News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Permanently Closed Fall 2023

[lentesta]

Can @lentesta please tell us about the surveys sent to folks who did the Starcruiser and if this is a sign there will be a reskin or re imagine and eventual re opening of the Starcruiser??

Here's one of the visuals from the survey. Instructions say "mark points on the timeline below with a few words that describe the most meaningful, memorable moments that shaped your personal story."

Other questions were like this:

• Pre-Arrival
  
  • Where did you hear about Galactic Starcruiser?
  • How did you prepare for it?
  • How long did it take you to prepare your character?
• On Board
  
  • Which storyline were you on?
  • What events impacted your personal story?
  • What did you talk about with each of the characters?
  • What was your first interaction with each character?
  • What were the 1 or 2 characters most impactful to your story?
  • What characters did you interact with the least?
  • Are you an introvert or extrovert?
• In Your Room
  
  • How could Disney better integrate D3 [the AI in the room - len] into the story?
  • How could Disney improve the interactions on the datapads to better support the story?
• Overall
  
  • Do you feel like you made any impact on the story?

 

[GhostHost1000]

wow they may be trying to resurrect this? have they not learned

 

[celluloid]

Where we are now seems to be whether they can find a way to salvage something from it, which is basically what Disney did with the DisneyQuest venture by keeping the Downtown Disney venue running for many years.


Regional entertainment may also just be an idea for which there is no great fix for Disney. Obviously the ESPN Zones weren't a big profit centre for the company and, as mentioned, DisneyQuest was abandoned after they couldn't make the Chicago venue work. While Universal is venturing into regional parks, Disney seems to have no interest in doing the same. As also mentioned on this thread, theme restaurants haven't seemed great business for quite a while.

Perhaps regional entertainment just hasn't proved a great business for Disney and they figure they're better off investing in their existing parks and resorts. I wouldn't be surprised if they still view even Aulani as a bit of a disappointment.

I think DIsney doing regional things being rough no matter what hits the nail on the head. They are a destination, not a day trip for enough people far away. A lot of the appeal of going to a Disney local is being in a different place then home as part of a destinaiton trip.

In your post rests the biggest difference of levels of failure, if you want to go for that angle or call it that. I appreciate the discussion.

The biggest difference is Disney was never able to nail the division entertainment angle to keep it alive, but these things have worked at destination properties under Eisner and the willingness to adjust and adapt/take what need from it to be successful at their destinations, cruises and resorts etc. Bob Iger's biggest venture failures for experiences, have been ON WDW and DL property with no evidence of salvaging or understanding. That's next level failure.

For the post you quoted, it is most important to get the facts straight.

 

[Dranth]

wow they may be trying to resurrect this? have they not learned

Wait, so you are upset that they are trying to learn and maybe fix something instead of bulldoze it?

There is legit no pleasing some of you.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Wait, so you are upset that they are trying to learn and maybe fix something instead of bulldoze it?

There is legit no pleasing some of you.

What they likely aren't fixing is the price point. There is only a limited number of people who can and will do something like this... especially more than once.

I don't care what they do with it, but they need to make good decisions that are profitable so they don't have to keep jacking up prices on the rest of us to make up for their bad choices

 

[celluloid]

What they likely aren't fixing is the price point. There is only a limited number of people who can and will do something like this... especially more than once.

That is true. You don't see questions of value of the price on survey posted. It means they would have been willing to change and give feedback to entertainment, not as much budging on the price.
Surveys are an interesting thing. I remember my time with Disney and access to data, there was a survey about Tarzan and got the meet and greet out of the park pronto.
The Survey is no guarantee of them fixing it to reopen.

Surveys and their data also work in meaning more the longer the place would have been open and gotten the results from the data set. More people staying there over time with answers would have meant more.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Bringing it back is an interesting concept. I will say that it wasn't marketed well and/or really needed time for word of mouth to spread and for people to understand the product.

When I first heard Star Wars hotel I assumed it would be a themed hotel, and not necessarily an experience. Maybe comparable price wise to the Deluxe resorts, something one might add to their trip for a day or two.

The concept art didn't impress. I thought the bridge looked like a DisneyQuest game and not something that justified the price.

It took time, but now I know that the people who did it love it. The people posting, reposting, and posting again photos of the dining area as their chief means of criticism are not relevant.

It took time to understand it's an interactive experience that succeeds based on one fully interacting when onboard.

They may have gotten to the point where people "get it", only at the end. Given a bit more time, could it be the success they hoped for?

I don't know the answer, but I will say if it were open it still wouldn't be on my to do list at the moment. I'm not sure I'd enjoy the interactiveness of it all, based on my personality, and the price is still too much for the average visitor.

 

[flynnibus]

Again, Bob Iger is the one who could not make it work and abandoned the division completely. You make it sound like Disney abandoned their regional division right after Chicago did not work out. That did not happen. They never broke ground on the other locals that Disney Quest may have had but still operated that business with ESPN Zones and random plans until Bob Iger shut it down much later in 2010.

DQ Philly was under way (and had been since 1998) including site construction - and was scrapped in 2001 (see 'Disney Hole'). DQ Anaheim was in planning and was dropped.

