News Round Up 2019

[soniam]

It was pretty inconvenient when I got my hot dog nuggets today. Especially when they ran out.

Sounds like we might be snagging condiments from other QS to take to Casey's

 

[OSUZorba]

I agree with a lot of this - but I also think there is an element of "did Disney build the land the die hards want, or build the land they wanted and assumed the die hards would show up no matter what"? I keep going back to that comment from Iger when he said (something to the effect of) "we don't need to market Galaxy's Edge, we just announce it is open and people will come" - I think that was a mistake on their part and maybe a bit arrogant.

I do wish more people who were like Kevin (not to pick on him, but just as putting a face/name to the type of guest) were a bit more open to immersion and welcoming of the fact other people do want this and you have to start from a position of immersion and then move off of it, you can't go the other way. But also think the CMs could be better about reading the guest and moving off of immersion quicker when it is clear the guest is not into it

But comes back to trying to build a land for everyone and in the end making a lot of people unhappy - it's too immersive for some, and not immersive enough for others. Plus, we are going to see more of the negative things posted / discussed as it is just the nature of the internet - people who go and enjoy it but dont' feel super strongly either way aren't going to go out of the way to write passionate blogs about that

Some of it is/was just dumb though. I can go to any English speaking country on Earth and many non-english speaking ones and people know what I mean when I ask about a bathroom. But yet, the English speakers in Batuu that are asked about bathrooms a thousand times a day act clueless. I don't remember this being any part of Star Wars Canon.

 

[afan]

NEWS

Fencing puts monorail station inside secure area - should be soon that won't need to go through double security checks when taking monorail from MK to EPCOT

https://twitter.com/x/status/1185316174852218880

Hoping this is done by halloween since I plan to hop from mk to epcot that day.

 

[Mal6586]

We had to ask for ketchup in those little cups at Columbia Harbor House today as well. A CM at the condiment station told someone they were out of whatever is normally at the condiment station. I couldn’t remember if that would normally be packets or pumps.

 

[only hope]

Some of it is/was just dumb though. I can go to any English speaking country on Earth and many non-english speaking ones and people know what I mean when I ask about a bathroom. But yet, the English speakers in Batuu that are asked about bathrooms a thousand times a day act clueless. I don't remember this being any part of Star Wars Canon.

I have read dozens of SW books (mostly the new canon) and have never seen the words bathroom or restroom. It is always “refresher,” so it is part of canon. I don’t remember it being mentioned in the movies though.

 

[OSUZorba]

LOL - hot dog condiments are one of the 'rites of passage' my DH and I talk about.
kids = ketchup
grownups = mustard

People with taste = BBQ Sauce

 

[OSUZorba]

I have read dozens of SW books (mostly the new canon) and have never seen the words bathroom or restroom. It is always “refresher,” so it is part of canon. I don’t remember it being mentioned in the movies though.

I just don't recall anything about bathrooms or refreshers in any of the movies or the old canon books I've read.

Regardless if I had a ton of people asking me where the restroom was in Chinese everyday, it wouldn't take me long to what understand they were talking about. I think the people of Batuu would too. Just like I've never called a restroom a toilet in my life, yet when I'm at an airport I know what it means when I see it on a sign.

Regardless, I really like strong theming so I like the creative names and the CMs playing a role, but they need to know how to play to the individual audience. That said, I really have no desire to play along myself.

 

[Clockwork]

I just don't recall anything about bathrooms or refreshers in any of the movies or the old canon books I've read.

Regardless if I had a ton of people asking me where the restroom was in Chinese everyday, it wouldn't take me long to what understand they were talking about. I think the people of Batuu would too. Just like I've never called a restroom a toilet in my life, yet when I'm at an airport I know what it means when I see it on a sign.

Regardless, I really like strong theming so I like the creative names and the CMs playing a role, but they need to know how to play to the individual audience. That said, I really have no desire to play along myself.

In A New Hope and Empire they are called refreshers, I agree with everything else though.

 

[HuskieJohn]

My hardcore SW fan friends (who can actually afford to go) loved it. The other hardcore friends I have are waiting for Rise to open before going.

I think costs are keeping people away. I think the heat is keeping people away.

I think it was a bad move to open the land before Rise was ready. Just my opinion.

Medium SW fan here...on the flip side I am glad they opened the land as early as possible (even without RotR) because it will help spread the crowds out a bit more for my trip in June.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Medium SW fan here...on the flip side I am glad they opened the land as early as possible (even without RotR) because it will help spread the crowds out a bit more for my trip in June.

