News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[GimpYancIent]

I was thinking the ride won't even be open before the Starcruiser guests show up. I'd expect them to be the first riders in the morning.

That neatly sidesteps all issues except the ride not functioning. However, as you said, even if every single Starcruiser room was filled to max capacity you'd only be looking at about 500 people. They aren't going to have a huge effect regardless.

 

[LSLS]

So eager to take a turn at bat to pile on that you make unforced errors and wind up posting foolishness.

The occupants of the starcruiser can only show up one busload at a time. Even if it's one of those double long buses, that's only 100 people at a time arriving at Batuu from the starcruiser at a rate of maybe every 20 minutes (to allow for the bus's round trip).

The two rides in Batuu each have a capacity of about 1,700 people per hour. Let's even lowball it and say that practically it's only 1,000 PPH.

So, if 100 elite guests get into the Lightning Lane and hold up the regular line, how long will that back up last? Six minutes for the 100 of them. And the next busload isn't showing up for another 14 minutes.

And that's assuming they all make a beeline to just one ride and don't meander or split themselves up between the rides.

The four busloads of guests will barely be a blip in the line for the rides.

I don't think your numbers are correct, I think they will have enough busses to all go at once. Based on their sample itinerary, busses depart back to the cruiser at 12:40 and the next thing starts on the cruiser at 1:00. To get departed, get back, load back onto the ship, and be ready for the light Saber training they won't be able to go a little at a time.

 

[TP2000]

My first thought when I saw the promos is that they just did a pretty decent job building a Star Trek experience.

I can't put my finger on it, exactly, but something about the design, lighting, mood, etc. doesn't jive with Star Wars. It just doesn't feel right.

I'll wait until we have live reviews from real customers to fully solidify my thoughts. But everything I've seen so far leads me to believe it's dramatically overpriced for the value it offers.

It's not just you. I think almost everyone got those vibes from the promotional stuff they released last month.

I can't put my finger on it either. I'm only a very casual fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek; I enjoy both, have watched a few of the movies or TV shows over the decades, but I don't have Darth Vader statues on display in my china cabinet.

There's just something off about the entire Galactic Starcruiser aesthetics and vibe, from what we've seen so far. It's generic and bland. None of it reads as Star Wars, even to casual fans. It's like a weird 1980's knock-off of some low budget Sci Fi movie or TV show no one remembers. You just sense that it's wrong.

You have to give them credit, they really did miss the mark on that so much that even people casually unknowledgeable about Star Wars can instantly identify it as somehow inaccurate.

 

[GimpYancIent]

It's not just you. I think almost everyone got those vibes from the promotional stuff they released last month.

I can't put my finger on it either. I'm only a very casual fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek; I enjoy both, have watched a few of the movies or TV shows over the decades, but I don't have Darth Vader statues on display in my china cabinet.

There's just something off about the entire Galactic Starcruiser aesthetics and vibe, from what we've seen so far. It's generic and bland. None of it reads as Star Wars, even to casual fans. It's like a weird 1980's knock-off of some low budget Sci Fi movie or TV show no one remembers. You just sense that it's wrong.

You have to give them credit, they really did miss the mark on that so much that even people casually unknowledgeable about Star Wars can instantly identify it as somehow inaccurate.

“This deal’s getting worse all the time.” – Lando Calrissian

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

How do we predict they will handle it when someone tests positive 2 days before their cruise? They can't exactly say if you don't show up you're out your 8k.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Almost certain that starcruiser guests will get to use the Lightning Lane.

Lol, that’s awfully generous of them.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

LUNCH AT DOCKING BAY 7 FOOD AND CARGO

Well that’s certainly worth the $6,000 price tag right there.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I don't think your numbers are correct, I think they will have enough busses to all go at once. Based on their sample itinerary, busses depart back to the cruiser at 12:40 and the next thing starts on the cruiser at 1:00. To get departed, get back, load back onto the ship, and be ready for the light Saber training they won't be able to go a little at a time.

