News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Permanently Closed Fall 2023

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Once I visited for the first time I was excited. By the third time my impression (an opinion I still hold today) is that SW is one big money grab for Disney.

Don’t get me wrong. Disney invested a lot of money for the acquisition, and yes they’d want to make money from it, but the optics (at least for me) seemed a bit overkill.

It’s almost as Disney approached everything SW like:

We’ll sell over priced drinks, have a ton of shops, charge a gazillion dollars for a build it yourself light saber, have some more shops, oh I know let’s build a hotel and charge 5k for it. Then we can create a special Star Wars drink for another 5k and sell it to people not even in the parks.

The focus was never on doing right by the IP.

 

[Mike S]

Once I visited for the first time I was excited. By the third time my impression (an opinion I still hold today) is that SW is one big money grab for Disney.

Don’t get me wrong. Disney invested a lot of money for the acquisition, and yes they’d want to make money from it, but the optics (at least for me) seemed a bit overkill.

It’s almost as Disney approached everything SW like:

We’ll sell over priced drinks, have a ton of shops, charge a gazillion dollars for a build it yourself light saber, have some more shops, oh I know let’s build a hotel and charge 5k for it. Then we can create a special Star Wars drink for another 5k and sell it to people not even in the parks.

The focus was never on doing right by the IP.

The difference being J.K. Rowling is involved in anything Universal does with Potter. Likewise with Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. Both of them will never let Universal destroy their creations.

 

[BrerFoxesBayouAdventure]

The Mickey plush in Jedi robes (that Lucasfilm banned) probably did sell Incredibly well as well.

Is there a source for this? That'd be really funny if true.

 

[Epcot81Fan]

Perfectly stated

So I was in Anaheim august of 2019…previously planned group trip…and I really liked the Star Wars land. Only 1 ride and I thought it was novel…scenery good. But it felt like something was missing? People just assumed it was this amazing new ride…

First time to the HP lands was in January of 2020 right before the troubles started.
I was and still am floored. Not just for the original build of Diagon…but the repurpose (which got dismissed by Disney fans for decades) of hogsmeade was incredible. It just hit. Even the subdued nighttime show. So much more than it’s parts.

My first time in Orlando a year later? Well then I got the full dose of abrams land…when only the name matters.

Just don’t go anymore. Skip and the other stuff in the park. It’s just low entertainment. Not low quality…just there are better things to see and eat.

SWGE lacks charm, cleverness, humor, fun, and entertainment.

It’s a perfect testament to today’s WDI.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Is there a source for this? That'd be really funny if true.

A source for Lucasfilm pulling all the Mickey & Friends crossover merch?

I don’t know if you’d be able to find concrete evidence of this but I remember it being said on these boards, years ago.

After Lucasfilm ended Star Wars Weekends, and Disney/Lucasfilm ended the Legends/Extended Universe, the Mickey & Co characters weren’t allowed to wear those outfits anymore and all the merch was discontinued.

 

[JoeCamel]

SWGE lacks charm, cleverness, humor, fun, and entertainment.

It’s a perfect testament to today’s WDI.

You left out imagination. They have one of the best stories ever created and they did this with it. Just lacking effort

 

[FettFan]

A source for Lucasfilm pulling all the Mickey & Friends crossover merch?

I don’t know if you’d be able to find concrete evidence of this but I remember it being said on these boards, years ago.

After Lucasfilm ended Star Wars Weekends, and Disney/Lucasfilm ended the Legends/Extended Universe, the Mickey & Co characters weren’t allowed to wear those outfits anymore and all the merch was discontinued.

I gave my Jedi Mickey to my little nephew. I hope he takes care of it, since they’re not making them anymore.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I get it, the price was out of reach for a lot of people

It’s not even that it priced people out. I’m not priced out, but I”m sorry, spending $6,000 for a 2 night experience is nuts. There are so many better things I can that amount of money on. And I’m the kind of person who probably would have done this if it was priced reasonably. Chapek just got greedy when he priced this thing.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

A source for Lucasfilm pulling all the Mickey & Friends crossover merch?

I don’t know if you’d be able to find concrete evidence of this but I remember it being said on these boards, years ago.

After Lucasfilm ended Star Wars Weekends, and Disney/Lucasfilm ended the Legends/Extended Universe, the Mickey & Co characters weren’t allowed to wear those outfits anymore and all the merch was discontinued.

I think that tracks.

One of the problems with Disney fans is if they can’t google it and have a video link with someone in a name tag on it…then they dismiss it as not real.

The surface tells the truth more often than not in all things - including Disney.

They leaned HARD into trying to do everything with “their characters”. That is 1000% Bob iger’s vanity and ego. Truth. Don’t look for the press release.

There are links talking about marginalizing the OT characters…that’s Iger. They made one of the weirdest reboots ever.

They tried to reset Han Solo…that’s 1000% Iger.

So yeah…there’s very little chance there wasn’t a top down directive to make everything from “current times”…
Cause guess who bought it?

