News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[Sirwalterraleigh]

At any rate, I think this will be an interesting... Experiment. Will they get customers? Sure. Will it sell out - especially on the long term? As mentioned, "depends on the price." If this does pan out for Disney, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this style of entertainment/lodging, specials events and other stuff pop up around it. Basically, if it makes money - MOAR!

Completely agree...they’ve been looking to crack the boutique/high cost market for 20 years. And they haven’t done it.

I think the main reason is under the hype and smoke, they’ve had a major parks “problem” in at least one spot for that entire period:

2000-10: DCA flop and rebuild
2000-present: euro debt crisis, Dsp Flop and build out, now consolidation
2002-2010: Hong Kong drag/lag
2005/2015 ballooned Shanghai budget/government problems
2005-2025(hopefully): wdw stagnation due to lack of investment and stiffer competition

I know an awful lot of people who are planning to book this hotel based on the presumed LARP concept, even at the very high guesstimated pricing. I think it will be booked solid for the first couple of years, but I honestly can't see it maintaining that for more than 2 years unless there's enough variable content that it attracts repeat customers.

This is me.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm now having serious doubts as to the degree of that this hotel will mimic a murder mystery experience.
I'm basing this on the lack of characters in GE right now.
Unless things change, I'm thinking small Star Wars themed hotel - just as the land is themed and little more.

This would be my concern also. To do this properly would require a good number of entertainment CMs and we all know how Disney likes to cut them from the parks.

An underwhelming land would exacerbate this problem, no?

As the assumption was “exclusive” access to the land would be a key draw. But it doesn’t appear it’s a place or rides people want to hang out for days in.

Yep. If they don't do this right and make sure they have enough entertainment, they run the risk of looking like Great Wolf Lodge with their wand game (in which there's always multiple major components broken).

I agree...it’s as much risk as reward potential. I think bob got way more than he wanted with the IP. Star Wars fans/audience are NOT Disney fans. And they have proven it. The diehards are “critical” Superfans....tough to please unlike Disney travelers. And the casuals are not as enamoured as we 70’s/80’s children were. Blame the prequels and recent movies for that.

There were many people during the OT era that just didn’t like sci-fi/Star Wars. Just not their thing.

But I honestly can’t remember many who were into it/casual who didn’t love the 3 originals. Even with Ewoks.

That sect is what it not being discussed. The 5 angry guys get too much attention.

 

[MisterPenguin]

This would be my concern also. To do this properly would require a good number of entertainment CMs and we all know how Disney likes to cut them from the parks.

The cost of actors is already baked into the high price of the rooms. IOW, they're already paid for unless they can't fill all the rooms. Separate budget.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The cost of actors is already baked into the high price of the rooms. IOW, they're already paid for unless they can't fill all the rooms. Separate budget.

That’s a big assumption...behind the curtain of accounting none of those things are ever set.

Blue ocean. Marginal analysis.

I hope they aren’t foolish enough to slap a label on it and think it will work. But short term thinking management can’t be trusted

 

[MisterPenguin]

That’s a big assumption...behind the curtain of accounting none of those things are ever set.

Blue ocean. Marginal analysis.

I hope they aren’t foolish enough to slap a label on it and think it will work. But short term thinking management can’t be trusted

No more than the outlandish assumptions you make about what happens behind closed doors in the Disney corporation.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I agree...it’s as much risk as reward potential. I think bob got way more than he wanted with the IP. Star Wars fans/audience are NOT Disney fans. And they have proven it. The diehards are “critical” Superfans....tough to please unlike Disney travelers. And the casuals are not as enamoured as we 70’s/80’s children were. Blame the prequels and recent movies for that.

My BIL has been a die-hard Star Wars fan basically his entire life, but not so much since the new movies - they just don't get him stoked. Same for hubby...he likes the new movies, but he's not wild/crazy about them like he was the OT. And hubby is cheap - I will be bending over backwards saving so we can eventually stay at this resort, but I'm going to have to do TONS of convincing if it's anywhere near the price levels we've been speculating on.

EDIT: And he's usually 100% gung-ho on our Disney trips and doesn't care how much we spend...to a point.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No more than the outlandish assumptions you make about what happens behind closed doors in the Disney corporation.

If they were assumptions...

They are educated guesses based on some experience. A little glimpse - admittedly outdated - and common sense doesn’t make me correct...but it at least gives me the proper approach vectors to have a shot at assessing it.

Anybody can google stats and charts and take everything Disney says (or often doesn’t say but steers...so they’re not on the hook) and regurgitate it on the page.

...next. This is what “reasonable caution” gets you in the bubble. Unless you’re iger’s kid, taking caution personally is silly.

