Galaxy’s Edge, Galactic Star Cruiser, and How Disney Imagineering can improve upon the concept of full immersive Star Wars Story Telling
Galaxy’s Edge, Galactic Star Cruiser, and How Disney Imagineering can improve upon the concept of full immersive Star Wars Story Telling
Prologue: My Background and Qualifications.
As a die hard star wars fan and collector of star wars memorabilia, I am one the few adult adult’s in my family who get lost in galaxy's edge, obtaining a feeling of me actually being present in the star wars universe. As a child i visited the orlando theme parks, most importantly Hollywood Studios(Disney’s MGM at the time) during their annual Star Wars Weekends celebration, when i went to college i wanted to work for either Lucasfilm or Walt Disney World as the two had been part of two of my favorite franchise in the galaxy: Star Wars. i unfortunately despite wanting to be a Walt Disney imagineer, attended a liberal arts campus where they didn’t offer any classes in architectural design, and a limited amount of course in hospitality, so i majored in film studies and in my junior year fell in love with the Theory of: Transmedia Storytelling, a study in which projects created in which successful films were built upon becoming massive franchises not only sequels and prequels within their own borders but expanding into new forms of media including: Comics, Graphic novels, Videogames and (of course) Theme Parks. I began focusing on this study within the film studies department at my college and eventually had taken all of the few classes they offered in the subject before graduating in 2020(during the COVID-19 Pandemic). By this time Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge had just opened, on May 31st,2019, and I had intended to visit it before the end of my senior year(this was postponed until September,2021).
In september 2021, i had finally saved enough money working during the pandemic, to afford a 1,081 three night trip to Disney with my friend Unique, whom i was lucky was the person who joined me in galaxies edge on my first visit, as we arrived at oga’s cantina shortly after our reservation at 9:30ish despite it being at 9:05 am shortly after the parks opening and we took our time leaving our room at All Star Movies that morning. At the first moment I entered the cantina, I was no longer on earth, I was in Star Wars, lost in the immersion that was a success to Disney, and its imagineering staff. I ordered my Souvenir Rancor Tooth Beer Flight and followed that up with what I think was Jet Juice while munching down on a happabore sampler that I ordered for breakfast. From here I went shopping , while Unique took pictures. I purchased a Kowakian Monkey lizard from the Creature stall, some sith and jedi artifacts and relics from Dok Ondar's Den of antiquities and a couple other outfits for my next visit to a galaxy far far away from the First Order Depot and Resistance Supply. By that time we were ready to build our lightsabers, and we had so much fun doing so spending the money for this one of a kind experience, and of course knowing me i bought extra pieces for my saber afterwards. The biggest problem I had that day was that I couldn’t have my souvenirs sent back to my room from the droid shop and had to carry it around with me as we explored the park and I became obsessed with the data pad app. We left Galaxy’s Edge and walked around Hollywood studios for the rest of the day before returning for Rise of the Resistance in which i got us a boarding time of 1:00ish.I thoroughly enjoyed Galaxy's edge and loved what disney created despite not actually experiencing everything in the land, missing out on Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run until my second visit to Galaxy’s Edge in late April of 2022, when i visited with my family, who aren’t major fans like myself but still follow the films and live action television projects.
As Unique and I left Hollywood Studios that day, we were hyped to travel to the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser when i opened that following spring, but when i first saw the price tag, Unique was baffled and I wasn’t willing to spend $2,000 plus for my self to spend less time in my favorite part of Disney’s Hollywood Studios: my favorite disney park for life. As i researched more that february as i made new friends i was overcome when i learned that Disney had only 100 rooms aboard the 2 night star cruise, believing that they would have made an actual life size cruise ship that was entirely themed to star wars with 1500 rooms, and probably not put fans in a place where they must decide between, gas, food and rent for 6-12 months to almost 2 years for a two night stay to disney when they can stay longer at almost another hotel in the whole of the orlando area for that cost.
As a fan of Disney, and Walt Disney World as a whole, I urge Disney imagineering and the management who run the park to heed my critique of my favorite land and the galactic star cruiser, as i try to provide a solution to the branding and marketing disaster that is Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and the Galactic Star Cruiser. I would argue that with the support of the Star Wars community, Lucasfilm and Disney imagineering this blog post can help Disney usher in a new era of star wars in the parks, with new attractions, merchandise and experiences for not only the younglings but the jedi masters and sith lords who wish live in star wars, and feel the immersion the way i always do when i am in Star Wars galaxy’s edge. This article is written as a love letter to galaxies edge, as well as a fan made manifesto on my own ideas as a scholar of transmedia storytelling and WDW as a theme park, that disney imagineering can implement as they see fit one this article is published.
Concept 1: What Makes A Star Wars Story?
