News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to permanently close this fall

[Hawkeye_2018]

I assume they considered temporally closing and revamping the experience but ultimately decided they didn't want to dump anymore money into this, which speaks to how bad this thing failed

 

[ChrisFL]

That was Iger.

Was it entirely Iger? I heard Kathleen Kennedy was pushing for this also.

 

[JAN J]

You can still visit this similar themed hotel in France

Indeed... Thanks for sharing!

 

[JenniferS]

If they lowered the price, they would have to cut back on the experience which would make it less appealing.

Personally, I’m not interested in the “experience”.
I’m too old/square/uninitiated for the full cosplay experience, but I would love to stay in a SW-themed hotel.

Add a pool, give it a SW shape (Deathstar?), something simple like the bowling pin at Pop; include a table service restaurant (character buffet would work); and let me go to the parks. I would pay moderate to deluxe prices for a few nights.

A SW-themed hotel with a pool would have a much broader appeal than an exorbitantly expensive niche cosplay experience … for many of us regular income, casual Star Wars fans anyway.

 

[ChrisFL]

I assume they considered temporally closing and revamping the experience but ultimately decided they didn't want to dump anymore money into this, which speaks to how bad this thing failed

That's what surprised me, not that the current iteration is ending but that many people expected they would just do a more "standard" hotel experience eventually

 

[FettFan]

That was Iger.

Kathleen Kennedy actually.

There was an interview with Dan Cockerell, where the original plan was to build SWGE where Indy and the Backlot Express are now, and incorporate Star Tours into the area.

Then Kennedy decided it that would be for old people and wouldn’t bring in the “youth demographic”.

bonehead move

 

[Mark Dunne]

It has become increasingly more evident that the decision makers for the theme parks have no idea what they're doing. The good thing is, they're willing to shutter things quickly in some cases.

Your so right, it’s so disappointing, they quibble on pay for cast members, but spend millions on a useless building, pretending to go to space, OMG Walt would be tearing into this lot , there all useless , Mr Igor has to hold his hand up , he’s to blame for a lot of the chaos that’s happening now, DP losing subscribers hand over fist, Star Wars land that needs changing in the next 5 years . Yes it’s brilliantly designed, just the timeline no one cares about . Frozen 3 on the way, TS 5 , o dear , I love WDW, but I’m worried for the future, I really am .

 

[SingleRider]

So much for “unprecedented demand”.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Was it entirely Iger? I heard Kathleen Kennedy was pushing for this also.

I was always under the impression that Iger was to blame for locking Galaxy’s Edge and in turn Starcruiser into the Sequel trilogy.

 

[Mark Dunne]

Kathleen Kennedy actually.

There was an interview with Dan Cockerell, where the original plan was to build SWGE where Indy and the Backlot Express are now, and incorporate Star Tours into the area.

Then Kennedy decided it that would be for old people and wouldn’t bring in the “youth demographic”.

bonehead move

That woman hasn’t a clue how to deal with SW, I wish Lucas could buy I back , and I never thought I’d say that after the prequels

 

[LittleBuford]

Of all the boondoggles in Disney history - and there certainly have been more than a few - nothing has been such a spectacular, utterly confounding, dumpster fire of an abject failure as this was.

How in the H-E-you-know-what they screwed this up will a tale told for generations...what should have been the most in-demand boutique hotel on the planet, and they barely could keep it open for a year.

Funny thing is, even with the cheap, generic sets that looked out of "Random 90's Sci-fi show", or the lack of things to do besides chasing things with your phone and playing card games, they still could have done so much better if they had just gone with Darth Vader instead of Kylo Ren...hopefully, just as all other areas of Star Wars merchandising, products, etc. have done, they finally realize once and for all that the people that have this kind of money to spend on Star Wars don't spend their money on Sequel Trilogy anything.

As a number of us said from the beginning, this was a product that was really only aimed at people who spend too much money at WDW and want social media cred for doing the biggest, latest, most expensive thing - and apparently they ran out of those people more quickly than any of us even expected.

As others have noted, the price point seems to have more to do with the hotel's failure than the experience itself, which has received very positive reviews from those who've actually stayed there. I know some want to make this about the Sequel Trilogy, but the lesson here boils down to something much simpler than that: affordability.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That was Iger.

Because of what he always was…and egotistical non-creative

Built a land around a reboot that was going nowhere and a prequel “trilogy” that zero fans wanted and was dead before the opening title rolled.

That…is hubris

 

[Jrb1979]

Harmonious, Enchantment, Starcruiser.

Yikes! Those are three expensively big misses.

Add in the Lake Nona thing. It keeps snowballing and it's one thing after another. What is going on?

 

[Serpico Jones]

This is a pretty embarrassing failure. Maybe one of the biggest in the company’s history?

 

[tanc]

The last voyage is just going to be a bunch of dis vloggers

 

[pdude81]

As others have noted, the price point seems to have more to do with the hotel's failure than the experience itself, which has received very positive reviews from those who've actually stayed there. I know some want to make this about the Sequel Trilogy, but the lesson here boils down to something much simpler than that: affordability.

They also have announced a number of layoffs that are coming, and this thing cost a lot of money to run relative to what they will be getting back with the discounts. So I think they are better off shuttering this for a period of time and potentially using the space for something else if it makes sense down the road. Perhaps a new offering or experience to hit in the summer of 25 that wouldn't be as labor intensive.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

This is a pretty embarrassing failure. Maybe one of the biggest in the company’s history?

…that list is getting crowded these last five years

 

[Ghost93]

Is there a possibility the Galatic Starcruiser could be connected to Galaxy's Edge as some type of expansion?

 

[Serpico Jones]

Add in the Lake Nona thing. It keeps snowballing and it's one thing after another. What is going on?

Streaming. That’s what’s going on. They’re getting killed with streaming.

 

[Mike S]

The biggest takeaway from this is that Disney shouldn’t be targeting the Uber rich. There’s more “prestigious” places they would rather spend their money.

They should’ve taken this money and used it to add capacity at their 3 under built parks. But what do I know? I’ve only visited almost every year I’ve been alive.

Imagine if the money for this was used on Imagination instead.