News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Conceptually....an interesting idea.

If I'm going just with the Mrs..... or a few friends......yeah....sounds interesting. I'm trying to reconcile this with taking the kids. Here's how I think the conversation will go.

Me: Good news baby..we're going back to Disney for (length of stay undetermined)

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Great!...Can we go to Boneyard and Eat Breakfast with Stitch..and go to the Magic Kingdom?

Me: Well honey it's not going to be that kind of trip.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Confused look)...huh? (muttered under her breath)

Me: Yeah honey we're going to a new hotel. It's Star Wars. You like Star Wars. You've seen it on the Disney Chanel and we watched the movie at home.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Oh yeah!....but can we go to the Magic Kingdom and have dinner at the Beauty and Beast Restaurant.

Me: No honey. Once we check into the hotel....we're not allowed to leave.

5 Y/O Daughter: You mean like jail?
This would definitely not be for kids. Maybe some older kids/teens (unless they ban phones;)).
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
I hear ya -- That negates that part of the population. It's almost an impossibility taking a smartphone away from a 15 year old.....heck I know 40 year old's you can't pry that away from.
Mine are 8 and 11 and already addicted and they don’t even have their own phones;). In fairness to this project we already established earlier that it’s very unlikely they would actually ban phones.
 

GlacierGlacier

Well-Known Member
Conceptually....an interesting idea.

If I'm going just with the Mrs..... or a few friends......yeah....sounds interesting. I'm trying to reconcile this with taking the kids. Here's how I think the conversation will go.

Me: Good news baby..we're going back to Disney for (length of stay undetermined)

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Great!...Can we go to Boneyard and Eat Breakfast with Stitch..and go to the Magic Kingdom?

Me: Well honey it's not going to be that kind of trip.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Confused look)...huh? (muttered under her breath)

Me: Yeah honey we're going to a new hotel. It's Star Wars. You like Star Wars. You've seen it on the Disney Chanel and we watched the movie at home.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Oh yeah!....but can we go to the Magic Kingdom and have dinner at the Beauty and Beast Restaurant.

Me: No honey. Once we check into the hotel....we're not allowed to leave.

5 Y/O Daughter: You mean like jail?
This wouldn't be like your regular hotel stay. It is, again, like a cruise.

So, you'd spend a few days in space, have an excursion to Batu, then once your ship returns to space port you go to your booking at the new Coronado tower. Disney would make it as seamless as possible, with you not even having to touch your luggage after you pack - you leave space room, enter hotel room, and Bam, your stuff is already there.

If you keep viewing this as a hotel, you're going to have a ton of issues related to the established hotel model. Again, this is akin to a cruise. Tell your child you're going to space for a few days.
 

tonymu

Premium Member
Yes, the new ramp is being built but the plans to not indicate if the entrance will remain.
I thought that since these plans showed the entrance from the new ramp into the Cast parking and if you zoom in the Cast parking exits to the new guest exit that it would remain.
Hollywood Studios Cast Parking Entrance.jpg
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Conceptually....an interesting idea.

If I'm going just with the Mrs..... or a few friends......yeah....sounds interesting. I'm trying to reconcile this with taking the kids. Here's how I think the conversation will go.

Me: Good news baby..we're going back to Disney for (length of stay undetermined)

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Great!...Can we go to Boneyard and Eat Breakfast with Stitch..and go to the Magic Kingdom?

Me: Well honey it's not going to be that kind of trip.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Confused look)...huh? (muttered under her breath)

Me: Yeah honey we're going to a new hotel. It's Star Wars. You like Star Wars. You've seen it on the Disney Chanel and we watched the movie at home.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Oh yeah!....but can we go to the Magic Kingdom and have dinner at the Beauty and Beast Restaurant.

Me: No honey. Once we check into the hotel....we're not allowed to leave.

5 Y/O Daughter: You mean like jail?

You guys can keep making straw man arguments if it makes you feel better.

The idea is you would do this as an addition to your trip.

Who takes a 3 day vacation as their big travel vacation anyway?
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
At a minimum you will be allowed into Galaxy’s Edge.

If this is the model they decided on I’m surprised they didn’t just build it as a cruise ship. Then they could move it around to different ports.

As I’ve said before.... the entire pitch was completely independent of a wdw vacation. It was laid out in a way you’d say “they could build this anywhere”. It only added swge perks as like icing on the cake... the idea you were at wdw was not part of the build up of why you wanted to pay for this experience.

You expect non-AP holders to be paying for park tickets for days they are staying in an all-inclusive that is offering a full slate of entertainment itself?
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
As I’ve said before.... the entire pitch was completely independent of a wdw vacation. It was laid out in a way you’d say “they could build this anywhere”. It only added swge perks as like icing on the cake... the idea you were at wdw was not part of the build up of why you wanted to pay for this experience.

