News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[nickys]

The price point (lower than I expected) indicates to me that you are basically paying for unique all-inclusive accommodations plus a half-day in SWGE and a few other unique/brief activities. Pretty similar to a family of four living it up for 3 days/2 nights at WDW…
$2000 for two nights at a better WDW club level rooms
$600 for two signature dinners
$200 for two breakfasts/lunches
$800 for two park days
$400 for a dessert party
= $4000

If you’re staying Club Level and spending that much on food, you’re wasting the benefits of Club Level. Just saying.

 

[nickys]

The video by the team that made this is worth watching. Seems that you also MIGHT get to be part of a "video game" that fires laser cannons at attackers, from the bridge.

I’m guessing that’s what part of what the bridge training will involve……. and will no doubt partly determine the story arc. I mean, if I’m going on the bridge and can’t shoot down something I’ll be mightily miffed. That was in the concept art right from the start.

 

[skypilot2922]

Oh, I absolutely have.

Here in Florida, Disney has an interesting "professional" relationship with many of them.

I'm friends with a few and am loosely acquainted with more.

Why do you think I made the joke about offering alternative premium experiences for spouses and significant others including such things as divorce attorney consultations a while back?

I immediately sent texts out when the news broke and the responses back were incredibly mixed. A few said they knew friends that had been saving since the original announcements without even knowing the cost so they could jump on it. A lot of them that aren't single can't get their SO to sign off on that kind of an expense for a one-time experience that nobody else in their family cares about* and a lot of them were not impressed by what was being offered but I'm sure some only take that stance because they know they can't afford it.

They've all done GE and I've made the mistake more than once of asking what they've thought of it (there is some weridness around Smuggler's Run I don't fully understand) so there is also some skepticism.

There are some that just aren't interested in this kind of LARP experience - they go to the celebrations. They have the costumes or they build stuff (or both) but aren't clamoring for this type of thing.

One said a whole bunch would be more interested if it were set during the original trilogy - same complaint many have regarding GE.

Of course, my social net and conversations are purely anecdotal. Perhaps your experience with others you know has been different.

I'm sure a good number of 501 will do this at least once (I have no idea what offical worldwide member numbers look like) but a whole bunch won't for a variety of reasons and despite how much that group is into this sort of thing it doesn't represent an endless supply of customers so after those who want to and can, do it, a lot about it would need to be dynamic for them to be repeat customers.

EDITED TO ADD:
These are people who complained about Last Flight to Endor being a shameless money-grab but then all paid to go anyway. Still, that wasn't a couple grand per person...

*There area few that seem to successfully on-board their kids but most who have kids seem to eventually make them hate it as much as their wives and girlfriends unless they're fully-vested in the 'lifestyle' along with them.

Good point, My wife and her bestie go to the celebrations as well usually scoring VIP passes but hey its fun for them, I can see your point about alternative premium experiences thing tho is they need to be for everyone because you are or you are not interested in Star Wars.

 

[HoustonHorn]

Role playing with a group is more fun than role playing on your own. And if you were a couple and one opts out to the lounge for a cocktails or two, where’s the fun for the other?

Why Nicky, I'm all in my vapors you saucy minx!

 

[runnsally]

If you’re staying Club Level and spending that much on food, you’re wasting the benefits of Club Level. Just saying.

Totally agree. The point I was making is that there is a clear precedent and market at WDW for this level of pricing - $5000/d VIP tour, etc.

 

[danlb_2000]

Some interesting questions about logistics here. Exactly how many will stay at the starcruiser and how will Disney handle them?

There are 100 cabins and suites that sleep 4 to 8. With a traditional hotel room, I assume an average of 3 people per room. (Some rooms will be full but others will have only 1 or 2.) For the starcruiser, there's a strong financial incentive to fill up the room to reduce per person cost. Let's assume an average occupancy of 4 per room.

