Star Wars Lands .... Please Translate

[DoingDisney]

The lands are breaking ground next month .... great

But ...

Iger said the original plans for the park expansions have been tweaked and he “wouldn’t focus on what was in an earlier design plan because what we are building will be great.”


Translation ?

 

[DoingDisney]

My Translation - they have cut back on their plans and are sort of winging it to try and cash in on the Star Wars Hype and compete with Universal's builds. What we get wont be nearly as good as what we were hoping for.

 

[Skywise]

Where'd he say this?

 

[nilla]

Where'd he say this?

Shareholders meeting yesterday, but it was in reference to Disneyland.

 

[lugnut33]

I'm guessing Shanghai's massive losses are eating into the Star Wars projects.

 

[tlmadden73]

That sounds like businessman talk for "It's going to be too expensive for what we originally envisioned, so we are going to cut some corners to save cost, but it will still look great."

Considering the public doesn't really know what was in the original design plan beside what Harrison Ford introduced in the Disneyland 60th special, what could be tweaked at this point since it all has been presented to us pretty loosely.

 

[lugnut33]

Shareholders meeting yesterday, but it was in reference to Disneyland.

Really, because it sure sounded like he was talking about both coasts.

 

[JimmyV]

My Translation - they have cut back on their plans and are sort of winging it to try and cash in on the Star Wars Hype and compete with Universal's builds. What we get wont be nearly as good as what we were hoping for.

Say hello to the re-designed X-Wing Starfighter attraction.........

 

[nilla]

Really, because it sure sounded like he was talking about both coasts.

Ahh, you're probably right. The two are supposed to be identical.

I don't put too much stock in initial designs anyway, since New Fantasyland didn't look exactly like the original concept art, IIRC.

 

[mom2rtk]

Isn't this just SOP for these projects?

I'm really sort of shocked though at how little time there was between announcement and adjustment.

 

[lugnut33]

Ahh, you're probably right. The two are supposed to be identical.

I don't put too much stock in initial designs anyway, since New Fantasyland didn't look exactly like the original concept art, IIRC.

You are correct about NFL, it changed significantly from concept to actual finished product.

 

[rteetz]

I haven't heard of anything substantial being taken out of the plans at this time.

 

[EricInPA]

I took this to mean more inclusion of things from The Force Awakens. Everything is a dream until plans and schematics are made. Concepts are there to help zero in on core ideas, so I don't buy into them too much.

 

[rteetz]

I took this to mean more inclusion of things from The Force Awakens. Everything is a dream until plans and schematics are made. Concepts are there to help zero in on core ideas, so I don't buy into them too much.

No, the plan from the get go was to include TFA even before the movie came out.

 

[EricInPA]

This was during the Q&A session of the shareholder meeting.

The question (part of a 3 part question):

"...considering just how well the first star was film made by the studio has done, I was wondering if you could address reports that the budget for Disneyland's expansion was scaled back, eliminating a 3rd attraction in Star Wars land..."

Full answer from Iger (on the star wars portion of the question):

"In terms of Star Wars lands at both Florida and California, I assure you that we're putting a substantial amount of capital into those expansion projects so that the experience that people have when they walk into star wars lands will be fantastic. We do tweak the size, the nature, and the complexity of what it is we plan to build often before we break ground, before we open. There have been some tweaks from the initial pitch. I think what we're building is going to be fantastic. [Notes about previous presentation]. This also is an opportunity for us to combine storytelling that relied on great technology with theme park experiences that will rely on great technology, to create what will feel like real experiences, and I think you'll enjoy them. I wouldn't focus on what was in an early design plan because what we're building is going to be great."

 

[DoingDisney]

11

This was during the Q&A session of the shareholder meeting.

The question (part of a 3 part question):

"...considering just how well the first star was film made by the studio has done, I was wondering if you could address reports that the budget for Disneyland's expansion was scaled back, eliminating a 3rd attraction in Star Wars land..."

Full answer from Iger (on the star wars portion of the question):

"In terms of Star Wars lands at both Florida and California, I assure you that we're putting a substantial amount of capital into those expansion projects so that the experience that people have when they walk into star wars lands will be fantastic. We do tweak the size, the nature, and the complexity of what it is we plan to build often before we break ground, before we open. There have been some tweaks from the initial pitch. I think what we're building is going to be fantastic. [Notes about previous presentation]. This also is an opportunity for us to combine storytelling that relied on great technology with theme park experiences that will rely on great technology, to create what will feel like real experiences, and I think you'll enjoy them. I wouldn't focus on what was in an early design plan because what we're building is going to be great."

His response, verbatim (thank you), worries me. You would think he would have just said, "No, we aren't scaling back the number of attractions" If they weren't, and I do hope I am wrong here. I WANT Disney to get this right, and do it big, even if it means I have to fight the hordes.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

NFL was supposed to be a collection of princess meet and greets and fairy condos. They changed it to build 7DMT. 7DMT is not the most fabulous cutting edge ride in the universe but it's better than a bunch of really dressed up meet and greets. So it's possible it'd change for the better...maybe.

The Star Wars universe is pretty tangible to the fans. If what they end up building is not at least as immersive as Diagon Alley they're done.

 

[JimmyV]

His response, verbatim (thank you), worries me. You would think he would have just said, "No, we aren't scaling back the number of attractions" If they weren't, and I do hope I am wrong here. I WANT Disney to get this right, and do it big, even if it means I have to fight the hordes.

That answer absolutely, positively reads as: "We are scaling back but you will still love it."

 

[EricInPA]

This article from MiceChat is the likely source of the "report" from the question:

The third attraction in Star Wars land, an internal transportation system of sorts, was cut from the budget recently after Chapek demanded cost savings. WDI was sent scrambling to find a way to put it back into the project as it was designed to bring kinetic energy to the sprawling land much like the Red Car Trolley brings energy to Buena Vista Street, but Chapek won’t budge on his budget mandates and something else will need to be cut in order for the third attraction to survive.

 

[Lesverts]

Didn't they learn From DCA that cost cutting and going the cheap route will only cost them more in the end?