In my own experience, from research and conversations with fellow Star Wars fans, many Star Wars fans argue that Disney doesn’t quite understand the Star Wars IP, while in rare cases this is true, Galaxy’s Edge is almost 99.99% completely true to Star Wars as an IP and Brand. Everything is themed, everything is in collaboration between WDW Imagineering and the Lucasfilm creatives, but is it possible that because of Imagineering’s design they didn’t grasp the complete concept of Star Wars and that the immersive land is only a small part of Star Wars? In my own opinion, despite Imagineering’s best efforts, they seem to have only scratched the surface of what makes a Star Wars story. Yes Star Wars has rounded architecture, aliens, droids, lightsabers, storm troopers, and Spaceships, but it's so much more than just a sci-fi story like Tommorowland at Magic Kingdom, it is so much larger than a single outpost at the edge of the galaxy and certainly isn’t like any other fantasy universe.
Star Wars is a collaboration of genres while set in a futuristic world of sci-fi technology and interplanetary travel, it combines elements from the Western, Adventure and Fantasy genres. Galaxy’s edge seems to play on two of the four genres that star wars plays off of, The Adventure and Sci-fi, rarely even mentioning the fantasy or western aspects. For guests who don’t read the books or watch the Clone Wars, like my Dad, Star Wars Galaxy’s edge is confusing at times. For instance, i love Hondo Ohnaka, he is probably one of my top twenty favorite scoundrel characters in star wars,after Dryden Vos, Qir’ra , Boba Fett, Din Jarin, Lando, Maz Kanata Chewbacca and of course Han Solo, and i love how he is the main character on Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run, but whom outside the hardcore fans, like me, will know who this character is. On my last visit to Galaxy’s edge in April, i was in line for Smugglers Run in the Show Room right before the Cue, where the animatronic Hondo is located and even though he introduced himself as Hondo, some guests were confused some even asking a man standing behind me who the character was, confused by it. I was astonished how they asked their family's expert and how he explained, he knew where the character was from and didn’t know his name.
While this didn’t hinder my experience, the younger generation who grew up with the Prequels, and the Clone Wars Tv show, i would argue it lacks reasoning, how guests can forget his name that quickly. If Hondo isn’t memorable and he is in several arcs of Star Wars Rebels and the Clone wars combined then wants to be thought of as original characters like Vai Morani or Dok Ondar, or even the legendary but unseen Oga Garra, who were created for the land. I am even convinced some guests don’t understand Vai Morani, she isn’t in anything but the books and comics and sort of reminds them of a “disney adult” or bounder who is just present that day with them in the park. I am convinced that some guests even think Vai is a park guest in a great Disney Bound rather than an actual character on a mission, who tends to play with the stormtroopers and winds up on stage from time to time. This is not to argue that Vai shouldn’t be in galaxy’s edge but rather to suggest that most fans don’t understand who she is or where the character came from or anything about them, and i am also almost certain the cast members playing their characters don’t know anything about their characters other than their name, allegiance and what's discussed in the movies(and nothing beyond).(i will continue this argument in a later concept).
Another aspect of Star Wars is the variety of planets and locations. Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu is great at bringing us to a new fun and exciting world that guests have never been to, but not one star wars story has ever taken place on a single world. Yes guests travel to Corellia aboard the millennium falcon in smugglers run and *spoilers*(Guests Travel to see fireworks above Bespin aboard the Galactic Star Cruiser)*end spoilers* but guests want to tangibly travel the galaxy, not just watch the planet pass by through a digital window covered screen but to set foot smell and inhale a multitude of planets. Now i’m not saying disney needs to build a familiar planet, i'm not that disconnected from what they are trying to do with Batuu, but let's say they gave guests an option to travel between two or three worlds,each somewhat different, this would be tangible and exciting for most guests and would add onto expanding the universe and Star Wars Fans expectations for what Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge should have been when it was announced.(i will continue this argument in a later concept).
Aside from unique characters and different worlds, Star Wars is about an action saga, yes we get to blast things on smuggler's run and get fired at and chased in Rise of the Resistance, but besides lightsabers what other weapons or tools could be incorporated into the land. I understand Disney has policies against Gun violence and adding Blasters or any kind is out of the question especially from a security standpoint, but forget about the political ideologies for a moment and remember this is a theme park, people go here to escape their everyday lives and to play. Back in my youth Disney sold a variety of laser blasters at Buzz Lightyear and wooden and plastic Pistols and Muskets in Adventure and Frontierland. Some of the most fun I had as a kid was playing around with my Wooden pop Pirate gun from Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom. Now Disney should always be a safe place for kids and adults of all ages, but Galaxy’s edge should be a place for guests to feel like the Roguish Outlaw or Alien gunslinger apply an element of Westerns and Adventure action stories to the land. (i will continue this argument in a later concept).
But aside from exciting weapons from Westerns, new exciting adventure worlds and new and exciting characters what else tells a star wars story? Is it the costuming, the entertainment, the quality of the merchandise, the experiences? There are many things that expand on what makes a star wars story a star wars story, and that is what i wish to convey, while galaxy’s edge provides the minimum of what it could be, it isn’t exactly 100% star wars, at least not yet.
