Credit: DisneyWatch out Boba Fett, there’s a new bounty hunter in town.
The Mandalorian Season 3 premiered on Disney+ yesterday, in a wildly anticipated release. In a surprising and exciting move, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World decided to promote the new season with a new character in Hollywood Studios. Guests were thrilled to see the Mandalorian himself and baby Grogu walking the streets in Batuu. The character has been seen at Disneyland for some time but has not been at Walt Disney World due to conflicting timelines between Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Disney tries to maintain character integrity and settings and listed the different timelines as the reason why they hadn’t previously allowed the beloved bounty hunter to be seen in Hollywood Studios. While an exciting time for Guests and fans of the show, the popularity of the Mandalorian and his small companion caused several issues for other Guests and Cast Members in the Park yesterday.
The characters in Batuu are considered “roaming” characters, which means they are part of the environment and the atmosphere and are there to help make the world believable. Unlike the princesses in the Magic Kingdom, which are in one spot in order to specifically meet with guests, Rey, Chewbacca, and now the Mandalorian, along with Kylo Ren and the stormtroopers on occasion, the Star Wars characters are not there to specifically interact with every Guest waiting for them. Due to this, there is no line and no set place to meet with the Mandalorian.
@pure.pixiedust
In a video posted to Tiktok, @pure.pixiedust discussed the chaos of yesterday. In order to try and catch a glimpse of the character, crowds quickly gathered throughout the streets of Batuu, blocking exits and entrances to establishments and Cast Member areas, and blocking the pathways for the other Guests. Many people tried to get photos of or with the Mandalorian and Grogu, and many took to the internet to complain about being disappointed when he did not interact with them.
Comments on the video were critical of the guests, with several comments sharing a similar sentiment. As @steff1309 said,
This is why we can’t have nice things at WDW
People were excited until the crowds ruined it, like @akiraa4143 states,
I was really excited to see him but seeing people wait right at the cast member entrance was really disrespectful
Crowds at Disney World are considerably bigger than they are at Disneyland, due to the nature of the Guests that come to the Park. Walt Disney World caters more to tourists and international Guests, while Disneyland brings in more locals and smaller crowds. Because of this difference, most of the character interactions at Walt Disney World are stationary in order to best allow everyone to meet with the characters.
Without Disney explaining that Mando is a roaming character, it leads to a lot of confusion for Guests who don’t know the difference. This causes crowd build-up and even disrespect of the characters and their attendants. If you plan on visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge anytime soon, please keep in mind that you may not get an interaction with Mando or Grogu.