Disney Parks Veteran Steps Down Amid Sluggish Star Wars Land Attendance

[El Bombastico]

From Hollywood Reporter:

Catherine Powell, who oversees the U.S. and Paris theme parks for The Walt Disney Company, is leaving the studio, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

As president of Disney Parks West, Powell was in charge of Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Powell was also in her post during the recent openings for two new Star Wars lands — Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World in Orlando and another at the California Disneyland park — that fell flat on attendance.

Click to shrink...

It's understood from sources at Disney that Powell's post has been eliminated, and she will help in the transition as her staff reports to Disney Parks, Experiences & Products chairman Bob Chapek.

The studio had high expectations for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which feature two rides — Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run — and varied sci-fi shops and restaurants with Star Wars themes.

But hype around the new Star Wars lands appears to have dissuaded some from attending soon after the launches. Shortly after it was announced that Galaxy's Edge would open in late May, Disney revealed that a no-cost reservation (in addition to a park ticket) would be needed to access the Star Wars land from May 31 through June 23.

Click to shrink...

Her departure also stands in contrast to Disney CEO Bob Iger in a New York Times profile on Sunday promising to put more women in top executive positions at the Hollywood studio, with an eye to greater gender parity.

Click to shrink...

Really sucks cause I feel like she wasn't to blame here. The new land is amazing. I went to Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland like 5 times before my passport expired and it was awesome. That said, to get the whole experience is expensive, so I can why a lot of people perhaps are being turned off.

I wonder how the DisneyWorld version is doing. I remember people saying it would have better crowds that Disneyland but is she is resigning/fired, probably not.

 

[Velocity:Design:Comfort]

It's so crowded no one goes there.

 

[Imperial Bishop]

This has not been a good day for Star Wars news.

 

[Ryan.]

The whole process with getting into Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland not only turned people away/prevented them from going to GE, it also did that to them from going to all of Disneyland. There were reports all through the summer that the entire park was a lot more quiet than expected. That probably wouldn't have been an issue had you not blocked off annual pass holders and cast members at the beginning of the summer.

 

[Sampson]

No one really cares about Star Wars anymore

 

[El Bombastico]

This has not been a good day for Star Wars news.

Click to shrink...

Tell me about it :-(

 

[Jesse_and_the_rippers]

It's so crowded no one goes there.

Click to shrink...

Judge me not by my crowd size.

 

[SuperBanana]

Truly amazing that Disney was able to stomp Star Wars into the ground in a few years when even the prequels couldn't. I guess that's what happens when you're creatively void.

 

[Nida]

Tell me about it :-(

Click to shrink...

What else did I miss?

 

[Ryan.]

No one really cares about Star Wars anymore

Click to shrink...

Except that's not the case when the entirety of Disneyland was affected so it's much more than "no one cares about Star Wars."

And it seems like the WDW version is doing a lot better, at least when comparing launches and whatnot. Wait time for Smugglers Run is 2 hours. Savi's and Oga's is constantly booked full. Apparently even the Droid Depot has been getting a lot of action.

 

[Malverde]

I did Cars Land when it opened and it fucking sucked. They hyped Star Wars up to be their most crowed shit ever. No fucking shit everyone stayed the fuck away.

 

[Khanimus]

I went to Disneyland for the first time acouple weeks back, and Galaxy's Edge was the first thing we went to.

It was fucking cool, and I know these places evolve over time, but I genuinely had a great time.

 

[AnansiThePersona]

The whole process with getting into Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland not only turned people away/prevented them from going to GE, it also did that to them from going to all of Disneyland. There were reports all through the summer that the entire park was a lot more quiet than expected. That probably wouldn't have been an issue had you not blocked off annual pass holders and cast members at the beginning of the summer.

Click to shrink...

You think heat played any part in that? Like it being one of the hottest summers in forever probably made a difference in some way.

 

[DanteSparda504]

I had been saving up for awhile to go, but I want to go and have a complete Star Wars experience. From what I understand, some things are not open yet like the immersive Star Wars hotel.