Concept 2: Max Rebo, Fig’rin D'an and the Modal Nodes, Shag Kava and Gaya: Music, entertainment and Star Wars
Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, The Max Rebo Band and Shag Kava what do these three names have in common? They are the familiar entertainment of the Star Wars Galaxy, Musicians with mastery of their craft and an excellent repoteur of familiar Star Wars music. In Galaxy’s Edge the closest thing we have to live Star Wars Music is D.J. R.E.X. While as a fan of the old Star Tours ride(growing up with it) and loving the nostalgia of seeing R.E.X in oga’s cantina there are so many more opportunities for Diegetic/Alien Star Wars Music in Galaxy’s edge. On the galactic star cruiser guests are introduced to Gaya and her keyboard player Ouannii, as well as Sandro Alimander who are all live musical characters aboard the ship. Admittedly they are part of one of the few great experiences from the Galactic Starcruiser, as seen in youtube videos Gaya has a massive amount of fans on board and is an exciting aspect of the space cruise. I understand entertainers,especially live entertainers, are expensive for Disney to hire, but they could be an incredible addition to Galaxy’s Edge.
My Concept for an addition to Galaxy’s edge is to build a music Stand or Stall, where guests can purchase Playable: Star Wars instruments from Kloo Horns to the blissl, F’nonc, hypoliope, Valachord’s, Chindinkalu, Red Ball Jet Organs, drums and more and outside the stall every hour a group of Alien musicians play live diegetic alien music for guests and passers by, an assortment of covers of familiar star wars diegetic songs and original alien hits, that guests can dance to. These instruments will be similar to earth instruments and be fun to watch and play around with. As a lover of the diegetic music in star wars, my biggest upset is that the Toydarian toymaker has all the instruments in his stall, when musical instruments should be treated with more respect than simply being referred to as toys, even in star wars.Disney World isn’t unfamiliar to this concept, look at Epcot and Animal kingdom who have similar experiences, these ones will just be impacted as part of star wars culture.
As many guests probably know already, Galaxy’s edge lacks entertainment unlike other Theme Park Lands, yes you can pass by Rey, Chewbacca, Kylo Ren,Vai and Stormtroopers in the streets, but is that entertainment or are those Character meet in greets and before you disagree, yes that's different. Even Avengers campus in Anaheim has a Doctor Strange Magic show and a march of the Wakandan Guards, but Galaxy’s edge suffers from Myopia in entertainment, as they introduce more wandering character meet and greets and less entertainment that expands upon Star Wars culture.
Star Wars Galaxy’s edge should be treated more like Animal Kingdom’s themed areas or Epcot's World showcase, surrounding guests not only with what appears to be a highly themed Star Wars Facade but also the culture of the galaxy. This would immerse guests more into the Galaxy that they are supposed to be in, and allow for more opportunities to entertain and satisfy the fandom’s need for more Star Wars content.
Concept 3: Mos Eisley to Mos Pelgo to Mos Espa :a limited Expansion to Batuu
This concept may be a little brash and may also be more of a challenge due to the way in which Galaxy’s edge is positioned at the backside of Hollywood Studios, but would be worth it to fans of Disney Parks and Star Wars alike. This concept also neglects to expand the galaxy's edge in a way that expands to other planets( that is the next concept). This concept I have is pending that Disney only wishes to expand Galaxy’s edge meaning Batuu and not to a new planet. In the Star Wars Franchise, Tatooine, is a recurring planet with multiple spaceports, each very different from one another, if Disney wanted to Expand Batuu, similarly to how The Wizarding World of Harry Potter expanded from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley, perhaps this is the way to go about it. On Tatooine there are three mainly named settlements: Mos Espa, Mos Eisley and Mos Pelgo, i wonder if Galaxy’s edge expanded if guests could board a train (similar to that from the Book of Boba Fett) and travel to a new area/expansion to Batuu set in a new outpost with new attractions and ways to create.
In my design that i have made as a fan(i’m such a nerd, i design fan made architectural layouts of theme parks) the guests will board a train that leads to the next outpost, wherever that may be from the second door out of black spire outpost by the First Order Transport. This next outpost will be more of a First Order Themed Area( is will discuss why in another concept) and will feature a ride that makes the First Order good and the Resistance evil as well as a second cantina(due to the high demand for Oga’s she should have a sister cantina) and a Menagerie attraction: set in a Intergalactic Zoo, full of exotic and dangerous creatures from across the galaxy(it would also be a water coaster). The merchandise will be slightly different as this outpost will be more lenient to the dark side and the scum and villainy(who are neglected in the current park) and allow expansion of the story currently aboard the Halcyon allowing guests to book longer stays that would decrease the negative attitude towards the cruiser’s price.
