Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore — Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Anniversary And Its Future
Originally published on August 31, 2021.
Welcome back to Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore! In this month’s newsletter, we will be diving into the anniversary of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (Walt Disney World) and its future. We will also dive into the Disney Genie! Disney’s newest digital offering will forever change how we use FastPass or *cough cough* Lightning Lane. All that plus some great Links of the Month in this edition of Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore!
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge And Its Future
On August 29, 2019, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened to the world at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. After years of anticipating, fans were finally allowed to explore the first-ever Star Wars-themed land. Whenever a new land opens it often comes with the revelation that not everything turns out to plan.
This was the case with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Now don’t get me wrong it’s a fun land but if you were following the development of Galaxy’s Edge from the very beginning you had to be a little sad that many features didn’t make the final cut.
Features like a large table-service restaurant that would have Star Wars in-world entertainment, storylines throughout the land like if you crashed the Millennium Falcon someone would come up to you at Oga’s Cantina, and there were always rumors of roaming droids and more character experiences than we got. Heck, there was a third attraction that included a Bantha ride but it just didn’t work.
It was a classic expectation verse reality situation. Everyone’s expectations were sky high because it was Star Wars but then the reality sunk in that the land didn’t come with everything it promised. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser took away a lot of elements from what was originally supposed to be in the land like the bigger table service restaurant, the interactive storylines, roaming droids, and a lightsaber dojo.
On another note, It’s still baffling how small Oga’s Cantina is and what is more baffling is that Walt Disney Imagineering hasn’t created Mos Eisley Cantina yet anywhere with the Cantina Band playing. Every casual Disney/Star Wars fan that asks me about the cantina is immediately disappointed when they find out it isn’t Mos Eisley Cantina and the classic Cantina Band isn’t playing. This seems like an easy win, right?
That’s what leads us to our next point. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is chained to a storyline that is set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. In theory, this is super cool but after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, it would be cool to see Galaxy’s Edge lose the sequel trilogy storyline (keep it for the two attractions though).
“I like the idea of having it set in a storyline, but that goes more in line with the original pitch with aliens, droids, etc. walking around and all that,” said Boardwalk Times columnist and This is the Waycast co-host Giovanni Delgadillo. “Those features didn’t work out because of the weather and other factors. So I think having specific characters from all eras of Star Wars walking around would be amazing.”
It’s time to let Star Wars go all out.
It’s time Star Wars follows its fellow Disney brother Marvel and utilizes the playbook straight out of Avengers Campus. Let the eras run wild! Let’s see Anakin and Padme walking around then maybe we see Ahsoka and Grogu? The possibilities are endless. Breaking the chains of the storyline will allow Disney to implement more synergy and it will allow future expansions/attractions to not be pigeonholed in between two “somewhat-controversial” Star Wars films.
Disney would be able to take advantage of its hottest Star Wars series in The Mandalorian. Meet and greets with Grogu and The Mandalorian would work well. I’m sure fans would also love to meet Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Bo-Katan, and Ahsoka Tano. Heck, let’s take it a step further.
I think the majority of fans would be fine if a third Galaxy’s Edge attraction was just based on the Mando-verse.
I think many would just be excited at the prospects of a new attraction inside Galaxy’s Edge. Maybe Disney would change it up and do a brand-new attraction in Disneyland and a brand-new and completely different attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Do something to differentiate the identical lands. Maybe it could be the speeder bike attraction? Or maybe they could do that bounty hunter attraction which could easily be themed to The Mandalorian!
They have tons of potential ideas. You could do a pod racing rollercoaster (more on that in a future article), Ahsoka Tano and other Filoniverse characters in their own attraction, or something completely original from Star Wars.
There is actually a concept in the Filoniverse called “The World Between Worlds” and it involves time travel to a degree. Disney may be able to use this as an excuse if they ever want to mess with the canon approach to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
New attractions are expensive but expansion will be key for Galaxy’s Edge. I really hope that Muppet Vision 3D survives but I have a feeling it’s in harm's way as Disney could utilize that space to connect Galaxy’s Edge to Star Tours. They could also update Star Tours to feel more in line with Batuu but keep its dynamic sequences from all eras of Star Wars. But Disney could also opt for cheaper ideas to drum up more excitement in Batuu in the future.
