New SWGE Superthread! Now Open to All! (6/24/2019)

[Skyegirl1999]

Not a single person was in line to buy a light saber. Were all the reservations gone (at 9 in the morning?)

Yes. During the reservation period, reservations for each four-hour block were gone in moments; even some people who rushed directly to Savi’s didn’t get in.

It wasn’t like now where you can book them on the website.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Oh no, no no… our son would have a very hard time if he had to stand there and watch dad build a lightsaber if he wasn't building one. And there's no way I'm buying a $200 lightsaber for a 5-year-old. He's really jazzed about the droid (he wants a red R2 unit with a remote control; we can do that!), so I'll take him to Droid Depot while dad is building the lightsaber. I'm not a Star Wars fan, so this day of our trip is all about them and I'm not fussed if I don't see Savis. If The Boy wants a lightsaber later, we will take him to choose a child's one in Tomorrowland.

Every family is different, I guess! My daughter and I would love to attend a build; I keep hoping someone I know is going alone so we can tag along.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Oh, well, that's good to know. I guess that stuff hasn't been covered much. I'd much rather have a t-shirt or sweatshirt than a scavenger's vest or whatever.

There’s tons of SWGE-branded stuff outside of the land; it’s just elsewhere in Disneyland. Batuu stuff is definitely selling well based on the fact that half of it appears to be sold out until forever...

 

[EmJ]

Every family is different, I guess! My daughter and I would love to attend a build; I keep hoping someone I know is going alone so we can tag along.

It's going to be a practically religious experience for DH, lol. He'll be one of the guys crying as they raise their lightsabers. I don't blame him for wanting to go alone; our son is a really great kid, but for sure he would be all up in DH's business, asking questions and wanting to put the lightsaber together. I can't even make dinner without him standing at the counter and "helping" . It will be better for everyone if we divide and conquer this portion of our day.

There's no chance you're going to be in Disney next March, is there? You could be DH's "plus two"!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

It's going to be a practically religious experience for DH, lol. He'll be one of the guys crying as they raise their lightsabers. I don't blame him for wanting to go alone; our son is a really great kid, but for sure he would be all up in DH's business, asking questions and wanting to put the lightsaber together. I can't even make dinner without him standing at the counter and "helping" . It will be better for everyone if we divide and conquer this portion of our day.

There's no chance you're going to be in Disney next March, is there? You could be DH's "plus two"!

We’re at Disney about six days a month; we live seven miles away. If we haven’t seen it yet by March, maybe I’ll hit you up.

 

[crystal1313]

I have a friend who is a CM on ROTR. I don't ask him for info, because I don't want to be that annoying person. All I know is that they are testing the attraction a lot. He said he was testing during the grand opening event with Mark Hamil, Harrison, Ford, George Lucas, etc because I asked him if he was there. He is the biggest Star Wars fan I know. When we visited, he was also working on ROTR testing....

 

[HenDuck]

What's the quality of that light saber like? Not gonna lie, I've looked at buying one of those, but will likely wait and buy his legacy saber at GE instead (I think).

It's very nice quality. Very heavy and has excellent movie-like sounds (Kylo's light saber makes a distinct sound). The Black Series items are all very well-made. I think at one time it was selling for around the same amount as the current make-your-own, but has been on sale at various places over the years. I bought DS' saber from GameStop for around $125. This was a couple of years ago.

 

[LizzyS]

It's very nice quality. Very heavy and has excellent movie-like sounds (Kylo's light saber makes a distinct sound). The Black Series items are all very well-made. I think at one time it was selling for around the same amount as the current make-your-own, but has been on sale at various places over the years. I bought DS' saber from GameStop for around $125. This was a couple of years ago.

I have a couple of the Black Series Centerpieces and figures, but haven't seen a saber in person. Thank you for the info!

 

[Lauren in NC]

Our bartender at Oga's wasn't exactly rude, but he wasn't very friendly, to the point like it felt like we were inconveniencing him by ordering or asking for the souvenir mugs so we could go. Not sure if that was supposed to be his character, but it was a very odd contrast considering the bartender serving the group next to us was very bubbly and helpful.

I did see some CMs try to help out with the whole staying-in-character bit. One CM asked if the guy in front of me had any "credit reductions," and when the guy was completely clueless, prompted him with "I think you offworlders call them annual pass discounts." I thought that was a nice way to keep the sense of being someplace else without completely frustrating people.

