Category: Star Wars

Did Disney+ Start a War With Content Creators?

On By Brent AbellIn Brent's Crossroads, content creators, disney, Disney Adult, disney+, Disneyland, Star Wars, Travel, Travel Blogger, Travel VloggerLeave a comment

A couple of days ago, I noticed something very interesting on Disney+. While watching Bluey with the grandkids, I noticed that Disney+ had added a POV video for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. The information screen stated that the video was part of celebrating Disneyland’s 70th anniversary. This POV video got me thinking about whether Disney has finally decided to get a piece of the POV pie that Disney content creators feast on through YouTube channels and other social accounts. Was the video a one-off?

This morning, I found it is not a one-off.

This morning, I saw a second Disneyland 70th video, this time for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Now, it appeared to me this isn’t going to stop soon. The POV videos produced by content creators generate significant revenue, attract subscribers, and garner large numbers of views for those creators. My YouTube channel features numerous POV videos from Disney attractions. The channel I’ve built focuses on Disney, travel, and cruising, so POV videos are a large portion of my content. Because of my content focus, I viewed Disney+ as firing the first shot in a brewing conflict.

The Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance POV Disney produced is clean and can be filmed when the ride is closed. Because the ride was closed, it didn’t have the crowds who often are loud, get their heads in the videos, and featured much more professional equipment to film the ride through. I admit that the Disney+ POV is wonderfully shot, and it’s nice not to have anyone in the production other than the cast members.

These two POV videos are branded Disneyland 70th, but will Disney stop there? How many other rides in Disneyland are getting this same treatment for the 70th? If this remains localized to the Disneyland 70th anniversary, it isn’t what it appears to be. However, if it expands to Walt Disney World or the international parks, it can be seen as a direct response to the growing market on YouTube for Disney content. I stated above how large the Disney creator community is, and Disney may have finally decided it wanted a piece of the pie. Will their videos expand beyond Disney+? We shall see.

I have a great interest in seeing how this plays out. It doesn’t appear that many other people are noticing this, and I will be keeping a close eye on developments or new POV videos on Disney+. How this grows will go a long way in determining the future of Disney content creation. Be sure to subscribe here or on any of my other social media accounts to stay informed about what’s happening in Disney, cruise, and travel.

Thanks for stopping by the Crossroads, and I’ll see you on the road,

Brent

It’s About to Get Crazy- Star Wars, Disney, and Japan

On By Brent AbellIn Brent's Crossroads, cruise, Cruising, disney, Disney Adult, Disneyland, Japan, Star Wars, Star Wars Celebration, Tokyo, Tokyo Disneyland, Travel, Travel Blogger, Travel Vlogger, Traveling Writer, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Welcome to the Crossroads! I’ve said recently that there are many roads one can take here at the Crossroads. I am a horror fan and writer, Disney Adult, Universal Studios guy, traveler, cruise enthusiast, and Star Wars nerd. All of these different roads converge at a central point, and that central location is what I refer to as Brent’s Crossroads. At various times, each of these passions of mine meet here as I travel around the world. I will share my thoughts, ideas, and experiences with everyone in a no BS manner. Everything I post is my honest opinion and not influenced by any outside forces. If I tell you I liked something I did. Likewise, if I say something wasn’t great, I didn’t think it was great. I wanted to say this because things are growing, and I want everyone to know where I stand at the Crossroads.

So, what’s going on? I haven’t posted here as much as I wanted recently, but that is about to change. I will be embarking on a trip soon to Tokyo, Japan, and there will be plenty of new content related to the trip. Tokyo Disneyland will have multiple posts. The park is an entirely different entity from how US parks or those in Paris operate. There will be information about the differences and tips on how to navigate the Tokyo Disney experience. I will also cover my other travels in Japan, including the food and snacks, as well as Star Wars Celebration Japan.

During the trip, I will be posting short videos and pictures on the Crossroads Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube channel, and Facebook pages. Once I return, the full YouTube videos will be released, and the posts here will chronicle the tips, tricks, and experiences I had in Japan. If you haven’t followed the Crossroads on our other social media platforms, please do! You’re support goes a long way in helping keep the lights on here on the Crossroads and allows the whole venture to grow. In the coming weeks, I will be showcasing the new logo and releasing some branded merch to help support the various sites and YouTube channel.

