News Round Up 2016

[rteetz]

Based on the article it just sounds like Disney's answer to the wands at Harry Potter. If the article is correct, there will probably be "Microsoft Kinect-esque" readers that will cause the "whatever" to do "whatever" when the proper body motion is made.

Then the bigger "Force Opportunities" will be just like the Sword in the Stone. I don't know much about the Star Wars lore, but it sounds like this could actually be a cool little "plus" like the Sword in the Stone.

Does anyone know if they even still have a "Knight of the Day" or whatever it was called when a kid pulled the sword from the stone?

I believe they still do that in fantasyland.

 

[skier_pete]

Kenny the pirate - changes coming on how FP+ will be booked


http://www.kennythepirate.com/2016/05/17/change-coming-to-fastpass-booking/

Good for east coasters....bad for west coasters...

 

[jlundeen]

Good for east coasters....bad for west coasters...

neither good nor bad for us "middle" folks - it was 11 PM before, and now will be 6 AM...since I'm an early riser, the 6 AM really works better for me anyway.

But I always felt like the late night stuff was kind of "secret" - not that it really was...huge numbers of others were online at the exact same time...but now it really feels like EVERYONE will be trying to hit the site at the same time in the morning, and I fear the inevitable crashes.

 

[rungoofy]

Yeah, my first response after reading the story is also negative. It kind of takes me out of the SW universe if now everyone can use the force.

"Kids will walk up to the boulder and attempt to lift it all day. But at one special moment, one special child will actively use the Force and lift the rock."

 

[Budshark]

"Kids will walk up to the boulder and attempt to lift it all day. But at one special moment, one special child will actively use the Force and lift the rock."

That was one example... however, the problem with these things is they never work out. They are either so small why bother - Sword in the Stone - or they become such a parent fight that their kid didn't get to do it that it gets changed to let everyone or gets eliminated to avoid the hassle - Tinkerbell.

The bigger issue is in Star Wars - the force is mystical and special. Its not available to the common man, yet the common man lives with it around them. Force users have it, but it coexists with the rest of the universe. It doesn't dominate, nor is it a parlor trick.

The "right" way to include the Force in Star Wars land would be to have events where something happened and someone is being chased or in trouble or there's a problem. Then a robed person steps out of the crowd, uses the force to save the person in trouble, then fades back into the crowd. That way you can keep the Force in the land, while avoiding the "I wanna do it" crying and demystifying it by making it available to whoever.

If they try and "copy" Harry Potter they will have missed the point. They are two very different things.

With all that said, they aren't building Star Wars land for the fan boys or to be accurate - they are building it for the masses. And if they call it the Star Wars Experience people will want to "experience" Star Wars which means the Force. The problem is, thats not what it should be and its not really understanding what the Force is. But... again... neither here nor there. They are after the masses who don't know.

/rantoff

 

[Ursula's Apprentice]

That was one example... however, the problem with these things is they never work out. They are either so small why bother - Sword in the Stone - or they become such a parent fight that their kid didn't get to do it that it gets changed to let everyone or gets eliminated to avoid the hassle - Tinkerbell.

The bigger issue is in Star Wars - the force is mystical and special. Its not available to the common man, yet the common man lives with it around them. Force users have it, but it coexists with the rest of the universe. It doesn't dominate, nor is it a parlor trick.

The "right" way to include the Force in Star Wars land would be to have events where something happened and someone is being chased or in trouble or there's a problem. Then a robed person steps out of the crowd, uses the force to save the person in trouble, then fades back into the crowd. That way you can keep the Force in the land, while avoiding the "I wanna do it" crying and demystifying it by making it available to whoever.

If they try and "copy" Harry Potter they will have missed the point. They are two very different things.

With all that said, they aren't building Star Wars land for the fan boys or to be accurate - they are building it for the masses. And if they call it the Star Wars Experience people will want to "experience" Star Wars which means the Force. The problem is, thats not what it should be and its not really understanding what the Force is. But... again... neither here nor there. They are after the masses who don't know.

/rantoff

While I am not a Star Wars fanatic by any means, I totally get where you're coming from with this. Basically, if you're going to do it, do it the right way. While I would love to be able to use the force, I am not a Jedi, nor a Sith, so it's just not meant to be. I get it.

 

[Founders Fan]

That was one example... however, the problem with these things is they never work out. They are either so small why bother - Sword in the Stone - or they become such a parent fight that their kid didn't get to do it that it gets changed to let everyone or gets eliminated to avoid the hassle - Tinkerbell.

