Disney wants more 'Star Wars' in its theme parks

[division 6]

Here's another article on it.
LINK

For those that where wondering about getting to use the new saber they where showing off, forget it.

The most anticipated experience on Galactic Starcruiser is likely lightsaber training. After all, who doesn't want to learn to wield a lightsaber--especially after Disney showed off a working replica which has a blade that fully emits from and retreats into the hilt? This is where fans are likely to be disappointed.

Trowbridge confirmed in a group interview that guests will never actually use that lightsaber, but that it will be part of the Galactic Starcruiser experience. If we had to guess, there will be a moment in the story where Rey is involved--given that it's her saber--and will wield it to ward off the First Order.

Instead, you will be given what feels like a high-end, yet slimmed-down lightsaber replica with a fixed blade. You power it up and all of the sounds and vibrations you would expect are there, but if you walk in expecting to get to play with the new one Disney has developed, let this serve as a warning.As for the experience itself, it was underwhelming.

Senior R&D Imagineer Sara Thatcher stressed that of the experiences being previewed, lightsaber training was the furthest from its final form. What the experience boils down to is several rounds of using the saber replica to meet beams of light being projected in patterns. You take turns between using sabers and deflecting shields to meet the beams of light in what will undoubtedly be a fun activity for a family to partake in, especially if that family includes younger children. It remains to be seen what the final version of lightsaber training will be like, but if you're expecting a high-throttle experience more akin to Beat Saber, temper your expectations.

 

[Psab keel]

An insanely overpriced dinner theater experience with an included sleepover? No thanks. It's cringe inducing enough to watch grown adults LARP, but now you can pay for the experience of having them try to engage you as if you're participating in a Star Wars themed improv class? I'm sorry but this just sounds unappealing in every way. Even back in the early 2000's I couldn't bring myself to muster enough interest to attend one of the SW Celebrations, and though this promises to be more immersive it just doesn't spark any excitement for me.

 

[Riceball]

An insanely overpriced dinner theater experience with an included sleepover? No thanks. It's cringe inducing enough to watch grown adults LARP, but now you can pay for the experience of having them try to engage you as if you're participating in a Star Wars themed improv class? I'm sorry but this just sounds unappealing in every way. Even back in the early 2000's I couldn't bring myself to muster enough interest to attend one of the SW Celebrations, and though this promises to be more immersive it just doesn't spark any excitement for me.

I don't see it so much as a Star Wars themed LARP experience as much as a very expensive/overpriced fake cruise. For the amount, they're charging for just the 2-night stay alone, you could easily take a real week long cruise and actually go somewhere for real. Hell, a Disney cruise is around the same price as this fake cruise and they're known as one of the pricier, if not the priciest, cruise lines in the US. And outside of adding drink packages and tip at the end of the cruise, there are no additional fees to worry about, which the Disney Starcruiser is bound to have. Granted, there are excursions that you can pay for on cruises, but they aren't mandatory and, depending on how long a port stay is, you can wander around the port and just look around or shop.

 

[JoeG]

If you're a D23 member there's a sweepstakes to win a free trip to WDW which includes Galactic Starcruiser

The Voyage to the Galaxy Sweepstakes - D23

Enter for a chance to win a 3-night Walt Disney World® Resort vacation for 4 including a 2-night voyage aboard Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser One lucky D23 Member and three guests will be among the first to experience a voyage aboard the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser! Go beyond your...

d23.com

 

[harrisonp]

I’m less worried about any LARP/role play “cringe” as it were, and still just floored by the price. I, and likely many many others, will almost assuredly not get to experience this. I’ll just take my lightsaber on a cruise with me and then go snorkeling.

 

[Grievous]

For those interested, the Disney fan club, D23, is hosting their yearly celebration this weekend and is live-streaming. At 2ET/11PT today is a discussion regarding “World Building for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser”. It is accessible at D23.com and @DisneyD23.

 

[Halliwax]

I’ll be taking 1/2 the money it costs for the starcruiser experience and going to Lucas’ new museum when it opens

 

[cboath]

Seeing as they're taking massive pains to integrate this with comics and books (i'm sure games and a TV show and possibly movie down the line) it would be very smart to mix it up an do OT a bit and PT a bit, and whatever High Republic looks like etc. Doubling down repeated on the ST is a vibe killer for me and i'm sure others.

 

[Grievous]

Seeing as they're taking massive pains to integrate this with comics and books (i'm sure games and a TV show and possibly movie down the line) it would be very smart to mix it up an do OT a bit and PT a bit, and whatever High Republic looks like etc. Doubling down repeated on the ST is a vibe killer for me and i'm sure others.

