News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Permanently Closed Fall 2023

[jinx8402]

Maybe just anecdotal but I know a lot of people (myself included) that were intrigued by the concept and would have liked to experience elements of it but no way would go for the structure that was provided (due to immersion/larping elements and the price point) ... But let me go up there for an afternoon to check I out and get a meal, do the lightsaber training for like $350-500/person and I would be way more interested

You know, I was starting to think how they could bring this back and this is where I landed at. Just make it a "day cruise" at $250-400pp (you know how they love their variable rates). Could do something like 3-4 lunch/dinner shows a day and have it include access to DHS via the shuttle. It would include all the activities set up previously. Only thing is what could they do with the rooms? Maybe make them a bunch of escape rooms lol

If they want to keep some semblance of larping instead of a cruise it could be something more like yacht that gets commandeered by the first order looking for resistance spies. Making it a yacht that you were invited to for a day out in space resolves the scope issue and the length of stay (none).

 

[Splash4eva]

Successful and highly rated experiences in theory make money and in theory money makers do not get shuttered less than 2 years after opening. Something just doesnt add up. The eye test and common sense is all you really need imo here…

 

[Splash4eva]

But it isn't just from those recent surveys after it was closed

This is from Touring Plans, so third party, not Disney and not paid. They had, in total, 4,500 responses and Starcruiser had the highest rating overall (the line is the 95% confidence interval) - so clearly those that participated thought the experience was great

View attachment 750985


and there is no big mystery, nothing that needs to be explained to you - quite a few people were attracted to what was offered, participated/spent the money, and enjoyed it ... but not enough to keep it going as it was. That's it, doesn't need to appeal to you or to be justified to you. And it is ok if you don't "get it" and ok that other people loved it


Only really relevant thing is where they go from here - what did they learn from it, and how might there be a unique opportunity in the future that other (hopefully more) people would be interested in, be it Star Wars related or something else

4500 responses which would be what? Less than 10% of the people who went by peoples guestimates? Not a great sample size to fall back on after a paid survey as the starting point to the conversation.

 

[asianway]

Were all the respondents who voted confirmed to have actually gone to the experience? Online polls are...online polls. People seem to just be running with this like this amazing reception it's some verified fact.

And yes, it is totally okay that some people loved it. This has been explained over and over. And pretending it hasn't is just trying to play fourm games by constantly mis-framing the discussion (which is why I'm ignoring the usual suspects who habitually do that).

That said, when they then accuse the rest of us of unfairly judging the offerings, decor, and activities, and then can't tell us what offerings, decor, and activities we are judging unfairly, then yes, the onus is on them to explain what it is we are missing, if indeed we are.

Basically, the opposite of this narrative of "people are being attacked because they liked something" is what is happening. The rest of us are being judged for objectively judging the experience based on the massive amount of evidence of what was offered. And I'm not going to clarify this aspect again, because anyone who claims not to understand this is simply not participating in a good faith discussion, and isn't worth any more time.

It's really that simple, and the fact that some folks are trying to make it more complicated than that feels like more forum games - because we all know the answer: every single inch of this thing, every second was completely documented. The rest of us aren't missing anything or unfairly judging what Disney offered.

Unverified poll from people who read touring plans

 

[AEfx]

And you aren't missing anything, no one is saying you are.

I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt as a fellow Star Wars fan, but you might want to review the past dozen or so pages of thread if you believe this is an honest statement. I mean, it's happened again multiple times on just the past few pages alone.

There have been repeated accusations that this was some certified creative triumph, that people being critical of it are "just cherry picking a few images they found online", that we cannot judge the offered experience based on any of the ample documentation of the entire thing that exists as hard evidence of what went on in there.

This phantom argument that "people are being criticized for liking it" or asking anyone to "make me like it" is just that - a phantom, it's not happening.

 

[asianway]

For those that did the the cruise, was this better in person?

Because this looks pretty terrible.

View attachment 750941

It doesn’t seem much different than others like Ashoka Hera or Gamora that they do. But making KK into a character certainly didn’t do them favors with a segment of the fans

 

[pdude81]

So we can't trust DPEP saying it's the highest rated experience ever because they must be lying to put a good spin on it, even though the thing is closing anyway and there is no reason to lie. We can't trust a third party operator (TP) who aggregates the data because it's not enough of a sample size. We can't trust people paid for their opinion on something that will never come back in that form again because they were paid. We can't trust people who went because they wouldn't admit to wasting money on something that sucked.

We can only trust the haters who didn't like some videos and pictures they saw.

