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

trackless rides are huge at the parks in Asia. I'm excited there will finally be one here. Not excited to hear about their construction issues. It'll only be successful if the ride works.
 


Diagon Alley is an almost exact replica of what appeared in the movies. It is extremely immersive and it is really cool to explore all the shops and the pub, and restaurants. The ride queue is the Gringott's bank and it's amazingly themed. Looks just like in the movie. I think those movies did a great job of bringing those places to life. They were very much the way I pictured them in my head when reading the books.

Similarly, Carsland at DCA is a spectacular example of a land that looks exactly (I mean exactly) like Radiator Springs in the movie. That land is so good and it is a lot of fun to spend time in.

SWGE suffers from being an unrecognizable place that no one has an emotional connection to. Plus, it doesn't have enough to do with only one ride and numerous upcharge experiences.

In Carsland, for example, there are 3 rides, 8 places to get unique foods/snacks, several character meet and greets (Lightning, Mater, Cruz Ramirez, Red). There used to be the DJ dance party in the streets, but in general, the cars actually drive around and talk/interact with guests. There is a nightly neon lighting ceremony. There are several unique themed shops selling nice merchandise. Flo's V8 serves great food and plays awesome music and is a nice place to hang out. There are SO many cool details and little fun things to find. It really does feel like a little town.

By contrast, SWGE feels dead and soulless. The lack of music and moving elements really creates quite a void. As a "themed place" the imagineering work is spectacular. It is very highly detailed and rich with backstory. It's just not a place anyone cares about.
You're kind of glossing over the fact that Diagon Alley, while cool, is also almost entirely shops. There's the one ride, albiet a cool ride, and that's it. The rest is just shops meant to make you buy the same types of things you could have gotten at Hogsmeade, just more of it. You do have the interactive wands you can use to maybe see a somewhat cool effect at various places if you can get it to work. The queue for Gringott's bank is well done, but it's really just a big bank room. You have the goblins at their desks, but I really don't think it's as impressive as you're making it out to be. It's ultimately just a big room to stand in.
My point is that while you think SWGE is very boring and uninteresting, I can kind of apply the same logic to Diagon Alley. It's personal taste and opinion. To say nobody cares about it is, once again, ignorant.
 
trackless rides are huge at the parks in Asia. I'm excited there will finally be one here. Not excited to hear about their construction issues. It'll only be successful if the ride works.

Is the Ratatouille ride in DLP trackless? I went on that ride and it was quite fun. I wonder if the RotR will be a similar tech but I am hoping it will be more than just screens like Ratatouille
 


Who exactly is Carlye Wisel to be able to see an attraction not yet open?
they're doing Media previews here at DHS today. Media got to go to the entrance of the attraction where the ride system was explained. This particular photo is featured on the Disney Parks Blog, an actual photo, not an artist rendering of RotR
 
I have basically stayed away from this thread, because it is in my nature to give my opinion on something and then move along. There are some folks that keep coming back to this thread to push their point across. And while everyone has a right to their opinions and thoughts, once shared, there's no need to keep pounding the message. Be it negative or positive. You will not change anyone's minds while I won't change anyone's minds either.
Leaving that at t hat, I am very excited to spend an entire day in Batuu on Thursday :)
MTFBWY
 
Who exactly is Carlye Wisel to be able to see an attraction not yet open?
Freelance writer, looks like she does work for Travel and Leisure and probably other spots. She also got a sneak preview earlier this year so I would guess that a lot of the ride is ready to go and the work they're doing now is about working out all the kinks.
 
