News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Permanently Closed Fall 2023

[_caleb]

Alright, ran some numbers so correct me if I'm wrong, but no chance this made money when it closed. Estimates I've seen is it cost anywhere from $350 million to $1 billion. I may be off some numbers here, but it was open 578 days, which would mean right around 289 total cruises. There are 100 rooms. If we assume it was 100% sold out with each room having 4 people, that would be 100 rooms X $6,000 X 289 total cruises, for a grand total of $173.4 million. That does not include all merch sales, but also doesn't include the cost to run a cruise.

Disney routinely takes huge losses on films (especially lately). This does not deter them from making more films.

I’ve mentioned before that while Disney obviously hoped the Starcruiser would make a bajillion dollars, they weren’t exactly expecting it to. I think they’ve all along treated this as guest-subsidized R&D. It was a big experiment in a controlled environment that allowed them to measure guest behavior, engagement, responses, and spending.

I think Disney knows a lot about where they want to head in the future, and this was a big push in that direction. I’ve mentioned before how this seems like an evolution of personalized, interactive themed experiences like so many others Disney offers.

That isn’t to say I think this was their best effort. It obviously wasn’t a runaway hit. But again, I think Disney was prepared for that and greenlit it anyway.

 

[AEfx]

This isn’t the quote we’ve been discussing. This is obviously marketing spin. We’ve been talking about this more recent, article from The Wrap (paywall) about Disney’s uncharacteristically detailed post-mortem guest survey and rumors of future plans.

Thanks for the link. It seems many haven't read it (likely due to the paywall), because the devil is in the details.

The survey was sent to "those on the last voyages" who were paid a couple hundred bucks to participate.

So, the die hards that went at the very end, when they already knew exactly what the experience was since the entire thing was online, or had even done it before, were PAID for their opinions in a survey that they took after the experience was already closed.

Come. On.

THIS is what everyone is using as a metric to claim these magnificent ratings? A bunch of literally paid surveys from super fans? Super fans that already knew it was closing and since they are super-fans would clearly be biased in giving answers to it because they were getting paid, and wanted it to come back?

If ever there were a loaded Disney survey, this one takes the cake. In 20 years of being in this community, I can't even recall a specific instance Disney paying anyone for surveys to begin with (has it ever happened before? I could be wrong, but they are certainly very uncommon at best), much less one so clearly targeted to get the answers they wanted from the people they wanted it from. Given the tax write-off, they obviously are just data mining to salvage whatever value they can out of this boondoggle.

 

[Tha Realest]

So you think it's absurd to say that Disney "suddenly forgot how to market," but not that Disney suddenly forgot how to do market research? Or how to create a themed environment? Or how to price an experience? Or how to make a Star War?

The greatest marketing effort can’t overcome a product that misses the mark so completely, whether in concept or cost. Look no further than Ridley Scott’s 1984 ad for the Apple Macintosh. Watershed moment in advertising. Initially sold hot out of the gate but after three months the bottom fell out. Jobs was out of the company months later.

I said it was more likely that it was fixed to what’s become an unpopular era of the franchise. If that were not the case, then many third party companies like Lego and Hasbro appear to have abandoned that era completely.

I think the biggest hurdle was the price. They appear to have missed the boat completely there. The discounts were too few and far between to eventually move the needle which, again, suggests that there was simply not enough demand for what was being offered.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Thanks for the link. It seems many haven't read it (likely due to the paywall), because the devil is in the details.

The survey was sent to "those on the last voyages" who were paid a couple hundred bucks to participate.

So, the die hards that went at the very end, when they already knew exactly what the experience was since the entire thing was online, or had even done it before, were PAID for their opinions in a survey that they took after the experience was already closed.

Come. On.

THIS is what everyone is using as a metric to claim these magnificent ratings? A bunch of literally paid surveys from super fans? Super fans that already knew it was closing and since they are super-fans would clearly be biased in giving answers to it because they were getting paid, and wanted it to come back?

If ever there were a loaded Disney survey, this one takes the cake. In 20 years of being in this community, I can't even recall a specific instance Disney paying anyone for surveys to begin with (has it ever happened before? I could be wrong, but they are certainly very uncommon at best), much less one so clearly targeted to get the answers they wanted from the people they wanted it from. Given the tax write-off, they obviously are just data mining to salvage whatever value they can out of this boondoggle.

If this wasn’t just an exit interview and they really wanted to relaunch with something with mass appeal they would have surveyed folks who wanted to go but decided not to.