That’s an excellent point- most of us would likely enjoy another immersive Star Wars experience, just not focused on the ST and at this price point. I was super excited when I heard about the Starcruiser but that enthusiasm was dampened by the price and then eliminated looking at the pictures and itinerary. So many other things you can get with that amount of money (and we’re the ones who spend a lot of money on stuff that other people shake their heads at). Interesting that most of the fans here (the vocal ones, anyway) are not going- I think Disney swung and missed on this one. I will be waiting for the videos of those documenting their experience in the Spring.

 

[Riceball]

Seeing as they're taking massive pains to integrate this with comics and books (i'm sure games and a TV show and possibly movie down the line) it would be very smart to mix it up an do OT a bit and PT a bit, and whatever High Republic looks like etc. Doubling down repeated on the ST is a vibe killer for me and i'm sure others.

The thing is, I think that for every fan like you that dislikes the ST, there's a lot of others who are at the least indifferent to it or actually like it as much as the OT. Also, to a lot of kids, the ST is Star Wars to them just as the OT is Star Wars to older fans, and the PT is to those who grew up with the PT. So, from a business perspective, promoting the ST makes a lot of sense because you're appealing to a lot of kids and while they don't have much money themselves, their parents might and there are plenty of parents out there who would gladly fork out the money for this fake cruise because their little Johnny and/or Jenny wants to go it, badly. Dollars to donuts they're banking on families more than single adults or married adults with no kids. They're also clearly banking on families with deep pockets, forget us peons who live on a budget or just don't see spending that kind of money on a fake cruise when you can spend the same amount of money, or less, and go on a real cruise that lasts days longer to boot.

 

[harrisonp]

I swear there’s got to be some kind of rights issue as well when it comes to representing the OT/Lucas era in the parks etc. The ST is a wholly Disney produced product so they back it the hardest.

 

[Treadwell]

Thing is, all SW fans like the OT, but a smaller percentage of them like the ST. So from a marketing perspective it seems to me focusing on the OT would have wider appeal.

 

[cboath]

The thing is, I think that for every fan like you that dislikes the ST, there's a lot of others who are at the least indifferent to it or actually like it as much as the OT. Also, to a lot of kids, the ST is Star Wars to them just as the OT is Star Wars to older fans, and the PT is to those who grew up with the PT. So, from a business perspective, promoting the ST makes a lot of sense because you're appealing to a lot of kids and while they don't have much money themselves, their parents might and there are plenty of parents out there who would gladly fork out the money for this fake cruise because their little Johnny and/or Jenny wants to go it, badly. Dollars to donuts they're banking on families more than single adults or married adults with no kids. They're also clearly banking on families with deep pockets, forget us peons who live on a budget or just don't see spending that kind of money on a fake cruise when you can spend the same amount of money, or less, and go on a real cruise that lasts days longer to boot.

I didn't say a single word about getting rid of the ST, i said mix it up. The point being some are ok with ST, some don't like it, some may prefer it (no idea why), etc. Guaranteed, irrefutable fact that there's more hardcore OT fans than the other trilogies AND they're the ones with the money right now, but they're inexplicably absent from everything disney. PT is absent, too, and i know while some dislike it, others really like it. They're also starting to have the money now - but....nothing.

I said, they're integrating this cruiser thing (forcefully i'm sure) across the spectrum...300 years or so before the PT (This High Republic stuff), post ST stuff (Bantuu and the park), and i'd bet anything it'll pop up in one of the new shows - therefore it exists through all 3 trilogies. My point was simply, do ST 4 months, PT 4 months, OT, 4 months or something like that. Mix it up. The Cast would appreciate it i'd bet as would your customers. I don't know if it's arrogance (we're only doing 'our' stuff, forget everything else cause we're awesome) or as Harrisonp suggested, a rights issue, but the OT and PT are conspicuously absent.

There is no logical stance for doubling down on the ST and doing ST only stuff. None. Business reasons alone suggest other era's would make more money, so we're left with arrogance or rights frankly.

 

[Riceball]

Thing is, all SW fans like the OT, but a smaller percentage of them like the ST. So from a marketing perspective it seems to me focusing on the OT would have wider appeal.

Based on the internet, maybe, but I suspect that in actuality the ST was better received than a lot of fans believe it was. As I said, I think that Disney is looking at the ST as the current future of the IP and are banking on all of the little kids to convince their mommies and daddies to buy them ST related merch and to see ST themed things at the parks and on this fake cruise.