You expect non-AP holders to be paying for park tickets for days they are staying in an all-inclusive that is offering a full slate of entertainment itself?
Agreed. That’s why I said I’m surprised they didn’t just build it on a cruise ship. If it’s intended to be completely independent of WDW it could be built anywhere so why not make it “mobile”. You could vary the ports used to make it an easier getaway for people around the world. As you guys pointed out people on cruises are used to disconnecting and interacting with fellow passengers. It would have made a lot of sense.

My skeptical take is they are hedging their bets. If this concept is not as successful as they hoped for it will be very easy to convert this “resort” into a more traditional WDW hotel with views and direct access into the most popular land.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
You guys can keep making straw man arguments if it makes you feel better.

The idea is you would do this as an addition to your trip.

Who takes a 3 day vacation as their big travel vacation anyway?
Depends on the price:greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy:

I also think there will be a big portion of the demographic who are attracted to this who would have less interest in WDW in general. They might just spend their 2 or 3 days at SW resort and then go to a FL beach or a local casino or just go back home and take another vacation somewhere else at a later time.
 

GlacierGlacier

Well-Known Member
Agreed. That’s why I said I’m surprised they didn’t just build it on a cruise ship. If it’s intended to be completely independent of WDW it could be built anywhere so why not make it “mobile”. You could vary the ports used to make it an easier getaway for people around the world. As you guys pointed out people on cruises are used to disconnecting and interacting with fellow passengers. It would have made a lot of sense.

My skeptical take is they are hedging their bets. If this concept is not as successful as they hoped for it will be very easy to convert this “resort” into a more traditional WDW hotel with views and direct access into the most popular land.
You're absolutely right about this being an experiment. They likely can convert it to a regular hotel if need be, but if the boutique experience is successful, then it's going to be the first of many.

As for not building this as a ship: ships have an absolute ton of overhead not directly related to the guests, and they require a ton of capital and forethought. As for moving it from Port to Port, there's not much advantage there. A lot of people like ending where they started on cruises, and what's the point of docking at exciting locales if you're already deeply embedded in the story?

And it's already the prime tourist destination. There's a reason Orlando has grown to the entertainment powerhouse it is. People are going here anyway for WDW, might as well offer this as something new.

I wouldn't be surprised if further down the line they did make a more permanent presence on the boats. Star Wars at Sea is very, very popular, and I could see Disney investing in that.
 

GlacierGlacier

Well-Known Member
My question is if a resort is going to be built where guest are cut off (partially) from everything outside why build it on such expensive piece of property? If you are trying to appeal to hard core SW fans only the resort can be built anywhere, not directly next to a theme park.
It's built so close for the seamless connection to SWL. Sure, you could throw people in a star wars bus, but it'd still be a bit of a ride over to Black Spire Outpost. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried a bridge of some sort.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Conceptually....an interesting idea.

If I'm going just with the Mrs..... or a few friends......yeah....sounds interesting. I'm trying to reconcile this with taking the kids. Here's how I think the conversation will go.

Me: Good news baby..we're going back to Disney for (length of stay undetermined)

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Great!...Can we go to Boneyard and Eat Breakfast with Stitch..and go to the Magic Kingdom?

Me: Well honey it's not going to be that kind of trip.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Confused look)...huh? (muttered under her breath)

Me: Yeah honey we're going to a new hotel. It's Star Wars. You like Star Wars. You've seen it on the Disney Chanel and we watched the movie at home.

5 Y/O Daughter: (Smiles and Giggles) Oh yeah!....but can we go to the Magic Kingdom and have dinner at the Beauty and Beast Restaurant.

Me: No honey. Once we check into the hotel....we're not allowed to leave.

5 Y/O Daughter: You mean like jail?

Better not take her on the 7-day Disney cruise-jail, then.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Agreed. That’s why I said I’m surprised they didn’t just build it on a cruise ship. If it’s intended to be completely independent of WDW it could be built anywhere so why not make it “mobile”. You could vary the ports used to make it an easier getaway for people around the world. As you guys pointed out people on cruises are used to disconnecting and interacting with fellow passengers. It would have made a lot of sense.

My skeptical take is they are hedging their bets. If this concept is not as successful as they hoped for it will be very easy to convert this “resort” into a more traditional WDW hotel with views and direct access into the most popular land.

You're right that if the LARP idea never takes off, they can make the SWResort just a plain old high-end park-attached resort.

OTOH, if the LARP idea becomes popular, it would be relatively easy to add it to a cruise ship.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
So you're saying it would be impractical to walk from the SW hotel to SW land?