That is what is happening, my friends. I have a lot of irons in the fire, but the desire and love I have for creating and for my hobbies drive me to continue. Trying to grow the Brent’s Crossroads project is exhausting, but I’ve loved every minute of it. Thank you for being here and for your support. It means a lot to this guy; you have no idea how much it does.

On that note, I have miles to go before I sleep and camera equipment to prep for the trip. Let’s take a ride together, shall we?

I’ll meet you all out at the Crossroads,

Brent

Disney Rides We’ve Loved and Lost Pt.2

On By Brent AbellIn Alien Encounter, Brent's Crossroads, disney, Disney Adult, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Lilo and Stitch, Magic Kingdom, Star Wars, Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, Stitch's Great Escape, Tomorrowland, Travel, Traveling Writer, Walt Disney WorldLeave a comment

Greetings from the crossroads, my friends! I started down a rabbit hole that I didn’t intend to start down. My last article discussed rides I loved at Walt Disney World when I first visited as a kid. Well, I started thinking about everything I’ve enjoyed over the years that has been closed and was either revamped or destroyed. The list grew larger than one article could do justice to.

So, here we are in a growing series that we’ll touch on for a few weeks.

I see you looking at the picture of me on the Galactic Starcruiser. I know you’re reminding me it wasn’t a ride but an immersive experience. I believe the experience puts it in the same categories as a ride. I also wanted to take a step out of the Magic Kingdom. Don’t worry; we’ll get back to it soon enough.

The Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser was a two-day immersive experience hotel running in conjunction with Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The hotel puts you in the action and intrigue of a voyage set during the New Republic era. This disappointed many fans because it focused on the First Order era, not the classic Empire era. I believe fans would’ve wanted the prequel era over the sequel one, but we’ll never know. The very steep price included your two nights at the hotel, food, the actors, and passes to go to Galaxy’s Edge to ride Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run in the morning of your only full day at the hotel. The price was most likely the other colossal factor hastening the Halcyon’s demise.

The Galactic Starcruiser experience was terrific, but it closed before it had a chance to take off. The price and era worked against it, but Disney could’ve tried to alter the experience to lower the price or change the timeframe it took place. Once a guest went on the voyage, there wasn’t a real sense of needing to repeat the trip. Yes, some did take repeat voyages, but it was cost-prohibitive to go multiple times. Shutting down briefly to refresh the story could’ve gone a long way to saving the Halcyon. Instead of a cool hotel set in the Star Wars Universe, we now have a plain gray block building that doesn’t serve much purpose. Will Disney reopen the hotel as something else? Only time will tell.

Still with me? We’re running back to the Magic Kingdom for a ride that’s closed twice. One ride that stood out was the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter ride in Tomorrowland, which was inspired by the movie Alien. The ride put guests in a room where an alien was held in a containment unit in the center of the room. Horrifically, the alien breaks free, and the experience becomes a 4D attraction in the darkness. You feel the alien running along your chairback, hear it breathing down your neck, and get drenched in blood when the creature rips a company employee to pieces. The water sprayed on guests during that part of the show gave me a jolt of love for the twisted. Alien Encounter was dark, adult, and scary. It got many negative complaints and reviews due to the nature of the attraction being in Disney World. Plans to add it in Disneyland, Paris, and Tokyo were scrapped after the reviews became negative. Because the ride was so terrifying, it didn’t last. The ride ran from 1995 until closing in 2003.

But wait, the ride didn’t die…yet.

When Alien Encounter’s closing was announced, Disney also announced it would be replaced by a new attraction featuring Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. The latest version used the same show sets and effects but added some gross stuff, like Stitch belching behind you and releasing a foul stench instead of the alien breathing on your neck. This version would last longer, running from 2004 through 2018. The building now remains closed, and nothing has replaced Stitch’s Great Escape. You can say this ride counts as two-for-one in the dead attraction department.

Well, fellow travelers and Disney adults, I must pause our discussion for now and work on the new book some more. Don’t worry; we can meet back here at the crossroads again soon to talk about how much we’ve lost at Epcot and especially MGM…I mean, Hollywood Studios.

Until next, we meet my friends; I’ll see you out at the crossroads,

Brent