fatmanatee]

So in terms of evolution... IMO those new food names that just came out (see the food sticky) are a really good balance for fans/theming/immersion and dumb theme park visitors like myself. Just enough theming to make it appropriate for the land, but with enough basic description in the name of the dish to make it easy to order quickly/efficiently for people not well-versed in the offerings.

Solid move from my perspective.

Yeah, as someone who approved the switch from Batuu to Earth naming, they did good on this one.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

So in terms of evolution... IMO those new food names that just came out (see the food sticky) are a really good balance for fans/theming/immersion and dumb theme park visitors like myself. Just enough theming to make it appropriate for the land, but with enough basic description in the name of the dish to make it easy to order quickly/efficiently for people not well-versed in the offerings.

Solid move from my perspective.

I did my time working in the food industry.

It always blew me away how many customers were completely baffled by the terms: small, medium, and large. Not the strange marketing terms some coffee chains use today, just the words small, medium, and large. (when the price difference was 20cents!)

At first, I asked, "What size coffee would you like?" Too slow.
Then I tried upsell, "Would you like a large coffee?" That slowed customers down even more! Many would audibly debate the merits of each size.

I settled on asking, "Medium?" That helped a great deal.

Indecision is very common when people are offered (many) choices or unfamiliar menu items. People can get overwhelmed; sometimes to the point of meltdowns!

As much as it is fun for WDW to have themed food names, common names are more practical. Throughput = both WDW $ and reduced customer waits.

People do learn over time though. Eventually we learn to order grande or venti. Eventually, we can learn SW names for foods.

 

[EmJ]

I did my time working in the food industry.

It always blew me away how many customers were completely baffled by the terms: small, medium, and large. Not the strange marketing terms some coffee chains use today, just the words small, medium, and large. And this was back when the price difference was only 20cents!

At first, I asked, "What size coffee would you like?" Too slow.
Then I tried the upsell, "Would you like a large coffee?" That slowed customers down even more!
Many customers would audibly debate the merits of each size!

I quickly settled on asking customers, "Would you like a medium?" if they didn't specify what size they wanted, and that helped a great deal. Offering the medium helped them to picture how much they wanted.

Indecision is very common when people are offered (too many) choices or unfamiliar menu items. Both children and adults can get overwhelmed; sometimes even to the point of meltdowns!

As much as it is fun for WDW to have themed food names, common names are more practical.
Throughput is important to both WDW ($ side) and their customers (patience waiting in line).

People do learn over time though. Eventually we learn to order grande or venti. Eventually, we can learn SW names for foods.

I can make my peace with grande and venti. But I will never understand why tall means small!

 

[wilbret]

We were at the parks for SwGE opening, but didn’t go near it. We were there this weekend, and I really am sad to say...it was, meh. Don’t get me wrong, it was neat, but I am a Star Wars fan with 3 kids that were excited about it, and nobody wanted to re-do the one ride even with zero wait time thanks to EEMH. We walked around, and left.

I haven’t read one single Harry Potter book and have only seen a couple of the movies, and I can say without a doubt from an objective position... the HP experience far exceeds this. I don’t feel like I need a line of credit to enjoy HP, for instance.

Hopefully the new ride will be amazing, we will be back in December to try to see it. Sometimes first impressions are misleading.

 

[ELLH]

I think most would agree this board itself consists of mostly Disney nuts. Not all. But the majority. This doesn’t correlate to exclusively consisting of Disney apologists. But a small niche of Disney goers, for sure. Especially when you're considering the ones who are actively posting.

I say that to say this…
Threads like this, where opinions of a highly unique fan base are shared, often leave me (as an engineer/analyst who is dependent upon massive amounts of data to make judgement calls) unfulfilled. We often don’t get a wide variety of opinions because they’re so stylized, as I said above. Meaning, in most cases we have a feel for what Disney is doing; how Disney operates. We don't know everything, but we have been indoctrinated in many ways in to the Disney system and that absolutely plays a part in how you vacation, for better or worse. Not only that, but we are lacking in a means to accurately answer the questions like “did Disney fail”, etc. Disney doesn’t provide us that information willingly; we normally have a wait a while to see theme park attendance numbers. Besides, attendance numbers for the initial opening period won’t tell the full story of whether the land is received well; you need to wait years to see what the long-term attendance is if you want to understand guest satisfaction.