While i do have a full story for both of these attractions in hand, i’d rather share what i have with Disney imagineering and lucasfilm directly rather than express it all here, there is more that can be added to this area that i would like to discuss further before i divulge any information(That i remind i created as a fan, for fun).
Unlike Black Spire outpost, this space port will include a the actual buba wamba family farm and an animatronic bantha and Thala Siren, that guests can interact with, as well as experimental milk recipes being concocted by Buba Wamba as well as an attraction for smaller guests that i saw in the art of star wars galaxies edge where guests board a large rideable creature animatronic, which i think would be ingeniously fun for the younglings. As an expansion it will be different with different characters, shops and concepts but set on the same planet, however there will also be a secondary docking bay at this spaceport and I will discuss this reasoning in detail why in concept 4, for now we’ll leave it at that, as anyone who is reading this just this bland description should excite you enough for what i am pitching in this article.
Concept 4: You’ve taken your first steps into a larger world :Expansion into a larger Galaxy
Now let's argue that Disney is done expanding Batuu and would prefer to expand beyond the reaches of Black Spire Outpost. As i mentioned before Guests want Tangible experiences on planets and not to just stare at them and pass them by from a window screen. This concept is for WDW’s supposed 5th gate, a concept that Disney fans have been arguing and debating on forever. Now as I mentioned as well, The expansion to Batuu will have a spaceport, that space port will include a new form of bus entertainment to bring guests from Black Spire Out Post to this new park.
The New Park will include not one new world but five new world expansions to the galaxy's edge. Not only this but they will be interconnected by the World Between Worlds: a concept created by Dave Filoni’s Star Wars Rebels, allowing guests to travel between ruins to different worlds throughout different Eras. The plans for these five worlds would be iconic and expressive to the love for each era, each being different. But what era would I suggest be featured. That is listed bellow
Indoor Three Towers: Tibanna Gas/City World: The Clone Wars Era
Forest Jungle World:The Rise of the Empire Era
Tatooine: Original trilogy World taking place 0BBY during the events of episode IV
Swamp,Forest, mining world: The New Republic Era
A Space Port: from the main part of the park that will transport the fifth gates park guests to a galaxy far far away. Will link to Batuu.
I of course have a concept for each world stated above including rides, experiences and more that would embellish the love of star wars as well as reaffirm the Star Wars fandoms confidence in the Disney Star Wars IP as well as fix capacity issues faced by the GSC and SWGE.
We will start with the most challenging of the five and smallest: the Clone Wars indoor City world. It will contain three attractions, a monorail that escorts guests over battle scenes of the clone wars between the republic and Sepratist as well as transport them between the Three Towers, Tower 1: The Republic Tower, Tower 2: the Scum and Villainy, Tower 3: the Trade Federation tower.
Tower 1: the Republic tower, will include a character dining experience featuring: Anakin, Padme, C3-PO and R2-D2 as well as a new Senator/Delegate character who is iconic to this new world. It will include shops themed to the republic as well as a command center where guests are trained by a republic officer and a unique lightsaber building experience that combines: building a lightsaber, lightsaber training, and a meet and greet with Plo Koon and Obi Wan Kenobi. Aside from this there will be a republic Hangar where guests will exit the main sepratist attraction, and a Captain Rex and Ahsoka Tano Meet and Greet will be located. The halls of this post will be patrolled by Clones, Command Cody and Commander Wolf. An antique shop will also be located here and serve as the world between worlds entrance into this land.
Tower 2: The Scum and Villainy Tower: this will include a nightclub formerly owned by Ziro the Hutt, that has fallen under new management. It will include a market place ( i won't go into too much detail about )as well as a death watch base: where guests can meet Previsla and Bo-Katan and a Bounty hunters guild: where guests can meet Aurra Sing, Cad Bane and more. This tower will also include an attraction featuring Hondo Ohnaka having to do with aiding the republic in smuggling weapons from Coruscant back to this world for them, and will feature Mace Windu and Quinlan Vos.
Tower 3:The Trade Federation Tower, will be the location of the droid factory, a new digital droid building experience, where guests can make droids easier than before, as they watch a screen where “machines {are} building machines.'' There will also be a hidden sepratist base where guests can meet and greet Asajj Ventress. This base will be home to the main attraction of the clone wars area, a Trade Federation Lucrehulk tour that goes wrong when a republic spy is discovered in the midst of the passengers. Neimoidian Trade Federation guards will be the cast members on this attraction. Making it the first time cast members are also non-face characters.
The second world, the rise of the Empire world: will include two entrances into this area, one from the space port and another within the Temple of the whills. This world will be split into five sectors: The Imperial Sector, The Temple/ Market Sector, Hutt Territory/Slums, the Jungles, The Rebel Base. as well as two sub sectors which I will discuss further later on.
