Galactic Starcruiser: DLR Opinions

[TP2000]

This is what I mean when I say Disney insults my wallet.

This doesn’t look like something I’d want to eat in after paying thousands of dollars for two nights.

Agreed. This is literally a long windowless room with low ceilings. Now they did try and snazz it up a bit with some decor and ceiling fixtures, but those big chandeliers are static. They don't revolve or change or move, they just sit there. The whole room just sits there, and it's the main dining facility for your entire two night stay.

The surfaces are basic and hard. The floor is dark grey linoleum. There are no table linens, no exotic alien flower arrangements as centerpieces, no sparkly jewelry on the tables. There's almost no details whatsoever besides the blue and purple lighting.

At night for the dinner service, with the "dinner show" featuring the singer Gaya after dinner, they do dim the lights and try and make it look more dramatic than it was for breakfast and luncheon.

But there's only so much you can do with a church basement, and you can only dim the lights so much before you just make it too dark. This is about as good as it gets for lighting...

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Two nights is something like 6 grand!? That Money could be used for a PC, VR headset, Xbox series x, ps5, and a 4k oled TV.

Or a nice down payment on a new car.

Or multiple vacations in prettier places.

But hey.. a hotel without any windows is pretty cool too I guess.

 

[Practical Pig]

The Crown of Corellia Dining Room. The Crown. This is where they really missed the mark the most. This space is where they could really have sold their promise of a luxury cruise experience, and instead it looks like the budget buffet at the seediest casino on the outskirts of Canto Bight. Blue sky armchair-ing it, imagine instead a dining room presented as a being under a clear dome with full hemispheric views into space, giving the Galactic Starcruiser a truly impressive galactic view.

That domed electronic display would be financially impractical I suppose, but even a projection mapped ceiling environment would provide a vast canvas for immersing the guest deeper into the fantasy sci-fi world.

I'm glad the initial "cruise" has countered recent fan projections and produced an apparently satisfied response, but this isn't for me.

 

[mickEblu]

The Crown of Corellia Dining Room. The Crown. This is where they really missed the mark the most. This space is where they could really have sold their promise of a luxury cruise experience, and instead it looks like the budget buffet at the seediest casino on Canto Bight. Blue sky armchair-ing it, imagine instead a dining room presented as a being under a clear dome with full hemispheric views into space, giving the Galactic Starcruiser a truly impressive galactic view.

That domed electronic display would be financially impractical I suppose, but even a projection mapped ceiling environment would provide a vast canvas for immersing the guest deeper into the fantasy sci-fi world.

I'm glad the initial "cruise" has countered recent fan projections and produced an apparently satisfied response, but this isn't for me.

Surely some grand dining room was cut by Bobby Paycheck at some point right?

 

[Practical Pig]

Surely some grand dining room was cut by Bobby Paycheck at some point right?

I'd love to see the imagineers blue-sky sketches and the process that ultimately led to Cheap-Cuts buffet.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Are there really no windows? And no pool?

I’ve stated this before in another thread, but my ONE MONTH trip to Italy and Germany cost me less than a two-night stay at Starcruiser. I spent $5,000 for everything, including flights, lodging around Italy and Germany (five different Airbnbs), transportation tickets, and the money I actually spent while on my trip (for food, groceries, souvenirs, etc.). So a two-night stay for $6,000 in any hotel, let alone Starcruiser, will never make financial sense in my mind.

This encouraged me to look into pricing for actual cruises. I’ve never been on a cruise before, but now I’m considering taking one. I found a 7-day cruise from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera for a discounted price for about $750, regular price I think $1,200. Either way, it still comes out cheaper.

This experience just isn’t for me.

 

[mickEblu]

I'd love to see the imagineers blue-sky sketches and the process that ultimately led to Cheap-Cuts buffet.

O
Same here. Id Love to be a fly on the wall when the decision to make the lunch cafeteria the dining room was officially made. I imagine they think people will be so busy instagramming the food that they won’t care about the setting.

I guess they think these people love roleplaying and Disney and Star Wars so much they won’t care about what or where they eat? I mean the food looks decent and other worldly but the setting is unforgivable and a rip off for what you re paying.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Are there really no windows? And no pool?

I’ve stated this before in another thread, but my ONE MONTH trip to Italy and Germany cost me less than a two-night stay at Starcruiser. I spent $5,000 for everything, including flights, lodging around Italy and Germany (five different Airbnbs), transportation tickets, and the money I actually spent while on my trip (for food, groceries, souvenirs, etc.). So a two-night stay for $6,000 in any hotel, let alone Starcruiser, will never make financial sense in my mind.