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I have basically stayed away from this thread, because it is in my nature to give my opinion on something and then move along. There are some folks that keep coming back to this thread to push their point across. And while everyone has a right to their opinions and thoughts, once shared, there's no need to keep pounding the message. Be it negative or positive. You will not change anyone's minds while I won't change anyone's minds either.
Leaving that at t hat, I am very excited to spend an entire day in Batuu on Thursday :)
MTFBWY

Don't make me try to change your mind about changing people's minds. 😜
 
You're kind of glossing over the fact that Diagon Alley, while cool, is also almost entirely shops. There's the one ride, albiet a cool ride, and that's it. The rest is just shops meant to make you buy the same types of things you could have gotten at Hogsmeade, just more of it. You do have the interactive wands you can use to maybe see a somewhat cool effect at various places if you can get it to work. The queue for Gringott's bank is well done, but it's really just a big bank room. You have the goblins at their desks, but I really don't think it's as impressive as you're making it out to be. It's ultimately just a big room to stand in.
My point is that while you think SWGE is very boring and uninteresting, I can kind of apply the same logic to Diagon Alley. It's personal taste and opinion. To say nobody cares about it is, once again, ignorant.

Um, no. It's not "just shops." There is an Ollivander's wand experience, the Leaky Cauldron restaurant, Kings Cross station and the Hogwarts Express, 3 locations serving unique beverages, the ice cream parlor, 2 different live shows, and yes, 11 unique shops, some located in Knockturn Alley, a separately themed part of Diagon Alley. I disagree that the shops are "all the same." They all have unique themes and sell unique items. They are all shops that exist in the books, and I really enjoyed exploring all of them. I also thought the ride and queue were amazing. There is also a Gringott's money exchange where you can interact with a goblin, if you want the full bank experience.
 
You're kind of glossing over the fact that Diagon Alley, while cool, is also almost entirely shops. There's the one ride, albiet a cool ride, and that's it. The rest is just shops meant to make you buy the same types of things you could have gotten at Hogsmeade, just more of it. You do have the interactive wands you can use to maybe see a somewhat cool effect at various places if you can get it to work. The queue for Gringott's bank is well done, but it's really just a big bank room. You have the goblins at their desks, but I really don't think it's as impressive as you're making it out to be. It's ultimately just a big room to stand in.
My point is that while you think SWGE is very boring and uninteresting, I can kind of apply the same logic to Diagon Alley. It's personal taste and opinion. To say nobody cares about it is, once again, ignorant.

Those shops, be it not all of them, are places we have seen in the movies and that makes it incredibly special to be.

Dragon Alley to me is a masterpiece and walking literally into the movies.

Star Wars land is just a land with no heart from a movie. Not that it’s a bad thing but I also think that’s a reason why it’s not as special as it should have been.

Either way though there is really nowhere in the Star Wars movies I would have wanted to see made into real world anyway so it defeats the purpose.
 
I have always said that WWoHP was the boot that kicked Disney's butt and had them (DIsney) stop the automatic managing of the parks and actually do something new and fresh. I am a complete fan of both WWoHP here in Orlando for what they are. I am now, also a fan of SWGE for what it is.
Funny enough both projects were imagineered by Scott Trowbridge, so the same man that brought WWoHP brought SWGE
During a panel at D23 he and Joe Rhode said that they are moving into having the guest BE part of the stories instead of just being a spectator. So it looks like this is the new direction they are taking future projects around the world. They also aknowledged in the same panel that they know each guest will want and have a different level of interaction and they are planning for that
 
I get why Diagon Alley keeps coming up here, it's the gold standard for theme malls and everyone is going to try to replicate it in future expansions, but it is VERY hard to pull off. It really helps to have written it up in a book to a degree that makes it perfect for this sort of thing.
 
I have always said that WWoHP was the boot that kicked Disney's butt and had them (DIsney) stop the automatic managing of the parks and actually do something new and fresh. I am a complete fan of both WWoHP here in Orlando for what they are. I am now, also a fan of SWGE for what it is.
Funny enough both projects were imagineered by Scott Trowbridge, so the same man that brought WWoHP brought SWGE
During a panel at D23 he and Joe Rhode said that they are moving into having the guest BE part of the stories instead of just being a spectator. So it looks like this is the new direction they are taking future projects around the world. They also aknowledged in the same panel that they know each guest will want and have a different level of interaction and they are planning for that

I bet Scott Trowbridge appreciated not having the budget slashed halfway through the WWOHP project...
 

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