 

[danlb_2000]

Successful and highly rated experiences in theory make money and in theory money makers do not get shuttered less than 2 years after opening. Something just doesnt add up. The eye test and common sense is all you really need imo here…

Making admission to the parks free would also get high customer ratings, but would it be a sustainable business model? The Star Cruiser could have been a great experience, but there just wasn't a big enough pool of potential guests to make it viable.

 

[AEfx]

That's some mental gymnastics going on there.

So we can't trust DPEP saying it's the highest rated experience ever

Link please? I can find no such comment. I can find his general marketing speak of "incredibly high" when he was admitting it failed and did not meet expectations so it had to be shuttered. And yes, as the man responsible for seeing it through, I can't help but think he is a bit...biased. It's called CYA when you are trying to mitigate what a disaster and how embarrassing this was to the company.

We can't trust a third party operator (TP) who aggregates the data

Aggregates what data? An online poll? That didn't verify that anyone actually went there or not? To paraphrase Darth Vader, never underestimate...the power of Star Wars fans to vote multiple times in a poll, or blindly vote for something they never experienced. Not to mention, yes, considering the sample size and the fact that far more people went to every other resort than that one, it's just an online poll.

We can't trust people paid for their opinion on something that will never come back in that form again because they were paid.

When the paid group was specifically selected among those on the "last voyages" who were either a) die hard repeat visitors, or b) already fully knew what the experience entailed by choosing to go so late so knew what to expect - yeah, I can expect them to rate it more highly. That said - do we actually have the RESULTS of this survey? Because all I can find is that people who took the cash and took the survey violated their NDA and leaked its contents. It also should be noted that from what was leaked - that the questions could easily be interpreted as them having second thoughts about closing it and giving hope of bringing it back, which would again influence answers.

The claims people are making just do not hold up to any scrutiny.

 

[LSLS]

4500 responses which would be what? Less than 10% of the people who went by peoples guestimates? Not a great sample size to fall back on after a paid survey as the starting point to the conversation.

That's not true, you would need a lot more info to see if there is any statistical significance for it. 4,500 could absolutely be a significant sample size that would allow you to draw conclusions.

At any rate, as someone who thought this would not do well, saw no real appeal for it, and isn't really upset it closed, it's crazy to me that there are people that will sit here and question if the people who went enjoyed it. We have a pretty overwhelming amount of evidence that people who went did enjoy the experience for the most part. It was great for the small small subset of people it was designed for. I don't understand why that can't be accepted while also accepting that it was a poorly thought out idea.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

If anyone didn't get to go to a voyage on the Starcruiser but wanted some merch, there is some available at Keystone Clothiers inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios

probably a sign a return is not imminent

 

[Splash4eva]

Making admission to the parks free would also get high customer ratings, but would it be a sustainable business model? The Star Cruiser could have been a great experience, but there just wasn't a big enough pool of potential guests to make it viable.

If that is the case that you and others want to use then it is in theory a failure from the beginning and a huge mistake to green lighting it and if this is a “shock” that the pool wasnt big enough. Again a failure.

 

[Splash4eva]

That's not true, you would need a lot more info to see if there is any statistical significance for it. 4,500 could absolutely be a significant sample size that would allow you to draw conclusions.

At any rate, as someone who thought this would not do well, saw no real appeal for it, and isn't really upset it closed, it's crazy to me that there are people that will sit here and question if the people who went enjoyed it. We have a pretty overwhelming amount of evidence that people who went did enjoy the experience for the most part. It was great for the small small subset of people it was designed for. I don't understand why that can't be accepted while also accepting that it was a poorly thought out idea.

Im not really questioning people enjoying it whether a survey was paid for or a free trip on the star cruiser was given just saying something that closes in less than 2 years after the money spent is a failure. Like you said both statements can be true.

 

[JD80]

4500 responses which would be what? Less than 10% of the people who went by peoples guestimates? Not a great sample size to fall back on after a paid survey as the starting point to the conversation.

Statistically that is an amazing sample size.

 

[Splash4eva]

Statistically that is an amazing sample size.

For a experience like this from a fan group like no other? If you say so. Like ive said before. Companies do not close things down after a short time that were successful. Ive leave it at that…

 

[JD80]

That's some mental gymnastics going on there.



Link please? I can find no such comment. I can find his general marketing speak of "incredibly high" when he was admitting it failed and did not meet expectations so it had to be shuttered. And yes, as the man responsible for seeing it through, I can't help but think he is a bit...biased. It's called CYA when you are trying to mitigate what a disaster and how embarrassing this was to the company.