This encouraged me to look into pricing for actual cruises. I’ve never been on a cruise before, but now I’m considering taking one. I found a 7-day cruise from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera for a discounted price for about $750, regular price I think $1,200. Either way, it still comes out cheaper.

This experience just isn’t for me.

Cruise tip, when comparing cruises look at whats included in the price and what’s not, some of the better “more expensive” cruise lines are actually cheaper than the discount lines because they include more and don’t nickel and dime you to death.

As for the star cruiser I’d love to do it, I can’t justify it though, for the same price I could go to Tokyo Disney, which has been on my bucket list forever.

 

[Practical Pig]

Are there really no windows? And no pool?

There are simulated widows = screens. But you wont's find a lick of natural sunlight anywhere onboard. There is no pool, and they could certainly, if not cheaply enough, have created a very special pool space interpreting how that would manifest on a Luxury Starliner famous through the galaxy. But I don't think guest pool time was a factor that fit well into their rather silly storytelling.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Cruise tip, when comparing cruises look at whats included in the price and what’s not, some of the better “more expensive” cruise lines are actually cheaper than the discount lines because they include more and don’t nickel and dime you to death.

As for the star cruiser I’d love to do it, I can’t justify it though, for the same price I could go to Tokyo Disney, which has been on my bucket list forever.

Reminds me of cheap airlines. The flights are cheap, but have fun paying for literally everything else.

 

[Californian Elitist]

There are simulated widows = screens. But you wont's find a lick of natural sunlight anywhere onboard. There is no pool, and they could certainly, if not cheaply enough, have created a very special pool space interpreting how that would manifest on a Luxury Starliner famous through the galaxy. But I don't think guest pool time was a factor that fit well into their rather silly storytelling.

What they should have done was given guests options for both either a window or a screen. If I had designed the hotel, all rooms would have come with windows. To access the screen, just press a button and it pops up. If you don’t want the screen, press another button and you’ve got your window back.

I’ve never heard of a hotel, or even a motel, not having a pool. There’s a first for everything, though.

 

[No Name]

The videos I watched of the four-hour media preview just couldn’t give a good feel of how an actual two-night stay would be. I watched TheTimTracker’s video in full, and at the end he even says something similar. Disney clearly wanted to show off as many cool activities as possible in four hours, and I get why, and it was nice to see all of that, but it also felt hectic and jumbled. I’m really curious how the story comes together over the full two days, how much the story extends into smaller things and conversations and character interactions and whatnot, how far different choices can cause things to branch off, how the Batuu stuff contributes, etc. Lots more I’m excited to see, on video. At the end of Tim’s videos he says “and now it’s time to pay the price” for some reason, and ironically that’s my biggest hold up, I won’t be paying the price because it’s too damn high.

But the idea of a story-driven hotel is pretty cool, and I hope this isn’t the last of it. A Marvel one here at DL, a Harry Potter one at Universal, etc.

 

[Centauri Space Station]

What they should have done was given guests options for both either a window or a screen. If I had designed the hotel, all rooms would have come with windows. To access the screen, just press a button and it pops up. If you don’t want the screen, press another button and you’ve got your window back.

I’ve never heard of a hotel, or even a motel, not having a pool. There’s a first for everything, though.

From what I’ve seen the hotel seems nice if you’re into cosplay but it’s not something I would be into. They did a better job than I expected after the initial promos, so I don’t think it will be a financial flop. But still I would rather go on a real cruise or travel Internationally. They have one room with natural lighting.

It’s actually pretty common not having pools in city hotels like in NYC or Milan.

 

[Practical Pig]

They have one room with natural lighting.

Ah, thanks for that. I hadn't seen that before. It will be useful for guests who discover latent claustrophobia.

 

[Sailor310]

I don't see any handholds on the ceiling of the dining room for when the artificial gravity fails.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

If I had the $$$$ and this was the same experience for one of my primary fandoms, i think it would be a lot of fun. I remember how cool Quark's Bar and the whole Star Trek Experience was in Vegas:

That's a bigger fandom for me than Star Wars, so if someone said here's the money to go spend two nights living aboard a Federation starship, I'd be in nerd heaven, no matter how cheesy it would seem to others. And yes, even if it was set on the USS Discovery instead of the USS Enterprise to go with the equivalent of modern vs. classic parts of the universes we love.

