Disney has some pretty immersive experiences across its theme parks, but possibly the most unique one of all is its Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (the Star Wars hotel).
Guests board a “ship” for 2 nights on this cruise-like experience and get the chance to live out their very own Star Wars story. Visitors are surrounded by characters from the franchise, given the chance to train with a lightsaber, and provided a space cabin to sleep in. From the food to the entertainment, everything is in theme. But soon, this hotel will go on its final voyage. So, what went wrong?
In May 2023, Disney shared that it would be closing its Star Wars hotel and that its final sailing would take place from September 28th to September 30th, 2023. A lot of what Disney has done with the Star Wars universe has paid off — Galaxy’s Edge, for example, is one of Disney’s most popular additions.
But, despite only opening the Star Wars hotel about a year ago, they’ve already decided to close it. Two things may have led to the downfall of the Galactic Starcruiser. Let’s get into it.
1. Too Expensive
The Galactic Starcruiser is not just a hotel, it’s a fully immersive experience. Similar to a cruise, guests board a “ship” for two nights, sleep in a designated cabin, and are provided select food and drink while on board.
Guests also receive admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a quick service meal in the park, and an exclusive Galactic Starcruiser Databand. While this is quite a bit, prices for this experience start at $4,809 for a party of two.
That is a lot of money for guests to add on to an already expensive Disney World trip (assuming they are not just going on the Galactic Starcruiser.) According to the Washington Post, the timing of this hotel’s opening also made the price tag an even bigger obstacle. “Galactic Starcruiser opened amid a larger outcry about Disney’s perceived nickel-and-diming tendencies.”
From increasing ticket prices and the rising cost of food, to a new paid version of the once-free FastPass, many guests weren’t happy about the way Disney was running things. Add to that the fact that many would-be visitors were cutting costs amid an impending recession, and you get a Star Wars hotel that has a harder time filling its cabins.
2. Too Niche
While there are plenty of Star Wars fans making their way to Disney World, the level of commitment required to partake in the journey is a lot. Even the biggest Star Wars fans might not want to dedicate so much time and money to this style of experience.
While going on a Galactic Starcruiser voyage does include a ticket to Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and it can enhance your trip to the park depending on your priorities — it also means certain sacrifices.
Many families come from out of town and have to take time off of work to go on a Disney World vacation. How many families have enough Star Wars mega-fans to justify allocating 3 days of their trip to a very niche, rather expensive side quest? “Turns out the galaxy doesn’t contain enough Star Wars die-hards willing to pay for such a high-touch, high-cost experience, industry observers and experts say.”
Even those groups who collectively enjoy the Star Wars universe as a family might not want to dedicate the time and money to role-play these stories. In the end, the Starcruiser might just have been too lofty and niche of an experience to draw in enough guests to make it work.
Have you gone on a voyage on the Galactic Starcruiser? Let us know your thought in the comments below, and as always, stay tuned to AllEars for more Disney news.
Click here to see what a Disney executive has to say about the closure of the Star Wars hotel.
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Why do you think the Star Wars hotel is closing its doors? Let us know in the comments below!
What doomed it was the timing of the opening. It did well to start but then 6 months later the economy started to tank. It was not able to get all the cost kinks worked out before the income stream dried up. Had it had another yearish Disney would likely been able to find the sweet spot for it and it would have lived on.
I loved the experience—I adore LARPing—but not only was the cost prohibitive for most, they advertised it as taking place over 3 days but it really wasn’t even 2 days long, and day 3 was literally breakfast and out. But I will always have the memories!
let’s be hon. The majority of those who chose to stay there were those who do all the Disney social media. It was viable for them to pay the money and spend the time creating content for their channels and social media accounts when they could get a return on the cost via monetising.
For your average guest, like myself, it was just too much money and too rigid. I’m a huge Star Wars fan and have been since the release of the first (4th) movie in 1978 and I do have the time and if I pushed it, the money to do this experience, but, it simply didn’t appeal, I can think of better ways to spend that money.
Never bought into the whole “immersive journey” thing. Once you do it. There’s no reason to go back. No matter what the theme is. Plus it makes an already busy vacation seem more frantic. They should have just made a moderate or even deluxe themed hotel. Disney hotels are all about atmosphere. People find their favorites and then return.
#3 Based On Sequel Trilogy
Without Darth Vader, Luke, Leia and Han Solo – who cares?
We saw that coming from the beginning. We are WDW frequent visitors and we spend a lot, but would never want to spend that much for the immersive experience. Hopefully they can rebrand the hotel and still be able to use what they have.
For me the costly part of the hotel, the too “immersive journey”, should be remove and perhaps exand the concept with an Avatar aisle and/or an spatial Marvel aisle. The For Marvel, you could have several level from Thor, Guardian of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel or Skrull. And the complex could be a space deluxe version of the Disney Animation Resort. In that way, you remove the two issue, the cost and the niche… you keep the immervise but not too much