BUT, we do have YELP. And, based on the YELP reviews the satisfaction levels seem to about a 4 out of 5 for SWGE in both California and Florida parks.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/star-wars-galaxys-edge-anaheim-2
https://www.yelp.com/biz/star-wars-galaxys-edge-lake-buena-vista-2

Now, of course one could make the case that those reviews are constituted of Disney fans. However, I think using a site like that is a more meaningful way to determine customer satisfaction because of the wide variety (IOW, it’s not just Disney fans only providing a review). You have people's subjective opinions quantified.


Based on this, with the scores hovering around 4 out of 5 on average, I would say that, statistically speaking, SWGE isn’t necessarily an absolute “hit” but it is certainly well-received by park-goers.

Diving further in to the data, you can see the review scores over time. Given HS SWGE hasn’t been open too long there are relatively few reviews currently for HS SWGE (32 as of this post). So, I focused on the reviews for DLR SWGE as I feel that would be a reasonable representation with a higher review count and operational period. Those reviews over the past couple months have flat-lined at about 3.5 out of 5 on average.

 

[elleherself]

I think most would agree this board itself consists of mostly Disney nuts. Not all. But the majority. This doesn’t correlate to exclusively consisting of Disney apologists. But a small niche of Disney goers, for sure. Especially when you're considering the ones who are actively posting.

I say that to say this…
Threads like this, where opinions of a highly unique fan base are shared, often leave me (as an engineer/analyst who is dependent upon massive amounts of data to make judgement calls) unfulfilled. We often don’t get a wide variety of opinions because they’re so stylized, as I said above. Meaning, in most cases we have a feel for what Disney is doing; how Disney operates. We don't know everything, but we have been indoctrinated in many ways in to the Disney system and that absolutely plays a part in how you vacation, for better or worse. Not only that, but we are lacking in a means to accurately answer the questions like “did Disney fail”, etc. Disney doesn’t provide us that information willingly; we normally have a wait a while to see theme park attendance numbers. Besides, attendance numbers for the initial opening period won’t tell the full story of whether the land is received well; you need to wait years to see what the long-term attendance is if you want to understand guest satisfaction.

BUT, we do have YELP. And, based on the YELP reviews the satisfaction levels seem to about a 4 out of 5 for SWGE in both California and Florida parks.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/star-wars-galaxys-edge-anaheim-2
https://www.yelp.com/biz/star-wars-galaxys-edge-lake-buena-vista-2

Now, of course one could make the case that those reviews are constituted of Disney fans. However, I think using a site like that is a more meaningful way to determine customer satisfaction because of the wide variety (IOW, it’s not just Disney fans only providing a review). You have people's subjective opinions quantified.


Based on this, with the scores hovering around 4 out of 5 on average, I would say that, statistically speaking, SWGE isn’t necessarily an absolute “hit” but it is certainly well-received by park-goers.

Diving further in to the data, you can see the review scores over time. Given HS SWGE hasn’t been open too long there are relatively few reviews currently for HS SWGE (32 as of this post). So, I focused on the reviews for DLR SWGE as I feel that would be a reasonable representation with a higher review count and operational period. Those reviews over the past couple months have flat-lined at about 3.5 out of 5 on average.

I think it's definitely important to remember we are a self-selected group of the somewhat theme park obsessed here.

I think everything that you said is very true. I think, by and large, the vast people who visit the land enjoy it. I definitely expect to enjoy it when I go. My criticisms are not to say that the land isn't a fun new area of Disney.

But is the land drawing in a new audience, beyond regular Disney trippers? Is the land drawing in Star Wars fans, both casual and die-hard? I think the overall consensus is, a little bit. But not in droves, not to the level that Universal experienced with its Harry Potter area. And for a land and expansion that was as costly as this one, that's going to be concerning to shareholders. It's not enough for a new land to be enjoyable. This was supposed to be BIG, a real feat of cutting edge theme park immersion.