Well, here's where I play the pessimist in thinking they won't spend the money on multiple buses. Perhaps... two, so there's a back-up if one doesn't work.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It is definite that the excursion to Batuu will take place during park hours. Almost certain that starcruiser guests will get to use the Lightning Lane.

Lol, that’s awfully generous of them.

Star Wars doesn't have the teleport technology to beam them into the ride.

 

[JoeCamel]

Well, here's where I play the pessimist in thinking they won't spend the money on multiple buses. Perhaps... two, so there's a back-up if one doesn't work.

I would think one for each "spaceport" They have to be putting a million each into them with the theming of the chassis right?

 

[techgeek]

Well, here's where I play the pessimist in thinking they won't spend the money on multiple buses. Perhaps... two, so there's a back-up if one doesn't work.

Have there been any sighting at all of the 'shuttle' vehicle? Presumably they've been playing with it out of sight.. but it seems a little late in the game for us not to have any hints of the fleet / capacity / exterior treatment… or even spied backstage on an aerial by now. I mean, if test cruises are truly imminent, shouldn’t they be cycling these things and be deep into test and adjust?

They are pushing the exterior ‘spaceport’ construction over at the park pretty down to the wire.

 

[orion54]

I would think one for each "spaceport" They have to be putting a million each into them with the theming of the chassis right?

It's possible that guests will only see the insides of the buses between GE and the hotel. Disney would only and probably should only theme the insides. Such as entering a air lock and exiting an airlock after getting to GE and vice versa.

 

[JoeCamel]

It's possible that guests will only see the insides of the buses between GE and the hotel. Disney would only and probably should only theme the insides. Such as entering a air lock and exiting an airlock after getting to GE and vice versa.

Yeah, I think that is a given

 

[dreamfinder912]

For those asking, I'm in a March "sailing" and we've set up our "excursion" plans. From the sounds of it, what we do/see/interact with on Batuu effects our overall story to the point that I'm hiking into DHS to play in that Disney play app in a few weeks to fix my alignments in there before our trip. (You get alignments based on missions completed for different sides, and oh boy do I need to balance mine out for the character I'm going as) We don't have the exact times for departing the starcruiser yet but we do have our savi's/oga's reservations. Ours are at 10am and 1pm but we had 9am-3pm available as a window. We do have lightning lane access for each attraction, once. But as others have pointed out, there's only a few hundred people per "sailing" so even if every single one of us bum rushed the same attraction you really wouldn't notice. Well, you'd notice the herd of cosplayers, but not a significant increase in wait times.

From what the other travelers are saying, nobody really cares about the Disney PR. Disney PR is usually bad. Most of the people I've spoken to are other LARPers so we're all much more interested in our characters and the stories we'll get to create in the environment. General mood is we hope for awesome things from Disney, but we're bringing a lot of the awesome ourselves anyway.

 

[DoleWhipDrea]

I cannot imagine any scenario where they'd give you a free park ticket for that.

When the Skyliner had guests stuck for long periods, once those guests were finally able to get off, they were offered not just extra day passes (can't remember if they were hoppers) plus I think $25 Disney gift cards to get something to eat/drink if they wanted.

Obviously the situation is different, but there's precedent. One could argue that the trip to Batuu - and its access to those attractions - are one of the bigger selling points for this. If I made the trip out to Orlando to specifically have the supposed "perfect" Star Wars experience and I couldn't make it onto the headliner attraction after spending $5,000, I'd be livid.

 

[Trauma]

For those asking, I'm in a March "sailing" and we've set up our "excursion" plans. From the sounds of it, what we do/see/interact with on Batuu effects our overall story to the point that I'm hiking into DHS to play in that Disney play app in a few weeks to fix my alignments in there before our trip. (You get alignments based on missions completed for different sides, and oh boy do I need to balance mine out for the character I'm going as) We don't have the exact times for departing the starcruiser yet but we do have our savi's/oga's reservations. Ours are at 10am and 1pm but we had 9am-3pm available as a window. We do have lightning lane access for each attraction, once. But as others have pointed out, there's only a few hundred people per "sailing" so even if every single one of us bum rushed the same attraction you really wouldn't notice. Well, you'd notice the herd of cosplayers, but not a significant increase in wait times.