Again, we cannot apply logic to anything TWDC does these days.

 

[_caleb]

Thanks for the link. It seems many haven't read it (likely due to the paywall), because the devil is in the details.

The survey was sent to "those on the last voyages" who were paid a couple hundred bucks to participate.

Maybe you’re not familiar with how guest surveys are conducted. It’s pretty common to reward guests for providing feedback, especially when the survey is longer/more in-depth than usual. This has shown to have a positive effect on net participation and a negligible effect on the content of the feedback. In other words, people who know what they’re doing understand and account for false positive/negative bias in the sample.

So, the die hards that went at the very end, when they already knew exactly what the experience was since the entire thing was online, or had even done it before, were PAID for their opinions in a survey that they took after the experience was already closed.

Right, it’s been mentioned before that Disney was particularly interested in understanding why the relatively few who liked the Starcruiser experience liked it so much. It makes sense that they’d deliberately target the die-hards for this.

Come. On.

THIS is what everyone is using as a metric to claim these magnificent ratings? A bunch of literally paid surveys from super fans? Super fans that already knew it was closing and since they are super-fans would clearly be biased in giving answers to it because they were getting paid, and wanted it to come back?

If ever there were a loaded Disney survey, this one takes the cake. In 20 years of being in this community, I can't even recall a specific instance Disney paying anyone for surveys to begin with (has it ever happened before? I could be wrong, but they are certainly very uncommon at best), much less one so clearly targeted to get the answers they wanted from the people they wanted it from. Given the tax write-off, they obviously are just data mining to salvage whatever value they can out of this boondoggle.

Of course they’re mining for data! That’s what the rest of us have been trying to discuss while you’re here just discovering how surveys, reviews, and fandoms work.

 

[_caleb]

If this wasn’t just an exit interview and they really wanted to relaunch with something with mass appeal they would have surveyed folks who wanted to go but decided not to.

Again, we cannot apply logic to anything TWDC does these days.

This ”wanted to, but didn’t” demographic is extremely hard to find/survey because it isn’t really a defined group that Disney has access to.

That’s why they send people to hang out on fan boards like this one.

 

[Disstevefan1]

This ”wanted to, but didn’t” demographic is extremely hard to find/survey because it isn’t really a defined group that Disney has access to.

I me the demographic they want to survey is....... Everyone.

They have databases full Disney/Star Wars fans. I know they have my email address. They could have sent out a mass survey and filter on answers that equate to wanted to but didn't and have folks tell the reasons.

It makes me think they don't want to hear the reasons.

 

[AEfx]

Of course they’re mining for data! That’s what the rest of us have been trying to discuss while you’re here just discovering how surveys, reviews, and fandoms work.

LOL that's cute. Been here for 20 years, not my first time at the rodeo.

I am also well-aware that many surveys in general are paid - it's ones from Disney Parks that I am curious about, because we have had all sorts of leaks from all sorts of Disney guest satisfaction surveys before, and I personally can't recall hearing any were paid. I find it surprising because people usually act like they win the lottery just getting selected to take a post-visit survey without any monetary gain. Again, as I said to begin with - could be totally wrong, but that was indeed new to me. If its something they do regularly, we all learn something new every day. Seems like it may be because of the NDA - which some of these "superfans" clearly broke because they want folks to believe this new narrative and are under the delusion it may be coming back.

That said, I'm not sure why you are replying to me with such vigor, because my comments have been about people claiming that this was some unprecedented, guest satisfaction success story that was just misunderstood. Claiming that guests in general just loved it, and highest satisfaction, blah blah.

Given that most people apparently haven't read the source article to know that it was only a small, select group of paid participants who were already known to be among the tiny group of "superfans", it's ridiculous how quickly this became misinformation and people are saying "SEE! TOLD YOU IT WAS BELOVED BY EVERYONE WHO ACTUALLY WENT!"

 

[LSLS]

Disney routinely takes huge losses on films (especially lately). This does not deter them from making more films.

I’ve mentioned before that while Disney obviously hoped the Starcruiser would make a bajillion dollars, they weren’t exactly expecting it to. I think they’ve all along treated this as guest-subsidized R&D. It was a big experiment in a controlled environment that allowed them to measure guest behavior, engagement, responses, and spending.

I think Disney knows a lot about where they want to head in the future, and this was a big push in that direction. I’ve mentioned before how this seems like an evolution of personalized, interactive themed experiences like so many others Disney offers.