And frankly going to a Star Wars themed park that is meant to be a canon part of the world, but being forced to wear jeans/shorts/t-shirts because of a stupid no dress up policy really kills the immersion for me. Even when they sell jedi robes at the park. Let me go and actually live in the Star Wars universe, and I'd attend the park.

 

[DrScruffleton]

It's so crowded no one goes there.

Click to shrink...

I was at galaxys edge in disneyland last friday and it was surprisingly empty. 25 minute wait for smugglers run. No line for ronto wraps(one of the best disney foods imo). Walked over to DCA a few hours later and radiator springs racers had a 175 minute wait.

 

[HStallion]

Need to open up Jabba's strip club to really bring them in.

 

[SunKing]

There was a Disney theme park podcast I watched that went over this and they pointed out these key points:

It's a variety of things - not just people "not caring about Star Wars anymore" (which frankly isn't true as the parks in general are having lower attendance numbers). Signs seem to be pointing towards a potential recession 6-8 months away (theme parks in general usually feel the effect first as an early warning sign); Disney in general just being too. fucking. expensive. these days with all the price hikes within the last couple of years; Galaxy's Edge crowd fears; only 1 of the 2 rides opened so diehards are putting off their trips until the land is fully complete. And in Orlando, diehards are also putting off trips until the 50th anniversary in 2021 (that's when a variety of attractions under construction around the resort will also be ready).

 

[Z-Beat]

It's a number of reasons

1. They hyped it up as expecting massive crowds, so no one wanted to show up and spend a ton of money on vacation to get stuck in a mob of people
2. They blocked out annual passes lower than the $1000 Signature pass, so none of the locals showed up either
3. There's only one functioning ride right now, so once you've done that you're pretty much done if you don't want to spend money on stuff

Basically lack of content and fear of crowds caused it to take a hit. It's beautifully designed but there isn't much to do, just stuff to look at. Lack of interest in Star Wars is the least of it. I'm sure more people care about Star Wars than Cars yet Radiator Springs still gets a decent amount of traffic (no pun intended)

 

[Septimus Prime]

I did Cars Land when it opened and it fucking sucked. They hyped Star Wars up to be their most crowed shit ever. No fucking shit everyone stayed the fuck away.

Click to shrink...

For real. There were freaking six hour waits for Radiator Springs, which is good ride but not six hour wait good.

So when it was that, except Star Wars, the seemingly reasonable expectation was that the smarter play was to wait a few years before going. Seems like too many people felt the same.

 

[Ryan.]

You think heat played any part in that? Like it being one of the hottest summers in forever probably made a difference in some way.

Click to shrink...

That could have played a part for why the entire park was quietly for some time. Throw in the block outs and the idea that after people saw the Pandora launch at WDW, locals, which DL relies a lot more on than WDW, probably just didn't want to fight it.

 

[Deleted member 8257]

I was at Galaxy's Edge last week! It was a 40 minute wait to do Smuggler's Run. I will say though, it is totally worth the wait if you go in with 5 other people that you know. There's two pilots, two gunners and two engineers. I was the pilot, my wife was the Gunner, my two small kids were pilot and Gunner each lol. They didn't know what they were doing, so I had to pilot both sideways and vertical. Two random people were support engineers. Anyway, the experience was amazing. It would have been even better if we went in with friends instead of kiddos and random people.

I would love to do it again with a group of friends. Also the place itself is very cool. The Millennium Falcon replica is just mind-blowing with attention to detail.

It's probably failing because people don't know what to expect. You can't be forced to buddy up with random people as a crew and coordinate a crazy ass flight with shooting and what not. I don't even know what Engineers did. They should change the thing to a two person crew, and set a requirement for kids to be above 48" height. I dunno what else.

 

[Deleted member 42055]

Unless you're a huge huuuge fan to the point where the atmosphere alone is enough it's really is just a one ride land+ shops to spend money. That other ride needs to open ASAP

 

[Doctoglethorpe]

Nobody talks about the fact they opened the parks without they marquee ride being finished. The opening fiasco stopped me from initially going but that's what's continuing to keep from it, cause at this point I may as well wait.

 

[BWoog]

Do you have to pay extra to go there?