They opened 8 ESPN zones within the first three years... and then opened effectively NONE for the next 9. ESPN opened exactly ONE new location after 2001... and that was because it was in part with an ESPN studio build out at LA Live and wasn't even Disney operated.

What does that tell you about the company's posture towards the product after 2001? And when Disney finally pulled the plug in 2010 it was no surprise.. the chain had been been in trouble for years.

You keep using this idea that Disney kept these things around as belief they were successful. Limping along is not success for a division with far greater ambitions. DQ was supposed to be THIRTY sites.. they kept one limping along. Club Disney was aborted early. ESPN Zone basically stopped after the initial two batches and then just kept running in place (like DQ at DTD).

Your position would be much more amenable if you were pressing that these concepts were crippled by the post 9/11 impacts on Disney's spending.. which certainly would have hindered ambitions within the division.. but the reality is most of the venues were in fact struggling and not just failed through lack of Iger love.

 

[celluloid]

DQ Philly was under way (and had been since 1998) including site construction - and was scrapped in 2001 (see 'Disney Hole'). DQ Anaheim was in planning and was dropped.

They opened 8 ESPN zones within the first three years... and then opened effectively NONE for the next 9. ESPN opened exactly ONE new location after 2001... and that was because it was in part with an ESPN studio build out at LA Live and wasn't even Disney operated.

What does that tell you about the company's posture towards the product after 2001? And when Disney finally pulled the plug in 2010 it was no surprise.. the chain had been been in trouble for years.

You keep using this idea that Disney kept these things around as belief they were successful. Limping along is not success for a division with far greater ambitions. DQ was supposed to be THIRTY sites.. they kept one limping along. Club Disney was aborted early. ESPN Zone basically stopped after the initial two batches and then just kept running in place (like DQ at DTD).

Your position would be much more amenable if you were pressing that these concepts were crippled by the post 9/11 impacts on Disney's spending.. which certainly would have hindered ambitions within the division.. but the reality is most of the venues were in fact struggling and not just failed through lack of Iger love.

No one is debating that Disney's regional entertainment goals have never been a hit and they already struggled from 2000 on. (They even struggled before this with Club Disney and similarly Mickey's Kitchen concept to add food and beverage to malls) No one is debating that.

What has worked at WDW is different. You can say "yeah, but only as a tack on to the things already there" Yep...like everything at WDW that is not The Magic Kingdom or major theme park could be made under the same argument.
From Water Parks, to mini golf, to that fourth theme park that is the least favorite of the couple or visiting family but for an extra 40 bucks a person for a day, sure. To riding horseback.

Galactic Star Cruiser and NBA Experience, could not be those things even on WDW property. Bigger failure.

 

[Dranth]

I think DIsney doing regional things hits the nail on the head. They are a destination, not a day trip for enough people far away. A lot of the appeal of going to a Disney local is being in a different place then home as part of a destinaiton trip.

In your post rests the biggest difference of levels of failure, if you want to go for that angle or call it that. I appreciate the discussion.

The biggest difference is Disney was never able to nail the division entertainment angle to keep it alive, but these things have worked at destination properties under Eisner and the willingness to adjust and adapt/take what need from it to be successful at their destinations, cruises and resorts etc. Bob Iger's biggest venture failures for experiences, have been ON WDW and DL property with no evidence of salvaging or understanding. That's next level failure.

Last attempt here because we keep derailing.

- Club Disney was started and closed under Eisner.
- DisneyQuest has been discussed and was relegated to zombie status by Eisner.
- ESPN Zone is the ONLY one of the three projects I remember that existed under the Regional Entertainment division to have any success and even that was limited and not something I think the company was interested in dealing with anymore so they closed it.

The Disney Store was not part of that division but even if you want to include it, it was on the way out for reasons beyond Disney's control. The massive contraction of retail as a whole killed the Disney Store, Iger just pulled the trigger.

 

[celluloid]

Last attempt here because we keep derailing.

- Club Disney was started and closed under Eisner.
- DisneyQuest has been discussed and was relegated to zombie status by Eisner.
- ESPN Zone is the ONLY one of the three projects I remember that existed under the Regional Entertainment division to have any success and even that was limited and not something I think the company was interested in dealing with anymore so they closed it.

The Disney Store was not part of that division but even if you want to include it, it was on the way out for reasons beyond Disney's control. The massive contraction of retail as a whole killed the Disney Store, Iger just pulled the trigger.

Exactly. I include it because it is an example of what is viable. We don't really know what Eisner would have done with Disney Quest because he left by 2005 and 2001 for years on until Eisner left were very rough for tourism investment. I speak of on property, not regionally. We do know they added an attraction change in 2000. That is all we will never know. So two years after opening it got a new attraction.

ESPN Zones failed even on WDW and DLproperty as restaurants with nothing of competency in design to replace them.

I will never say anything of Disney regional goals were a hit.

Disney Quest is not a failure on the same level, because in the destination it operated. The Backyard BBQ offering at Fort Wilderness no longer operates, but was not a failure. They have eyes on bigger money through a DVC that has still not happened. Notice a trend here?