He was saying in the case if it was built 'anywhere', then you'd have to schlep by bus. The SWResort was built by DHS:SWL:GE:B:BSO to avoid that. A covered walkway is all that's needed. Either as an elevated bridge over the access road, or, the access road gets diverted around the resort.
 

"El Gran Magnifico"

Bring Me A Shrubbery
Premium Member
Better not take her on the 7-day Disney cruise-jail, then.

Yeah, but that's not a fair comparison. Cruises stop at ports of call. You can get off the ship. You can eat at, and visit places in the destinations you are visiting. Now, if you're on a "cruise to nowhere", a transatlantic crossing, or a world cruise segment - then yes you could have multiple days at sea. But in those instances - it doesn't take long to develop cabin fever.

The idea is you would do this as an addition to your trip.

Who takes a 3 day vacation as their big travel vacation anyway?

There are many locals (or honorary locals - within an hour or hour and a half) that frequently visit Disney on shorter durations. My trips average 3-5 nights and I go 6-8 times a year. My "big travel vacations" are not to Disney.

That being said, I get where you are coming from. Yes, if offered as part of a "package" - similar to "cruise and stay" - say 5 Nights at the Contemporary followed by 2 nights at the Star Wars Immersive Experience (aka Star Wars Hotel) - that changes the dynamic a bit. And could work dependent on guest acceptance.

If this is the path they travel...personally...I'd be okay with it. I think I would enjoy it as I'm sure would the Mrs. The challenge IMO would then be - How do you handle children from say 5-16 who may not be avid fans of the franchise, like us? - And they may already have that covered - who knows. Our collective knowledge at this point is limited by what has been released to date. I'm sure we'll get more breadcrumbs thrown our way over the next year that may or may not change our perception of the project.

Like most things Disney does (and in life for that matter) success and failure will come down to timing and execution.

As a footnote: If I walk into the lobby at check-in and am greeted by L3-37.......I'm turning around and leaving.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Yeah, but that's not a fair comparison. Cruises stop at ports of call. You can get off the ship. You can eat at, and visit places in the destinations you are visiting. Now, if you're on a "cruise to nowhere", a transatlantic crossing, or a world cruise segment - then yes you could have multiple days at sea. But in those instances - it doesn't take long to develop cabin fever.

No, it's totally fair because on many cruises there are 2 days at sea when you can't get off. Besides, your whole set-up is pretty ridiculous that a 5 year old would consider any amount of time at a vacation spot to be "jail" because they couldn't come and go as they please. What if it's a beach house for a week and they can't go to a playground with swings? It's jail! What if they get on a plane and can't get off for four hours? It's jail!

Really, we've had some winners on these forums, but this is pretty much wins the prize. Who asks a theme park to change an attraction just because their DD thinks it's like jail? Do you expect Six Flags to put in a dozen slow moving dark rides because DD doesn't like coasters?

But there is a solution for 5 year olds who think this is jail. Or for those "who may not be avid fans." Or for you who have an aversion to L3-37.... DON'T. GO.

Solved. Really. If it's not for you. Don't go. If it's not for members of your family, don't force them to go. Just don't.

But I suspect the real issue here is that you want a Star Wars Resort without the LARP. Send Disney a letter asking for it. Because, they're not building a 300 room hotel fully equipped with computerized LARPing stations to be the Grand Floridian of Star Wars. If they were doing that, they'd build one much, much larger.
 

nickys

Premium Member
Or for you who have an aversion to L3-37.... DON'T. GO.

But I suspect the real issue here is that you want a Star Wars Resort without the LARP. Send Disney a letter asking for it. Because, they're not building a 300 room hotel fully equipped with computerized LARPing stations to be the Grand Floridian of Star Wars. If they were doing that, they'd build one much, much larger.

Yes, this ^^^^

But a question for you, what is L3-37? You have me thinking, do I have an aversion to it?!
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
As I’ve said before.... the entire pitch was completely independent of a wdw vacation. It was laid out in a way you’d say “they could build this anywhere”. It only added swge perks as like icing on the cake... the idea you were at wdw was not part of the build up of why you wanted to pay for this experience.

You expect non-AP holders to be paying for park tickets for days they are staying in an all-inclusive that is offering a full slate of entertainment itself?

The question is - is that fundamentally feasible?

There is one gigantic example of Disney attempting to make a stand-alone site that “reminded you of Disney parks”...and it failed miserably.

The other thing is...are they strengthening the IP currently to drive the demand for something so high cost and requiring “sacrifice” - in a bizarre way - to do it? Are there enough one-and-dones to drive this?

These are legitimate questions...I don’t have the answers...who knows what Disney’s datamines say? But they aren’t always right...recent events have proven that.

Sadly...I think the best IP to drive this is actually over at Universal. Never thought I’d say that.
 
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