 

[midnight star]

I did see some CMs try to help out with the whole staying-in-character bit. One CM asked if the guy in front of me had any "credit reductions," and when the guy was completely clueless, prompted him with "I think you offworlders call them annual pass discounts." I thought that was a nice way to keep the sense of being someplace else without completely frustrating people.

This is what I saw. The CM’s were good at staying in character while also helping guests understand the Batuu language. When I was waiting for a photo pass picture a lady asked about a picture but the CM said “I do facial scans here in Batuu”. And when we were leaving the land, I asked another CM where a particular trail would lead to and she said “it leads to a land of Fantasy”. I hope they keep staying in character. That was one of the highlights when I was there.

 

[bwvBound]

I have a friend who is a CM on ROTR. I don't ask him for info, because I don't want to be that annoying person. All I know is that they are testing the attraction a lot. He said he was testing during the grand opening event with Mark Hamil, Harrison, Ford, George Lucas, etc because I asked him if he was there. He is the biggest Star Wars fan I know. When we visited, he was also working on ROTR testing....

So just ask "for a friend" .. <wink, wink>

 

[B3rlingirl]

I really think everyone is stunned that SWGE didn't open as an instant smash hit with 8 hour waits just to put a toe in the land, so people (myself included) are casting about to figure out how the most popular and valuable IP in franchise history could miss. I've read a lot of theories and offered some of my own, including:

1. Anticipated high crowds scared everyone away.
2. Most non-APs are waiting for ROTR to open before visiting.
3. Disney underestimated its need to advertise and market the new land.
4. Non-local tourists are more likely to visit the land at WDW.
5. Locals predominantly visit Disneyland; non-APs were never going to come in significant numbers.
6. Disneyland is generally just too expensive these days.
7. There aren't enough family or low-budget attractions for everyone to enjoy.
8. Disney missed out on the nostalgia factor by not capitalizing on the original trilogy, or at least by not using a setting that appears in any of the films.
9. There's something fundamentally "wrong" with the land, e.g., lack of music, too austere/run-down looking, oppressive setting/not joyful, etc.
10. The apparent target market for SWGE (adult males) aren't "Disney people".

A lot of these theories will be tested naturally by the passage of time. If crowds explode after ROTR opens or after the perception of high crowds has passed (six months, probably?), that will say something about theories #1-2. I'm really interested to see what happens in Florida on August 29 (theories #4-5, with a sprinkle of #3 presuming Disney increases its marketing efforts over the next two months). #6 could be tested by offering ticket or room discounts; #7 could be tested by adding back in Jedi Training, a stunt show, or other low-cost, family-friendly experiences. If the main problem is in #8-10, then I don't know how Disney fixes that in the short term, but I'm sure they can work on it over the long term. Though, I suspect we'll have a good sense of whether the main issue is in #8-10 by what happens in WDW next month, since none of these factors will change depending on coast.

Yes, that’s pretty much what I was thinking as well even we’ll before the opening date...
I was actually half expecting the low crowds we are experiencing now!
Every Disneyland fan who is doing research beforehand must have read about those predicted high crowds and how everyone is postponing their trips because SWGE is opening. So quite a few regular guests (tourists as well as APs who didn’t renew because of price/blockout) were scared away...
The target market for the new land probably just isn’t the regular Disney guest... for some the whole idea about Disneyland/Disney world is lost so they would visit just for SWGE and than they probably wait for both attractions being open or they just do a day trip ...(compared to a regular Disney tourist doing 2-3 days)
And I agree we will find out a little more as soon as ROTR opens... but because the land has been open a couple month already and the opening date of ROTR might not be announced all that much in advance so I doubt we will see a crazy huge spike in crowds for more than a week or so... because of I’ve waited that long and “missed” the original opening a few more weeks wouldn’t hurt... sure hardcore fans will cause some high crowds but I wouldn’t even be sure if that increase is noticeable throughout the parks like in DCA for example...

A big question for me still is what happens now that DL slowly gets back to “normal” operation... with promos, unblocked APs, holidays, people who postponed theirs trips reschedule them, SWGE opens in Disneyworld....

It is really an interesting time...