 

[danlb_2000]

The cost of actors is already baked into the high price of the rooms. IOW, they're already paid for unless they can't fill all the rooms. Separate budget.

The cost of the actors should also be baked into the price of entering the parks.

 

[MisterPenguin]

If they were assumptions...

They are educated guesses based on some experience. A little glimpse - admittedly outdated - and common sense doesn’t make me correct...but it at least gives me the proper approach vectors to have a shot at assessing it.

Anybody can google stats and charts and take everything Disney says (or often doesn’t say but steers...so they’re not on the hook) and regurgitate it on the page.

...next. This is what “reasonable caution” gets you in the bubble. Unless you’re iger’s kid, taking caution personally is silly.

And why I just surmised was also a reasonable assumption. Blue Ocean isn't reasonable because we've seen departmental budgetary processes in action.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The cost of the actors should also be baked into the price of entering the parks.

Your dance party animator thanks you for your contribution!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

And why I just surmised was also a reasonable assumption. Blue Ocean isn't reasonable because we've seen departmental budgetary processes in action.

Departments have almost no power over budget. TWDC is almost entirely “top down” under tight control of a legion of analysts.

Good idea, wrong approach vector.

But today is a good day...cause I’m agreeing with you 80% of the time.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The cost of the actors should also be baked into the price of entering the parks.

Case in point: they are not.

Fat to be trimmed at any time.

Same with the hotel. Disney hasn’t had a “do not touch” budget since late Eisner. That is on the other side of the rubicon...there is no return boat.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

People pay hundreds so their kid can get a $15 outfit and makeup. You don't think they will be interested in things that would give them a full time experience?

I’m Concerned at how many will be willing to drop $5,000-$10,000ish for 3 days (not the mention the $5000 for 4 more days in wdw - which is absolutely part of Disney’s calculus) and for how long that can sustain?

And I don’t think you can discount...once you do that, the concept is shattered. No coupon days.

I also have serious reservations as to whether Disney even understands the appeal of Star Wars enough to sustain an experience...let alone make it.

 

[danlb_2000]

I’m Concerned at how many will be willing to drop $5,000-$10,000ish for 3 days (not the mention the $5000 for 4 more days in wdw - which is absolutely part of Disney’s calculus) and for how long that can sustain?

And I don’t think you can discount...once you do that, the concept is shattered. No coupon days.

I also have serious reservations as to whether Disney even understands the appeal of Star Wars enough to sustain an experience...let alone make it.

They won't direct discount, but they will throw in free perks if necessary. They could do a package deal with the hotel and a couple days of at a normal hotel parks at a lower cost.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They won't direct discount, but they will throw in free perks if necessary. They could do a package deal with the hotel and a couple days of at a normal hotel parks at a lower cost.

Money is money...lots of Star Wars fans can spend $5,000 annually on shart while they work at Best Buy...but $10,000 a week packs more punch.

 

[rsm]

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

View attachment 393106

No joke...I thought the same damn thing. The context of the conversation they’re having also is dead on.

 

[Incomudro]

Money is money...lots of Star Wars fans can spend $5,000 annually on shart while they work at Best Buy...but $10,000 a week packs more punch.

It's a heckuva' lot of money to spend to stay in the cold confines of a fiberglass space port.
I said this once before: People with money will spend money to be in luxury. Grand Floridian, the huts at the Poly.
How many people will spend that kind of money to stay in a hard plastic space themed place?
Now, I know that many people with money will gladly shell that out to make their kids happy - there's certainly some level of market for it.
But, it's a harder sell when the wife and kids are expected to be happy.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm assuming that the hotel will be generic enough that it could change role-play scenarios fairly quickly. Thinking to the cruise analogy, I could see them having some dates advertised as Original Trilogy stories and others tied to the current trilogy or even the one that we don't talk about in our household.

I hope you’re right...but they have shown “resistance” to the Star Wars that truly worked.

But the other problem with generic is it looks it...and that wouldn’t generate pub or encourage repeat visits

 

[Kamikaze]

Money is money...lots of Star Wars fans can spend $5,000 annually on shart while they work at Best Buy...but $10,000 a week packs more punch.

Yeah, thats definitely stereotyping.

You're always so overly concerned with how other people spend their money. It screams of some sort of desperate need to feel like you could do the same thing.

Here's the thing about the starship: Its ~100 rooms with a 3 day/2 night stay. That limits it to less than 20,000 booked rooms per year. How many Star Wars fans do you think would want to do this and have the money to do so? 100,000? Thats five years. 250,000? Thats 12 and a half years. The crazy idea that 'this will fail' is beyond silly. Its like saying that Savi's won't always be booked solid. Low capacity means its easy to fill.