News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to permanently close this fall

[dreday3]

Broader appeal to who? HM is a niche target. If the new movies underperforms or gets buried by TMNT (Releases the week after) why even bother?

They had the biggest movie franchise in history (STAR WARS) and still messed it up.

I don't think Haunted Mansion is a niche target to the fans who flock to the parks every year. That ride has staying power, people LOVE it. The movie has absolutely nothing to do with it's popularity.

We (just our opinion) would stay in a HM themed hotel even without any role-playing stuff. It would be just that fun. (If people want a pool, they can make it spoooooky). I do hope Disney would keep the price point more reasonable though.

 

[Tha Realest]

You know, I don’t have warm and fuzzies for the imminent future of WDI produced experiences and attractions given how much (and long) it costs to build clones, failures like this, and the very underwhelming builds like Home2Suites: A Disneyland Hotel and Marriott

 

[MaximumEd]

I don’t think it was a billion just on the project alone but the result of one billion in different projects over the years that found their way into the project. Story Engine, which powers the whole thing, was being developed over a decade ago. A decade of work is going to cost money. Large scale tests, including public tests at Disneyland, are going to cost money.

Thanks. That makes sense. Project development and all that goes into it isn’t my thing. I was struggling to figure out how a bunch of folks in a room coming up with storylines and blueprints could total 1 billion.

 

[Horizons '83]

They are tiny rooms with no windows, and also, there really aren’t enough rooms in the thing to make a hotel work at scale.

Ah... well then curious what plan (if any) there is for the structure.

 

[Bocabear]

I WOULD spend the money to stay in a Haunted Mansion or Hollywood Tower Hotel experience... and have the days at the parks like normal and some fun effects thrown in during the stay...an elaborate banquet one night (999 Happy Haunts Ball)...Plus an available completely crazy themed cocktail lounge open the entire stay..... That would be a winning combination in my mind... It is still a WDW vacation with some added fun and frights and a beautifully done, completely unique place to stay...But it would have to be designed the right way...start to finish...Immersive, luxe and theatrical... And they would not need to have a special shuttle transport, or special ride time on the Haunted mansion

 

[Lirael]

Problem is it lacks amenities of a regular hotel

Which ones? A pool? (Honest question and not sarcasm)

I feel like that wouldn't be too bog an issue. Just paste a small warning message somewhere during the pay process that it won't include things such as a pool etc. Then slap a "cheaper" than normal price during summer months to compensate for that. I guarantee people would forego certain amenities for the theming.

 

[FettFan]

I should think so, but an expert says Disney will just bolt the doors shut and let the building rot.

And then someone will break in and steal…I don’t know, was there anything in there to steal that was ever as iconic as Buzzy?

 

[monothingie]

I don't think Haunted Mansion is a niche target to the fans who flock to the parks every year. That ride has staying power, people LOVE it. The movie has absolutely nothing to do with it's popularity.

We (just our opinion) would stay in a HM themed hotel without any role-playing stuff. It would be just that fun. (If people want a pool, they can make it spoooooky)

Larping light?

Disney Deluxes rack rates are already 600-900 for "resort view" rooms and lack the amenities of comparable chain hotels. Would you do 1000+ a night?

It's unrealistic to think you'd get a highly themed hotel which would live up to expectations for anything that is even remotely accessible for even the super-fan/guest.

 

[larryz]

Yes it isn't remotely setup to be a standalone hotel. Could it be modified? Not sure, but it may well end up being demolished or abandoned for someone to do something with in the future.

SW:GE cast housing, perhaps?

 

[larryz]

It's going to be the East Coast home of WDI...


No, wait. That was cancelled too.

Well, the 200 people who actually moved could easily fit their offices into that facility.

 

[FigmentFan82]

It's always been, as long as we slap star wars on it, people will buy it no matter the cost or quality. The name is enough.

Star Wars, since it's explosion into pop culture with the original film(s) has and will continue to be a mega brand unto itself. People bemoan oversaturation and lack of quality, but whenever there is a lull in either films or TV, the Star Wars machine still keeps churning with books, comics, toys, games, and all the other forms of merch they create with some being high quality and others not so much. People thought after the prequels that that was the end for SW, then the produced The Clone Wars and Rebels to great success and reception. Then they botched the sequel trilogy and again everyone thought it was then end, yet now in the TV side they are slowly building to the rise of the First Order through the Mando-verse. Star Wars has always been "sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not." I think the closure of the SW hotel is a good sign of "we got it wrong, and we're willing to show that we know" The time barrier has already broken down in Batuu with Mando walk-arounds, I would expect them to embrace an overall SW land available to all the characters and less on a specific timeframe moving forward. With Star Wars, the name IS enough. Poor decisions won't dismantle something millions cherish and adore. Star Wars will survive.

