Galactic Starcruiser - what is next for this space?

[Jwaire]

Any idea what happens if they decide to repurpose parts of it/all of it, after they take the full write off? Just repay the taxes and move ahead or are there penalties or restrictions on reversing the write off?

I’m not sure, but there’s always a way out.

 

[Kestryl]

And not to mention, the cost to operate an entire building when only 1/10th of it is being used.

Yes, this as well. They may be able to get away with setting the thermostat a little higher, but it's not like they can cut off the unused areas completely.

 

[FastPasser.]

Look at the body pavilion at Epcot, that state mostly empty for more than 20 years…
Yes I know they used it as exhibition space sometimes.

Although it was usually closed to day guests it’s a little known fact that it was used often by the Park Event Operations department for medium and large special and private events. I worked there quite a bit.

 

[DDuckSouthBend]

By next September it will be a Spirit Halloween Store.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Although it was usually closed to day guests it’s a little known fact that it was used often by the Park Event Operations department for medium and large special and private events. I worked there quite a bit.

Yes, I agree!

That’s kinda what I said!

But it never was used for the purpose it was built…. And if I’m not mistaken, it also has windows

 

[KrzyKtty101]

Yes, I agree!

That’s kinda what I said!

But it never was used for the purpose it was built…. And if I’m not mistaken, it also has windows

I'm still kinda sad that they nixed the Play pavilion idea.

 

[zackiedawg]

I admit I have no familiarity with the property - never visited it, and a rare non-Star Wars fan, so never interested. However, I always felt like the total immersion and multi-day stay requirement combined with high cost was the killer of this place. For those more familiar with the layout, how possible would it be to convert it into a more lightly themed hotel resort property - something that would be priced similar to premium hotels, without the full immersion? Add or reveal a parking lot, convert the earthbound 'station' into a more normal lobby, convert the rooms to have actual windows, or even balconies, drop all the cast member performances and just have it themed like a starcruiser - even keep some of the interactive extras like light-saber training and bridge tours...but allow guests to stay for as many or few days as they like, have a bus service to other parks, convert the shuttle entrance to the back of DHS into a walking path into DHS with a gate for entry as a perk of staying there. Convert the restaurant into something closer to a quick serve or table serve, even allowing outside guests to book it just like any other resort restaurant. Seems to me it could potentially work and even be popular for those who like the space/Star Wars theming, but less of the full interactive requirement - it would have a feel more like AK Lodge, Wilderness, even Pop Century, where it's a bit more like a heavily themed but otherwise normal hotel experience.

I think I saw someone say how the guest rooms may even have windows, but they're blocked off by the big screens to imitate space. Add a pool and some outdoor space for guests, a pool bar, etc and it could be interesting even to some non-superfans - and there seems to be enough space around the property for some minor additions in outdoor space.

 

[irlandaise]

If I remember right, there are actually windows in the rooms. They were just hidden behind the screens.

Sure looks like it:

https://wdwnt.com/2021/07/photos-ae...ion-for-star-wars-galactic-starcruiser-hotel/

 

[fatmanatee]

I admit I have no familiarity with the property - never visited it, and a rare non-Star Wars fan, so never interested. However, I always felt like the total immersion and multi-day stay requirement combined with high cost was the killer of this place. For those more familiar with the layout, how possible would it be to convert it into a more lightly themed hotel resort property - something that would be priced similar to premium hotels, without the full immersion?

They would likely have to price it significantly higher, to the point where it wasn't worth it to them to downgrade it from the original experience. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this but from what I understand it was easily the smallest hotel at WDW from a capacity standpoint. The whole thing was built specifically for this immersive experience and even if you take away some of the components and convert it into a hotel, you still have to maintain a minimum layer of staffing to keep the place running. You still have other costs. The margins didn't work for them, it made more sense to just write it off.

 

[FastPasser.]

Yes, I agree!
That’s kinda what I said!

I may have mistakenly gotten the impression from the word “sometimes” that you were implying that it was used infrequently. It was one of our regularly used venues, we did dozens of events there throughout the year. From the outside it wasn’t apparent that there was anything going on. You probably know that in addition to the large main space, one of the so-called secret lounges is, or was, on the second level.

 

[Kestryl]

I admit I have no familiarity with the property - never visited it, and a rare non-Star Wars fan, so never interested. However, I always felt like the total immersion and multi-day stay requirement combined with high cost was the killer of this place. For those more familiar with the layout, how possible would it be to convert it into a more lightly themed hotel resort property - something that would be priced similar to premium hotels, without the full immersion? Add or reveal a parking lot, convert the earthbound 'station' into a more normal lobby, convert the rooms to have actual windows, or even balconies, drop all the cast member performances and just have it themed like a starcruiser - even keep some of the interactive extras like light-saber training and bridge tours...but allow guests to stay for as many or few days as they like, have a bus service to other parks, convert the shuttle entrance to the back of DHS into a walking path into DHS with a gate for entry as a perk of staying there. Convert the restaurant into something closer to a quick serve or table serve, even allowing outside guests to book it just like any other resort restaurant. Seems to me it could potentially work and even be popular for those who like the space/Star Wars theming, but less of the full interactive requirement - it would have a feel more like AK Lodge, Wilderness, even Pop Century, where it's a bit more like a heavily themed but otherwise normal hotel experience.

