News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Permanently Closed Fall 2023

[MrPromey]

Well that I can believe…

But it needs to be built from square 1…this one was a misfire


I would love to see Comcast try it with a potter?
It lends itself to cosplay and this kind of setup Better than Star Wars

I think we're already seeing Comcast's attempt at this and they're calling it an "escape room" even though it's not really an escape room experience.

Their version combines a high level of immersion for a small group of people at a realistic price that is short enough for people to go about their day after having done it or to do more than one in a day.

It's not as immersive, obviously, but it seems way more sustainable.

It's way more interactive and involved than a normal theme park experience but light enough and short enough to appeal to a wide audience without making people feel obligated to buy into the idea of LARPing for a couple days with a troop of paid Groundlings.

I don't think there is enough money to be made to make Disney happy with the approach they took even if it were to be popular because it can't be scaled up affordably even with a big enough interested audience and it can't really be updated frequently enough to keep the majority of guests wanting to do it again and again as the same thing at that price point - not enough to keep it full.

I know some people on here enjoyed the Groundhog Day experience of doing it multiple times and making different choices for different things but this forum is already a pretty small subset of society made up of people, many of which spend multiple weeks a year at theme parks every or nearly every year which is far from normal.*

Especially for something like Harry Potter where the demand would be huge and it would be impossible to scale to meet that demand, I could see them working that theme along with many of the other franchises they have access to into things that replace or sit right along side their Jurassic Park and Back to the Future experiences some day.

Seems like their decades of experience in developing haunted houses has paid off in a somewhat unexpected way, here.


*And I'm not knocking that - just trying to remind people those of us discussing this right now already part of a niche group before we even get into the part about Star Wars LARPing.

 

[MrPromey]

Time to repost my Venn diagram:

View attachment 750007

In my personal situation, I am fully in the top two circles, having watched the OT in the theaters, bought the action figures, own the movies in Beta, VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, Blu-ray, etc. But while I could easily afford the cost, the thought of role playing for two days did not appeal to me. I’m not a fan of mystery parties, escape rooms, nor (gasp) the Adventurers Club. Not my cup of tea.

This isn’t to say cost was no factor. I have tried mystery parties, escape rooms, and the Adventurers Club back in the day, since the cost barrier was so low. Even though I’m a huge Star Wars fan, I would have hated to drop $5k only to be less than thrilled with the experience.

I think this is the thing LARP-Loving Extroverts fail to realize when they talk about this being the future.

Yeah, this had high guest satisfaction but it was a very small self-selecting group of guests and they ended up not being able to get enough of them for it to be profitable enough to keep running.

I mean, on one hand, I don't want to fault them for shooting for something really different but at the same time, after 50 years of experience in just about every form of themed entertainment possible and collectively, I think, having more experience than any other company on earth with working through the process of taking something from concept to making it operational involving the various elements here ranging from environment and experience to staffing and marketing, this whole thing seemed like it was put together by a team of amateurs.

Heck, look at Evermore. Those folks managed to fail on a fraction of the budget and have somehow still been able to keep the lights on.

 

[MrPromey]

I think that’s a better long term play…

But if you notice: they really don’t build/want new hotel rooms anymore…

If only they hadn't taken Saratoga Springs DVC.

They could have just re-themed that resort space... again.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I think this is the thing LARP-Loving Extroverts fail to realize when they talk about this being the future.

Yeah, this had high guest satisfaction but it was a very small self-selecting group of guests and they ended up not being able to get enough of them for it to be profitable to keep running.

I mean, on one hand, I don't want to fault them for shooting for something really different but at the same time, after 50 years of experience in just about every form of themed entertainment possible and collectively having possibly more experience than any other company on earth with working through the process of taking something from concept to making it operational involving the various elements involved ranging in everything from environment and experience to staffing and marketing, this whole thing seemed like it was put together by a team of amateurs.

Heck, look at Evermore. Those folks managed to fail on a fraction of the budget and have somehow still been able to keep the lights on.

I will be curious when some time has passed and people are freer to talk exactly how this ended up crashing and burning so quickly. For example, was it designed in such a way that it basically had to hit their most optimistic projections for it to even be viable? Was it haemorrhaging money such that it was a real financial drain on the company, or was the decision to walk away so quickly driven more by internal politics and the changing fortunes of the company during the whole Chapek-Iger changeover period which sapped away any will to invest further in making it work?

It obviously failed, but I am curious to know more about the scale of that failure.

 

[MrPromey]

You ever been to a Star Wars Celebration? That space in the middle is bigger than you think.

I have and it cost a lot less and I saw TONS of cosplay but almost nothing that I'd call LARPing.

