D23 EXPO 2019 Superthread - dates announced!

[gottalovepluto]

Come on folks, listen to what you are saying. For those unhappy or just skeptical with the phased opening, the only other option at this point would be to delay opening SWGE until the second ride is ready. Would you prefer that?

And for those saying Disney is doing this to make more money, no way. If the second ride was ready they would open it. In this case demand is huge. Delaying the second ride to make more money makes no sense. And delaying the whole land until the second ride is ready makes some sense. But will disappoint EVERYONE. So if he second ride is going to be delayed a few months, this decision they made is best for everyone.

So pretty much we can TL;DR this entire situation into "DISNEY SUCKS!!! ....Now leave me alone while I figure out how to plan another trip to Disney..."

 

[crvetter]

I have seen nothing in writing that guarantees hotel guests reservations, care to point to where this is?

This is what they are referring to; however, this "guaranteed" window is only going to be given out during May 31 to June 23 based on this reading IMO (bold added by me to call it out):

"Guests planning to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland park in California between May 31 and June 23, 2019 will need valid theme park admission and will be required to make a no-cost reservation, subject to availability, to access the land. Information on how to make a reservation will be available at a later date on Disneyland.com and the Disney Parks Blog. Guests staying at one of the three Disneyland Resort hotels during these dates will receive a designated reservation to access Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge during their stay (one reservation per registered guest); valid theme park admission is required."

 

[limabeanmom2003]

I have seen nothing in writing that guarantees hotel guests reservations, care to point to where this is?

If you are referring to May 31-June 23 Disney parks blog: Guests staying at one of the three Disneyland Resort hotels during these dates will receive a designated reservation to access Star Wars:Galaxy’s Edge during their stay (one reservation per registered guest); valid theme park admission is required.

 

[cmwade77]

Come on folks, listen to what you are saying. For those unhappy or just skeptical with the phased opening, the only other option at this point would be to delay opening SWGE until the second ride is ready. Would you prefer that?

And for those saying Disney is doing this to make more money, no way. If the second ride was ready they would open it. In this case demand is huge. Delaying the second ride to make more money makes no sense. And delaying the whole land until the second ride is ready makes some sense. But will disappoint EVERYONE. So if he second ride is going to be delayed a few months, this decision they made is best for everyone.

Honest answer?

Yes, I would prefer that, as I think the opening in phases has worked very poorly for Pixar Pier. I think if Pixar Pier had all attractions in place when it opened, people would like it a lot more and I think they risk tainting the image of Galaxy's Edge by opening it in phases as well.

But I think it is smarter to open in phases for crowd control as I have said elsewhere.

 

[VandVsmama]

I'm going to "think out loud" about this for a moment...

1. a BUNCH of the APs go into block out mode on or around 6/23, I think.
2. A LOT of those AP holders are going to go to DL JUST to ride the Millennium Falcon ride.
3. A LOT of those AP holders will be willing to wait in a standby line for something insane like 8 hours just to go on the ONE ride.
4. When there's no FP for a ride, often the OVERALL line runs faster because there aren't people coming in from the FP line, thus lengthening the standby line.
5. Requiring everyone to have a reservation in order to enter the land helps adhere to fire code requirements.
6. Requiring everyone to have a reservation to enter the land also helps control the number of people in the standby line.
7. Not requiring you to PAY a separate fee or ticket in order to enter the land prevents mass hysteria of "THEY'RE CHARGING TOO MUCH!" and "IT'S NOT FAIR!"
8. Once the AP block outs go into effect, what do you want to be THAT is when Fast Passes will be available?
9. And once the AP block outs go into effect, THAT is when the Rise of the Resistance ride will open.

 

[Dtw002]

Just cancelled all flights/reservations for week of 6/15. Was hoping SWGE would open after. Wish I could scalp my room at the Marriott, I bet it’s 2x the cost now. We just don’t want to deal with the chaos of it all with 3 little kids. Might go to DW instead!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

They are going out of the way to ensure that hotel guests do not get an advantage in the early morning, but I could see an after hours deal.

I had been thinking about the early entry situation before these announcements. One thing early entry does is make it that much harder for the overnight work to get done. Seems to me that early entry hour in the morning is useful for the techs to have more time to make sure the MF ride comes up smoothly at opening. It also allows an extra hour to have work going on that wouldn't be appropriate during the day when maintaining show, and I'm hoping they are going to put in their best efforts to maintain show and we aren't going to see the kinds of daytime maintenance in this land that have been increasingly common at the parks during recent years. Also, there are just too many people who get early entry access to Disneyland since all the 3-day and up tickets come with one early entry. I had been thinking if that benefit was going to continue and include access to Galaxy's Edge during the early days, they would have to swap which parks the benefit works for. The early entry available to ticket holders and hotel guests would have to be for DCA and the hotel-only early entry would be Disneyland. No indication any such radical change is coming, just the thought I was having about logistics. So really it makes the most sense to just take any early entry access out of the equation at Disneyland for now.

 

[HydroGuy]

Honest answer?

Yes, I would prefer that, as I think the opening in phases has worked very poorly for Pixar Pier. I think if Pixar Pier had all attractions in place when it opened, people would like it a lot more and I think they risk tainting the image of Galaxy's Edge by opening it in phases as well.

But I think it is smarter to open in phases for crowd control as I have said elsewhere.

LOL but in the case of SWGE I don’t believe you. And besides PxP was different, being a fast turnaround with minor things not ready like the carousel. And overall a minor retheme and not the most anticipated new theme park opening in the galaxy.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

RE: All Threads Relating to SWGE Opening Date

I'm going to merge these with the other ongoing SWGE Opening Date thread so that all the information can be found in one place.

 

[ryanfze55]

Well they did kind of monetize it in that they are giving onsite hotel guests guaranteed previews. Granted, it is a lot less expensive for my family of 5 to spend 3 nights in a hotel than $500 each for passes but it's also the psychology of it. More people would opt to spend their money to stay in a hotel and get passes than would spend to get a $500 preview figuring they get more for their money. Then add in the hotel food etc vs. locals only going for the event. Also, we don't know what the free reservations entail. 1 hour access times per person maybe. A lot more people can go through than say a 3 hour closed event for the $500 crowd. Disney is good at making money so I'm sure their spreadsheet and pie chart showed this way was the most cost effective (read will bring in more $$).

I agree it would be less dubious if they waited to open it when everything is ready. That being said, this still bothers me far less than Pixar Pier. The Pier had nothing “new” ready for the Grand Opening. It was a retheming of two carnival rides into two Pixar-themed carnival rides. At least guests who arrive at this opening can make a free reservation to ride a new e-ticket attraction.

Yes, they are monetizing this in a subliminal way by allowing all hotel guests free access. However, they are also letting guests in for free with a reservation... which is far more generous than I had expected them to be.

 

[iheartglaciers]

Yep, that is corporate speak for - we knew we could make more money this way. And the fact they are doing it at both parks just confirms it.

I honestly don't know what to do. We have hotel reservations for July 5-14 at GCH. I highly doubt that RotR will be up by then. Thinking about cancelling and going back when everything will be up and running.

I'm cancelling my room at Grand Californian for late June. We were thinking of cancelling it anyway (for various reasons), but the fact RotR will likely not be up and running finalizes the decision for us.

 

[cdatkins]

Come on folks, listen to what you are saying. For those unhappy or just skeptical with the phased opening, the only other option at this point would be to delay opening SWGE until the second ride is ready. Would you prefer that?

And for those saying Disney is doing this to make more money, no way. If the second ride was ready they would open it. In this case demand is huge. Delaying the second ride to make more money makes no sense. And delaying the whole land until the second ride is ready makes some sense. But will disappoint EVERYONE. So if the second ride is going to be delayed a few months, this decision they made is best for everyone.

their announcement lacks transparency though. that's why I am questioning it. just tell us that the second ride won't be ready, and you aren't going to hold back because of that. otherwise I am thinking that you just want us to come back again so can ride the second ride...which would increase revenues overall to the company.

EDIT: I see the poster above me has already cancelled their June reservation partially due to RotR not being open. Let's track this and see if it becomes a trend and it causes Disney to revisit their decision to open in phases.

 

[nkereina]

Sorry if I missed this, but any guesses on what this means for the paid previews? Do they ever do soft openings for those with regular park admission? Our last day there is 5/26, so just wondering what the odds are we could catch anything, paid or not.

 

[Violetspider]

Wow, I was really hoping to get some questions answered today. CRAP!! Since I'm not onsite at DL until December, I'm completely in the dark still. I'm questioning my dates now and my choice to stay on property. There really doesn't appear to be an onsite benefit @ DL for SWGE that far out.

Also, I know that many of you don't think much of Touring Plans when it comes to DL, but they've updated there site today post-announcements and two things are of interest. They are still listing the two SWGE rides as being available for Early Entry (even though today's announcement clearly contradicts that), and they are now specifically showing SWGE:MF as having FP available beginning January 1, 2020. That's a pretty specific date to place on their site for FP availability for that ride. I wish I know where they are getting their info from.

Any thoughts on either of my comments/questions/suppositions???

 

[ImDMous]

Wow, I was really hoping to get some questions answered today. CRAP!! Since I'm not onsite at DL until December, I'm completely in the dark still. I'm questioning my dates now and my choice to stay on property. There really doesn't appear to be an onsite benefit @ DL for SWGE that far out.

Also, I know that many of you don't think much of Touring Plans when it comes to DL, but they've updated there site today post-announcements and two things are of interest. They are still listing the two SWGE rides as being available for Early Entry (even though today's announcement clearly contradicts that), and they are now specifically showing SWGE:MF as having FP available beginning January 1, 2020. That's a pretty specific date to place on their site for FP availability for that ride. I wish I know where they are getting their info from.

Any thoughts on either of my comments/questions/suppositions???

I think they're completely guessing and I wouldn't believe anything they say regarding GE, they have no insider info. They could end up being right... but it would be total luck.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I’m worried that Rise of the Resistance won’t be open by August! We’ve already paid for the whole trip and we’re going with friends (who are fairly non-Disney fans lol!) and we’re all going to be upset if it’s not open. I mean, saying summer 2019 would give the impression it all would be open and we picked August based on that.

I mean, I get it. And of course I’d rather have it open than not at all! But...... I’m going to be sad if we miss “phase two.”

 

[Skyegirl1999]

their announcement lacks transparency though. that's why I am questioning it. just tell us that the second ride won't be ready, and you aren't going to hold back because of that. otherwise I am thinking that you just want us to come back again so can ride the second ride...which would increase revenues overall to the company.

EDIT: I see the poster above me has already cancelled their June reservation partially due to RotR not being open. Let's track this and see if it becomes a trend and it causes Disney to revisit their decision to open in phases.

I’m confused by what you think is happening here. What is there for them to “revisit”?

They’re not going to NOT open the parts that are ready on May 31 now that they’ve announced that date.

They also can’t open ROTR until it’s ready. It’s obviously not going to be ready by May 31.

Sooo... what is it you’re expecting them to do?

 

[tarheelalum]

I have to say this is disappointing news. I was hoping that Disney was going to open a ready for primetime land that was going to be spectacular. But this sounds like another Pixar Pier, except worse. They have had years to make this happen. Pixar Pier had months. If Star Wars isn't ready for a complete opening due to weather, they should delay it and have people work 24/7 to get it ready.

This just seems really tacky. Instead of having two rides to split crowds, now the complete focus will be on one and most park goers will probably not get to ride it. With a relatively low number of riders per hour, in a 8am to 12am operating day, the majority of park goers will not get an opportunity to ride this single attraction. Just image how people will feel if they come across the country to see Star Wars but never actually get a chance to ride anything? Can you imagine how angry people will be? I can see this turning into a public relations and social media nightmare with people standing in line at City Hall asking for refunds. If they would just wait a little while longer they could greatly increase capacity with the additional attraction and significantly reduce the chances of people feeling ripped off. This all seems remarkably shortsighted.

 

[Tink1987]

I'm glad to come on here to see others are annoyed by this two phase opening thing because I am fuming at it. They are rushing to get this open for monetary purposes - we all know by now this is what Disney has become in the past few years, cash grabbing. In response to a previous poster, yes I would much rather them delay it to even August to make sure everything was ready to open.

I am an AP holder from the UK and was set to book hotels and flights tonight and now we are just deflated about it all to be honest. Far too many questions. We are lucky enough to have a WDW trip booked as well booked for December so ROTR should definitely be open by then but I am so worried that an already busy land is now going to be busier because of only one attraction being open. I am also worried it won't just be ROTR not opening - I don't trust them to open the cantina as well for example. If they announce that in a few weeks when people have booked flights etc, I will be even more annoyed.

Also I understand they confirmed Disneyland on site guests would get a one time access but read the rest of the blog post more carefully. At the bottom it goes on to say:

Planning: If you’re looking to book a vacation to the Disneyland Resort, visit Disneyland.com. You should also note that vacation packages, park tickets and Disney Resort hotel stays do not guarantee access to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The land —including participation in its experiences—will be subject to capacity restraints and other restrictions.

 

[JenM]

I’m worried that Rise of the Resistance won’t be open by August! We’ve already paid for the whole trip and we’re going with friends (who are fairly non-Disney fans lol!) and we’re all going to be upset if it’s not open. I mean, saying summer 2019 would give the impression it all would be open and we picked August based on that.

I mean, I get it. And of course I’d rather have it open than not at all! But...... I’m going to be sad if we miss “phase two.”

Same! We have a trip planned for 10/21-10/24, and I’m going to be really disappointed if Rise of the Resistance isn’t open by then. I get that there’s always a risk when you book anything prior to the official announcement, but it’s still frustrating. We planned the trip in the fall so we could see Galaxy’s Edge, and this was supposed to be a few months after opening (still expecting crazy crowds, but at least time to put together a plan).