The question of whether it would have been better for her to go “off-universe” for IT help seems rational, but at that price point I would probably find myself FOMOing about losing time in the experience. I’m thinking here about moviegoers who only complain about a presentation issue after the movie is over (and after…

I loved the tidbit in there about how you can almost always spot a paid Disney influencer shill because Disney makes them awkwardly use the exact names for all the attractions and park. It’s not “Star Wars Land” at “Disney World”, it’s “Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge” at “Walt Disney World Resort in Florida”.

Sounds like you overpaid for a vacation.  But I do see your point.

I think the dumbest part of the project is that all they had to do was make it a VIP Galaxy’s Edge experience and transition the bulk of gamified and story elements into the park. It’s not like the hotel had a lot of “window” screens that made the illusion they were travelling in deep space all that convincing. They…

I could’ve sworn it showed up in the background of Mandalorian or Ashsoka. Then again, you’ve seen one Purrgil-class star cruise you’ve seen them all.

Watch the video. She’s not the only one who had the experience of being assigned to a faction that had nothing to do with her interactions.

I’ve only been to DW once (1987, I was nine) but I’ve been to DL countless times, since I live in Los Angeles. I decided I was too cool for DL when I was in high school, but then relented in my college years; I had a Disney superfan friend who went all the time, so she convinced me to get an AP, and we would ditch…

I mean, the thing is, the theme parks are a pretty fun time! I live in Florida and grew up going to them. I enjoyed them as kids, and I enjoy them (mostly) as an adult.

So, to what use did they put this building now that the hotel concept died?  Staff breakroom?  Storage facility? Office space?  

Yeah, rug-pulling features you claimed would be included and putting them behind a paywall, that’s fucking awful. At this point I can’t see myself ever going to a Disney property again.

1. Too expensive. Even McDonald’s is considering re-doing some version of a value meal because things are just too much. If they were cars, Galactic Starcruiser would be a Maserati - cool and expensive, but most people aren’t getting them. Maserati stays in business by selling top-end cars to certain clientele, but…

It’s certainly nothing new to have add-ons, but the idea of charging for every little thing and taking features that were advertised as being part of the ticketed experience and removing them to an entirely separate experience/facility to this extreme level is new.

The thing is, the “Spiritization” as you put it is not a new concept or phenomenon. Spending more money once you got to the park was already in place before Michael Eisner showed up, and then he made it worse during his tenure; Iger didn’t dial it back, exactly, but at least he didn’t cut corners quite as aggressively…

Nicholson: My sister doesn’t like you.

It was weird watching (in a youtube clip) the Rey actress uncover the holocron and act sheepishly amazed and saying ‘its a holocron. yeah, a holocron’ to a bunch of confused kids and some parents looking on

The video is well worth it and held my fascination throughout. The 4+-hour length really makes you feel like you’ve slogged through this overpriced, half-baked “immersive experience” as well.

What gets me most of all is that this story was an official canon part of the ongoing Star Wars story, and kind of an important one. Did you think that holocron in Rise of Skywalker was weirdly out of nowhere? Well, that’s because you were too cheap to spend $5,000 on a two day vacation to find out how Rey got her…

As a LARPer who goes to two-day events that cost $100 at most,  this whole thing has been a pretty delightful experience to watch from afar. Some of my richer friends did go, but were super annoyed that yes, the game did randomly assign them to factions. If there’s anything a LARPer hates, it’s being railroaded. Oh,…

I’m at about hour 3 of this video since I can only take Jenny in small doses. But it’s a very thorough analysis of what made this hotel fail.

At the end of the day it cost thousands of dollars for a themed stay but you’re just in a windowless building (minus the atrium). The interactivity and attention to detail were…

I balked at the four hour run time but I watched the video throughout the day on Sunday as I cleaned my house, and it really is worth sticking it out til the end.