 

[dreday3]

Larping light?

Disney Deluxes rack rates are already 600-900 for "resort view" rooms and lack the amenities of comparable chain hotels. Would you do 1000+ a night?

It's unrealistic to think you'd get a highly themed hotel which would live up to expectations for anything that is even remotely accessible for even the super-fan/guest.

You're starting a different discussion about how good a job they would do with it.

The question was would an HM themed appeal to a lot of guests or just a "niche market". I think it has mass appeal. More than Star Wars for Disney Parks fans.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Years ago Iger stated that they will be making "Better bets" on theme park additions tying them to IP. Their very loose understanding of themed entertainment is that it's a vehicle to further leverage existing brands.

The Galactic Starcruiser would never have been built if Star Wars wasn't attached. While a completely different type of experience, I imagine that if Night Kingdom had a viable IP attached to it, it would have also happened. This is the type of risk they are now willing to take. I like that they're still willing to take risks, but these types of risks make less sense when each of the four parks needs more rides. They stepped away from their core business in an effort to move up market and it didn't work. I applaud them for recognizing it so quickly.

Galactic Starcruiser didn't fail because of a lack of quality. It failed because the price point made it a non-starter for too many people.

 

[FettFan]

Mildly related, I feel very much this way about Disney California Adventure . . . You're telling me I just spent all that time and money to fly across the country to visit my favorite place, and you think I'm gonna take a hundred bucks that could otherwise get me another day at the best theme park in the country, if not the world, and choose instead to spend it on entry to the inconsistent, slapdash, erratic mess you built in the parking lot?

Generally people do have only so much vacation time, and every diversion comes at the expense of time and money that could have been spent at another. It feels like sometimes they forget their new projects have also to compete with the appeal of their older ones.

California Adventure:

 

[raymusiccity]

Disneyquest all over again

Disney Quest and NBA Experience were the early warning signs.

 

[LSLS]

Which ones? A pool? (Honest question and not sarcasm)

I feel like that wouldn't be too bog an issue. Just paste a small warning message somewhere during the pay process that it won't include things such as a pool etc. Then slap a "cheaper" than normal price during summer months to compensate for that. I guarantee people would forego certain amenities for the theming.

I don't know. Part of why you can get away with such small rooms on cruise ships is because there is so much to do, you just don't spend any time there. You have tons of places to dine for free, pools, games, activities, etc. You are talking cruise-size rooms without all the stuff to do. Sure, some people spend all their waking hours at the parks, but it seems like more and more people enjoy taking a break, either during each day, or at least part of their trips (keeping in mind that a couple of the parks you simply can't fill with all your awake time). Which is why I will forever say the biggest mistake was NOT making this like a cruise ship outside of the room size.

 

[Mike S]

I WOULD spend the money to stay in a Haunted Mansion or Hollywood Tower Hotel experience... and have the days at the parks like normal and some fun effects thrown in during the stay...an elaborate banquet one night (999 Happy Haunts Ball)...Plus an available completely crazy themed cocktail lounge open the entire stay..... That would be a winning combination in my mind... It is still a WDW vacation with some added fun and frights and a beautifully done, completely unique place to stay...But it would have to be designed the right way...start to finish...Immersive, luxe and theatrical... And they would not need to have a special shuttle transport, or special ride time on the Haunted mansion

For Tower of Terror you can go even simpler. Imagine a Space220 style “Tip Top Club” added to the side that takes you back in time to the Hollywood Tower Hotel’s heyday with in character cast and live Jazz.

No risk of a failed hotel.

 

[cranbiz]

Well, the 200 people who actually moved could easily fit their offices into that facility.

I hear the cafeteria has decent food but no atmosphere..

 

[danlb_2000]

I don't know. Part of why you can get away with such small rooms on cruise ships is because there is so much to do, you just don't spend any time there. You have tons of places to dine for free, pools, games, activities, etc. You are talking cruise-size rooms without all the stuff to do. Sure, some people spend all their waking hours at the parks, but it seems like more and more people enjoy taking a break, either during each day, or at least part of their trips (keeping in mind that a couple of the parks you simply can't fill with all your awake time). Which is why I will forever say the biggest mistake was NOT making this like a cruise ship outside of the room size.

This is a good point. Also, the hotel not only doesn't have a pool, it doesn't have any outdoors areas. There isn't a lot of land around the hotel to develop an outside area that is masked from the roads around it. They would also need to do something with the outside of the building since it doesn't look like anything now.

Another question is, would it be economical to operate such a small hotel.

 

[FigmentFan82]

I'm guessing they lock the doors and walk away