3. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is now a must-visit park again
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has always struggled compared to Walt Disney World’s other gates. The park opened with an over-emphasis on the studio component that ultimately failed, and despite new attractions and developments, it has always been viewed as something of a half-day park by most guests. While the openings of both Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge have helped this image, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has finally added something to Disney’s Hollywood Studios that makes the park a worthwhile draw for guests on the fence.
It’s a big change for the most must-see attraction at Walt Disney World to be in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, not Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Not only will this ensure the success of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and encourage the company to keep investing in the park, it will also help balance guest levels at the other gates. The ride will undoubtedly act as a huge draw for Disneyland as well, mitigating the low attendance issues they ran into during the first Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is especially significant for Disney’s Hollywood Studios as it gives demographics usually loyal to Universal Orlando Resort a reason to visit Walt Disney World. Teens, thrill-seekers, and fans of edgier content generally have preferred Universal as a brand, particularly thanks to Islands of Adventure and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. While Disney still can’t hold a candle to Universal in the area of coasters and thrills, Star Wars holds strong appeal with this fan base. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance does a good job scratching the itch for an ultra-immersive thrill ride at Disney parks, even if its thrills aren’t quite on the scare level Universal aims for. As someone who works with teens, I can say with confidence they are buzzing with interest for this new ride, a draw that will definitely benefit Disney.
4. The backstory behind Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge finally makes sense
While casual guests may not care much about the backstories behind attractions, context of story is actually a pretty big deal when it comes to building a truly immersive land. If you want guests to feel emotionally connected to a place to the point it feels real, you need more than just nostalgia—you need a story with both stakes and depth.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has had this, to a point, but it required guests to really pay attention to discern why this particular day somewhere between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker is important. While Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has a number of tie-in comics and novels where guests can really dive into the lore behind Batuu, the average guest should be able to piece together the important parts via observation. Just from standing around in the outpost and playing the Datapad app, we learn that Rey and the Resistance have been taking refuge in a secret Resistance base on Batuu. By the time we reach The Black Spire Outpost, the First Order has also arrived, searching for Rey and her friends—particularly for Leia’s top spy, Vi Moradi. Chewie has worked out some sort of shady deal with the enigmatic pirate, Hondo Ohnaka, allowing Hondo to use the Falcon for his perfectly-legitimate shipping business in exchange for help acquiring some coaxium for the Resistance. Kylo Ren shows up and joins the search, which kicks things into high gear… but then what? Why should guests care? Why is the Resistance even still on Batuu if the First Order has a presence there?
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance fills in the missing pieces of the story. This isn’t just an average day for everyone in the Black Spire Outpost: it’s the last day the Resistance can remain there. We arrive at the outpost on the exact day Rey and her friends have run out of time because of Kylo Ren’s arrival. Suddenly, the cat and mouse games taking place between stormtroopers and the Resistance heroes throughout the day make sense. Even Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run gains some context: the time has come for Hondo to fulfill his part of the bargain, and you’re the crew he picks to get the coaxium the Resistance needs to escape. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance starts the moment the Resistance succeeds in a covert mission to infiltrate a star destroyer and makes the call to get their people off-world… but it just wouldn’t be Star Wars if something didn’t go wrong. You are part of the recruit team that is captured, and your boarding party becomes a key focus for Kylo Ren in his pursuit of Rey.
Do you need to know all of that to enjoy Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? No. However, good world-building relies on depth to make a designed world feel real and engaging, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance definitely makes the land feel far richer while raising the stakes.
Comments
Does Rise of the Resistance "Fix" Galaxy's Edge? NO IT DOESN'T! There is still too much dead space in Galaxy’s Edge, Its still lacking the overall kinetic energy that was promised from the beginning! Roaming aliens, Roaming Droids, a 3rd attraction etc. Galaxy’s Edge still feels incomplete and I sincerely hope that Disney can address these issues sooner rather than later.