Not sure how SWC proves your point in regard to that diagram other than that some of the people paid to travel there from parts of Europe and Asia.

 

[MrPromey]

Take a look at another Hollywood set designer's idea of shipboard dining...
View attachment 750320

But look how happy they are!

 

[Rosso11]

Who? Be specific. All I saw was the usual suspects that went to the half day preview that I threw out anything they said. The usual fandom menace people, some guy named Vito(none of who went) and then Tom who was on it 3x

As someone who did do it I found very few actual passengers on my cruise who didn't absolutely love it. I was crushed when they announced the closing knowing I’ll never get to bring my son on it now. Was there things they could have done better? 100%, but this was like nothing Disney has ever pulled off before. The potential for what this could have evolved into was tremendous. Hopefully they learn from the good and it comes back in another form.

 

[cjkeating]

Who?

Do I count?

 

[Indy_UK]

We attended our first celebration event this year (London) and tbh as a lifelong Star Wars fan, I didn’t enjoy it.

The event really showed the behind the scenes of Star Wars as apposed to something like Galaxy’s Edge or Starcruiser that puts you in Star Wars. Very different experiences and make he realise I like to be ‘in the story’

 

[asianway]

Do I count?

Do you have a major social media presence? That is what I am speaking of

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We attended our first celebration event this year (London) and tbh as a lifelong Star Wars fan, I didn’t enjoy it.

The event really showed the behind the scenes of Star Wars as apposed to something like Galaxy’s Edge or Starcruiser that puts you in Star Wars. Very different experiences and make he realise I like to be ‘in the story’

I like to see the inside of the sausage factory…myself…

So now I want to go

 

[Incomudro]

As someone who did do it I found very few actual passengers on my cruise who didn't absolutely love it. I was crushed when they announced the closing knowing I’ll never get to bring my son on it now. Was there things they could have done better? 100%, but this was like nothing Disney has ever pulled off before. The potential for what this could have evolved into was tremendous. Hopefully they learn from the good and it comes back in another form.

I hope they learn from the bad.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Honestly, it isn’t even that overpriced considering it’s all inclusive.

 

[MrPromey]

Honestly, it isn’t even that overpriced considering it’s all inclusive.

As long as you didn't want booze, it was.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Honestly, it isn’t even that overpriced considering it’s all inclusive.

I love this take…

So it ran out of customers in MONTHS…this is Disney…which has been know to sell sandboxes and ice sculptures outside Riyadh…

So if not the price…then what?

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

We talk of generational wealth. Aren't the generations that fell in love with the OT the ones holding the money? Yeah, lets do something else.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We talk of generational wealth. Aren't the generations that fell in love with the OT the ones holding the money? Yeah, lets do something else.

That is perhaps the best, most direct take ever…

…and I wasted all those posts missing it

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

I love this take…

So it ran out of customers in MONTHS…this is Disney…which has been know to sell sandboxes and ice sculptures outside Riyadh…

So if not the price…then what?

It was the advertisements calling it strictly a "Star Wars Hotel", which lured a lot of people way from it. The media also labeled it as a "Star Wars Hotel", and you would only know what offers maybe even after reading some spoilers. The experience included theme park VIP admission, high-quality food, entertainment, activities, actors, snacks, and more. Look up a general Disney World budget and the difference gets smaller and smaller...

 

[Ayla]

It was the advertisements calling it strictly a "Star Wars Hotel", which lured a lot of people way from it. The media also labeled it as a "Star Wars Hotel", and you would only know what offers maybe even after reading some spoilers. The experience included theme park VIP admission, high-quality food, entertainment, activities, actors, snacks, and more. Look up a general Disney World budget and the difference gets smaller and smaller...

VIP admission? You were dumped into Galaxy's Edge with the rest of the peons.

 

[AEfx]

Who? Be specific. All I saw was the usual suspects that went to the half day preview that I threw out anything they said. The usual fandom menace people, some guy named Vito(none of who went) and then Tom who was on it 3x

Such as?

Frumpy Xers with Twitter handles like “magic man1955” and “jakku4Me” aren’t exactly a path to fortune and glory, Dr. Jones.

I’d argue that the kinda “casual” fans you need to sustain any travel would never do a review in the first place

I've been wondering where people are getting all this, too - "best rated attraction ever on property" and other such claims.
I just...don't buy it.

If they are talking about YouTube reviews, then yeah - they either are paid shills or wannabe paid shills. The ones I watched didn't pay for it, and at the end were like "but it still would be worth 6K!", you know, lying through their teeth so Disney gives them (more) free stuff.

The only way I can remotely think that a large number of fully paid customers gave these amazing reviews is the sunk cost fallacy, LOL.