I thought Lucas was just a sour curmudgeon when he did that Charlie Rose interview…

…but he knew. He battled with Eisner for credit/control for 2 decades and saw the writing on the wall. He definitely saw what was coming…probably cause he made a lot of mistakes that they have…he just never admitted it outloud.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It’s not even that it priced people out. I’m not priced out, but I”m sorry, spending $6,000 for a 2 night experience is nuts. There are so many better things I can that amount of money on. And I’m the kind of person who probably would have done this if it was priced reasonably. Chapek just got greedy when he priced this thing.

There are a lot of us who can pay it but had no desire to pay it.

I’m a right “down the middle” Star Wars fan. And I never was tempted once.

It was DOA by that “indicator” alone

 

[Indy_UK]

SWGE lacks charm, cleverness, humor, fun, and entertainment.

It’s a perfect testament to today’s WDI.

This is the biggest issue with Disney and Star Wars in the parks. They are killing the fun in any of it because they want to remain so strict to the story… in turn, killing peoples excitement for it.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Perhaps not at the moment, but there is a chance now that word is out that the place is closing.
Everyone who will be staying there from this point on will likely stock up on ‘Starcruiser’ branded merch to ‘flip’ / resell once the place is gone.



-




-

The “Venn” (Stop spelling it VIN People!) Diagram of people who pay $6,000 for two nights on the starcruiser and people who flip merchandise on ebay is two non-intersecting circles.

 

[MaximumEd]

SWGE lacks charm, cleverness, humor, fun, and entertainment.

It’s a perfect testament to today’s WDI.

Perfectly stated. I’m not talking about the IPs themselves, but the Potter park experience is everything the SW park experience is not. And not to rehash the OT vs ST argument, but I don’t care one bit what or where or when Batuu is. The fans wanted Tattooine, Mos Eisley, or Corusant. To heck with the sacred timeline.

 

[Mike S]

A source for Lucasfilm pulling all the Mickey & Friends crossover merch?

I don’t know if you’d be able to find concrete evidence of this but I remember it being said on these boards, years ago.

After Lucasfilm ended Star Wars Weekends, and Disney/Lucasfilm ended the Legends/Extended Universe, the Mickey & Co characters weren’t allowed to wear those outfits anymore and all the merch was discontinued.

I actually miss Star Wars Weekends. I thought it was a fun celebration of the franchise.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

Perfectly stated. I’m not talking about the IPs themselves, but the Potter park experience is everything the SW park experience is not. And not to rehash the OT vs ST argument, but I don’t care one bit what or where or when Batuu is. The fans wanted Tattooine, Mos Eisley, or Corusant. To heck with the sacred timeline.

Which is why jk rowling refused every Disney offer

 

[Nubs70]

SWGE lacks charm, cleverness, humor, fun, and entertainment.

It’s a perfect testament to today’s WDI.

I went to SWGE once. I went to WWoHP and Diagon Alley.

I have no need to go back to SWGE.
I do need to see WWoHP and Diagon Alley.

SWGE is a beautiful, sterile, and lifeless representation of Star Wars

 

[Tha Realest]

SWGE lacks charm, cleverness, humor, fun, and entertainment.

It’s a perfect testament to today’s WDI.

I’d go so far as to say SWGE is a perfect testament to today’s Lucasfilm. Eschewing what’s been historically popular and instead force feeding you what *they* want instead.

 

[Mike S]

Which is why jk rowling refused every Disney offer

I wonder if she would’ve accepted their offer if their pitch was what Tony Baxter drew up and not some value engineered dud.

@Figments Friend would have a bit more insight on this.

 

[Figments Friend]

I wonder if she would’ve accepted their offer if their pitch was what Tony Baxter drew up and not some value engineered dud.

@Figments Friend would have a bit more insight on this.

Quite a few elements of what Tony drew up ended up being built over at Universal.
Former Imagineers who had departed Disney and moved over to Universal Creative remembered Tony’s ideas and they had a influence in developing some aspects of the area.

It was a bittersweet experience for him to visit the WwoHP when it opened as he so wanted this for the Disney Company.
I would imagine there is still strong feelings there when he visits today, knowing what could have been.

But those in charge at the time were too short sighted and ‘cheap’ to pony up the cash and manpower to do it right.
And they lost more than just the rights to the theming.
It was also sadly a time when Tony’s creative influence was purposely being suppressed by certain parties.

-

 

[durangojim]

Glad I got this when I did. They should bring back Star Wars weekends. It would be great and give the SW fans a lot of good will.

I worked on the Halcyon, the merch sales were pretty crazy. Most guests would buy as many things as they can. Average transaction from 1-4pm on day 1 is ~$900.

The Mickey plush in Jedi robes (that Lucasfilm banned) probably did sell Incredibly well as well.

Glad my wife bought me this stuff when she did. They should bring back SW weekends, it would create a ton of good will with the SW fans and it was always great fun!