Galaxy's Edge Performance and Evolution Discussion

[wnwardii]

For sure, it does show the popularity for Savi's. But, once the "newness" wears off (whenever that is), I think Disney will attack the pricing of the experience(s) to continue to drive guests into them.

I would be interested to know if Disney has ever lowered the cost for an "experience" or anything remotely similar to Savi's or the Droid Depot. I could see a lot of upset people if the cost is substantially lowered. Maybe they will throw in some discounts. For example, if you do both the Droid Depot and Savi's, they give you some discount. Or better yet, maybe start doing AP or DVC discounts.

 

[sponica]

@yulilin3 that does seem like casting dropped the ball with that lack of communication. I have a friend from college stationed on Batuu East and from what I can tell he seems happy. But being in character is something that either you love or you don't.

 

[yulilin3]

I would be interested to know if Disney has ever lowered the cost for an "experience" or anything remotely similar to Savi's or the Droid Depot. I could see a lot of upset people if the cost is substantially lowered. Maybe they will throw in some discounts. For example, if you do both the Droid Depot and Savi's, they give you some discount. Or better yet, maybe start doing AP or DVC discounts.

I think AP and DVC discounts will be as much as they will do. I don't see them lowering the price of these experiences at all. When you're walking around Batuu it's pretty hard not to see the guests that did Savi and the Droid Depot. I once saw a family with 6 boxes from DD. These experiences are doing fine

 

[BrianL]

I have not yet been (next month! ) but these are my thoughts on certain issues:

• Use of a "neutral" location like Batuu is good - that way it's not tied to specifically to one movie
• Trying to "set" everything in a specific story line is bad - it is too confining and pretneding the whole thing is "real" is problematic
  • To that point - trying to make everything fit in is a bit heavy handed. Can't it be okay to buy a normal Coke? Have music? Have rides with different story lines form other time periods?
  • Ride marquees similar to how Pandora does not have them - but shouldn't it?
• The overall land is done very well and it looks amazing!
• I don't think any of this is really impacting crowds at all - it's really just a combination of timing and economics. I think once RoR is open we will see things pick up too.

 

[Lashed34]

I'll certainly be visiting when I'm at HS in December, but I'm far more excited by going on SDD, ToT & RNRC than MFSR and I'm a huge Star Wars fan.

For me SWGE just screams "rip-off" to me. I may be proved wrong when I get there, but that is how I feel about what I've seen and read about it.

There seems to be a lot of imagination in some aspects of SWGE but no imagination at all in others.

But, if Disney is making money no doubt things will stay as they are....except the menu names of course, they seem to change back and forth.

 

[yulilin3]

I'll certainly be visiting when I'm at HS in December, but I'm far more excited by going on SDD, ToT & RNRC than MFSR and I'm a huge Star Wars fan.

For me SWGE just screams "rip-off" to me. I may be proved wrong when I get there, but that is how I feel about what I've seen and read about it.

There seems to be a lot of imagination in some aspects of SWGE but no imagination at all in others.

But, if Disney is making money no doubt things will stay as they are....except the menu names of course, they seem to change back and forth.

just go into it with an open mind. Most people already have a negative reaction to a land that they haven't even been to.
If you go in with an open mind and are disappointed that's fine but try and leave preconceived notions out

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The comments about music not being blasted everywhere. It's a space port, there WOULDN'T be music in every corner of the market. I mean most ports of call are like that, music bouncing off in different parts of the marketplaces but not uniform.


To compare and contrast with the other "immersive" lands. I absolutely hated the movie Avatar, but I love the experience of being in Pandora. As far as our wizard friend, I liked it as a bucket list "I've been here" but the couple times I've gone it was soooooo crowded/hot I didn't actually get to enjoy anything.

1. Music: most posts I have seen, have suggested music consistent with the outpost theme. Music in the Cantina makes sense; maybe the cantina music could spill outside the cantina a little? Personally, I think a busker playing an usual instrument would make sense. Since you referenced Universal; Universal has (periodic) buskers in King's Cross Station.

2. Too bad you have only seen HP when you felt it was crowded. Other than major holidays, the HP sections of both parks are pretty consistently less crowded in the (later) PM hours. The spells are also more magical after dark. Even if you don't buy a wand; the spell effects are, well, magical to see.

That's a bit where I kinda question the light sabers' price point. It would be awesome if the sabers interacted in some special way with SW land, as wand bearers get special opportunities at Universal.

