News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[LovePop]

I am very interested in the SW hotel, but I'm not going to stay there. I can afford it (by scrapping our Disneyland trips) and I really like the fact that it's all inclusive. But I don't think it's money well spent for my family. For one thing, my kids love swimming at a Disney pool. For another, we love exploring the hotel grounds. I wish the hotel had an SW themed pool and slide, and SW themed landscaping, like Art of Animation. They have Cars there, and Little Mermaid stuff, and a Lion King jungle even, and AofA doesn't cost near 3K per night. I would very much love to stay at a Star Wars hotel, but the Galactic Starcruiser just doesn't fit out needs even if we were super rich. It's too specific and too regimented, wanting everybody to stay put and perform their list of activities morning to night, even dress they way they want. I get it, a lot SW fans would kill to do that, but I'm not that type of energetic SW fan.

I want to just go to a Disney hotel, relax and soak in the environment, admire my room, go eat, taking the kids swimming, stroll the grounds, admire the hotel's architecture, admire all the special landscaping, watch other people have fun just being there, even enjoy the transportation options: the boat, the Skyliner, the bus, the Monorail, everything that makes Disney World the best place to be.

So, I hope that Disney will build a normal SW hotel after this.

 

[MrPromey]

The whole thing was pretty great. And it does remind me of RotR to be honest. Great connection I hadn't thought of.

I had my pic taken on the bridge in the captain's chair (and later in a Borg regeneration chamber) and now reading this thread all I can think about is how people who didn't do that were saying on some message board how I could've instead used that money for my kids' future college fund.

I have the bridge picture with a group shot of my nerdy self and my band of cohorts, too!..

Of course, that whole thing was also priced more for a regular tourist.

I personally think what they're charging for the starcruiser is a little absurd based on what we've seen so far and I'm sure there will be people for whom this will be a painful chunk of change being spent that really should be going to something else but for those who's budget this fits comfortably in, I'm not about to suggest they shouldn't be able to do it.

There are after all, plenty of experiences in the world that I don't expect to suddenly not exist just because I can't afford them.

That said, I think a lot of the blow-back is a combination of people thinking it isn't worth it, being unhappy that they don't have access, and being mad that Disney's putting efforts into this sort of thing while there is still so much that should be done around the property for the plebs.*


*not to say that I think anything else would be getting better if they weren't working on this but I certainly understand the sentiment - especially since some of this reads like the interactive stuff they originally said would be in Galaxy's Edge for us common folk without a multi-thousand dollar up-charge.

Maybe if Galaxy's Edge had delivered better on the original promise, this would be going over better with some folks.

 

[zombiebbq]

If I were to spend 5k or 6k, I'd go to Tokyo. At least OLC knows how to spend their money properly. While at it, OLC has cheaper parks as well.

this. a thousand times this. the parks there are unparalleled.

 

[danlb_2000]

Do people really care about a pool that much?

This thing costs $115 an hour. Do I really want to spend time swimming?

I feel like if I did this I'd be constantly thinking of the cost. Take a nap? $115 used! Go to the bathroom? $10 used!

There was talk about whether or not someone could go back to their car for something. Of course you can, but it will cost you $57.50 of your Starcruiser time!

I did a poll back in March about this. 46% of the people said they either never use a pool or use it only once per trip, so no pool isn't probably not a deal breaker for a lot of people.

Pool Usage

A discussion on another thread prompted me to create this poll. I am interested in how much people use the hotel pool (not including water parks) during their trips. Personally pools don't interest me much and I can only remember using a pool once during all my trips to Disney.

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[UNCgolf]

Let's say there's an average of 3 people per room. That's 300 people.

BGs at WDW's RotR is 100 people per BG. So, the Halcyon guests will only take up 3 BGs.

And, as I said above, it looks like they will be doing Rise first thing in the morning. Probably before it opens for any regular guests.

 

[tanc]

I'm not sure if this was always going to be the cost, but if these prices are related to Chapek, I am not looking forward to the future. At least OLC is lenient with their pricing.

 

[danlb_2000]

Sooooo.... with the story elements so rigidly confined to a few, short blocks... how will that work? 100 rooms, three guests a room, maybe three story options (more then the itinerary shows)... you'll be helping to land a stolen shuttle with 100 other guests? Seems like the same depth of interaction as the Millennium ride.

