News Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Permanently Closed Fall 2023

[gerarar]

I suggested this in different thread. They can close off the hallways where the rooms are, have the dinner theatre accessible from Batuu with the transports and then have lightsaber & bridge training as add one ($$$) and everyone gets to see the finale show.

The problem would be getting Lucasfilm/WDI on board. This was their baby and they were very controlling of every aspect of it

It also made me think if they went with the original-rumored planned transportation. Some light-rail type people mover instead of a themed truck.

That would've increased the value of the Starcruiser and have more incentive for Disney to either keep it going or repurpose it like you suggested.

But we see Savii's always booked up, so having a similar experience at the Starcruiser seems like a no brainer, especially if priced a bit higher.

 

[Sundown]

Bravo!

(I do hate to see jobs potentially lost. Hopefully those impacted can fill other company roles. But I also do like to see the public interest was not big enough to support what I viewed as an awful Star Wars mess of an entertainment experience. Perhaps it can some day be reborn in a much-improved manner.)

 

[Riverrafter21]

Can it get any worse for Disney? I mean, wow!

They could extend Iger another 5 years

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Now what can they do with this purpose-built facility ? Will they build the pool now ?

Thats the thing, if this just gets shut down and not retrofitted, you have to wonder how much effort went into it in the first place... though its not the first time...

 

[mf1972]

i haven’t read all the pages here & not sure if this was mentioned, but i’ve stated somewhere before that if disney would make a star wars themed value resort or something similar to AOA, people will probably go to it. definitely more affordable for families vs the star cruiser.

 

[Disone]

1. It was DOA
2. I hate being right

Do you though . Hehehe J/k

 

[Trauma]

 

[CastAStone]

Wow…instead of lowering the prices to make it affordable to a greater audience, they decide to just close it. I would have loved to have gone.

There's no way they could lower the prices and keep it profitable. It was an incredibly cast heavy experience and the cost of cast is increasing rapidly.

 

[Mizzourah]

Hopefully this means they'll bring back prior in-park roles, like Citizens of Hollywood. I'm sure many of the cast members moved to acting roles in the Starcruiser.

 

[Figgy1]

Yes it isn't remotely setup to be a standalone hotel. Could it be modified? Not sure, but it may well end up being demolished or abandoned for someone to do something with in the future.

Office/storage space?

 

[CastAStone]

I’m not sure why everyone here who has bemoaned Disney’s cuts on service and guest experience is cheering the failure of their most service and guest experience project in decades.

This isn’t going to convince Disney to increase service levels at the parks.

 

[CastAStone]

Office/storage space?

Maybe they can keep that one cool lightsaber there.

 

[Andrew M]

They really overestimated the demand for cosplay vacations. I figured it was about a year or less away from being converted into a regular hotel without the cosplay cruise element. Add a pool and price it like a normal hotel and it might work, but this sounds like it's more likely to be demolished at some point whether that's soon or after rotting for years.

I don't know, I feel like a large part of the potential audience was immediately priced out from the start.

My kids would absolutely love this experience, as they're all in on Episodes 7/8/9, but I can't justify the cost. If the price was cut in half I'd do it, and I'd imagine there's a ton of people in that boat too.

 

[MrPromey]

It was an experiment in a high priced experience that did not work beyond the initial superfans and bloggers. It was doomed as soon as the pricing was revealed at $5000+. A huge number of potential guests at that point just switched off to the project.

It seemed obvious then, and even more so now, but what should have been built was an actual Star Wars hotel, at a price point consistent with other deluxe accommodations at WDW.

And they could have slapped a Star Cruiser-like experience right in the middle of it with à la carte options that allowed for escape-room levels of commitment from guests so nobody had to go all-in and so "mixed" families who were not all equally as enthused about the theme had options... like a pool.

This also would have cut out the need for things like the embarrassing intergalactic line dancing lessons and space bingo as filler.

This could have been the Star Wars equivalent of Animal Kingdom Lodge where the non-paying looky-loos were kept at bay but where most rooms just had Darth Vader prints on the pillows, funny doors and Tvs built into the wall that had custom graphics that would/could display when nobody was watching a show and people willing to pay more could have been "up in" the Star Cruiser for a room without a real window.

 

[gerarar]

Starcruiser booking website updated with announcement regarding the final voyage:

 

[RobWDW1971]

Hmmmm, seems just recently the same chorus of pathetic Disney Defenders were trying to convince @TP2000 that this obvious complete bust was a huge hit and we can't extrapolate ANYTHING from the discounting or empty booking calendars. Who knew?!?!

 

[TalkingHead]

yeah, like putting it in the wrong trilogy era

Which was an Iger decision. Another feather in his cap.

 

[CAV]

It always seemed simple to me: there are a lot of Star Wars fans. There are a lot of Disney fans. There are not a lot of Disney Star Wars fans. There are even less fans who like Disney-fied Star Wars. Of the few that like Disney-fied Star Wars, few of them could afford $5K for two nights.

 

[Disstevefan1]

"Walt Disney World's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will make its final voyage this fall.

The first-of-its-kind immersive experience debuted in Spring 2022 with a starting price of $4,800 for two guests and just under $6,000 for four guests sharing a cabin for the all-inclusive two night adventure.

“Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our guests and recognized for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment. This premium, boutique experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and as we prepare for its final voyage, we will take what we’ve learned to create future experiences that can reach more of our guests and fans," a Walt Disney World spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY.

The final voyage will be September 28 through 30. In coming days, Disney will contact guests who had reservations booked for later dates about rescheduling or canceling their plans.

In the meantime, new reservation bookings will be paused until May 26."

Disney World's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will make its final voyage this fall

The immersive and expensive Star Wars experience debuted last year at Disney World.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Demarke]

Figured when they opened that they had to know that even the most committed Star Wars geeks would see this as one and done and they’d run through those within a couple years. I thought they had to have a plan to convert to a regular deluxe after the initial surge. But this is Disney, Stitch is still empty, same with Wonders of Life, upstairs Imagination, Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant, part of Dinoland, part of the Epcot hub, etc, etc manage to close for many years with no replacement.