That isn’t to say I think this was their best effort. It obviously wasn’t a runaway hit. But again, I think Disney was prepared for that and greenlit it anyway.

Wait, I'm not arguing they will never do something like this again. I'm not sure they will see it as the future depending necessarily, but I could see them trying to implement similar things on a smaller scale.

BUT, none of that changes if they lost money on this. Maybe they planned to lose it and it's no big deal (or didn't plan to but similarly is not a huge deal), but are we in agreement now that it was in the negative when shut down? That's really the only place I was going, I was just taking issue with the idea that this thing was in the black.

 

[Rosso11]

That's rather reductive, considering that the entire experience - from the minute to minute schedule, pictures of every inch of the place, and every single activity was well-documented on video. There are more data points and documentation to observe about this offering than anything in recent Disney memory, arguably the most quickly and widely distributed ever, given how many people were intensely interested in this experience making those videos extremely popular for a period of time.

I know, because I was one of them - I watched it all. I was desperately looking for something that as a life-long Star Wars fan would make me say, "Oh, well that is cool enough that I have to see it for myself!"

The select folks who are trying to make it out that somehow this was some esoteric experience that we couldn't imagine don't do any favors for convincing people that it was somehow this elevated, misunderstood masterpiece when the best things they seem to be saying are "I made a bunch of new friends" or "it was worth six grand to see my kid hug a stormtrooper".

Frankly, "you had to be there" is a cop out on a discussion board when people who claim to have this knowledge can't tell us what it is we are missing and did not see that was so impressive.

I’m sorry but you are 100% wrong. This wasn’t some show like Harmonious where can watch a video of it and make some kind of legitimate opinion on it. This was a fully immersive experience that you lived in for 2+ days. Everyone’s experience on board is completely different. I was on with 3 other adults and we quickly found ourselves on completely different paths. The minute to minute schedule you talk of was simply activities that were going on in the background. That was not what the experience was about. I was a huge skeptic before I went. But I was blown away by the time I got off. It was obvious when we boarded there were many people like myself who were expecting to just sit back and try to enjoy from the background. I’m not one to dress up and I’m the last person who had any interest in larping. What was incredible was how quickly you get engulfed in it all and that was all from the incredible cast members involved. How they managed to do it is still mind blowing to me. By dinner the first night everyone on board was all in on the experience. You can’t understand these experiences from watching videos on YouTube.

What’s crushing to me is with all of the faults the experience was still incredible. I can’t even imagine how amazing it would have been if it was an original trilogy storyline. The potential for where this could have gone was huge. I just hope they don’t fully give up on the idea. It had its faults there’s no doubt but what they pulled of was truly something special.

 

[_caleb]

LOL that's cute. Been here for 20 years, not my first time at the rodeo.

Sorry- I did not mean to tell you anything you already know. Genuinely figured you might not be aware. Sorry about that.

I am also well-aware that many surveys in general are paid - it's ones from Disney Parks that I am curious about, because we have had all sorts of leaks from all sorts of Disney guest satisfaction surveys before, and I personally can't recall hearing any were paid. I find it surprising because people usually act like they win the lottery just getting selected to take a post-visit survey without any monetary gain. Again, as I said to begin with - could be totally wrong, but that was indeed new to me. If its something they do regularly, we all learn something new every day.

I think you’re right that most Disney parks guests don’t get paid to provide feedback. Don’t you think it’s interesting that in this case Disney compensated these uber-fans for their feedback? Some of us think this might mean Disney is treating the Starcruiser concept a bit differently than they have other closed attractions.

That said, I'm not sure why you are replying to me with such vigor, because my comments have been about people claiming that this was some unprecedented, guest satisfaction success story that was just misunderstood. Claiming that guests in general just loved it, and highest satisfaction, blah blah.

No vigor intended! You just wrote long, articulate posts that inspired me to engage. Yours have been some of the ones that were understandable enough to disagree with.

Given that most people apparently haven't read the source article to know that it was only a small, select group of paid participants who were already known to be among the tiny group of "superfans", it's ridiculous how quickly this became misinformation and people are saying "SEE! TOLD YOU IT WAS BELOVED BY EVERYONE WHO ACTUALLY WENT!"

I can see that. But I can also see the other extreme, which seems to be something like, “the whole thing was an abject failure and nobody actually liked it and those who say they did like it are just paid shills or too embarrassed to admit it sucked.”