I'm thinking more lately that they really need to open Rise of the Resistance, and then we'll know. Right now I think the early consensus is that it is good, but not blow you away amazing. Rise of the Resistance NEEDS to be blow you away amazing, or this expansion will have really failed in its objective.

 

[wilbret]

I think most would agree this board itself consists of mostly Disney nuts. Not all. But the majority. This doesn’t correlate to exclusively consisting of Disney apologists. But a small niche of Disney goers, for sure. Especially when you're considering the ones who are actively posting.

I say that to say this…
Threads like this, where opinions of a highly unique fan base are shared, often leave me (as an engineer/analyst who is dependent upon massive amounts of data to make judgement calls) unfulfilled. We often don’t get a wide variety of opinions because they’re so stylized, as I said above. Meaning, in most cases we have a feel for what Disney is doing; how Disney operates. We don't know everything, but we have been indoctrinated in many ways in to the Disney system and that absolutely plays a part in how you vacation, for better or worse. Not only that, but we are lacking in a means to accurately answer the questions like “did Disney fail”, etc. Disney doesn’t provide us that information willingly; we normally have a wait a while to see theme park attendance numbers. Besides, attendance numbers for the initial opening period won’t tell the full story of whether the land is received well; you need to wait years to see what the long-term attendance is if you want to understand guest satisfaction.

BUT, we do have YELP. And, based on the YELP reviews the satisfaction levels seem to about a 4 out of 5 for SWGE in both California and Florida parks.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/star-wars-galaxys-edge-anaheim-2
https://www.yelp.com/biz/star-wars-galaxys-edge-lake-buena-vista-2

Now, of course one could make the case that those reviews are constituted of Disney fans. However, I think using a site like that is a more meaningful way to determine customer satisfaction because of the wide variety (IOW, it’s not just Disney fans only providing a review). You have people's subjective opinions quantified.


Based on this, with the scores hovering around 4 out of 5 on average, I would say that, statistically speaking, SWGE isn’t necessarily an absolute “hit” but it is certainly well-received by park-goers.

Diving further in to the data, you can see the review scores over time. Given HS SWGE hasn’t been open too long there are relatively few reviews currently for HS SWGE (32 as of this post). So, I focused on the reviews for DLR SWGE as I feel that would be a reasonable representation with a higher review count and operational period. Those reviews over the past couple months have flat-lined at about 3.5 out of 5 on average.

What is their average score on other reviews? (hint, it's high) What is their bias (hint, at least one has photos at Disney in their profile)? Is 33 a statistically significant sample size? Surely as an analytical person, you will be compelled to review all the posts on this forum, other forums, youtube, other social media platforms... and get a picture. Get on it.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

So in terms of evolution... IMO those new food names that just came out (see the food sticky) are a really good balance for fans/theming/immersion and dumb theme park visitors like myself. Just enough theming to make it appropriate for the land, but with enough basic description in the name of the dish to make it easy to order quickly/efficiently for people not well-versed in the offerings.

Solid move from my perspective.

I think in reality this is the best compromise

Now, in Disney's ideal picture for the land, the idea is that exists in the Star Wars Universe and each guest is a member of that universe. As such, you wouldn't order a "chicken Tip-Yip" you would just order a "Tip-Yip" since "chicken" doesn't mean anything to you

But with the vast majority of guests to the land just doing so as part of their larger WDW trip they are it just like any other land, not some new, immersive experience

So they probably should have started with something like this and save the full immersion for the Star Wars Hotel - they guests at which (hopefully) know what they signed up for

 

[ELLH]

What is their average score on other reviews? (hint, it's high) What is their bias (hint, at least one has photos at Disney in their profile)? Is 33 a statistically significant sample size? Surely as an analytical person, you will be compelled to review all the posts on this forum, other forums, youtube, other social media platforms... and get a picture. Get on it.

I don’t think you actually read my caveats and assumptions. I’ve already addressed your comments.