The imperial sector is a military base. It consists of an interactive command center where guests can join the empire and operate the base, the starport hanger: which is reminiscent to the starport from Solo: a Star Wars Story, an imperial barracks, the courtyard landing pads: where guests can meet characters like: the Grand Inquisitor, seventh sister, third sister, Agent KAllusand Orson Krennic and The Military hangar which will house a transport to the Imperial command ship and Tie Fighter Pilot’s Academy an attraction where guests will be able to hop into the cockpit of a tie fighter and fly a tie to disrupt rebel saboteurs. The surrounding part of this area will lead past a Turbo laser turret, and an AT-AT towards the Imperial officers Cantina: similar to the one seen in the Mandalorian and an imperial recruitment stage show, where guests are recruited to join the empire.
As guests exit the base they enter into the marketplace, where the droid shop and Reliquary: a more intense bazaar of antiquities than dok ondars are stationed splitting the main road into two paths. One between the droid shop and reliquary leading to the ruined temple of the whills and the other stationed between the reliquary and market stalls leading into the lower market place.
The Temple of the Whills courtyard will remind guests of the feeling of Maz Kanata’s Castle and the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, featuring a garden and water feature as well as a tunnel into the main market place and the opposing sides of the reliquary as well as the opposite side of the droid shop. The main entrance and atrium to the temple will be still intact but obviously raided by the Empire. To the left guests will have their lightsaber building experience which will triple as a lightsaber training and for jedi young and old to attend jedi training on the temples main stage, as well as meet Ashoka Tano(Fulcrum) and Cal Kestis(jedi fallen order.
The market place will be similar to batuu however will be split between two walls of shop the reliquary and a fruit stands at the markets center, as guests exit the market place through an archway towards a fountain and the outer wall of the temple, they will pass the Quick service food, featuring this planet's favorite foods, before approaching a couple more shops before passing into hutt territory.
The entrance to hutt territory is marked by a statue of a hutt upon a throne at the center of the village, where street sabacc stand sits on one side of a music shop while a stage for street performers sits on the opposite side, directly across from the Huttese outdoor Tiki Bar, a hutt owned club/lounge and a bounty hunter supply store, which will be exit to one of the main attractions, peering over this area is a hutt palace station stop a peak.
The attraction without going into detail is an attraction similar to rise of the resistance and buzz lightyear where guests are hired by jabba the hutt to rescue his son rotta the hutt from Crimson dawn, guests are joined by Fennec Shand and boba fett and will exit into a meet and greet with them. The exit to the next land is past the tiki bar, creature stall to the cities outer walls where a green and blue milk stand is awaiting guests not enticed by the tiki bar, along the city walls leading into the jungles.
The jungles are a vast exploration location, including a creaky old wood bridge overlooking a spitting dianoga, a farm where a barn and creature stall exist as well as a fruit stand, as well as an animatronic petting zoo, several creature encounters leading to a trandoshan hunters lodge restaurant. It also includes a jungle tangled AT-ST and a downed AT-AT which contains a shop run by Saul Gurera’s militia, as well as a crimson dawn camp and supply stand, and a dark side cave similar to the one on Dagobah where guests can meet and greet Darth Maul. just past the downed AT-AT it begins transforming into ruins where the rebel base is located.
The Rebel Base situated amongst the ruins and jungle is full of landing pads for meet and greets with the rebel characters as well as two specific ships: the Ghost where Hera Syndulla, Chopper and Kanan Jarrus meet Guests and a U-Wing where K2-SO and Casian Andor meet and greet guests, the rebel hange contains an interactive Rebel Base and a transport to a Rebel Nebulon B-Frigate that is a system over. The rebel base also houses the main attraction, a thrilling dark ride aboard a new rebel tank speeder, piloted by an astromech droid where guests will fight for the rebellion before being captured by the empire.
As mentioned before there are two sub areas to this park: these sub areas involve this attraction's exit, as unlike any ride before it this attraction will include two exits depending on your faction. One leading to a hanger where guests board a transport to the Imperial Command Ship the other leading to an imperial prison block where guests are rescued by the rebellion and transported off world to the nebulon B frigate.
The ISD Will include Darth Vader's meditation quarters as a meet and greet, a star destroyer bridge and two hangers, one for guests to board the ship and exit and another that is the exit to the rebel attraction.
The nebulon b frigate will include several rooms, including an escape pod bay where guests can meet princess leia, a barracks shop, a medbay shop where guests can meet C-3PO and R2-D2, the senators quarters where guests can greet mon mothma and the bridge where guests can undergo rebel bridge training. This will also include a hanger where guests can travel to and from the surface and an air lock attachment that guests use to exit the rebel attraction from the imperial prison ship.
The third world is a new spaceport on Tatooine run by the hutts, surrounding a hutt casino, which will also act as an immersive Star Wars Hotel Experience. This will also include a jawa junkers droid shop and two cantina's, a market place, and two attractions. The first attraction is a ride where guests will get to pilot Boba Fett’s Starship(Firespray or the retconned name Slave I for the major nerds) and a second attraction where guests will be able to pod race. This idea isn’t as creative, but I know it should not include any form of lightsaber building experience on tatooine.