I'd enjoy both the setting and the character experiences. But it's that latter that makes me love Avengers Campus when I see all the characters interacting. My most recent visit, I had a blast watching Loki sneaking around past Thor and Black Widow and Captain America all atop the Avengers HQ as he was trying to cause mischief. And then I could talk to both Loki and the heroes when they came back down for their meets and discuss what happened up there and what they planned to do next time it happens. I've been chastised by Captain Marvel and Black Widow for cheering on Loki's bad behavior or had Thor say "When you see my brother next, tell him I'm keeping an eye on him" which then prompts a conversation with Loki about Thor, and so forth. That is "living my story" and it's that kind of thing that makes me love the place. So if there was a resort experience with something similar for Marvel, I'm sure I'd enjoy it, but I already get to step inside the Marvel universe every time I go to the Campus. Though I will note that it takes hanging out in the Campus for a while to get that experience whereas most people are just passing through - but wouldn't you say that's the same thing with the Starcruiser vs. Galaxy's Edge? Some people want to just see it and others want to live in it.

With that said, if I could afford a trip to stay at the Marvel-decorated hotel at Disneyland Paris, I would do that in a heartbeat - the suites there look absolutely gorgeous and there's so much amazing artwork around. It feels both luxurious and nerdy simultaneously and from all the pics I've seen, I love it - with no other immersion required!

So I hope the people who can afford the Starcruiser enjoy it and have fun. Kinda like how I enjoy hanging out at Avengers Campus with all the characters, while others might not appreciate it the way I do. Different strokes for different fandoms. And if it's not for you, that's okay, too. Enjoy your fandom while I enjoy mine and they enjoy theirs.

 

[D.Silentu]

I'm a fan of the growing interactive theatre trend on display at the Galactic Starcruiser. In the past I've attended all but one year of Delusion: The Haunted Play and long ago The Purge: Fear The Night. A person has to be in the right mindset to really enjoy such events and I have seen many people react poorly. However, the so called 'super fans' may not have this issue. What's interesting to me is that the common factors in the experiences I have attended are that they are fast paced and fear based. Obviously, in contrast, the Starcruiser lasts two days and I don't see any element in it that is intimidating. Scaring people, which puts them off balance, gives them the subconscious notion that anything is possible; beneficial when trying to get a participant to buy into an environment or scenario. I'm not sure what Disney's substitute for that effect is here or there may be none at all.

I agree with those who finds the set decoration at the hotel to be somewhat wanting. It's fine really, but not everything I envisioned a starship looks like. I'm reminded of the casino scene in one of the newer Star Wars movies. It looked just like a jazz age casino. I would have imagined that it would be an art director's dream come true to design a casino that could only exist in Star Wars, rather than something so derivative. The Starcruiser is the same way, reminding me too often of the world that I'm supposed to be vacationing from.

Some of the on board activities seem to be fun, but they are oddly balanced out with things like line dancing and bingo. Not exactly a once in a lifetime experience, or very sci-fi either. I don't mind that the more fantasy tailored activities are relatively simple. You'd want to make people feel like they're an expert on something intuitively. However, as far as I can tell no matter how many activities you get around to or what side you choose, the story climaxes with guests as spectators. I thought this was supposed to be the place to live out your Star Wars dreams.

If the hotel was living up to the innovative promises that it made leading up to today, I admit that I would start saving to see the next step in interactive theater. It sounds like most people are agreed that the asking price is just too steep to cover what they have to offer; I concur. I'm a little saddened too that this will serve as many people's introduction to interactive theatre. There are others out there, John Braver notably, who are trying to hone this medium and introducing experiences that are far more unique than what you'll find at Disney's version. There is a future in this kind of entertainment, but the Galactic Starcruiser is a baby step rather than the promised giant leap.

 

[brb1006]

I’d rather go on an actual cruise.

Does the Disney Cruise Line count? It actually has some decent entertainment offerings depending on the ship and season. As of this post, the newest ship (Disney Wish) is planned to finally set sail sometime this Sumner with two new ships currently in the works.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Does the Disney Cruise Line count? It actually has some decent entertainment offerings depending on the ship and season. As of this post, the newest ship (Disney Wish) is planned to finally set sail sometime this Sumner with two new ships currently in the works.

That definitely counts. However, I wouldn’t consider going on a Disney Cruise. Something about living amongst a bunch of Disney fans, likely ones with strange addictions to the brand, on a boat for multiple days just doesn’t sit well with me. I’d prefer to sail with another company.

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

I'm a big SW fan I really have little interest in it.