100 rooms X 4 per room X 365 days = 146,000 Guests per year

It makes sense to break this up so that half of the hotel's occupants are checked in every day, rather than having everyone check-in and check-out on the same day. This means:

50 rooms X 4 per room = 200 Guest arrivals per day

Check-in seems to be between 1 PM to 4 PM. My guess is that most will show up soon after 1 PM in order to maximize the experience. This means having to valet park and collect luggage for about 50 cars in less than 1 hour. For this price, Disney better be staffed to accommodate each arrival within 5 minutes. So perhaps 10 bellhops? (Presumably these Cast Members have other rolls once all Guests have arrived.) Perhaps there will be Cast Members outside providing some sort of entertainment (i.e. distraction) until all arriving Guests have been processed?

On the second day, the sample itinerary lists "Transport Shuttle to Bantuu" from 8:15 to 8:25 AM. If we assume the goal is to get Guests into Disney's Hollywood Studios by 8:30 AM (i.e. 30 minutes before a 9:00 AM opening for Early Theme Park Entry), and breakfast ends no later than 8:00 AM, this means that Disney has about 30-45 minutes to transport 200 Guests, perhaps starting as early at 7:45 AM.

The shuttles themselves look fairly small. I count only 16 seats. Are there more? Are some Guests expected to stand? Are these shuttles going to handle 20 Guests? 40 Guests? It would seem they will have multiple shuttles running in order to transport all 200 Guests by 8:30 AM.

Meanwhile, for those on their 3rd (i.e. checkout) day, they appear to have a later breakfast (8:30 to 9:30 AM) with checkout by 10:00 AM.

So now it's 10:00 AM and all the Guests have left. Disney then has until 1:00 PM to prepare 50 rooms for that day's arrivals.

All this seems doable although I do wonder how they will handle the shuttle.

You need to cut your guests per year in half, since it's a two day stay.

 

[Magicart87]

Some interesting questions about logistics here. Exactly how many will stay at the starcruiser and how will Disney handle them?

There are 100 cabins and suites that sleep 4 to 8. With a traditional hotel room, I assume an average of 3 people per room. (Some rooms will be full but others will have only 1 or 2.) For the starcruiser, there's a strong financial incentive to fill up the room to reduce per person cost. Let's assume an average occupancy of 4 per room.

100 rooms X 4 per room X 365 days = 146,000 Guests per year

It makes sense to break this up so that half of the hotel's occupants are checked in every day, rather than having everyone check-in and check-out on the same day. This means:

50 rooms X 4 per room = 200 Guest arrivals per day

Check-in seems to be between 1 PM to 4 PM. My guess is that most will show up soon after 1 PM in order to maximize the experience. This means having to valet park and collect luggage for about 50 cars in less than 1 hour. For this price, Disney better be staffed to accommodate each arrival within 5 minutes. So perhaps 10 bellhops? (Presumably these Cast Members have other rolls once all Guests have arrived.) Perhaps there will be Cast Members outside providing some sort of entertainment (i.e. distraction) until all arriving Guests have been processed?

On the second day, the sample itinerary lists "Transport Shuttle to Bantuu" from 8:15 to 8:25 AM. If we assume the goal is to get Guests into Disney's Hollywood Studios by 8:30 AM (i.e. 30 minutes before a 9:00 AM opening for Early Theme Park Entry), and breakfast ends no later than 8:00 AM, this means that Disney has about 30-45 minutes to transport 200 Guests, perhaps starting as early at 7:45 AM.

The shuttles themselves look fairly small. I count only 16 seats. Are there more? Are some Guests expected to stand? Are these shuttles going to handle 20 Guests? 40 Guests? It would seem they will have multiple shuttles running in order to transport all 200 Guests by 8:30 AM.

Meanwhile, for those on their 3rd (i.e. checkout) day, they appear to have a later breakfast (8:30 to 9:30 AM) with checkout by 10:00 AM.

So now it's 10:00 AM and all the Guests have left. Disney then has until 1:00 PM to prepare 50 rooms for that day's arrivals.

All this seems doable although I do wonder how they will handle the shuttle.