The fourth world is based on naboo, numidian prime, cantonnica and kashyyyk. It will feature two major attractions. The first attraction is a highspeed star wars mine train ride through an imperial ruined mine that will include Ashoka(The Master),Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, Moff Gideon, the Dark Troopers, and somehow Emperor Palaptine. The second attraction will be a submarine ride where guests board a bongo and travel through the seas of this world and experience star wars’ aquatic lifeforms. There will be a star wars resort hotel here based off of Naboo architecture and Canto Bight overlooking a boardwalk where there will be shopping and star wars carnival games. A massive lake will be part of the new lands as guests will board a ferry type ship to attend a restaurant set in the former summer home of notorious Republic Senator Orn Free Tah of Ryloth,set on a private island based off the lake country on naboo. The night life of this location will be a major selling point as there will be fireworks displays and mardi gras style celebrations. Another area in the woods of this park is a wookie pilgrim village, where a 365 day a year life-day store and a wookie themed restaurant will be located as well as a smuggler's den overlooking the lake. A massive Wroshyr tree will also be in this area surrounding a stage where Ewoks and Wookies will celebrate their freedom from the empire with fireworks during guests' stays. Another immersive opportunity is the wookie village cabins that will act as a campground on this world. For a lightsaber experience, guests will enter a kyber crystal cave on this planet and locate the crash site of the Crucible. This attraction will feature Professor Huyang and will be a more traditional lightsaber building experience.
The final location of the space port is technically unthemed to any era and acts as a hub for these new star wars experiences. If done correctly star tours can be moved here to act as another attraction allowing disney to expand the length of Batuu on the resistance side or of the muppets within hollywood studios. The space station will include a cantina, a sabacc lounge, a dejarik lounge, a market place as well as hangers to space ports on each planet as well as a transport to batuu at hollywood studios.
However, aside from this already forward planning a concept dawned on me about this fifth gate and perhaps it could be considered if it is developed, but this new park should be exclusively Star Wars, and for that reason should have different guidelines than the other parks, a concept I will discuss further in concept 5.
Concept 5: Cosplay culture and the Star Wars Fandom: bringing Cosplay to the Disney Parks
As Disney already noticed with the galactic star cruiser, Star Wars fans want to do more than Disney bound, we want to Cosplay. In my opinion a new entrance should be added for guests who only wish to do galaxy’s edge as well as a new ticket price for just galaxy’s edge for guests who want to cosplay. Cosplay culture is star wars culture and if Galaxy’s edge could find a way to be free from rules and constraints and instead be filled with Cosplayers, Disney won’t have to worry about filling galaxy's edge with aliens as star wars fans will do that for them. Even further evidenced in this was the concept art i saw in the art of star wars galaxies edge, where they wanted to build a disguise shop to help guests of all ages purchase cosplay pieces and dress up as their favorite species.if disney hung a warning sign on the hollywood studios side of galaxies edge stating: “warning not all costumed characters in this area are Disney Cast members” that would be enough to prevent and warn uncertain parents of galaxy’s edge being filled with costume wearing star wars fans.
Of course i do agree with disney’s guidelines about not dressing up as pre-existing characters, and the rules about posing for pictures if they’re not a cast members, but i disagree with guests being unable to dress up as wookies, storm troopers and the limits of makeup covering more than 50% of their faces. If disney dropped these guidelines and made a way for costumed guests to cosplay at Galaxy’s edge without fear of being kicked out, this could be revolutionary, for all guests and fans alike as Galaxy’s edge would finally live up to its expectation and concept art allowing thousands of Twi'leks, Rodian’s, Togruta,Zabrak, Mon Calamari and more roam the streets of Batuu and interact with the world they so desperately love. As star wars fans want to do more than bound we want to cosplay.
Concept 6: Bounty Hunting, Blasters, Lightsabers and Credits :Intangible app vs Tangible experiences
As I mentioned before, guests want more tangible experiences and less usage of the datapad. To many guests, the data pad is great as a communicator, but at the end of the day, American families go on vacation to explore the world(or in galaxy’s edge’s case explore a galaxy far far away). With the inclusion of bounty hunting coming to the galaxy's edge, I hope that for Disney's sake they can add something tangible to this experience as it would change the experience as a whole.
However since Disney hasn’t been using tangible experiences as of late and have resorted to cutting costs (The Datapad) these are some ideas that Disney can implement that can possibly make it worth the cost of tangibility.