 

[yulilin3]

Please let's try and keep sarcasm at bay and continue to have an adult conversation. Thank you

 

[ksromack]

I can't wait to return to the land for the third time in December. What I really can't wait for is to see my adult son's reaction! He is 28 years old with a 15 month old daughter. I've already given her 3 of the stuffed toys from the Toydarian Toymaker and purchased several SW books for her nighttime stories I remember walking into the land for the first time and being amazed...and the "feels" that came over me. I know he is going to feel the same way so I think I will walk in front of him to capture those emotions. When I told him his Savi's appt (he's been saving DGC up for building his) was our very first night he got the hugest smile on his face. My daughter in law is building a droid the next afternoon. We've already shared with him our pictures but I know the first experience will be one he won't forget. Now he has huge expectations because of all of this. I guess I wish everyone would have open minds until they've actually seen and experienced the land for themselves.

 

[starjazz]

This has probably been mentioned, but comparing HP and the crowds it drew initially vs SWGE and its early crowds seems a bit unfair. HP was a franchise directed almost solely to the theme park-going aged youth. Of course there were fans of all ages, but its demographic is probably pre-teen/tweener. I'm not surprised of the initial popularity of building a land based on that series.

As for SW, that same age group had nowhere near the passion for it as they did HP. There weren't the series of popular books that really started the whole HP craze. And I think the bulk of the die-hard SW fans are those who grew up with the original trilogy - a much older crowd. I'm not sure Disney/Lucasfilm has successfully garnered the love for the new SW films from the younger crowd. Nor am I sure that's their sole focus.

I'm taking my family in Feb. We were not in a rush, mainly because we wanted to wait until it was finished before we visited. SWGE is not the thing my two preteen daughters are most excited for - not really even close. They're most excited for all of the things they know and remember from the last time we went to Disney. If they had gotten into HP, I'm sure they'd be begging to go. If a Judy Moody or Ivy & Bean land opens somewhere, they'll be packing their bags. But I, personally, could not be more excited for SWGE.

I saw an X-Wing fighter at a museum years back and I stood and gawked, and then walked around inspecting it for about an hour. Just one X-Wing in a museum. The notion that I'll get to see the Falcon parked on Batuu? I mean, its enough by itself. The rides, characters, shops, food, and immersion will be icing on the cake.

 

[Undavolt]

Aside from having both rides running which is obvious and I think will help the perception of the land immensely, the above is exactly IMO what it needs.

I don’t think it’s lacking in formal shows, nor do I want yet another thing that needs to be fit into a schedule, but in the spontaneous appearance and/or interaction with stormtroopers or Batuu inhabitants (is it correct to call them aliens?). It‘s so simple, but would go so far in helping the land feel authentic. So much more meaningful than giving money and bathrooms different names. Whenever we saw a character roaming around the land or doing something (like Chewy and the ship) they grabbed the attention of nearly everyone in the area.

I also agree 100% and would like to expand on this. We are not Star Wars fanatics. We saw and enjoyed all the movies. We visited SWGE a couple of weeks ago. We went in twice, once in the early afternoon and once at night. Other than trying the blue and green milk, we just walked around looking at everything. We enjoyed ourselves. I recommend going in at night, the lighting in market and accents on the spires definitely adds to the experience. Between both times we saw two storm troopers and no shows. I was not aware they were still doing shows but they should be. The storm troopers did walk up behind my DW without her knowing it and scared the heck out of. She was cool with it. The sound of ships flying over head is also a good effect.

But have you ever seen a SW movie where the outposts or cities only had humans. There needs to be other races walking around, in the market and sitting in Oga’s. There needs to be more storm troopers. How about playing the music from the cantina in A New Hope in Oga’s? And where is C3PO? But my biggest question would be that if this is an outpost in the SW realm, would it be that hard to believe that the characters from the earlier movies had been there? I understand it is not in the movies but why not have them roaming the outpost as well? Maybe at different times than the newer characters. Just a thought.