What I do know for sure though is that the sentence: “you can’t predict the crowds at DL (especially after the opening of SWGE)” is as true as it could be and that this is actually all we know (or don’t know)... you really can’t predict what will happen in the next months...

 

[slpeters]

I think it's interesting that everyone is casting around for why SWGE is such a failure pretty much simultaneous with the complaining that the shops and restaurants are too small and they're out of a lot of the merch. From what I've seen and heard it seems like SWGE is the only part of DL that has performed in a reasonable fashion since its opening. The issue wasn't so much that they didn't find their demographic, the issue is that the regular demographic staid home. Yes, the new land has not been totally swamped, but the real issue is that there's no one in the other lands.

 

[twodogs]

Report back! I was wondering about that too. I did a double take when I saw the $75 next to the flight, then I read it came with the board. lol

You can get each of the 4 beers by the glass, or you can (could) get a flight with a small sample of each of the 4 beers and you keep the flight container. They only have 4 beers in Oga’s. My DH had beer by the glass and really enjoyed the ones he had. It is a generous pour, about a 12 oz pour. A guy we met in the crazy dash to get into Oga’s during the reservation period got the flight. The amount of beer in each sample glass/tooth is pretty minimal. So if you are there for the beer, get it by the glass. If you want the flight holder, get that when it becomes available, but you won’t get much beer in it!

 

[Tasmen]

I’m a terrible person and I’m kind of hoping it opens a week after I’m there in October...

And just for stating that, it will probably open Oct 5, the first day of my trip, because that is how my life works!

I'll be over here hoping for that date. We have a VIP tour scheduled for the day. Lol.

 

[smartlabelprint]

finally back at my hotel after an EPIC day. I will do a full trip report later so this is just my Batuu report while it is fresh in my mind

Cantina Reservation
I was at Harbour Boulevard Security for about 6.30am and there was no line, I just walked up and got checked straight away.
I did a mobile order for Starbucks in Downtown Disney.
After collecting my Starbucks, on the walk back to the entrance turnstiles I opened up Disneyland website on my phone, on my browser, not the App

1. There was a page for Cantina reservations so I clicked into that
2. It was about 6.45am and I was put into a holding page which refreshed automatically
3. At around 7.05 am it refreshed and the reservation page came up
4. I could choose an hourly reservation time, and then when you selected the hour it gave you a few times during that hour
5. I first selected 3pm and then 3.05pm
6. I had had to say how many were in the party ( 1)
7. I had to put my first name and then my last name
8. I had already added a payment card but I needed to manually input the 3 digit security code
9. I had to put in my phone number
10. I put in the wrong phone number so I dont know if I received a text alert for my reservation.
11. When my reservation was confirmed, it showed up in the App where my restaurant reservation was
12. I heard from people throughout the day that all Cantina reservations were gone by 7.15am.

Cantina Arrival / Check In

1. The App says to check in for your reservation 15 minutes before your time
2. However, I picked a very busy time and the CM's would not let anyone check in before their time.
3. There were about 3 CM's working the line and they were very strict about not letting anyone check in before their time
4. They also explained the rules to us, 2 drinks per person, 45 minute time limit, limited seating area, bar snacks only, not a a restaurant, loud music and dark atmosphere
5. The check in line reached from the Cantina door down to the water / drinks cart
6. There was a CM with a Tablet at the end of the line
7. He checked me in at exactly my reservation time of 3.05pm and gave me a Blue ticket and wrote my party size on the ticket
8. I then waited in line for about 20 minutes
9. When I got to the top of the line, another CM took my blue ticket and put me in a group with 5 other people, a party of 3 adults an a party of 2 adults.
10. We were led in a group into the Cantina and brought to a standing table

Cantina Ordering and Drinks
When we arrived at the table, a server appeared to take our orders.
As we were 3 separate parties, he took 3 separate orders.
When we ordered the drinks we had to give our credit cards to the server.
I ordered my 2 drinks at the same time. The other people at my table just ordered drinks one at a time
I had
Fuzzy Tauntaun - $15
Cîroc Peach Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps, and Simply Orange® topped with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, "Buzzz" Foam

Blue Bantha - $13
Blue Milk served chilled with Bantha-inspired Vanilla-Butter Sugar Cookie