I think I saw someone say how the guest rooms may even have windows, but they're blocked off by the big screens to imitate space. Add a pool and some outdoor space for guests, a pool bar, etc and it could be interesting even to some non-superfans - and there seems to be enough space around the property for some minor additions in outdoor space.

They would likely have to price it significantly higher, to the point where it wasn't worth it to them to downgrade it from the original experience. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this but from what I understand it was easily the smallest hotel at WDW from a capacity standpoint. The whole thing was built specifically for this immersive experience and even if you take away some of the components and convert it into a hotel, you still have to maintain a minimum layer of staffing to keep the place running. You still have other costs. The margins didn't work for them, it made more sense to just write it off.

Yes, they have only 100 rooms. Everything on that scale is a smaller part of a larger resort- ex. there are 60 Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs, 136 Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge, 147 villas at the Grand Floridian, etc. Riviera is the closest, and it’s at 300 rooms. The scale of the Starcruiser just doesn’t bode well.

I know there’s a big push for a Star Wars hotel, but given the more recent hotel redesigns, it would just be a generic white-based room with a Star Wars print on the wall.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

The more Disney makes Star Wars shows, the more the appeal is lost. There’s a reason it use to be special. So I don’t even think a normal hotel based on Star Wars would work

 

[shosh1530]

We did our "voyage" on the Starcruiser a month ago. I had a detailed survey afterwards that asked many questions about my experiences with comic cons, cosplay, LARPing, etc. It made me wonder if they were rethinking their intended audience (did they ever know their audience?). I was then invited to do a compensated hour long interview (still to be scheduled). So they definitely seem to be wanting to learn something from the experience.

Once they announced the closure, the remaining three months of voyages sold out within hours of reservations and opening (but also included folks they had rebooked from Oct-Dec) And there are many, slightly crazy people like me who spent many hours and days calling non-stop (for me every 5-10 minutes for 3 days) to snag a cancellation to either go again or do it for the first time. I do think there is a market for the immersive experience if they could somehow bring the cost down. I don't see it really working as just a hotel though.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

I wish Galactic Starcruiser was replaced with an expansion of Disney's Hollywood Studios.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Paintball! Maybe they could the dye that was making those shrimps blue in the ball.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser was destined to fail from the moment it was announced last year to it's opening because I think that Disney had wanted to run a adventure themed resort where you could go on an "adventure" that would change each time and also be a hotel too. We had seen the concept with themed hotels and resorts in Reno Nevada and Las Vegas Nevada for adults but the idea of a Star Wars resort for families was a worthy choice but the finished product wasn't what people thought it was gonna be like. The problem I think was the pricing for the Galactic Starcruiser because nobody would pay the expensive prices for the voyages in the first place and people thought it would be fun to see Star Wars in a new direction but this resort was a huge failure because it lacked some of the charm that makes Star Wars what it is. But it was lacking some original ideas like character breakfasts and dinners with Star Wars characters and character meet and greets with characters such as Han Solo Darth Vader Luke Skywalker Chewbacca Yoda The Mandalorian and Grogu and they could've even had Porgs to hug and take photos with but the problem was they wanted to make all new characters for the Galactic Starcruiser and not use any of the Star Wars characters for this resort. And the cabins on the Starcruiser did not look like cabins to me when I saw photos of them and what they reminded me of were hospital rooms and the beds were like hospital beds and how Disney designed these rooms and came up with this design I never figured out? As for the building itself I think Disney will turn it into a Marvel resort and build an Avengers Tower out of it for Marvel fans to stay in like what Disneyland Paris has. Because it seems that Disney's focusing a lot on Marvel lately

 

[rstevens333]

Paragraphs are an amazing thing.

 

[Evinrude21]

They are still sending our surveys about it, which leads me to believe they might narrow it down to a 1 day attraction where you can pay a smaller (read disney smaller) amount and play out a star wars scenario with the characters.


I do hope a lot of the Starcruiser only characters make their way into Galaxys Edge like we were promised before GE opened.

 

[fatmanatee]

They are still sending our surveys about it, which leads me to believe they might narrow it down to a 1 day attraction where you can pay a smaller (read disney smaller) amount and play out a star wars scenario with the characters.


I do hope a lot of the Starcruiser only characters make their way into Galaxys Edge like we were promised before GE opened.

I wouldn't read much into it. I don't think they can take a tax writeoff (in this case a very large writeoff) and then repurpose the same space for something else.

 

[Kestryl]

I wish Galactic Starcruiser was replaced with an expansion of Disney's Hollywood Studios.

They'd have to build across two roads, including the road that encircles Hollywood Studios.