Disney could introduce new food and drink into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. What about a new variation of Blue Milk but instead it's just a blue-dyed vanilla milkshake? What about the rising bread from The Force Awakens? Disney could potentially hit it big with its own Batuu Food and Wine Festival concept within Galaxy’s Edge. This could also seep into holidays within the Star Wars universe like May the 4th and Life Day having its own unique celebrations. It was actually rumored that a Life Day celebration is in the works at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Disney could even find ways to create limited-time experiences inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In the end, the land has a ton of potential. But as long as it is chained to unnecessary constraints it will never grow into what it should be.
Reckoning With The Disney Genie
Disney finally ripped off the band-aid this month and revealed their paid replacement to FastPass. What was once free is now something you have to pay for. As a Walt Disney World veteran who knew both versions of FastPass — the old school tickets and MyMagic+/FastPass+ — inside out. I am not thrilled with the changes.
I think the worse part is the paid factor. It was something free and now we have to pay for it? Yes, obviously you don’t have to pay for it but some people do like the ability to book FastPasses and utilize them. You’re also paying for a system where you have to still book things in advance but on the same day, you are inside the park and the major attractions are an upcharge. Sure you gain some spontaneity back by not planning in advance but you also run the risk of not getting everything you want due to the new system.
I have a whole primer on the Disney Genie experience but in short, it’s unnecessarily confusing and the renaming of FastPass to Lightning Lane is just an example of rebranding for rebranding sake.
The upcharge for certain attractions like Rise of the Resistance is unclear at this time. Surge pricing will also be a thing with the Disney Genie. My one philosophy about Disney Parks is that once you’re inside the gates you shouldn’t have to pay extra to experience the attractions, let alone deal with potential surge pricing.
The Disney Genie also comes with losing perks for Disney resort guests and annual passholders. Heck, Disney Vacation Club members don’t even get a special deal on Disney Genie. Staying at a Disney resort used to come with all sorts of advantages like Extra Magic Hours and greater ability to utilize FastPass+. Now with Disney Genie, your perk is getting up early. No, seriously that’s considered a perk. Disney resort guests will be allowed to start booking their day (day of) at 7 AM in comparison to regular park guests who will get to book their stuff at park opening. We really need to have a discussion on what Disney should do to create perks at their resorts again.
I have to be optimistic about the new system even though I’m not thrilled about it. Maybe it will make the Disney Parks experience easier and maybe the lines won’t be as long? I guess we will see what happens!
At the end of the day, I feel like Disney is expecting Disney Genie to help Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products hit record profit coming after the major COVID-19 collapse. But will it also come at a cost of alienating longtime and loyal guests?
Only time will tell. It’s also telling that if they are willing to drop MagicBands and MyMagic+ (created in 2008), there is potential that Disney Genie could also go defunct in a few years…
Our newest season of Multiverse of Marvel is called Watcher’s World, where we break down every episode of Marvel Studios’ What If…? Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
LINKS OF THE MONTH
— Disney+ hits 116 million subscribers and the Disney Parks return to profitability. All that and more in my Disney Q3 recap. (Boardwalk Times)
— What If…?’s abandoned storylines included Captain Hydra, Young Tony Stark, and what if Spider-Man actually became a spider? (Vanity Fair)
— Disneyland got a new annual passholder system called the Magic Key! Read an op-ed about it from our friends at DisneyExaminer! (DisneyExaminer)
— Walt Disney World also got new annual passes! They are called the Disney Pixie Dust Pass, Disney Pirate Pass, Disney Sorcerer Pass, and Disney Incredi-Pass. They go on sale on September 8. (Disney Parks Blog)
— I wrote about the end of an era for the Disney Store. Disney shifts its strategy to prioritize direct-to-consumer and third party over brick-and-mortar. (Boardwalk Times)
— Disney’s quests to make their audio-animatronics even more life-like. Imagineering seems to be working on life-like audio-animatronics like Grogu and The Incredible Hulk. (The New York Times)
— The Disney Wish is a technological marvel! (Forbes)
— After announcing their own theme park project for Nashville, Storyland Studios announced a new partnership with video game developer Ubisoft to create new themed experiences and a full-scale theme park! (CinemaBlend)
I went to Disneyland this August and I have a ton to still write about regarding it! We got a ton of articles on the way spanning from reviews to opinion pieces to just general musings. I’m excited to share them with all of you!
See you next month for a new edition of Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore!