I don't have a problem with a trackless ride system in SW Land, in fact I'm sorta looking forward to it. It'll be a mostly new experience for guests at WDW, and that's the goal for me. How many different ride systems are there? Not that many, and there aren't too many of this type at WDW. I'm just glad that we won't get another "clam shell on a track." That would be the cop-out for me. Indeed my only disappointment in New Fantasyland is the Little Mermaid ride, for that very reason (although I acknowledge that the clamshells are the best for little kids). People heap praise on USO, but all of those rides over there are the same: a "scoop" car and YUGE screens. After the second ride you start to catch on to the pattern; by the third one you're looking for something new. So here's my point: I don't need another roller coaster. I don't need another clamshell. A trackless ride sounds great for SW Land. If that gives them the ability to tweak it easily, GREAT. Maybe when I go back to ride it for the 58th time years from now it'll be a little different.
That's a good thing. All of this is why Star Tours
DOES work: it's a different ride from what is the norm at WDW, and it is easy to tweak. I very much enjoy the changes they are bringing to Star Tours regularly now. It had gotten very stale before The Force Awakens.
As a Star Wars fan, my only problem with the plans as I understand them now is I'm not going to be able to walk into the "wretched hive of scum and villainy" that is Mos Eisley and it's Cantina. ALL the other "places" in the SW universe don't have the same draw to me. ...and they certainly don't have the draw that Hogwarts Castle or Diagon Alley have. That's because Star Wars is different than Harry Potter. In the HP series, the locations (especially the castle) are as much a star of show as the characters are - because of the novels. When building a "Harry Potter Land,"
you HAVE to build Hogwarts. Star Wars isn't driven by locations, but characters. Darth Vader is one of the best villains in cinematic history. Disney acknowledges that by bringing him back to us next weekend. Now put yourself in TWDC's shoes: what location, other than Mos Eisley, is iconic to Star Wars that will work as a theme park destination?? ...
I don't think there really is one. THIS is the reason why we are seeing a nondescript location in the Galaxy Far Far Away. The fact that it will give The Mouse the ability to tweak it periodically is icing on that cake.
I trust Disney on this one. They know that they have the perfect counter to USO's Harry Potter, and they know that they have to deliver with Star Wars. I can't wait to walk around in it.