The bigger issue is in Star Wars - the force is mystical and special. Its not available to the common man, yet the common man lives with it around them. Force users have it, but it coexists with the rest of the universe. It doesn't dominate, nor is it a parlor trick.

The "right" way to include the Force in Star Wars land would be to have events where something happened and someone is being chased or in trouble or there's a problem. Then a robed person steps out of the crowd, uses the force to save the person in trouble, then fades back into the crowd. That way you can keep the Force in the land, while avoiding the "I wanna do it" crying and demystifying it by making it available to whoever.

If they try and "copy" Harry Potter they will have missed the point. They are two very different things.

With all that said, they aren't building Star Wars land for the fan boys or to be accurate - they are building it for the masses. And if they call it the Star Wars Experience people will want to "experience" Star Wars which means the Force. The problem is, thats not what it should be and its not really understanding what the Force is. But... again... neither here nor there. They are after the masses who don't know.

/rantoff

I like your idea and think it would be neat to have that incorporated. The problem is that the "the force" and "magic" really are, for the most part, the same thing as far as the stories are concerned. Not everyone is able to use magic in HP, much like not everyone is able to use the force in SW. However, like you said, only opening up these type of experiences to a select few causes many folks to be upset because they're not being included. Even though the experience would be more "magical or mysterious" if it wasn't open to everyone, by not allowing the entire consumer base to use it likely creates more headache than they want to deal with.

What I think would be neat would be to tie force powers to magic bands and have randomly selected individuals who are able to use the force. Not everyone would be able to use it which would have people complaining, but I think it would be more in line with the overall theme and story behind the land.

 

[graychef]

but now it really feels like EVERYONE will be trying to hit the site at the same time in the morning, and I fear the inevitable crashes.

No confidence in Disney IT?

I do think you've made THE point. With the old sytem, FP+ and ADR were opened in separate windows. Now everyone will be online at the same time. Hope the website gets an upgrade to handle additional traffic...

 

[rteetz]

News

More on the Dinosaur refurb.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...ing-for-lengthy-refurbishment-this-summer.htm

 

[rteetz]

News

More info on the Swiss Family Treehouse refurb.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...reehouse-closing-for-2-months-this-summer.htm

 

[Grym]

No confidence in Disney IT?

I do think you've made THE point. With the old sytem, FP+ and ADR were opened in separate windows. Now everyone will be online at the same time. Hope the website gets an upgrade to handle additional traffic...

My first thought as well. Both ADR and FP+ people all jumping into the system at the exact same time instead of splitting them up. I wonder if there will be system issues? Then again, I'm not an IT person, so I have no idea what kind of additional strain it may cause to their booking/website systems.

 

[rteetz]

Photo update

Animal Kingdom photo update

http://micechat.com/126415-pandora-growing-disneys-animal-kingdom/

 

[rteetz]

News

Disney Movies Virtual Reality

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2016/05/disney-movies-vr-lets-you-explore-disney-worlds-in-virtual-reality/

 

[MichiganScott]

News

More on the Dinosaur refurb.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...ing-for-lengthy-refurbishment-this-summer.htm

More info on the Swiss Family Treehouse refurb.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...reehouse-closing-for-2-months-this-summer.htm

Let's be honest, were those really more info?

 

[rteetz]

Video

New video of Shanghai's Peter Pans Flight

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2016/05/new-and-better-video-of-shanghai.html?m=1

 

[rteetz]

Let's be honest, were those really more info?

Well it was more confirmation than anything. The info I posted yesterday was from the Dibb and I didn't see confirmation anywhere else.

 

[MichiganScott]

Just messing with you

I do wonder, does this perhaps mean SFT will get Tarzanized?

 

[skier_pete]

The bigger issue is in Star Wars - the force is mystical and special. Its not available to the common man, yet the common man lives with it around them. Force users have it, but it coexists with the rest of the universe. It doesn't dominate, nor is it a parlor trick.

Your argument is pretty silly. Do you criticize Harry Potter land for letting every kid that shows up buy a wand? Cause supposedly muggles aren't supposed to know the existence of the magic world.

For that matter what about Jedi Training Academy - they let any kid off the street have a lightsaber and fight Darth Vader. THAT"S NOT ACCURATE!!!

It's a theme park - let everyone use the force - it's supposed to be fun you know.

 

[rteetz]

Just messing with you

I do wonder, does this perhaps mean SFT will get Tarzanized?

I don't think so.

 

[rteetz]

News

New Magic Shots at WDW

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...ic-shots-featuring-beloved-disney-characters/