I am going to compare Star Wars:Galaxy’s Edge to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, their soul competition in the Orlando Themepark area. The success and money from this area isn’t only based on the theming or experiences but also based on the $49 interactive wands that they sell, which I foresee them selling a range of 300+ wands a day. Galaxy’s edge needs a product that isn’t lightsabers or droids that guests can tangibly use to interact with the land and i have three options that will work:
Interactive Blasters: as mentioned before Blasters are a major part of the Star Wars story, more existing in Star Wars than Lightsabers. Blasters like the wands come in different types, and laser colors and I can foresee Disney making a large profit off of Blasters and making a new fun experience for Star Wars fans, who want to be the western gunslinger or scoundrel.
Interactive Tools: The Datapad is great, but look at the tools in star wars, there are so many of them, that guests could be using around the park to hack and play. SCOMP Links are upon the most common of tools used, followed by Fusion cutters, “datapads”,commlinks, watches, bracers, vambraces, all kit tools, scanners and more have all appeared in star wars and yet at galaxy’s edge they appear non-existent replaced by the cellphone, why don’t they switch to selling $40-$60 tools that guests can use in the park every time they come to visit
Cybernetics: probably one of the most underrated things in the sequel trilogy Cybernetics and Mods have been in star wars since Empire Strikes Back. Lobot’s headset, Robotic hands, modding tools and more that assist guests in missions could all be major appliances guests would enjoy purchasing for tangible interactivity
Credits: yes i know galaxy’s edge created Spira, the coin of black spire outpost, but what if there was a banking clan machine that dispensed physical credits to guests that acted like the tickets from Arcades across the country. Where guests could play games and mini-games and win tickets from playing, that could be spent on prizes or merchandise throughout the land. This could also be Disney’s way of including star wars casino’s as gambling is a major part of the star wars galaxy, just look at Canto Bight, Lando and Han Solo.
Games: I know that Galaxy’s edge has a person who plays local games, but why not set up an even bigger area, like chess in the park watched over by a cast member where guests can play, holo-sabacc, dejarik, pazaak, and other star wars games.
Now these concepts may be a little underwhelming for some guests but i am sure one of the reason the GSC is flopping is because most of its entertainments spans from their guests cell phones, why would anyone pay $4,000-$6,000 or more to go to disney world and be on their cell phones the entire time, it's just not logical. Guests want to have tangible experiences with limited usage of digital technology, the more tangible an experience is the more likely guests will return to an experience.
Concept 7: The Dark Side, Scum and villainy as well as the Heroes: Truly giving freedom to fans to live their adventure and embracing the Role Playing aspects of Galaxy's Edge
Now this may be a concept that is foreign to a company that focuses on epic stories where the good guys always win, but as seen in star wars to the Sepratist,Empire, and First Order they are the good guys, they are the heroes of the story. This is why I was so surprised when I heard guests could join the first order aboard the GSC, because Disney doesn’t want guests to join the dark side. However the point of Galaxy's edge is for guests to tell their own Star Wars story, and that includes the choices to join, the scum and villainy and the dark side. Some guests want to be the Sith, the Empire, the bounty hunter and don’t want to be the Jedi , the rebel pilot or the princess, they want to be powerful and feel freedom that they don’t get in everyday life. Disney needs to incorporate more experiences and or attractions to Galaxy’s edge that will entertain these guests rather than catering to the heroes. Palpatine said it best “if one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic view of jedi, if you wish to become a wise leader, you must embrace a larger view of the force”(revenge of the sith). I have a few concepts that could emancipate those who wish to join the dark side as listed above, but further experiences will need to be added for these guests:
A march of the first order: a timed march when guests can join in and march with the first order around the border of black spire outpost.
A character similar to Vai Moradi but is a bounty hunter: whom guests can team up with as they hunt down their target
DJ: from TLJ he survived the Supremacy, i wonder where he is now, why not batuu
These are just three basic ideas for expanding darkside pride in the parks that can improve the experiences of dark side siding guests.
Concept 8: Relaxing vs Playing: is Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge for everyone.
Galaxy’s Edge is amazing, and Star Wars Fans love it, but unfortunately, despite Imagineers thinking all guests want to fly the millennium falcon, there are those few who just want to enjoy the ride and laugh and those who are a little more serious. This is a travesty that certain guests want to participate actively and then there are others who don’t. My step mother and my dad are perfect examples of this as when we went onto smugglers run, my dad and her didn’t seem to want to participate and I wound up piloting for two instead of just one and my brothers both participated as gunners and enjoyed it thoroughly as much as I did. It may be because they're older that they just wanted to ride the ride and not play along but, I think that options should be made in the future for both types of guests, the active participant and the relaxed audience. Therefore a new way of riding should be made so guests who want to participate can stay with their parties and guests who don’t want to can just watch and ride.
This may be another problem with the GSC, but if not all guests are participating, it's going to give the experience a negative review, guests should be informed that they need to be active participants not only audience members for the GSC, and an option for special attention could be purchased for GSC passengers who want to participate vs those who don’t and just want to be audience members. This brings me into concept 9.
