Sunday, June 16, 2019

The Future of Galaxy’s Edge!

It is interesting to see Galaxy’s Edge before it opens to the public on June 24th.  There is excitment on visiting Black Spire Outpost, but it doesn’t seem like what was described in the website, D23 Expo, and in the press.  First, there was supposed to be droids wandering around Black Spire Outpost.  I saw a vacuum cleaner-type droid wander around the entire floor of the Galaxy’s Edge pavilion at D23 Expo.  If there is difficulty in having the droids interact with guests, they can have overhead platforms for them to travel on, and beep down at guests.  

There is another point, you can hear ships pass overhead, but I didn’t notice conversations in the upper levels like in New Orleans Square.  Then, I remember aliens and didn’t see any outside of Chewbacca.  I would like to see a Rodian like Greedo, Abednedos like Ello Asty, especially at the Resistance Base, and of course Teek.  I want a Teek stuffie, a Teek toy that you can maybe wind-up and have run, and take a pic with Teek. If it is too difficult to have aliens walking around in the heat, have a random window open up, and an alien to peek out.  I would like to see Teek out in the edges of Galaxy’s Edge running past outcroppings.   

A droid next to a Rise of the Resistance screen?, D23 Expo, 2017, photo by the author.

So, this brings us to the Smugglers, they are the faction that doesn’t have a presence like the First Order and the Resistance, but are somehow central with Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run.  I think they need characters to wander around Black Spire Outpost and give hints to guests like, “I hear Hondo Ohnaka needs a crew” or “If you have damaged the Falcon, there might be a bounty on you.”  As mentioned before, I think there should be a store to sell clothing and other merchandise to directly tie into Smuggler’s Run.  

I can imagine graphics showing parts of a starship, toys of the Falcon and the Corona-class armed frigate (basically a flying saucer) like the Acushnet used by Hondo Ohnaka’s pirates.  As I mentioned before I would like to see “I flew the Millennium Falcon” t-shirts promoted by Hondo Ohnaka, gold dice replicas, vests, and even a Hondo Ohnaka action figure.  Galaxy’s Edge needs to be more interactivity like quests and missions.  I would like it if guests report in to the Smuggler’s area to be sent to the cantina which authorizes Hondo to get the cargo (I would like Maz Kanata to be a part of it), next go on Smuggler’s Run, and then they have to scan (take a pic) of their result to finish the mission.  Maybe to get a special Sabaac chip!   

Instruments on display at D23 Expo, 2017, photo by the author.

Speaking of bounties, I think there should be a fourth faction considering that The Mandalorian series will be coming to Disney Plus on November 12th.  I imagine a shooting gallery with blaster rifles like the Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition.  There can be animated figures and even animated graphics like probe droids that maybe can explode if you hit them right.  This can even be set in Classic Trilogy setting like Tatooine or even Hoth.  It seems like Galaxy’s Edge doesn’t sell guns and that’s fine, but you can have guests practice with fixed blasters in the shooting gallery.  The Bounty Hunter section can also include buying helmets, including replica helmets, armor, gauntlets, pins, and t-shirts showing The Mandalorian.  

You can get a mission from the Bounty Hunter section which is a bounty that you have to check at the cantina, and find your bounty at Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.  Lastly, Galaxy’s Edge lacks any kind of musical entertainment.  This is a hallmark of Star Wars with the Cantina Band, the Max Rebo Band, and Shag Kava, the band at Maz Kanata’s castle.  It seemed like there were instruments displayed at D23 Expo.  I think it would make sense somewhere at the Market or by the Millennium Falcon.  This can be an alien, audio-animatronic, or even a human singer, also there can be a band that is on a screen.  It can even be a holo-transmission of a performance.  I would like the band to play classic tunes, basically music from all of the other bands, also “Life Day” and “Nub Yub (Ewok Celebration Song)”!  It will be fascinating to see how Galaxy’s Edge will develop from this point.     


#GalaxysEdge, #Teek, #BountyHunter, #CantinaBand, #Disneyland

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