News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Permanently Closed Fall 2023

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
It's a mistake just about EVERY studio is guilty of. They use the ip for it's name recognition and built in fan base to create what they want it to be. Instead of what it is supposed to be. If you don't stay true to the ip, odds are pretty good it will struggle.
All the suits think there’s all kinds of hidden “untapped potential”

But

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Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
It's a mistake just about EVERY studio is guilty of. They use the ip for it's name recognition and built in fan base to create what they want it to be. Instead of what it is supposed to be. If you don't stay true to the ip, odds are pretty good it will struggle.
It's not just that, it's also IP trumps making a good attraction anymore. What used to set Disney apart was how good their attractions were, now it's about how they can get an IP into the parks as cheap as possible.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
It's not just that, it's also IP trumps making a good attraction anymore. What used to set Disney apart was how good their attractions were, now it's about how they can get an IP into the parks as cheap as possible.
Yeah…it’s all movie Rehash ride throughs…

Perfect for kiddie land…but for anyone older you want a “twist” on things

That’s why splash and tower are brilliant…and when the movie ride lasted cause it had a good storyline to mesh it together.

Now you build bland rehashes of bad scifi movies? You get what you get.

The opposite of that: flight of passage
 

Big T 1963

Member
I say just bull doze it and build another DVC isn't that the case anymore ? Don't get me wrong but when I heard what they were planning this a few years back and the price points came out am like yeah the average Joe is not doing this it will be closed in less than 5 years and low and behold look where we are now...we pay enough for the rest of the WDW attractions.... right?
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
I say just bull doze it and build another DVC isn't that the case anymore ? Don't get me wrong but when I heard what they were planning this a few years back and the price points came out am like yeah the average Joe is not doing this it will be closed in less than 5 years and low and behold look where we are now...we pay enough for the rest of the WDW attractions.... right?
The level of disaster this thing is hasn’t been properly stressed here…

It’s the biggest failure in Disney parks history. A disaster with no options for an exit strategy. Very un Disney like
 

Sandurz

Well-Known Member
Disney management are in their own echo chamber.

Making common sense decisions to them is giving into the die hard fans who flock the forums like this and there’s no way the management is going to do that so they ignore the bleeding obvious that even the general guest is telling them

It seems like huge chunks of the creative processes at Disney are deeply flawed these days. More often than not, it doesn't seem like they know how to execute big picture on projects anymore. Harmonious had a ton of great individual moments, but as a whole, was not well received. Enchantment at MK, same thing. These things get workshopped to death in tiny bits and pieces and the result is rarely greater (and often worse!) than the sum of its parts. The Frozen 2 docuseries is a great example of this where the whole thing is clearly a mess the entire time and they have no idea how to fix it, and somehow they think it's a big victory when really all it ends up being is technically complete.

I don't even necessarily think Starcruiser falls into this category at all to be honest, it's sort of an outlier, and a problem I wish they'd have more often, where they over-commit and build the best version of something that people aren't necessarily ready for. It's not even a product of echo chamber, it was just really bad product-market fit, and bad narrative control, but it does also illustrate a common problem they have where they design rides/experiences/shows/movies for some hypothetical person that may or may not exist, or if they do exist, exist in large enough numbers to work.
 

erasure fan1

Well-Known Member
The level of disaster this thing is hasn’t been properly stressed here…

It’s the biggest failure in Disney parks history. A disaster with no options for an exit strategy. Very un Disney like
Wait, so you're saying Disney misjudged star wars? I don't believe you. I've seen how much money the sequels made. Are you sure it wasn't just the review bombing that did this thing in?

:cautious:
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Wait, so you're saying Disney misjudged star wars? I don't believe you. I've seen how much money the sequels made. Are you sure it wasn't just the review bombing that did this thing in?

:cautious:
I’m kinda leaving Star Wars out of it…

I’m talking about building a high overhead, stand-alone experiment with no contingency/repurpose plans if it struggled. Many things have stuggled…dak struggled…euro struggled…

But there were ways to buy time with the infrastructure to make fixes/allow them to recover

This has none. And Iger greenlit it. No excuses
 

dreamfinder912

Well-Known Member
I'd like to see either two things come out of this.

1) Cast Members and Performers moved over to Galaxies Edge/Hollywood Studios, where a new dining experience is set up where the proposed dining area was supposed to go in the first place.

2) The interactive experience still kept going on the star cruiser but almost as an escape room experience. So rather than stay there, you just pay to go there for a few hours to go through the interactive role play instead. The experience would just be a paired down, far less expensive experience than it is now. The suites/rooms can be repurposed into backstage/office space/storage etc.

Just out of interest, for anyone that's stayed there, or experienced it. Could you give us a run-down of everything that was included in the $5K pricing?
Oh boy this could be a very long story. Ive gone three times, with a fourth booked.

Your cabin, with an in room droid (AI) D3-09 who will have story specific messages for you. If you tell her it's your honeymoon, she will do a vow renewal. Each night at "bedtime" she will sing a lullaby or tell a bedtime story (it's about the hero of the rebellion, R2-D2) she will know what uouve been up to on the ship, and she will as for your help. If you go first order, she will be overridden by secret first order messages. You can choose to have her captured. You can help her broker deals. The cabin also has your viewport window which moves in real time. The ship moves in and out of lightspeed, asteroid fields and fights through blockades. Your window is accurate to what is happening on the bridge.