For this to be really interesting time needed to be less structured and the area involved needed to be much bigger, so guests could explore, meet characters not everyone meets, and pursue a multitude of mix-and-match storylines in their own way, with perhaps a few big story beats that effect everyone, like an Imperial attack.

Disney has been working on technology to enable that kind of RPG experience for every guest in a theme park for years and years, and they couldn't adapt some form for a few hundred guests? In fact, developing that kind of RPG immersiveness (and building new rides) for the parks at large probably would have been more fruitful then spending billions on a failed datamining effort (which itself could have been integrated into that form of RPG storytelling).

The story moments show up at specific times on the itinerary, but's possible they will happen multiple times during the day so each could have a smaller group of people. If you made it less structed you would end up with the problem the parks have when to many people want to do one activity at the same time. By controlling the number of people in each activity you can provide a better experience for everyone.

 

[wedenterprises]

For that price it had better to into real space.

Nah, this seems small-scale enough they could take the loss without much pain.

The Bobs have both been careful to call it an experiment so they've already given themselves room to back out of this.

I've heard from a friend who, you know, heard from a friend* who has seen the inside, that the interior is impressively elaborate but if that's the case and this ends up failing, they'll just shelve it all until they can recycle the elements across various parks in Galaxy's Edge and/or Tomorrowlands and some group will get new office/work space from this location.

*grain of salt and all but these are people who've done outsourced prop building for Galaxy's Edge so I have reason to believe they've probably been involved on this project, too.

Makes total sense based on the structure. It's a big box.
When the $6k concept has run its course I could also see them simply expanding, removing the role playing stuff and calling it a moderate resort. They could either expand the "ship" itself, and/or expand the resort into the "earth port" area outside, closer to SWGE itself.

 

[UNCgolf]

The story moments show up at specific times on the itinerary, but's possible they will happen multiple times during the day so each could have a smaller group of people. If you made it less structed you would end up with the problem the parks have when to many people want to do one activity at the same time. By controlling the number of people in each activity you can provide a better experience for everyone.

I'm sure this is what will happen.

As I said above, I'm almost certain you'll select from a list of activities, and then Disney will create a schedule for you incorporating some of those activities and the story encounters. They're not going to want every person doing the same thing at the same time; they'll spread it out into smaller groups. That's why Disney is creating the schedules.

 

[disneygeek90]

Even regularly vacationing families have been known to miss the 'lottery' for RotR. This gives a guaranteed ride.

What's the value of getting a family on ROTR? For a much reduced cost, I can offer my services and save you several thousand!

 

[MrPromey]

What's the value of getting a family on ROTR? For a much reduced cost, I can offer my services and save you several thousand!

I'm picturing disneygeek90 with a family, walking up to the entrance of RISE and doing a "what's that over there?!" to the cast member while making a waving motion to the family to sneak in behind them.

 

[flynnibus]

That said, I think a lot of the blow-back is a combination of people thinking it isn't worth it, being unhappy that they don't have access, and being mad that Disney's putting efforts into this sort of thing while there is still so much that should be done around the property for the plebs.*

So pretty much every DVC property in the last 5 years?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I have the bridge picture with a group shot of my nerdy self and my band of cohorts, too!..

Of course, that whole thing was also priced more for a regular tourist.

I personally think what they're charging for the starcruiser is a little absurd based on what we've seen so far and I'm sure there will be people for whom this will be a painful chunk of change being spent that really should be going to something else but for those who's budget, this fits comfortably in, I'm not about to suggest they shouldn't be able to do it.

There are after all, plenty of experiences in the world that I don't expect to suddenly not exist just because I can't afford them.

That said, I think a lot of the blow-back is a combination of people thinking it isn't worth it, being unhappy that they don't have access, and being mad that Disney's putting efforts into this sort of thing while there is still so much that should be done around the property for the plebs.*


*not to say that I think anything else would be getting better if they weren't working on this.

Yeah, this feels like the first time Disney has announced, and shown off, an impressive new offering that won't be accessible to the vast majority of guests.

There's always extras for people who can afford them. After Hours parties, VIP tours, cabanas (remember those?), etc. This is different. This is an attraction that people can't go on.

I'm not necessarily opposed to its' existence, but I can see where there is going to be some negative perceptions.