Again, this is a fan discussion. Many of us enjoy exploring the nuance and analyzing what went wrong and what may have gone right.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

Two facts about this concept can be true at the same time:

1) The LARP’ers enjoyed their LARP’ing

2) The rest of the 99.9999999% of the world has no interest in LARP’ing with them

 

[_caleb]

I me the demographic they want to survey is....... Everyone.

They have databases full Disney/Star Wars fans. I know they have my email address. They could have sent out a mass survey and filter on answers that equate to wanted to but didn't and have folks tell the reasons.

It makes me think they don't want to hear the reasons.

This assumes “people who wanted to go but didn’t” is the same group as “fans of Disney/Star Wars.” I don’t think Disney is painting with a brush this broad. I think they know/knew that many uber fans of Star Wars (see several in this thread) wouldn’t be inclined to do an expensive immersive/interactive thing based on the Sequel Trilogy like this.

 

[_caleb]

Two facts about this concept can be true at the same time:

1) The LARP’ers enjoyed their LARP’ing

2) The rest of the 99.9999999% of the world has no interest in LARP’ing with them

You seem to have forgotten:

• How many have no idea what LARPing is
• How many don’t seem to realize that the Starcruiser didn’t require role playing (most guests seemed to have enjoyed participating but just being themselves)
• How many never even heard about the Starcruiser
• How many were priced out of the experience

 

[Epcot81Fan]

That's rather reductive, considering that the entire experience - from the minute to minute schedule, pictures of every inch of the place, and every single activity was well-documented on video. There are more data points and documentation to observe about this offering than anything in recent Disney memory, arguably the most quickly and widely distributed ever, given how many people were intensely interested in this experience making those videos extremely popular for a period of time.

I know, because I was one of them - I watched it all. I was desperately looking for something that as a life-long Star Wars fan would make me say, "Oh, well that is cool enough that I have to see it for myself!"

The select folks who are trying to make it out that somehow this was some esoteric experience that we couldn't imagine don't do any favors for convincing people that it was somehow this elevated, misunderstood masterpiece when the best things they seem to be saying are "I made a bunch of new friends" or "it was worth six grand to see my kid hug a stormtrooper".

Frankly, "you had to be there" is a cop out on a discussion board when people who claim to have this knowledge can't tell us what it is we are missing and did not see that was so impressive.

Exactly. There is no unseen mystery here.

I have seen countless videos of every moment of the concept, from the perspectives of every age group, group dynamic, etc. The nature of the experience and the type of people who booked it drove endless videos posted by those on board.

I’m still waiting for somebody to post that video that makes me say “Oh, NOW I get it! NOW it doesn’t look like an 8 year old’s “science fiction” themed birthday party with man-children playing dress up!!!”

Looks like I will have to keep waiting….

 

[Disstevefan1]

This assumes “people who wanted to go but didn’t” is the same group as “fans of Disney/Star Wars.” I don’t think Disney is painting with a brush this broad. I think they know/knew that many uber fans of Star Wars (see several in this thread) wouldn’t be inclined to do an expensive immersive/interactive thing based on the Sequel Trilogy like this.

My thinking was they want the Starcruiser to appeal to as many people as possible so to survey as many people as possible to gather data.

 

[_caleb]

Exactly. There is no unseen mystery here.

I have seen countless videos of every moment of the concept, from the perspectives of every age group, group dynamic, etc. The nature of the experience and the type of people who booked it drove endless videos posted by those on board.

I’m still waiting for somebody to post that video that makes me say “Oh, NOW I get it! NOW it doesn’t look like an 8 year old’s “science fiction” themed birthday party with man-children playing dress up!!!”

Looks like I will have to keep waiting….

“Who needs to visit the Grand Canyon? I’ve seen countless videos of it, and it’s just a hole in the ground!”

 

[Epcot81Fan]

“Who needs to visit the Grand Canyon? I’ve seen countless videos of it, and it’s just a hole in the ground!”

Except the Grand Canyon looks breathtaking, vast, and amazing from every photo and video and makes me want to visit.

This does not:

 

[Epcot81Fan]

To those who have taken the cruise, please let us know how you feel this video does not accurately capture this experience.

Had we actually been there, how exactly would this be better than it appears?

 

[flynnibus]

I think you’re right that most Disney parks guests don’t get paid to provide feedback. Don’t you think it’s interesting that in this case Disney compensated these uber-fans for their feedback? Some of us think this might mean Disney is treating the Starcruiser concept a bit differently than they have other closed attractions.

It has a lot to do with the level of commitment too.

I got paid to be part of a focus group on starcruiser before it was even announced... because I gave them time out of my day while at the parks.