From what the other travelers are saying, nobody really cares about the Disney PR. Disney PR is usually bad. Most of the people I've spoken to are other LARPers so we're all much more interested in our characters and the stories we'll get to create in the environment. General mood is we hope for awesome things from Disney, but we're bringing a lot of the awesome ourselves anyway.

Smart of Disney to rely on the 0.87% of the population that knows what any of this means to occupy their “starcruiser” for the next 10 years!

 

[zombiebbq]

IMO this whole going to GE to ride the 2 rides is beyond stupid and breaks the immersion 100%. They should have made totally separate ride(s) for the hotel that your upscaled, upcharge of $6k let you ride alone. Either way the whole "experience" sounds like a overpaid LARP and the cutbacks are GE and then expecting to dump those interaction into this hotel seems ill contrived to say the least.

Honestly, I know the suggestion is inherently dead in the water based on Disney's WDW decisions the past decade+...but to me something like this is what *could* justify their ridiculous price point.

 

[UNCgolf]

When the Skyliner had guests stuck for long periods, once those guests were finally able to get off, they were offered not just extra day passes (can't remember if they were hoppers) plus I think $25 Disney gift cards to get something to eat/drink if they wanted.

Obviously the situation is different, but there's precedent. One could argue that the trip to Batuu - and its access to those attractions - are one of the bigger selling points for this. If I made the trip out to Orlando to specifically have the supposed "perfect" Star Wars experience and I couldn't make it onto the headliner attraction after spending $5,000, I'd be livid.

I think that's such a wildly different situation that it's not really precedent.

I think from Disney's perspective, riding Rise is a very minor part of the experience -- no one is spending $5-6k just for the ride when they could do it for $15 a person. I'm also guessing that most of the people who are willing to pay for the Starcruiser aren't that concerned with it either. Not to say they wouldn't be annoyed/upset if they couldn't get on (which is why I asked the question in the first place) but I really can't imagine it being a scenario where Disney would feel obligated to give out a free park ticket over it.

Personally, I certainly wouldn't consider Batuu or anything there a major part of what you're paying for. I actually think the fact that you spend almost 5 hours there is one of the main reasons it seems so tremendously overpriced (even if the Starcruiser itself looked more impressive than it does). You can do all of that with a regular park admission; it feels like there should be more unique activities on the Starcruiser to fill up that time rather than something any Disney guest can do.

 

[TP2000]

From what the other travelers are saying, nobody really cares about the Disney PR. Disney PR is usually bad. Most of the people I've spoken to are other LARPers so we're all much more interested in our characters and the stories we'll get to create in the environment. General mood is we hope for awesome things from Disney, but we're bringing a lot of the awesome ourselves anyway.

Disney PR didn't used to be so bad and cringey, but that's another topic.

It's interesting to read your take on this as an actual customer, and thanks for sharing! I must confess to not knowing much about LARPing and not being a diehard Star Wars fan. So I have to ask you this...

Is the concerns of non-fans like myself about the generic looking aesthetic of the ship, especially the bridge, of concern to you? Are we off base about fussing over that aesthetic? Is this a case of non-fans like me not really getting it?

It sounds like you are genuinely excited about the Galactic Starcruiser and it's LARP aspect, which again I'm afraid I don't know much about. How worried are you that the ship looks not very Star Warsy? (not a word) Are folks like me off-base for focusing on that aesthetic vibe when it's really the LARP aspect that generates excitement?

 

[LSLS]

Well, here's where I play the pessimist in thinking they won't spend the money on multiple buses. Perhaps... two, so there's a back-up if one doesn't work.

I'd be shocked. Their itineraries give 10 minutes for travel. I can't imagine telling people to come wait for 1 hour to travel to and from GE. And I'm imagining people missing something like lightsaber training because they need to sit a the bus depot to transfer back for an hour.