Galaxy's edge already in trouble.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by themeparksandy

It’s good to see people following Shawn Sanbrooke vlogs. I hope to be doing a 70th Anniversary of Drayton Manor Park with him later this year. I was with him on Sunday at the Drayton Manor Auction.

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I also enjoy Shawn's Theme Park Worldwide vlogs (although, as someone else said, I think I'd be a little annoyed if he was on a ride with me at the same time).

I also like how this thread has gone from GE being a "flop" to talking about an expensive sweater/cardigan. Thread creep at its finest!

I remember a few threads here on the DIBB back in October (or around then) about how GE was quiet and HS wasn't busy and the Millennium Falcon ride was a bit "meh". There was talk of GE having flopped back then. Meanwhile, plenty of DIBBers were asking about how to bring back their $200 lightsabers and how to get a reservation into the cantina to buy expensive cocktails. Then this month we've had threads about the impact GE and RotR has had on the rest of Hollywood Studios making the queues longer than normal. And, of course, plenty of people wondering how to plan their visit to HS in March/May/August due to the popularity of GE.

In some ways, it makes sense to alter the backstory of GE slightly to allow different characters to visit. Although if they set the land in the past, then that would mean RotR would no longer make sense - it's clearly set between the Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker. Given that RotR is definitely a success (it typically has 10+ hour virtual queues every day), I can't see Disney wanting to change this ride to accommodate a different timeline.

However, yes, I think Disney expected the same level of success with GE as Universal had with HP. Unfortunately I don't think it's generated anything like that level of passion and eagerness in its fans as Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley did. Which is interesting, because some people argued that the Star Wars franchise was far more popular than the Harry Potter franchise and thus a Star Wars land would attract more guests. I'm not sure that quite panned out. I wouldn't call it a flop though. Far from it.

[amarooney]

Originally Posted by Shooby doo

TBH I don't think it matters what they call it, it's still "Starwars land" & I don't see how changing a name does anything. My thoughts are the Disney have gone for a quick buck & not sure how long they can sustain it, to explain: Plenty of guests, when we were there, buying/building Lightsabers & Droids but at that price point they aren't something that you will buy every trip IYKWIM. Can't comment on ROTR, as it wasn't open, but I don't think I'd care if I never rode Smuggler's run ever again! I honestly think that they didn't really think it through, got the idea & stuck rigidly to it, lets face it there are only 2 seats worth having, wouldn't even be so bad if the gunners & engineers faced the screen so of the 6 I'd guess 2 are going wow & the remaining 4 are going meh!
SD

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Completely agree about Smugglers Run. Not sure if it was an Engineering/Design problem but it strikes me by putting the buttons on the rear of the seat the 'gunners' and 'engineers' could pretty much watch the screen the entire time. As it turns out I was twisted to my left for most of the ride. After getting entry at 6am in October and coming off the ride 90 minutes later my first thought was I would have enjoyed more time in bed. Looking forward to ROTR when/if we return in 2021

[amarooney]

Originally Posted by guinness_79

Tim voted RotR his favorite ride for 2019 on one of his latest blogs...

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Really like TT but in view of all the freebies he gets from Disney I'm not sure about his objectivity.

[ely3857]

Originally Posted by amarooney

Really like TT but in view of all the freebies he gets from Disney I'm not sure about his objectivity.

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He gets the odd party ticket but mostly his interactions with them are now media events to which he is invited along with many other outlets. He used to do a number of those events for universal as well.

I do agree it’s hard to be subjective in those circumstances though. One time they had free tickets to a H20 glow event (I think that’s what I was) and they raves about it but their expressions and body language disagreed with everything they were saying!

[amarooney]

Originally Posted by ely3857

He gets the odd party ticket but mostly his interactions with them are now media events to which he is invited along with many other outlets. He used to do a number of those events for universal as well.

I do agree it’s hard to be subjective in those circumstances though. One time they had free tickets to a H20 glow event (I think that’s what I was) and they raves about it but their expressions and body language disagreed with everything they were saying!

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Another well known blogger was moaning about the food at GE when it first opened in Orlando. The following day suddenly changed their mind. An amazing turnaround.

[ely3857]

Originally Posted by amarooney

Another well known blogger was moaning about the food at GE when it first opened in Orlando. The following day suddenly changed their mind. An amazing turnaround.

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As soon as any official collaboration is made then objectivity flies out of the window. No matter how hard the reviewer tries they always know they’re either being paid or have received perks for the information they’re sharing and that will influence what they say.

[amarooney]

Originally Posted by ely3857

As soon as any official collaboration is made then objectivity flies out of the window. No matter how hard the reviewer tries they always know they’re either being paid or have received perks for the information they’re sharing and that will influence what they say.

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Completely agree and good luck to them if they can make a decent living out of it. My problem is when others quote what they (the bloggers) say and take it as the gospel truth. It's almost as reliable when quoting Wikki as your source of information..

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by ely3857

As soon as any official collaboration is made then objectivity flies out of the window. No matter how hard the reviewer tries they always know they’re either being paid or have received perks for the information they’re sharing and that will influence what they say.

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And, let's face it, I wouldn't rely on objectivity from those who aren't being paid or received perks either. They are offering their subjective opinion on something, that's all. Just because they think something is good, doesn't mean me or you will think it's good.

Personally I watch these vlogs to see what's new in the parks, to see things that I probably wouldn't experience myself, or just to (virtually) experience the parks again. I don't watch them because Mr Vlogger likes the food at GE or Mrs Vlogger thinks ToT is the best ride evar! I mean, that's great, but so what?

[ely3857]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

And, let's face it, I wouldn't rely on objectivity from those who aren't being paid or received perks either. They are offering their subjective opinion on something, that's all. Just because they think something is good, doesn't mean me or you will think it's good.

Personally I watch these vlogs to see what's new in the parks, to see things that I probably wouldn't experience myself, or just to (virtually) experience the parks again. I don't watch them because Mr Vlogger likes the food at GE or Mrs Vlogger thinks ToT is the best ride evar! I mean, that's great, but so what?

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Exactly. However when you watch someone frequently you get a sense of whether their opinion matches your own but then this is thrown into jeopardy once perks or payment is made.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by ely3857

Exactly. However when you watch someone frequently you get a sense of whether their opinion matches your own but then this is thrown into jeopardy once perks or payment is made.

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Possibly, I suppose.

TBH, I don't tend to use online vloggers to determine what I should and shouldn't do in Orlando. I guess if some people base their holiday on what their favourite vlogger likes or dislikes then this could be an issue. And I suppose some people *do* base their decisions on what a random person on the internet is telling them and that's why they are called "influencers" and why they are paid to do/show these things.

It's a funny old world.