 

[MrPromey]

So pretty much every DVC property in the last 5 years?

Not exactly, no.

I think there's a whole different set of arguments (both rational and not) with that...

I'd elaborate but I type way more than people want to read on these forums, already.

 

[flynnibus]

Yeah, this feels like the first time Disney has announced, and shown off, an impressive new offering that won't be accessible to the vast majority of guests.

There's always extras for people who can afford them. After Hours parties, VIP tours, cabanas (remember those?), etc. This is different. This is an attraction that people can't go on.

I'm not necessarily opposed to its' existence, but I can see where there is going to be some negative perceptions.

This isn't an attraction - It's not even in the theme park. It's an experience. Just like Disney does other experiences like Adventures by Disney... Disney Cruise Lines... and more.

Why are people so hung up on trying to make it into what they do at WDW today... a hotel+theme park touring. The whole point is it is something different then just a 15min attraction that you experience and then leave.

 

[flynnibus]

Not exactly, no.

I think there's a whole different set of arguments (both rational and not) with that...

I'd elaborate but I type way more than people want to read on these forums, already.

I think it's people lashing out that it's not for them - for whatever reason.

The reality is there are far more things that people don't consume themselves that just aren't front-and-center... so these arguments are generally just emotional outbursts that aren't really well grounded.

 

[MrPromey]

I think it's people lashing out that it's not for them - for whatever reason.

The reality is there are far more things that people don't consume themselves that just aren't front-and-center... so these arguments are generally just emotional outbursts that aren't really well grounded.

Okay, you pulled me in.

I agree but I personally have a beef with DVC and actually, all new on-property resort builds which is simply this (as I go on to write five paragraphs):

I get my panties in a twist thinking about how they've been adding more and more rooms all these years, creating a larger and larger captive audience while attendance in the parks was naturally growing at a regular pace, anyway.

All the while, they've neglected to add capacity and in some cases shrunk it by closing attractions without replacements or replacing existing attractions with shorter experiences all guaranteeing that a typical visit today will involve much more time waiting to do what you paid to go there and do than in times past - mostly, for the exact same stuff, too.

I get that people's tastes change over time and that Disney thinks that shorter experiences are what people want* because one thing people always say on surveys is they want to spend less time on rides and more time waiting for them (right?) but they've adapted poorly in their alleged "strategy" to cater to this perceived change while managing crowds and raising prices both with and ahead of inflation.

Anyway, I think that's a valid reason (of course I do since it's mine) for people seeing more rooms go up around property while the parks have not expanded to match the crowds they're going out of their way to create and getting a little pi**y about it.

We all know that the DVC with their lock-in are the bigger money grab over regular resorts for Disney so it's a lot easier to be more p**sy about those, I think.

*Except of course, when they apparently don't think that. See Rise as exhibit A.

 

[flynnibus]

Anyway, I think that's a valid reason (of course I do since it's mine) for people seeing more rooms go up around property while the parks have not expanded to match the crowds they're going out of their way to create and getting a little ****y about it.

So in short - really nothing to do with Starcruiser - nor it's price point - but rather grumpy that Disney is doing X when you think they should be doing Y.

But yet people spin up ways to harp on X... because it's not Y.

 

[willsdad01]

Ok, after 24 hours before making a post, I figured I'd add my two cents (as if anyone really cares ). HUGE Star Wars fan. I've been to a couple of the Star Wars Celebrations and love most things Star Wars. My first thought was OMG this is outrageous! Now my second thought...OMG it's still outrageous! The pricing model is similar to an actual cruise. Even as a huge fan, I'll be taking a hard pass on this. Too many other experiences and places to go within Disney or even on a real cruise where the value for the dollars is much better.

 

[danlb_2000]

This isn't an attraction - It's not even in the theme park. It's an experience. Just like Disney doesn't other experiences like Adventures by Disney... Disney Cruise Lines... and more.

Why are people so hung up on trying to make it into what they do at WDW today... a hotel+theme park touring. The whole point is it is something different then just a 15min attraction that you experience and then leave.

This is the main reason I have a hard time judging if the price is fair or not, there is just nothing to compare it to. Yes, people can debate whether they would be willing to pay for it or not, but it's hard to say if the price is fair for what you are getting.