Concept 9: Staying in a galaxy far far away: how the galactic star cruiser succeeds and how its concept can be expanded into the parks.
The galactic Starcruiser is an experience, I hope I get to experience it even if I have to go by myself as my friends are refusing to go because of the price. 4000-6000 for a 2 night stay is a steep price even with all the additions added, however perhaps that is how The GSC is saved. If it's true and the concept for the GSC is aimed towards Millenials and Die Hard fans as well as extroverts(As stated by DIsney food blogs original review), perhaps since most millennials are younger and many don’t have the money to spend on a $6000 space cruise for two nights to create something more affordable yet still in the wheelhouse of the cruise idea.
As of right now there are options for purchase aboard the GSC including the captains table and larger room options but what if Disney took a more interesting turn removing the all inclusive food options, and the extras entirely for guests who only want to stay in a star wars cruise and make guests pay for vacation plans while aboard the GSC.
Options can include:
All you can eat
All you can drink
Custom Costume Purchase packages
Captain’s Table
Dinner with Lieutenant Kroy(something some first order sympathizers may enjoy)
A Valet while on Batuu
Special attention and entertainment packages
Automatic lightsaber building
Automatic droid making
Automatic oga’s cantina
Ride as many times as you want
Etc.
The two options that will need to be kept pro-bono as part of the cruise’s theme are the bridge training and lightsaber training as well as the genie+ lightning lane included for Rise of the Resistance and Millenium falcon and any other attractions if added later.
Another way to expand the fun of GSC is to not only allow guests to purchase a room but a role aboard the ship before they even arrive which will include souvenirs,cosmetics and costumes items as well as features that may not apply to what every guest wants. These role packages can include a:
Smuggler Package
Bounty Hunter Package
Resistance Package
Storm Trooper Package
Jedi Package
Sith Package
Senator Package
Royal Package
Spy Package
Master Code breaker Package
War Profiteer Package
Pilots Package
Galactic Superstar Package
Engineer Package
Officers package
Etc.
Even further than that, guests can have more choices when booking so they can book the cruise that's right for them: allowing them to spend anywhere from 1,050 to 20,000. Aside from this guests should also be able to share their reservation with the others on their reservation, yet not see the packages included in their role*spoilers*( so when Lieutenant Kroy gives away who was first order at the end) *end Spoilers* it's even more of shock as some of them may be rooming with someone who isn’t of course they're should still be an option for the families who come to still do it as it, but by creating options about the way you stay at the cruiser can determine the amount of income and enjoyment from the GSC. bringing me into concept 10
Concept 10: From Muuns and Neimodians to Sullustians and Lurmen :Marketing and changing the Star Wars Theme Park Brand.
Right now disney has a bad rep, they are seen as Greedy and Credit Hungry like the Muuns and Neimodians of the star wars galaxy, however Disney should change their image to something more constructive, something more similar to the Sullustians or Lumens who are creatives who are beloved parts of the star wars galaxy(even though I’m convinced most fans don’t know what a lurmen is). Disney needs to embrace star wars and not just say it they do, they should truly learn to understand it and separate their image from politics and criticism and instead take the criticism and instead of saying fans are wrong, act on the criticism and use it creatively to their advantage. Star Wars could be a saving grace if disney discarded the politics and marketed for the fans and not for the money.
This is Where The Fun Begins :Concluding Statements
In conclusion, i am a critic of disney because i am a fan of disney, i am a critic of disney star wars because i am a fan of disney star wars. This article wasn’t meant to insight radical star wars fans to rally against the hotel but to bring us together to show the love and passion that I have for this IP and the parks through a writing piece. I know that the forces who control Disney won’t always agree with me, but what kind of critic would I be if I couldn't accept criticism of my own works? WDW I wanted to be an Imagineer my entire life and despite me being essentially inept in all skills needed to do so, I hope that I can someday sit down with your team and express my love for Disney Parks and Star Wars, for that would be a dream come true. For I might not have the skills to be an Imagineer, but I do have the skills to be a lover of theme parks, transmedia franchises and guests at the parks when the time seems right. To all my star wars fans out there I issue you all a warning, we want the hotel, we want to afford the hotel, but if we can’t afford it and Disney loses money on it, the GSC and Galaxy’s edge will not survive. If we want more star wars in the parks and we want some of my ideas discussed done, we need to be responsive to disney and disney should be responsive back with the most harsh community of fans globally. As Star Wars Fans we should be more receptive to the fact that we are getting content while it may not be our direct vision of star wars it is still someones, and we could be just as badly as other franchises receiving little to no content. However as Fans we expect quality content that is created by Star Wars fans and not just for a quick 2-3 million in a box office sales. As fans and creators, we should share a mutual respect for one another, as we have all forgotten the dark cannot live without the light, I hope this gives my readers something to think about, as fans, as creatives, as executives, as guests, may the force be with you, always.
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