For that matter, I feel the same way about Pandora. It is interesting, but I feel it could have been more fun with a little more interactivity. Pandora should have offered something interactive for us to explore. The rest of AK has critters, the boneyard. Epcot has interactive water fountains (Imagination). Even ancient Tom Sawyer Island has interactive barrel bridges and caves to explore. Pandora (and SW) should have had something along those lines to surprise us.

 

[tlmadden73]

I think the call to use a neutral land is fine. For better or for worse, the sequel trilogy has enough throwbacks to the original trilogy that it still feels familiar and Star Wars like (Millennium Falcon, Storm Troopers, Chewbacca, X-wings,etc.).

The Falcon itself is the iconic landmark feature of the land, and (for me) .. it works in that regard. Rounding the corner to see that ship in life size glory is awesome. Star Wars is just so diverse it couldn't be set in any one land - just like Hogwarts Castle and the floating mountains of Pandora.

I just wonder what happens to the land after the end of Rise of Skywalker -- will the First Order still exist? Or will it just be relegated to Outer planets like Batuu? So will Batuu change orwill it just be STUCK in the post-Last Jedi timeframe just now the Wizarding World is sorta stuck in time period before the last book?

 

[yulilin3]

I think the call to use a neutral land is fine. For better or for worse, the sequel trilogy has enough throwbacks to the original trilogy that it still feels familiar and Star Wars like (Millennium Falcon, Storm Troopers, Chewbacca, X-wings,etc.).

The Falcon itself is the iconic landmark feature of the land, and (for me) .. it works in that regard. Rounding the corner to see that ship in life size glory is awesome. Star Wars is just so diverse it couldn't be set in any one land - just like Hogwarts Castle and the floating mountains of Pandora.

I just wonder what happens to the land after the end of Rise of Skywalker -- will the First Order still exist? Or will it just be relegated to Outer planets like Batuu? So will Batuu change orwill it just be STUCK in the post-Last Jedi timeframe just now the Wizarding World is sorta stuck in time period before the last book?

I have my fandango page open, logged in, credit card info set, to find out what happens to the Falcon, the first order and the resistance on December 19th
Call me a conspiracy theorist but i don't think that RISE of Skywalker and RISE of the resistance is a coincidence

 

[tlmadden73]

I definitely have seen a lot of comments form people that are like "whoever the heck Hondo is" ... I wonder if using obscure character backfired a bit. Or at least they perhaps were thinking "well, it won't really matter to people not into STar Wars as it will just be a random character but not detract from things" but I wonder instead of making it more approachable (e.g., you don't have to be super in to Star Wars to enjoy it) it became more of a turn off as people felt "well, I guess this isn't for me since I don't read the books, or whatever. just the main movies"

So maybe they should have done either non-descript characters that help out or just use more well known ones. They could have just used Chewie or Poe or Jabba or something instead of Hondo for example

Hondo is a great character ..... HILARIOUS -- IF you have experienced him in Clone Wars (and then Star Wars Rebels) and I think he was a great fit for a ride ... funny, quirky, alien and ageless. He should be in the movies - he is that good. They needed a Han Solo without Han (because .. well .. he is dead) .. and so Hondo is a great successor to the smuggler/scoundrel of the pre New Hope Han Solo.

It is a story problem though for the casual fan. Who is this guy (a smuggler? a pirate? a good guy? a bad guy? (the answer is yes)) and why does he have the Falcon) .. they just dont explain that very well.

I think the land needs some sort of story-explanation -- not in comic book or book form. A show .. Basically a way to get a background of htis land you never see in the movies. The little skits they had for the opening at WDW (saw them online) with a live action Hondo .. is something I feel like that SWGE should have daily to help introduce those characters.

What I have seen work at Ren Faires is there are SHOWS throughout the day that sorta progress a PLOT throughout the day (The queen is coming later that day, the taxes are stolen in the morning and the good guys recover it mid-day before the queen arrives).

Really .. they should have just introduced Batuu in Last Jedi somehow .. would have been more appropriate to go to Batuu instead of the casino planet. Hondo could have been thrown in there somehow too to give the casual fan something to go .... HEY! I know that guy!

My guess they didnt want to go with a face character that would AGE the ride. OR they didnt want to pay any of the face characters --- my guess is a voice actor (even one as great as Jim Cummings) is a lot cheaper than having the actors from the movies.