 

[Z-Beat]

You think heat played any part in that? Like it being one of the hottest summers in forever probably made a difference in some way.

Click to shrink...

Rarely ever stopped people before. Annual passholders account for a massive amount of Disneyland traffic, and all but the most expensive ones were barred from going there until around late last month. And you're probably gonna avoid vacationing there if you expect the park to hit capacity all summer.

Do you have to pay extra to go there?

Click to shrink...

Nope. It's a section of the park like any other. There's a free reservation system in place in case the land hits capacity but that hasn't been used since the first day the land was fully open to the public

 

[El Bombastico]

I wonder how this bodes for that Star Wars hotel opening in DisneyWorld. Isn't like $3000+ a night or some crazy shit like that?

 

[BringBackSonics]

Everyone was afraid of the crowds (so out of state folks stayed away) + black out days for Disney pass folks and the Rise I'd the Resistance ride not even open yet and this makes a ridiculous amount of sense.

We will go when both rides are open.

 

[Finaika]

No one really cares about Star Wars anymore

Click to shrink...

Marvel keeps winning.

 

[Z-Beat]

I wonder how this bodes for that Star Wars hotel opening in DisneyWorld. Isn't like $3000+ a night or some crazy shit like that?

Click to shrink...

Disney World might bode better. There's far more to do than just Star Wars and Star Wars fatigue has little to nothing to do with this land's attendance problems. They overprepared.

 

[Z-Beat]

Marvel keeps winning.

Click to shrink...

Marvel land opens next year in California Adventure so I suppose we'll find out :P

 

[AcademicSaucer]

No one really cares about Star Wars anymore

Click to shrink...

millions of people will buy anything that has the star wars brand on it, they are still not enough for Disney tho

 

[Ryan.]

Also a couple of more things to note:

- There's 2 of these that opened at different times. Why would I, for example, who lives closer to the east coast, go to Disneyland on the west coast to go to Galaxy's Edge when I can just wait a few months to go to the one at WDW on the east coast?

- Assuming I am unable to go on a regular basis, which for me is true, why would I travel to either of them when it's not 100% complete and missing it's "e-ticket" attraction in Rise of the Resistance?


I personally think even though it's similar to Smuggler's Run they should have moved Star Tours in both parks closer to or in Galaxy's Edge to add to it. There's room to grow and add but at launch there should have been 3 open attractions at no extra cost to guests.

 

[Z-Beat]

Also a couple of more things to note:

- There's 2 of these that opened at different times. Why would I, for example, who lives closer to the east coast, go to Disneyland on the west coast to go to Galaxy's Edge when I can just wait a few months to go the one tab WDW on the east coast?

- Assuming I am unable to go on a regular basis, which for me is true, why would I travel to either of them when it's not 100% complete and missing it's "e-ticket" attraction in Rise of the Resistance?


I personally think even though it's similar to Smuggler's Run they should have moved Star Tours in both parks closer to or in Galaxy's Edge to add to it. There's room to grow and add but at launch there should have been 3 open attractions at no extra cost to guests.

Click to shrink...

Moving Star Tours would've been costly and unnecessary. It's not like it's close. It's on the other end of the park.

 

[Mr. Genuine]

Maybe there is such a thing as too much Star Wars.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

I was actually willing to deal with the crowds to be there opening week but as soon as the reservation and time limit thing came up I backed out.
Ended up moving to Florida later this summer and my anticipation changed to "i'll see it when I see it, i'll be there a few times in the next year anyway"

 

[Z-Beat]

And frankly going to a Star Wars themed park that is meant to be a canon part of the world, but being forced to wear jeans/shorts/t-shirts because of a stupid no dress up policy really kills the immersion for me. Even when they sell jedi robes at the park. Let me go and actually live in the Star Wars universe, and I'd attend the park.

Click to shrink...

It's not a separate park. It's a land, like Tomorrowland or Fantasyland or New Orleans Square. It's just in character.

 

[Deleted member 6949]

Damn little round cokes used to excite people.

 

[Supercrap]

That's cool I'm still thinking about getting flex passes for the family next year. If it's still slow that's even better for me

 

[Jceaz]

how much does it cost to go?