 

[batguy]

There is no logical stance for doubling down on the ST and doing ST only stuff. None. Business reasons alone suggest other era's would make more money, so we're left with arrogance or rights frankly.

IIRC Lucas would have some residual rights over the old characters & stuff, as they appeared in his movies. That's why Disney made a point of tweaking more stuff than the public realized. The desert planet was Jakku, not Tatooine. The Falcon had a squared dish on top. Threepio had a red arm. Artoo was mostly sidelined for BB-8. The imperial walkers and X-wings & everything became different models. The first trilogy killed off the big old characters as quickly as they dared.

I'm sure the post-Lucas orientation of the theme parks is part of that plan. Disney wanted to get the public switched over to worshipping "their" Star Wars as soon as possible.

 

[Riceball]

I said, they're integrating this cruiser thing (forcefully i'm sure) across the spectrum...300 years or so before the PT (This High Republic stuff), post ST stuff (Bantuu and the park), and i'd bet anything it'll pop up in one of the new shows - therefore it exists through all 3 trilogies. My point was simply, do ST 4 months, PT 4 months, OT, 4 months or something like that. Mix it up. The Cast would appreciate it i'd bet as would your customers. I don't know if it's arrogance (we're only doing 'our' stuff, forget everything else cause we're awesome) or as Harrisonp suggested, a rights issue, but the OT and PT are conspicuously absent.

They might, depending on feedback and how things go once it's live. If they end up selling out consistently year round, then they're almost certainly going to keep things as is for a long while. When/if things start to slow down then they might consider doing different eras, or they just might keep it in the ST timeline and simply add more to the experience.

 

[cboath]

They might, depending on feedback and how things go once it's live. If they end up selling out consistently year round, then they're almost certainly going to keep things as is for a long while. When/if things start to slow down then they might consider doing different eras, or they just might keep it in the ST timeline and simply add more to the experience.

You know, if i'm sinking a few BILLION into a theme park, my design and goals are going to be tailored to what is going to get me the best ROI for my money. There is no statistical formula that tells them it's the ST. Especially when it was as divisive as it was.

I mean, you don't set up a Super Bowl theme part and have it feature the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars. Ok, maybe the wrong analogy for this group....how about, you don't set up a James Bond theme park and feature just George Lazenby.

 

[Treadwell]

Lucas sold it. If he does have residual rights, changing the shape of a dish or the color of an arm does nothing.

 

[batguy]

Lucas sold it. If he does have residual rights, changing the shape of a dish or the color of an arm does nothing.

This topic has been discussed many, many times since the Lucas/Disney sale. The usual consensus (sometimes from people with legal schooling) is that Disney may indeed have a financial motive to avoid using his exact characters & creations.

Just look at how Disney has behaved since buying LFL. The first movie they put out was a soft remake of the biggest movie since WW2, but they didn't call that planet Tatooine or use the same model of X-wing as before? They didn't change everything but there's definitely pattern of changing many of the more valuable IP items without being too obtrusive about it.



IIRC the 'Terminator' endoskeletons have been tweaked in some of the later movies for the same reason. They had the rights to make sequels but they didn't wanna risk having to write James Cameron a check for the appearance of Arnie's internals.

When they made 'Genisys' they recreated the opening scenes of T1 entirely (no shots were actually from 1984) for that reason. There's no debate that they were making a T1 sequel. There's no debate that they were revisiting a scene from the old movie, and using its characters & events very explicitly. Yet they could still save a buck by not using the old footage. IP law has weird intricacies like that.

 

[Pepperbone]

This topic has been discussed many, many times since the Lucas/Disney sale. The usual consensus (sometimes from people with legal schooling) is that Disney may indeed have a financial motive to avoid using his exact characters & creations.

Just look at how Disney has behaved since buying LFL. The first movie they put out was a soft remake of the biggest movie since WW2, but they didn't call that planet Tatooine or use the same model of X-wing as before? They didn't change everything but there's definitely pattern of changing many of the more valuable IP items without being too obtrusive about it.



IIRC the 'Terminator' endoskeletons have been tweaked in some of the later movies for the same reason. They had the rights to make sequels but they didn't wanna risk having to write James Cameron a check for the appearance of Arnie's internals.

When they made 'Genisys' they recreated the opening scenes of T1 entirely (no shots were actually from 1984) for that reason. There's no debate that they were making a T1 sequel. There's no debate that they were revisiting a scene from the old movie, and using its characters & events very explicitly. Yet they could still save a buck by not using the old footage. IP law has weird intricacies like that.

That doesn't sound like a creative headache at all....