Aggregates what data? An online poll? That didn't verify that anyone actually went there or not? To paraphrase Darth Vader, never underestimate...the power of Star Wars fans to vote multiple times in a poll, or blindly vote for something they never experienced. Not to mention, yes, considering the sample size and the fact that far more people went to every other resort than that one, it's just an online poll.



When the paid group was specifically selected among those on the "last voyages" who were either a) die hard repeat visitors, or b) already fully knew what the experience entailed by choosing to go so late so knew what to expect - yeah, I can expect them to rate it more highly. That said - do we actually have the RESULTS of this survey? Because all I can find is that people who took the cash and took the survey violated their NDA and leaked its contents. It also should be noted that from what was leaked - that the questions could easily be interpreted as them having second thoughts about closing it and giving hope of bringing it back, which would again influence answers.

The claims people are making just do not hold up to any scrutiny.

Here's just one reference to guest satisfaction:

The experience has earned some of the highest guest satisfaction ratings in the history of Walt Disney World and earned a Thea Award for outstanding achievement in the themed entertainment space.

Disney World's costly Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to close in late September

Disney World's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is closing and will make its final voyage this September after being open for only more than a year.

www.cnbc.com

STAR WARS: GALACTIC STARCRUISER

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, USA Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement - Brand Experience O verview Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is a...

www.teaconnect.org

From Touring Plans:

2022 Awards: Best Of Resorts | TouringPlans.com Blog

2022 is wrapping up (can I get a "thank goodness"?), and that means that we have lots of data to review, and lots of rec

touringplans.com

These surveys are done post-visit. So if you using TP as a travel agent or logged your trip in your account, you would potentially get this survey. So I guess some people may have faked a trip in Touring Plans and then filled out a survey?

From the survey, it also ranked high with Table Service Dining, Best Resort Rooms, and Best Staff.

All this data was from 2022.

We do not have the results from the Starcruiser survey that was done by Disney, only the kind of questions they were asking. I don't expect to ever get the results.

But you could have googled this yourself I guess.

 

[JD80]

For a experience like this from a fan group like no other? If you say so. Like ive said before. Companies do not close things down after a short time that were successful. Ive leave it at that…

No one is saying it was a successful business venture lol.

All anyone is saying is that from a creative and entertainment point of view it was one of the most highly rated Disney experiences ever. It just cost too much money and was marketed terribly.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

I think the contention is not the walkthrough don’t accurately depict it…but rather the physicality of it once you get there made it more appealing?

You can understand that. I can think of a couple things where I was amazed at how true that was…but to me the Eiffel Tower was signature. “It’s just a building”…until you walk around it and on a clear day…it almost “floats” against a clear blue sky. So much more impressive there. Not the greatest example…but the premise is valid.

But…the “you can’t judge it if you didn’t do it” isn’t valid either…because such a microscopic number actual did it…and they had no bookings…they slammed the door shut on it in record time.
So a fail…is a fail…is a fail. That’s the epitaph in the end. It will be remembered as a disaster. The cake is baked. Cause…humans…and stuff.

You’re telling me when you saw pictures of the Eiffel Tower or fly up to it on Soarin’ that it doesn’t look appealing and magical and iconic?

Seeing the pictures and videos of the Eiffel Tower your whole life didn’t make you want to see it in person?

And when you saw it in person, it appeared completely different and in no way was recognizable from the 4K videos?.

That is what is being sold here.

The wholesale embarrassment of what we are seeing in the countless videos of this disaster is what it is and no amount of “you had to be there” changes what we are seeing.

 

[JD80]

You’re telling me when you saw pictures of the Eiffel Tower or fly up to it on Soarin’ that it doesn’t look appealing and magical and iconic?

Seeing the pictures and videos of the Eiffel Tower your whole life didn’t make you want to see it in person?

And when you saw it in person, it appeared completely different and in no way was recognizable from the 4K videos?.

That is what is being sold here.

The wholesale embarrassment of what we are seeing in the countless videos of this disaster is what it is and no amount of “you had to be there” changes what we are seeing.

After you watch Saving Private Ryan, let me know how combat felt like in WW2.

 

[Splash4eva]

No one is saying it was a successful business venture lol.

All anyone is saying is that from a creative and entertainment point of view it was one of the most highly rated Disney experiences ever. It just cost too much money and was marketed terribly.

But again thats debatable as only a small amount of highly devoted fans went which imo means others did not find it that way nor did they like the idea… its not like Disney has a shortage of people who can afford things.