Of the 100 cabins, we'll assume that only 98 are operational.
Average Guests per room, let's call that 2.75
up to 200 Guests per day* but probably closer to 185, higher on weekend...
and 1.7 days stay per guests per year* with roughly 180 operational days rounded down.

 

[danlb_2000]

Some interesting questions about logistics here. Exactly how many will stay at the starcruiser and how will Disney handle them?

There are 100 cabins and suites that sleep 4 to 8. With a traditional hotel room, I assume an average of 3 people per room. (Some rooms will be full but others will have only 1 or 2.) For the starcruiser, there's a strong financial incentive to fill up the room to reduce per person cost. Let's assume an average occupancy of 4 per room.

100 rooms X 4 per room X 365 days = 146,000 Guests per year

It makes sense to break this up so that half of the hotel's occupants are checked in every day, rather than having everyone check-in and check-out on the same day. This means:

50 rooms X 4 per room = 200 Guest arrivals per day

Check-in seems to be between 1 PM to 4 PM. My guess is that most will show up soon after 1 PM in order to maximize the experience. This means having to valet park and collect luggage for about 50 cars in less than 1 hour. For this price, Disney better be staffed to accommodate each arrival within 5 minutes. So perhaps 10 bellhops? (Presumably these Cast Members have other rolls once all Guests have arrived.) Perhaps there will be Cast Members outside providing some sort of entertainment (i.e. distraction) until all arriving Guests have been processed?

On the second day, the sample itinerary lists "Transport Shuttle to Bantuu" from 8:15 to 8:25 AM. If we assume the goal is to get Guests into Disney's Hollywood Studios by 8:30 AM (i.e. 30 minutes before a 9:00 AM opening for Early Theme Park Entry), and breakfast ends no later than 8:00 AM, this means that Disney has about 30-45 minutes to transport 200 Guests, perhaps starting as early at 7:45 AM.

The shuttles themselves look fairly small. I count only 16 seats. Are there more? Are some Guests expected to stand? Are these shuttles going to handle 20 Guests? 40 Guests? It would seem they will have multiple shuttles running in order to transport all 200 Guests by 8:30 AM.

Meanwhile, for those on their 3rd (i.e. checkout) day, they appear to have a later breakfast (8:30 to 9:30 AM) with checkout by 10:00 AM.

So now it's 10:00 AM and all the Guests have left. Disney then has until 1:00 PM to prepare 50 rooms for that day's arrivals.

All this seems doable although I do wonder how they will handle the shuttle.

I imagine they will run at least 2 transports, but there is a piratical limit to how many they can run since there is only one loading dock at each end. It's possible they aren't trying to get everyone there before opening, so that could give them an hour to move everyone which would be more doable.

 

[EeyoreFan#24]

I imagine they will run at least 2 transports, but there is a piratical limit to how many they can run since there is only one loading dock at each end. It's possible they aren't trying to get everyone there before opening, so that could give them an hour to move everyone which would be more doable.

I think they have to have at least 2 for redundancy. If one breaks, it may be slower, but better than using the ancient artifact eseries van that was resurrected from hondo’s scrap pile.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I imagine they will run at least 2 transports, but there is a piratical limit to how many they can run since there is only one loading dock at each end. It's possible they aren't trying to get everyone there before opening, so that could give them an hour to move everyone which would be more doable.

I wonder about this. If (for example) Guests arrive at DHS at 8 AM for an 8:30 AM opening, are they going to be expected to stand around for 30 minutes? Are they going to let them into Galaxy's Edge early? (Seems expensive since all Galaxy's Edge positions have would have to be manned by Cast Members.) Perhaps there will be some form of entertainment until the park opens at 8:30 AM? Perhaps the Star Wars equivalent of Streetmosphere?

For these prices, Disney (hopefully) will have extra Cast Members playing parts to keep the entertainment going.

 

[danlb_2000]

You are correct, the number of individuals for this 2-day experience per year is:

146,000 / 2 = 73,000

I'm thinking in terms of hotel occupancy, in other words, the number of Guests occupying the Galactic Starcruiser every night (i.e. 100 rooms X 4 Guests per room). For comparison, when we look at WDW annual theme park attendance, we say "50 million Guests" but that's not the same as 50 million individuals.

