Rope Drop: Let's do a Star Wars time warp
As the "rope drop" starts a day at theme parks, the Sunday "Rope Drop" post kicks off the week here at Theme Park Insider. Here is what lies ahead for fans at the parks this week.
Jungle Cruise has reopened at Disneyland, as has Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney California Adventure. Looking ahead, Silly Symphony Swings closes at DCA on April 27, with no reopening date yet. The next day, on April 28, Tom Sawyer Island closes at Disneyland for a short refurb, returning May 8.
Also on April 28, Hyperspace Mountain is set to return at Disneyland, replacing Space Mountain with its Star Wars overlay. But the big Star Wars happening at Disneyland comes Wednesday, April 29, when the time shift happens in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
Starting that day, the current First Order camp heads back to the time of the original trilogy. That sets the stage for Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo to start greeting guests in the Black Spire Outpost. The sequel trilogy characters will he hanging out over near what is now the Resistance Camp on Batuu.
One week from today, on May 3, Canada's Wonderland reopens for the season, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom after its long rebuild. It's also Bats Day at Disneyland on May 3, so come to the park in your darkest best.
Happy birthday this week to Kings Island, which turns 54 on April 29. Disney's Hollywood Studios celebrates its 37th birthday on May 1. And Dollywood hits the big 4-0 in a week, with its 40th anniversary coming one week from today, on May 3.
Refurbishment schedule
February 23: Conservation Station and the Wildlife Express Train closed at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Reopens as Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station on May 26.
February 27: Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind closed at Disney California Adventure. No reopening date yet.
April 13: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters closed at Disneyland. No reopening date yet.
April 27: Silly Symphony Swings closes at Disney California Adventure. No reopening date yet.
April 28 - May 7: Tom Sawyer Island closes at Disneyland.
May 1: Disneyland Monorail and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin reopen at Disneyland.
May 3: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens at Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom.
May 3: Mine-Cart Madness closes for the day at Epic Universe.
May 4: Pirates of the Caribbean closes at Disneyland. No reopening date yet.
May 4 - May 22: Viking Training Camp closes at Universal Epic Universe.
May 10: Impressions de France and Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along reopen at EPCOT.
May 14: Soarin’ Around the World closes at EPCOT. Soarin’ Across America opens May 26.
May 15: Pteranodon Flyers reopens at Universal Islands of Adventure.
May 26: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
May 26 - June 9: Me Ship, The Olive closes at Islands of Adventure.
June 1 - 16: Men in Black Alien Attack closes at Universal Studios Florida.
November 20: Jurassic Park River Adventure reopens at Islands of Adventure.
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Replies (8)
I really don't know how guests are going to react to these new face characters in Galaxy's Edge. I have no doubt that Vader will go over well, and obviously both Chewie and the Mandalorian are popular, but glorified cos-players as Han, Luke, and Leia might not be the surefire hit it seems. Are these characters just going to roam around to take pictures or stand in a spot to take "face scans", or will they be acting out scenes and interacting with guests immersed a storyline like prior characters did across the land?
To me, if these characters are just standing for photos, it would be fine, but the park still needs to have walk around characters to drive the stories and atmosphere on Batuu. However, I don't think Disney is approaching the OG trilogy characters as adds to the land and instead are seeing these as replacements to Rey, Kylo, and Vi Moradi, which then takes the core attractions of the land out of the timeline. We're still going to see Rey, Beck, Finn, Kylo, and other sequel trilogy characters on RotR and Hondo is still featured on MFSR, so these OG characters should be presented as they appear in the recent movies, and not in their younger forms. They also need some reason to be on Batuu, and while Disney attempted to craft a Han/Leia story for the StarCruiser (had their honeymoon on the Halcyon), I haven't seen anything to present a connection between these characters and their presence on Batuu.
I'm willing to give some latitude here as long as the introduction of these characters leads to more interactions and vignettes that ups the entertainment in the land, which had quickly grown stale and off-putting.
Disney doesn't care anymore. Continuity generates less money than meet'n'greets, and that's all that matters right now. "Small ball" additions that are gonna take in money in the short-term but are gonna cannibalize the parks long-term.
If Disney really cared about continuity, this would come with a more intensive retheme of the MFSR side of Galaxy's edge and some updated back stories. But Disney doesn't care anymore.
I'm personally fine with this and applaud the change. the strict timeline for the immersive land is a constraint no guests were asking for, and was nearly as dumb as not having area music in the land. In Fantasyland we don't expect Mr Toad to be occuring at the same time period as Cinderella or Pinnochio. Heck, even Universal in one of their best themed Orlando lands has Jurassic Park and Jurassic World attractions coexisting. Let's not overthink this and just enjoy.
@AngryDuck - I don't have an issue either if these characters are just doing traditional meet and greets, but if they're going to be performing vignettes or playing out scenes within Galaxy's Edge like the sequel trilogy characters were doing, then I do have a problem if these OG characters are not being presented as their sequel trilogy versions. And yes, I do think if these are replacing the likes of Rey, Kylo, and Vi Moradi, the cannot simply strip those away and not have the new OG characters just stand around for posed pictures. These characters still need to have some purpose and reason to be in the land, just like other characters do when they meet at DL and DCA. At the very least, Disney should provide some backstory to have a rational explanation for Luke, Han, and Leia to be on the outer edge of the Galaxy even if it doesn't match up to the timeline.
I just want to see Vader and multiple Stormtroopers do the "Running Man" dance again. I forgot which film that was in, but the dancing & choreography was spot on. How do these Episode 4-6 cosplay characters fit into the sequel trilogy and this land's timeline? I'm confused.
Ahhhh, I know.... "Small ball"
If we're throwing out the timeline constraints, it's time for a Mon Mothma meet & greet alongside a Chandrilan wedding celebration.
No, what we really need is a Jedi Jar Jar meet & greet or a chance to hang with Jabba and Salacious Crumb.
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