 

[Dranth]

What they likely aren't fixing is the price point. There is only a limited number of people who can and will do something like this... especially more than once.

I don't care what they do with it, but they need to make good decisions that are profitable so they don't have to keep jacking up prices on the rest of us to make up for their bad choices

Got it.

I imagine a price adjustment would be part of the update and if not, it will likely go up in flames.

 

[dreamfinder912]

Moving it away from WDW and the theme park day would have helped wipe out those who thought of it only as a hotel.

This was something that drove me bonkers as a passenger. March 2022 everyone saw Batuu as a cruise excursion and treated it accordingly. By march 2023 people were treating it as their DHS day. They'd go to bed early and make it back onboard super late just to ride slinky dog. By my final cruise I was in and out of Batuu in 2 hours missions completed and having a second breakfast onboard. The Batuu portion was my least favorite part.

 

[Ayla]

Here's one of the visuals from the survey. Instructions say "mark points on the timeline below with a few words that describe the most meaningful, memorable moments that shaped your personal story."

View attachment 749853

Other questions were like this:

• Pre-Arrival
  
  • Where did you hear about Galactic Starcruiser?
  • How did you prepare for it?
  • How long did it take you to prepare your character?
• On Board
  
  • Which storyline were you on?
  • What events impacted your personal story?
  • What did you talk about with each of the characters?
  • What was your first interaction with each character?
  • What were the 1 or 2 characters most impactful to your story?
  • What characters did you interact with the least?
  • Are you an introvert or extrovert?
• In Your Room
  
  • How could Disney better integrate D3 [the AI in the room - len] into the story?
  • How could Disney improve the interactions on the datapads to better support the story?
• Overall
  
  • Do you feel like you made any impact on the story?

Sounds like a quiz.

 

[Dranth]

This was something that drove me bonkers as a passenger. March 2022 everyone saw Batuu as a cruise excursion and treated it accordingly. By march 2023 people were treating it as their DHS day. They'd go to bed early and make it back onboard super late just to ride slinky dog. By my final cruise I was in and out of Batuu in 2 hours missions completed and having a second breakfast onboard. The Batuu portion was my least favorite part.

I've heard a number of people mention the same thing. That it basically took them out of the experience more than it helped.

One group I was talking with mentioned they wish it would have been the first thing you do. Basically have characters contact you before the trip to try and recruit you to a path. Which ever ones you show some interest in would give you some tasks in GE. You would go there the day you depart, do your quests and then "fly" up to the SC using the shuttle from Batuu for your "cruise".

 

[el_super]

The WDW Disney Quest was not, however, a business failure on the level of NBA Experience or Starcruiser. This is fact.

What if Starcruiser comes back?

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Despite a passionate (and loud) group of folks who loved the Starcruiser, it would need a massive overhaul before it could come back. Everything from format, length, price, and (for some) the designs of the spaces themselves, need fixing.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What they likely aren't fixing is the price point. There is only a limited number of people who can and will do something like this... especially more than once.

I don't care what they do with it, but they need to make good decisions that are profitable so they don't have to keep jacking up prices on the rest of us to make up for their bad choices

But if this survey / process helps them understand what elements worked and were most impactful they could create a shorter version or even a "day cruise" version that would make it more approachable to more people

Lots of people liked the concept bould couldn't pay $5k or whatever for 2 nights but could pay $250/person for an after noon with one meal or something like that

Agree if they just reopen it basically as it was, that is a mistake

 

[flynnibus]

No one is debating that Disney's regional entertainment goals have never been a hit and they already struggled from 2000 on. (They even struggled before this with Club Disney and similarly Mickey's Kitchen concept to add food and beverage to malls) No one is debating that.

So we might call those plans.. a failure?

What has worked at WDW is different.

Yeah, but DQ and ESPN Zone were never created to be WDW concepts - they were intended from the start to be bigger than their WDW locations.

Here's one of the visuals from the survey. Instructions say "mark points on the timeline below with a few words that describe the most meaningful, memorable moments that shaped your personal story."

View attachment 749853

Other questions were like this:

• Pre-Arrival
  
  • Where did you hear about Galactic Starcruiser?
  • How did you prepare for it?
  • How long did it take you to prepare your character?
• On Board
  
  • Which storyline were you on?
  • What events impacted your personal story?
  • What did you talk about with each of the characters?
  • What was your first interaction with each character?
  • What were the 1 or 2 characters most impactful to your story?
  • What characters did you interact with the least?
  • Are you an introvert or extrovert?
• In Your Room
  
  • How could Disney better integrate D3 [the AI in the room - len] into the story?
  • How could Disney improve the interactions on the datapads to better support the story?
• Overall
  
  • Do you feel like you made any impact on the story?

wow... seems like a very 'manual' survey. Will be interesting to see how they digest that kind of feedback and how many would actually take the time to answer those kinds of questions at all.

 

[celluloid]

What if Starcruiser comes back?

That was discussed before. It will have been changed to work. That happens all of the time. From attractions in park to entertainment venues. Who said failure was permanent? It only is with hubris and giving up. That goes back to my entire point with Disney Quest. Never worked regionally. Fit right in with Mini Golf and Waterpark add ons.