 

[sponica]

@mickeyluv'r both trips were poorly timed to NOT have human sea of people crowds. Trip 1 was in the summer 2010 and trip 2 was fall 2014, we didn't even make it onto the gringotts ride because the line was sooooooooooooooo long and it was hotter than the surface of the sun.

 

[dlavender]

I think it was a major mistake to not base the land off of stuff people have seen in the movies, especially epsisode 4-6. Batuu comes from the Trawn book which most people are not familiar with. I have read the book but I still didn't feel much connection to the book and when I went to the land. When you read something it may not look the same as you visualize it in real life. The land is Star Wars looking but nothing I have ever seen on screen. It was cool and the Falcon view is awesome but I feel it would make more of a connection if it looked like something I had seen in a movie. It is almost like a generic Star Wars land.

That seems to be the consensus from my star wars pals. Most still want to make the trip to see it, but it isn't a "we have to go now" type of response. If they went original trilogy setting, it would have had a bigger response of people clamoring to go.

Now, the way they did it could work out longer term depending on the success of the future films.

I myself have been pretty "meh" about it. We have AP's and live 2 hours away and still haven't gone. I know DS7 will love it, but it just isn't moving the needle enough for us to get down there as we know we will see it eventually. I am excited for RoTR, and I do think it will be crowded given the time it opens and the quality of the ride.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

@mickeyluv'r both trips were poorly timed to NOT have human sea of people crowds. Trip 1 was in the summer 2010 and trip 2 was fall 2014, we didn't even make it onto the gringotts ride because the line was sooooooooooooooo long and it was hotter than the surface of the sun.

That's too bad.

For that ride, we often use the single rider line.

In summer and fall, after dark hours are awesome in all the parks. I saw today's temps were supposed to reach near 90! that's about as hot as WDW ever gets. If possible, we avoid 2-4pm in warm months.

Individually, I think Gringotts is one of the top theme park rides. It is a good combo of exciting track, but not too extreme, with good storytelling, neat effects, great pre-ride, plus I even like the look of the cars and loading area. Details make it!

*******

Indeed, - bringing this back to topic of SW- I always also appreciate cool after dark effects. I didn't spend enough time in SW to really appreciate the potential of PM effects, but there is plenty of options there!

The old Osbourne lights they used to have in HS during the holiday season were very popular. I'm not suggesting Christmas SW Osbourne-type seasonal lights, (though kind of a funny thought combo!) But certainly a potential exists for some kind of PM night show in SW with cool lighting effects. Maybe a battle of some kind? once the land is complete?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Hondo is a great character ..... HILARIOUS -- IF you have experienced him in Clone Wars (and then Star Wars Rebels) and I think he was a great fit for a ride ... funny, quirky, alien and ageless. He should be in the movies - he is that good. They needed a Han Solo without Han (because .. well .. he is dead) .. and so Hondo is a great successor to the smuggler/scoundrel of the pre New Hope Han Solo.

It is a story problem though for the casual fan. Who is this guy (a smuggler? a pirate? a good guy? a bad guy? (the answer is yes)) and why does he have the Falcon) .. they just dont explain that very well.

I think the land needs some sort of story-explanation -- not in comic book or book form. A show .. Basically a way to get a background of htis land you never see in the movies. The little skits they had for the opening at WDW (saw them online) with a live action Hondo .. is something I feel like that SWGE should have daily to help introduce those characters.

What I have seen work at Ren Faires is there are SHOWS throughout the day that sorta progress a PLOT throughout the day (The queen is coming later that day, the taxes are stolen in the morning and the good guys recover it mid-day before the queen arrives).

Really .. they should have just introduced Batuu in Last Jedi somehow .. would have been more appropriate to go to Batuu instead of the casino planet. Hondo could have been thrown in there somehow too to give the casual fan something to go .... HEY! I know that guy!

My guess they didnt want to go with a face character that would AGE the ride. OR they didnt want to pay any of the face characters --- my guess is a voice actor (even one as great as Jim Cummings) is a lot cheaper than having the actors from the movies.