 

[Z-Beat]

That's cool I'm still thinking about getting flex passes for the family next year. If it's still slow that's even better for me

Click to shrink...

They seem like a really good deal tbh. I know a lot of people who have been switching to them when their passes expire.

 

[UltraMagnus]

I hate to say it but I don't think you can pull off a "Star Wars Land" in the budget Disney gave this thing.

If I go to "Star Wars Land" I want to go to like Hoth, Tatooine, Endor, Coruscant ... instead you get to go to ... some generic "vaguely Star Wars planet not in any movie" with Flintstones like buildings ... eh. What's the big appeal here. I wanna walk around a Death Star or at least a Star Destroyer.

Millenium Falcon ride is OK, but I want Battle of Endor space battle with hundreds/thousands of ships.

And the other ride isn't is even functional. Why should I spend big dollars to go to Disneyland for this attraction when 1/2 of the attraction isn't even working.

I can see why it's not tearing it up. Can you even speed bike chase or pod race at least? It just feels like you can't really do much there it's just a souped up Star Tours which was always kind cheesy anyway.

 

[BubbaKrumpz]

I just got back from Disney and it was fucking amazing. God did I spend so much on blue milk.
I spent half the day at galaxys edge using the dumb app scanning and hacking stuff. Hearing the xwing and a wing make some sound effects after messing with the app brought a huge smile to my face. I wish I would've known about ogas cantina being reservations only as that was the only thing I missed. Going back in January prepared for it this time.

 

[Supercrap]

They seem like a really good deal tbh. I know a lot of people who have been switching to them when their passes expire.

Click to shrink...

As a California resident its pretty good. Even as someone from northern California, 3 weekend trips easily makes up the cost + the food n merch discounts are nice.

With the reserve only days you just have to make plans 30 days in advance which doesn't seem very hard to do

 

[Ryan.]

how much does it cost to go?

Click to shrink...

Whatever a day pass to Disneyland/Disney World is. So roughly a little over $100 which gives you access to the entire park (In Disney World's case that's all of Hollywood Studios which is still a good deal after the additions they've made).

 

[Deleted member 16365]

I'm not going to burn vacation days and dollars to stand in lines for one ride. If I'm going on a star wars vacation I'm going to do the thing where you're basically living on a ship for 3 days.

 

[Wubby]

I'll always remember working at California Adventure on its opening day in 2001. They expected massive crowds and it was pretty empty that day lol.

 

[Elderly Parrot]

Why launch the area without the marquee attraction, millennium falcon is just a simulator with some guided inputs. Avatar is still packed because it has one of the best rides ever

 

[RagnarokX]

The most obvious thing is why would most people go when the land is only half open? The main ride is openning in December. People aren't going to shell out big bucks to experience a preview a few months early.

 

[FTF]

This has not been a good day for Star Wars news.

Click to shrink...

Wait what else happened :/

 

[Joeytj]

There was a Disney theme park podcast I watched that went over this and they pointed out these key points:

It's a variety of things - not just people "not caring about Star Wars anymore" (which frankly isn't true as the parks in general are having lower attendance numbers). Signs seem to be pointing towards a potential recession 6-8 months away (theme parks in general usually feel the effect first as an early warning sign); Disney in general just being too. fucking. expensive. these days with all the price hikes within the last couple of years; Galaxy's Edge crowd fears; only 1 of the 2 rides opened so diehards are putting off their trips until the land is fully complete. And in Orlando, diehards are also putting off trips until the 50th anniversary in 2021 (that's when a variety of attractions under construction around the resort will also be ready).

Click to shrink...

That's me and my friends and family. We can't afford to go twice in less than a year and I really want to go next year for Rise of the Resistance, so I have to wait.

But I'm dying to go! Other friends and even people I barely know have told me it's great.

On another point, my cousin is a die-hard Disney fan, and goes to Disneyland frequently, and she also mentioned how the park in general was less crowded than usual, not really just Galaxy's Edge. In fact, she says Galaxy's Edge was the most crowded that day.