The best guest service on property. Some people have said "it's how Disney used to be." I went to but was a kid during the "good ol days" of Disney customer service going above and beyond (and beyond!) Everyone is engaged and excited to help your journey and be part of your story.

Unlimited food and (non alcoholic) drinks. It's a themed buffet breakfast and lunch, and two table service dinners. But all afternoon and evening you'll find snacks at passenger services, and before the sublight lounge opens at 1, you'll find coffee, fruit, and to go breakfast options. The bar snacks, ranging from crispy veggie bites to smoked cheese plates are also included.

The day 2 Batuu excursion with lightning lane access to the 2 Batuu rides. The pin and magic band will signal to Batuu CMs that you're a Starcruiser passenger. Interactions vary, but are generally more focused on you. You'll get a different greeting from Hondo before entering the cockpit of the Falcon. And a full meal and drink (alcohol or not) that day in the park. Some people treat this as their DHS day, I think they're insane, but they find value in doing that.

Bridge and saber training. They're not just video games and glow sticks. Your Saja will talk to you as you cycle through saber training. Your answers to them matter. Your bridge training will have some sort of interruption. How you react to that will matter.

Additional game elements on the play app. Your messages disappear after the voyage but any badges, titles, cargo, maps etc you earn stay. The game itself i saved for last because it is much more than what's available on Batuu normally.

The game/story is the reason my party keeps going back. Ive discussed this with others but it does genuinely morph from "oh tee hee look we are in 'space' and there are droids to "if I don't get the captain out of the atrium and away from the compass, we will let all of Ryloth down" at breakneck speeds. It's scripted. Raithe Kole will, 100% of the time, steal the stone from the compass. He will get away with it 100% of the time. But when Raithe asks for your help, you want to help him. And you get emotionally invested in doing so. You go get a counterfeit stone made on Batuu, you worry the plan won't work. Some people bring physical props back with them on the transport. And this doesn't just happen to people in costume who enjoy LARPing. This happens to anyone involved in the story.

There are four main paths on the datapad like this. And limitless ways to join one or many and get involved. Each path has its own story, it's own finale. Imagine those 20 minute streetmosphere sketches. But it's two days. And what you say, from your name to whatever you say just in conversation is remembered.

The things you say and do matter in real time. Alliances change, code words that work for some won't work for others, all based on the choices you make. You will be spoken to by many if not all performers. Lt Croy will question you, and he will remember how you answer. And others will hear of how you replied. You can be spied on, you can be a spy.

The value in Starcruiser isn't the cabin or the food or the park ticket. It's the story. The actors, the crew. It sounds crazy to say, but it changes you. In some indescribable but irrefutable way.
 

dreamfinder912

Well-Known Member
I’m kinda leaving Star Wars out of it…

I’m talking about building a high overhead, stand-alone experiment with no contingency/repurpose plans if it struggled. Many things have stuggled…dak struggled…euro struggled…

But there were ways to buy time with the infrastructure to make fixes/allow them to recover

This has none. And Iger greenlit it. No excuses
This had them. They just didn't choose to use them. Switching to twice a week "sailings" with one heavily discounted for kiddos would've crossed off most issues at once. Staff would be better rested/happier/safer, costs would be down, travelers condensed, and an informal split between those with and without children offered.

They could've retheemed to Mandalorian as it was rumoured. Could've retheemed to pretty much anything. The ship itself has a long history. Plenty of wiggle room. They chose not to wiggle.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
This had them. They just didn't choose to use them. Switching to twice a week "sailings" with one heavily discounted for kiddos would've crossed off most issues at once. Staff would be better rested/happier/safer, costs would be down, travelers condensed, and an informal split between those with and without children offered.

They could've retheemed to Mandalorian as it was rumoured. Could've retheemed to pretty much anything. The ship itself has a long history. Plenty of wiggle room. They chose not to wiggle.
No…it really doesn’t. Without getting long winded…this thing is kinda a manifestation of a couple big fundamental errors Disney made with their IP.

I’ll Leave it at that.
They made the right move stopping the bleeding now.
 

Indy_UK

Well-Known Member
I still believe they are going to rework it into the land and offer premium day trips and just ignore the rooms. Probably similar to what the vloggers got on opening, I think was a 6 hour snapshot with the storyline, some activities and food included.
 

ChrisFL

Premium Member
I still believe they are going to rework it into the land and offer premium day trips and just ignore the rooms. Probably similar to what the vloggers got on opening, I think was a 6 hour snapshot with the storyline, some activities and food included.

I forgot about that, they had a shorter "abbreviated" experience but gave a lot of the highlights (probably didn't include the line dancing though)
 

Fox&Hound

Well-Known Member
The level of disaster this thing is hasn’t been properly stressed here…

It’s the biggest failure in Disney parks history. A disaster with no options for an exit strategy. Very un Disney like
But it was also their doing: their greed for profit made them charge insane room prices. I wonder if this thing could have survived had they charged a reasonable price.
 

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