Learn What Was Cut From Galaxy's Edge
In yesterday’s article you learned that Galaxy’s Edge was originally meant to feature the Lucas era, but that was changed about a year into the development phase, when Bob Iger said Star Wars land needs to be about the new content. But this is not where the changes stopped. A lot of things were planned for Galaxy’s Edge that were cut as late as 2018, and once you find out what the cut content was about you have to wonder if removing the features was the right decision. So click through to learn what other features and attractions Galaxy’s Edge was supposed to have!
Mice Chat, a website dedicated to all things Disney theme parks, ran a story recently that details what features were removed from Galaxy’s Edge late in the process. No matter what you think of the park itself, I think it is fair to say that in terms of interactivity the park doesn’t offer all that much. Just one ride is operational at this time, Smuggler’s Run, the other ride will come early 2020.
A lot more was planned for Galaxy’s Edge originally.
-a third ride was planned, it was supposed to be a unique animal ride on an elevated track all around Galaxy’s Edge, but this ride was cut because of concerns over costs and capacity
– Galaxy’s Edge was meant to have a lot more (professional) actors, rooftop stunts, fights between the First Order and Jedi, Aliens in the back alleys, the entire park was meant to provide an immersive role play experience, and each and every actor would have already known if any guest was a Resistance sympathizer or with the First Order and talk to them accordingly
– Galaxy’s Edge was meant to have remote controlled droids roaming the streets, but it doesn’t stop there, it was also supposed to have remote controlled drones that double as space ships, to give the illusion that Batuu sees a lot of shuttle traffic
– the dinner theater restaurant (which was also supposed to have professional actors as hosts) was delayed for a “phase two”, and the Cantina Galaxy’s Edge has now was originally meant to be merely the lobby for the dinner theater
– both Oga’s Cantina and Savi’s Workshop were meant to have professional actors as hosts, those were also cut
– instead, Disney decided to use operational castmembers everywhere, who work for much less. Actors get paid more money, according to union rules, castmembers are much cheaper
– Rise of the Resistance also had some features cut. The exterior elements and architecture for the pre-show and queue were reduced to bring costs down. Also, according to Mice Chat, test runs for the ride have proven to be problematic, it seems that the ride frequently experiences issues and breakdowns, all of this may contribute to the delays
In the end almost all of the interactive and immersive elements were removed from Galaxy’s Edge, because it was deemed too expensive. Some of the elements were removed as late as 2018. Ultimately, Disney thought the name “Star Wars” would be draw enough (according to the Mice Chat article) and that the professional actors and expensive human drone controllers (each droid and drone would have had a human operator) would have cost too much money.
Now, the animal ride is gone for good, but the park still has the required infrastructure to add in the droids, drones and various other interactive elements. It remains to be seen if Disney will add more features to Galaxy’s Edge again in the future.
What would you have thought of a Galaxy’s Edge with droids roaming the alleys? With a lot more (professional) actors, portraying both humans and aliens, adding flair and atmosphere, a more immersive, roleplay like experience, with drones simulating shuttle traffic, a third ride and a theater restaurant (which will come in a few years)? Even without all these features Galaxy’s Edge was a very expensive expansion to Disneyland, daily operations would be much more expensive with all the interactive and roleplay elements. But then again, ticket prices were increased a lot this year and maybe it would have been nice to offer guests a bit more for their money.
It remains to be seen how Disney will react to the somewhat underwhelming attendance of their domestic theme parks this year.
Read the full story with more details on Mice Chat!
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