 

[yulilin3]

I also agree 100% and would like to expand on this. We are not Star Wars fanatics. We saw and enjoyed all the movies. We visited SWGE a couple of weeks ago. We went in twice, once in the early afternoon and once at night. Other than trying the blue and green milk, we just walked around looking at everything. We enjoyed ourselves. I recommend going in at night, the lighting in market and accents on the spires definitely adds to the experience. Between both times we saw two storm troopers and no shows. I was not aware they were still doing shows but they should be. The storm troopers did walk up behind my DW without her knowing it and scared the heck out of. She was cool with it. The sound of ships flying over head is also a good effect.

But have you ever seen a SW movie where the outposts or cities only had humans. There needs to be other races walking around, in the market and sitting in Oga’s. There needs to be more storm troopers. How about playing the music from the cantina in A New Hope in Oga’s? And where is C3PO? But my biggest question would be that if this is an outpost in the SW realm, would it be that hard to believe that the characters from the earlier movies had been there? I understand it is not in the movies but why not have them roaming the outpost as well? Maybe at different times than the newer characters. Just a thought.

I agree that the land needs aliens and more droids roaming
Figrin D'an and the modal nodes song does play at oga's as part of DjRex's set

 

[BadPinkTink]

I created a seperate thread but it might get more interest here https://www.disboards.com/threads/k...speaking-at-a-conference-im-going-to.3777079/

Long story short, I'm going to a conference next week and Kathleen Kennedy is one of the speakers. What 1 question would you ask her , if you had the chance

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I think in reality this is the best compromise

Now, in Disney's ideal picture for the land, the idea is that exists in the Star Wars Universe and each guest is a member of that universe. As such, you wouldn't order a "chicken Tip-Yip" you would just order a "Tip-Yip" since "chicken" doesn't mean anything to you

But with the vast majority of guests to the land just doing so as part of their larger WDW trip they are it just like any other land, not some new, immersive experience

So they probably should have started with something like this and save the full immersion for the Star Wars Hotel - they guests at which (hopefully) know what they signed up for

Alas, WDW's customers might do a better job of play acting if they were given directions near the SW land entrance. (Personally, I suspect this is coming in some form.)

CM's take time to make sure ever MF rider's seatbelt is secure, and CM's tell every SR that their party will be split. When WDW wants us to behave a certain way, they take time to make sure we behave that way.

If they want us to order Tip-Yip, they could get us to do it via creative fun (as WDW does at other WDW eateries: WCC's ketchup shenanigans, or 50's PTC's no elbows/eat your veggies admonitions). Rewards are also very effective.

 

[fatmanatee]

I created a seperate thread but it might get more interest here https://www.disboards.com/threads/k...speaking-at-a-conference-im-going-to.3777079/

Long story short, I'm going to a conference next week and Kathleen Kennedy is one of the speakers. What 1 question would you ask her , if you had the chance

I wouldn't expect a good answer but I'd ask something about the decision to initially have three different directors (now two) in charge of the three movies of this trilogy instead of having one who would take the story on from beginning to end.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I wouldn't expect a good answer but I'd ask something about the decision to initially have three different directors (now two) in charge of the three movies of this trilogy instead of having one who would take the story on from beginning to end.

great question, and to stay on topic, what would you ask about Batuu / Galaxies Edge?

Im kinda curious about how much input Lucas Films has , or do they have any and is it totally 100% Disney

 

[mickeyluv'r]

This has probably been mentioned, but comparing HP and the crowds it drew initially vs SWGE and its early crowds seems a bit unfair.

they both = company investments

We compare them because the TEA/AECOM Theme Index Report itself compares them, and that report is a very important index for the business side of theme parks worldwide.

Follow the $. Every time a theme park company invests in their property, they hope to get a return on that investment.

As another poster said, it will be interesting to see the impact of SWGE when the 2019 TEA/AECOM Theme Index Report comes out. In the 2018TEA/AECOM report, HS was # 9. If HS jumps to #4 in the next report, it will be a big deal to TEA members.

The 2018 report predicts that SWGE will = a "massive" attendance increase for both HS and Disneyland in 2019.

The idea of comparing SWGE to HP came right out of the Themed Entrtainment Association itself, not from us.