Overall thoughts
I entered Batuu from Fantasyland entrance at about 2.30pm
Walking up I just loved the first sight of the land
The Millennium Falcon is just WOW, seeing it for the first time from the Cantina side , with the rock backdrop is a real heart stopping moment
While I waited for my Cantina reservation I sat in the shade under the bridge and did some people watching.
The majority of the people were NOT the typical Disney family, it seemed alot more males, alot more older teenage and upwards couples.
Some citizens of Batuu came by and many people did not know how to interact with them. People were trying to talk to them like regular CM's and couldn't understand why they didnt know anything off land
I couldnt fully interact with the land as my phone is not compatible with Disney Play App
I loved the uniqueness of the land, I loved that it wasnt like the other land, I loved the sounds, the plane noises. It felt more real and immersive WITHOUT the music. Its like when you travel to a new country, people speak a different language, there is new food to try, new experiences, and things are not like what you are used to.
I loved all the tiny details, however I feel that the details are lost on many people. You really need to look up, look at different angles, and explore everything. There really is so much to see, but again it seems than many people are not really fully appreciating or experiencing the land.

Smugglers Run
I did Smugglers Run 3 times, each time single rider and waited no more than 20 minutes, when standby was 55 minutes
Again I think this is getting a rough time in reviews
All 3 times, very few people actually realised about the chess table, and I saw hardly anyone taking photos. Alot of the time, it was empty, most people not even realising the significance of this seated area.
I was engineer all 3 times
It didnt seem to matter that I was a single rider, everyone got into the spirit of the ride and it was great fun
The engineer has a a button console on the side and its basically like Simon Says, when the buttons light up you press them
The ride itself is just awesome, sitting in the cockpit, with that view then lightspeed, it wow. Again, after reading alot of peoples opinions who havent been there and who have been watching YouTube videos, you really need to experience it, before you form an opinion.

People really need to stop expecting it to be like the other lands.

Thanks for all the detail. What did you like/dislike about the drinks? I never know what to order. I wish there was a thread with just drink reviews for SWGE and Trader Sam’s.

I’m kind of excited about no music. My kiddo has SPD and it’s *so loud* almost everywhere in the parks. We are coming sans children in November to check everything out.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I disagree, its less kid friendly than other lands and I like it that way. The rest of the park is kid friendly, this needs to be left the wayit is.

Disneyland is now fulfilling Walts wishes, a place for ALL to visit. I loved that Batuu had a more adult crowd. Now the people who might not fit in with the conventional Disneyland crowd have a place to go.

For example, I saw a family, dad covered in tattoos and piercing, mom dressed in the same style, with a disneyfied princess kid. Now this family can bring the princess mad kid to Fantasyland, and then have a wander into Batuu and possibly spend double the amount of money. Before this family may have only stayed half a day, the bring the kid to Disney but theres nothing really of interest to the adults, but now with Batuu, there is.

Remember, the single adult in Batuu may spend the same amount of money on food and merchandise as a family in Fantasyland. Low crowds in Batuu does not equal a low spend per person.

This is kind of judgmental about the tattooed people. A nurse we had the other day was covered in Disney tats. She loves the park as much as a non-tattooed person.

 

[smartlabelprint]

As a parent of two young kids heading to Disneyland right this second... the thing is that we want to experience Star Wars even tho we have young kids with us. Just one expirence there that would be fitting for a 2-5 would be great while mom, dad and older kid do rider swap. I’m nervous about this part of the trip and keeping our youngest happy during this time.

I think they need to add the Jedi training. Although that might not be aimed at 2-5.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Oh my gosh, I was looking through my pictures and it reminded me - there's at least one area where there's music in the land! They were playing the music from the cantina (I think - I heard DJ Rex so I'm assuming it's the same loop) near one of the bathrooms, and actually inside the bathrooms. That was pretty cool, except some choir of Ewoks or Jawas or something was playing while I was trying to use the "refresher" and it was so weird I couldn't stop laughing. Of all the things I was expecting from SWGE, having a choir of Ewoks serenade me while using the restroom was NOT one of them!

 

[smartlabelprint]

I think it's interesting to see people on here mention the lack of music. I don't normally pay attention to stuff like that, so that could be the reason no music doesn't bother me.

I didn’t even know target doesn’t play music.