Maybe I have it wrong though.

If we are talking about how many people are needed to keep the hotel operating successfully then it really doesn't matter if they are new or returning.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Why do I get the feeling Disney took movie ticket sales over the past 20 years, added in 501st and celebration observations from years past, and figured they’d also probably get a lot of other affluent people in their estimations of how many people would do this over 10 years? I don’t see this being a thing long-term like they think it will be.

 

[danlb_2000]

I think they have to have at least 2 for redundancy. If one breaks, it may be slower, but better than using the ancient artifact eseries van that was resurrected from hondo’s scrap pile.

It may be wishful thinking, but I would hope they would always have one spare beyond what is needed for normal operation.

I wonder about this. If (for example) Guests arrive at DHS at 8 AM for an 8:30 AM opening, are they going to be expected to stand around for 30 minutes? Are they going to let them into Galaxy's Edge early? (Seems expensive since all Galaxy's Edge positions have would have to be manned by Cast Members.) Perhaps there will be some form of entertainment until the park opens at 8:30 AM? Perhaps the Star Wars equivalent of Streetmosphere?

For these prices, Disney (hopefully) will have extra Cast Members playing parts to keep the entertainment going.

I can't imagine they would transport people to GE and not let people into the land immediately. You wouldn't need the land to be fully operational at the point. Dining wouldn't need to be open, and the rides wouldn't need to be operating yet.

 

[The_Jobu]

I think it's too small for that. I'm not sure it would even be worth operating at standard prices because of all the extra overhead.

Plus, with the rooms being the way they are (and the lack of any other amenities like the constantly bemoaned swimming pool) I'm not sure how many people would be willing to pay for it without the whole attached experience.

Yes, good point. Although I still imagine they'll find ways to "streamline" the experience after the first few years. That's just SOP for current Disney.

 

[Magicart87]

If we are talking about how many people are needed to keep the hotel operating successfully then it really doesn't matter if they are new or returning.

What metric are you using to determine this? How can we know?

 

[danlb_2000]

What metric are you using to determine this?

I am not trying to determine it, that is up to Disney management. I am sure they have a number of guests they need to maintain the hotel's profitability.

 

[dennis-in-ct]

This appears to be a 44hr COS play, which if that is your thing, have at it.

But then again, I feel the $700/night Poly price point is ridiculous as well.

I see this is an immersive inactive theater experience. A Broadway show (3 hours total) is about 140. A ticket. That’s 44.00 an hour multiplied by 44 hours come to 2053.00 per person so I guess the pricing structure is correct.

and 700 a night for a hotel room? Yeah - no way.

 

[Magicart87]

I am not trying to determine it, that is up to Disney management. I am sure they have a number of guests they need to maintain the hotel's profitability.

One would hope. Just curious.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It makes sense to break this up so that half of the hotel's occupants are checked in every day, rather than having everyone check-in and check-out on the same day. This means:

It is highly unlikely that guests will be checking in daily. You can't run a day two schedule with a surprise appearance by you-know-who without spoiling it for day one attendees. It would be like having half of the attendees of a murder-mystery dinner show up at dessert and then having them loop around to apps and entrees... they'll know who-did-it.

They're giving themselves four hours for the arrival of a hundred groups. That seems very manageable. If the 'shuttle' to the Halcyon is a five minute ride, that's 48 trips during the check-in period. Three boarding groups per trip easily takes care of arrivals.

And just like resort MDE check-in, you probably will have automated check-in on your 'data pad.'

 

[nickys]

It makes sense to break this up so that half of the hotel's occupants are checked in every day, rather than having everyone check-in and check-out on the same day. This means:

No it doesn’t. The logistics of that would be a nightmare.

This is a two day stay, everyone checks in and out on the same day. Then they turn over the rooms and welcome the next set of guests. Personally I’m not sure they can do that 4 hours, but I guess you might not get to your room until after 4pm, giving them a bit longer.