I meant it was a bad move for Disney financially.

 

[only hope]

I meant it was a bad move for Disney financially.

I dunno...BSO seems to be a big money maker. Attendance didn’t drop a huge amount at WDW like it did at DLR, aside from the weeks around the hurricane. How many $99 droids, $200 lightsabers, and $18ish drinks are they selling per hour? Not to mention the merch carts, marketplace, Ronto’s, DB7, and stores...

 

[SaintsManiac]

I dunno...BSO seems to be a big money maker. Attendance didn’t drop a huge amount at WDW like it did at DLR, aside from the weeks around the hurricane. How many $99 droids, $200 lightsabers, and $18ish drinks are they selling per hour? Not to mention the merch carts, marketplace, Ronto’s, DB7, and stores...

Honestly, it's been discussed on multiple threads across the DIS. We need to stop talking about it here or Ryan will have our heads.

 

[tarheelblue8853]

yeah, was chatting with some other people about this and I think it comes down to that the vast majority of guests to Disney don't want to experience it as if they are going to some place "foreign" - they just want to experience going to Disney and having fun and riding rides and not going that extra level. So while your thought process might not be the exception here, in this thread, it likely is amongst the average guest to the park

Which is the issue/challenge with trying to have this immersive land inside an existing park - you aren't just getting the super fans there and, at least so far, Disney wasn't able to get the right balance and they need to make sure the "Disney fans" that come are happy vs the "Star Wars" fans that want the full immersion (and that overlap was perhaps smaller than they expected).

Plus, with the main ride still down and the prices being like 10-20% higher than in the rest of the park, people are probably less forgiving than if they though the rest of the land made up for any small inconvenience

Sorry I know I'm a bit late on replying to this! For the last few weeks I've been asking my patients about their experiences visiting GE and, again this is absolutely anecdotal, but opinion seems to be split in thirds: 1/3 love it, 1/3 expected "more," and 1/3 just don't enjoy it. I totally agree with what you said about the overlap of "Disney fans" and "Star Wars" fans being smaller than they expected. Frankly its far smaller than I expected too. I am a Star Wars fan and I certainly enjoy the land. My wife is a very casual fan and she loves it.

 

[Fantasia79]

NEWS

Fencing puts monorail station inside secure area - should be soon that won't need to go through double security checks when taking monorail from MK to EPCOT

https://twitter.com/x/status/1185316174852218880

This can only be described as positively life changing.

 

[Helvetica]

I think that the changes that they have made to Galaxy's Edge so far have been good. Based on what I read about it from the previews/grand opening, I thought it was going to suck with no storm troopers, no crowds and no fun. My experience on Friday was very different from what's been previously reported. There were really big crowds, the lines all moved very fast, the Blue Milk was actually good, there were Storm Troopers everywhere causing high jinx and the new droid play area was super cute/fun.

If it were me, I would have called this an extended preview or soft-opening. The big attraction isn't even open yet.

 

[cakebaker]

I just don't recall anything about bathrooms or refreshers in any of the movies or the old canon books I've read.

Instances in which the word "refresher" is used:
It's definitely canon.

 

[YesterDark]

Who cares. Call it a bathroom. If you need to nerd it up for die hards, just say that on Batuu they call it a bathroom.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I think that the changes that they have made to Galaxy's Edge so far have been good. Based on what I read about it from the previews/grand opening, I thought it was going to suck with no storm troopers, no crowds and no fun. My experience on Friday was very different from what's been previously reported. There were really big crowds, the lines all moved very fast, the Blue Milk was actually good, there were Storm Troopers everywhere causing high jinx and the new droid play area was super cute/fun.

If it were me, I would have called this an extended preview or soft-opening. The big attraction isn't even open yet.

Um,this is the internet - there is no room for this type of positivity

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Who cares. Call it a bathroom. If you need to nerd it up for die hards, just say that on Batuu they call it a bathroom.

I don't think it is the specific case that matters - if they called it a bathroom from day one no one would care. The point is they pushed and marketed that the land would have a deep level of immersion and they are already backing off that

 

[tarheelblue8853]

I don't think it is the specific case that matters - if they called it a bathroom from day one no one would care. The point is they pushed and marketed that the land would have a deep level of immersion and they are already backing off that

While we nearly all could have predicted that there was no way they would be able to keep the goal level of immersion, what shocks me is how quickly its happening. I would have guessed 6-12 months before they started to back off. At least until after ROR opened. It's been what...2 months since the AP previews at Hollywood Studios?