I agree about explaining things a bit more

Like, people always go on about how they want more attractsion that are NOT based on IP, but the thing is, a lot of those non-IP rides do a good job of explaining the story or at least who the players are and what is going on. People can get the gist of Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion

My understanding is that Rise of the Resistance does give a lot more story to the land, but that shouldn't be required for people to feel connected even if they haven't read any books or anything

 

[BrianL]

I agree about explaining things a bit more

Like, people always go on about how they want more attractsion that are NOT based on IP, but the thing is, a lot of those non-IP rides do a good job of explaining the story or at least who the players are and what is going on. People can get the gist of Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion

My understanding is that Rise of the Resistance does give a lot more story to the land, but that shouldn't be required for people to feel connected even if they haven't read any books or anything

I'm not sure knowing who Hondo is really matters much. I'd say the majority or riders barely know the characters or don't hold it against an attraction when they don't. Avatar has Dr. Someone and Assistant Awkward-Guy and nobody much worries about it from a ride experience standpoint - nobody is worried that it's not Sigourney Weaver and that guy from Bones. Now, I don't know that anybody'd prefer a meet and greet with Hondo over Darth Vader, but you get my point.

 

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

I'll certainly be visiting when I'm at HS in December, but I'm far more excited by going on SDD, ToT & RNRC than MFSR and I'm a huge Star Wars fan.

For me SWGE just screams "rip-off" to me. I may be proved wrong when I get there, but that is how I feel about what I've seen and read about it.

There seems to be a lot of imagination in some aspects of SWGE but no imagination at all in others.



But, if Disney is making money no doubt things will stay as they are....except the menu names of course, they seem to change back and forth.

As someone who is going through all the major paid experiences on his trip I can totally see how someone could feel that way. Other than build a lightsaber, ride the falcon, and build a droid or just wander and go to the shops/explore with the datapad, you don't really have a lot to see if none of those appeal to you.

Me, I completely intended to be content wandering the land and doing stuff on the datapad. Now I'm hopping several times to HS because that's where my reservations fell XD.

Something I hope to see as I mentioned on another thread is creating "Greenhorn" and "Ace" lines for MFSR. Greenhorn would essentially be like Mission Space Green but with the option to still take control of your role while others sit back in auto-mode if they so choose. Ace would be the line for the ones who want to be competitive and maximize their score. The point is so the people who just want to ride/have fun with the option to "play" while the more competitive people can get more credits. I've read a lot about how not having a good person in their role can ruin the experience but that cuts both ways as I've read people getting too competitive can do the same. This split would cut that issue.

I'd also like to see them track roles (difficult for DL I can imagine but WDW could easily scan magic bands) and then determine who gets to be what role that way. So if someone has never been a pilot, they get the card. They still have the option to trade but it would take the pressure of the castmember to be asked directly for the pilot role.

[edit]And to add to what another poster said. These free roaming characters should have daily shows that seem to be "events" occurring in the land. And I want to see more first order loyalists (read park attendees) breaking Rey & Vi's cover. This is a land where we have people of the resistance hiding out and not knowing who to trust now that the First Order has arrived. There should be a sense of danger for these characters and choosing carefully when to teach a bunch of people the Resistance calls. I may also just want to dime out Vi & Rey as a First Order loyalist XD.

 

[BrianL]

I have my fandango page open, logged in, credit card info set, to find out what happens to the Falcon, the first order and the resistance on December 19th
Call me a conspiracy theorist but i don't think that RISE of Skywalker and RISE of the resistance is a coincidence

Public Service Announcement: My local theater has said the tickets go on sale at 7 PM (Central Time). You may want to check with your theaters, but everyone get ready to crash Fandango!

 

[MiketheGrate]

I'm a long time Star Wars fan. Used to be up to speed on Expanded Universe stuff (mostly the novels), but am not more of an Original Trilogy fan. I've seen all the movies other than Solo.

With that said, I am beyond excited to see SWGE in March. To some degree, I feel like I'll be dragging my wife through it, but I'm hoping my two sons are as excited as I am. It wouldn't make any difference to me what time period they set it in, as long as there is the Falcon and roaming Stormtroopers. We probably won't build a lightsaber or a droid, but from everything I've read, we'll be trapped there for a decent chunk of time anyways.

 

[yulilin3]

Public Service Announcement: My local theater has said the tickets go on sale at 7 PM (Central Time). You may want to check with your theaters, but everyone get ready to crash Fandango!

I've had this open and refreshing since noon

 

[mesaboy2]

I've had this open and refreshing since noon

Tickets are live. Go get ‘em!