Galactic Starcruiser - what is next for this space?

[Kestryl]

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.

It would be great if they were integrated into the world (as long as they make story sense). Lieutenant Croy would be easy, and having Raithe run around would be a no-brainer. I imagine the makeup/costumes for Ouannii and Gaya and Keevan would make it more difficult. Sammie and Lenka Mok would be easier from a costume standpoint, but not sure about their story. Plus there's guest behavior to work around... SK (the droid) would get swarmed- he already gets swarmed on the controlled ship environment. At the same time, Vi Moradi seems to get around ok, so maybe it's just the screen characters that cause crowds. I mean, I find these characters pretty compelling, but I also got to see part of their stories play out.

 

[NotUrsula]

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

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It's possible; just a pedestrian bridge, though a long one. If they can do the tunnel into Batuu, they could do this.

The main issue, as I see it, is that the location where the bridge would need to be placed (at the bend in Cypress Dr., so as to also get over that drainage canal) is currently a backstage area with a building rather in the way; there would need to be some creative design to get past it.

 

[irlandaise]

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 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.

But why would Disney be bothering with surveys if they're not at least considering doing something with the building?

 

[fatmanatee]

But why would Disney be bothering with surveys if they're not at least considering doing something with the building?

They do LOTS of surveys. It’s useful to get data and perspectives from customers, even if you might not necessarily act on whatever info you get from them. And in a case where they spent a ton of money on a big project that didn’t last long, it’s useful to have this response if they ever try to do something remotely similar in the future (probably not).

 

[Douglas Dubh]

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

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I think they could just put cast parking where the GSC is and then expand DHS into cast parking.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

When you lose that much money on something the lessons learned are pretty important.

 

[Evinrude21]

It was almost like they had to announce its closing to see how popular and loved it is. I dont think it was ever marketed properly by Disney tbh. Everyone including at times Disney referred to it like a Star Wars hotel which its not.

 

[ChipnDale79]

It was almost like they had to announce its closing to see how popular and loved it is. I dont think it was ever marketed properly by Disney tbh. Everyone including at times Disney referred to it like a Star Wars hotel which its not.

it was a massive swing and miss. Remember the reactions here when they announced it and how excited people were? And the reaction when the pricing went out?

We were beyond excited when it was announced. Then the price came; and our reaction was, "welp, that's not something we'll ever get to do."

The hotel should have been bigger, with less of the dress up games. It should have been a larger hotel that was just that, a Star Wars Hotel with the Cantina, and a Character Meal. It probably would have been a massive success.

 

[hertamaniac]

I could see the development team starting off with a more simplistic hotel without a full-blown interactive experience. But, then an Imagineer(s) says "What if we did this?" and it started into a cascade of ideas. And then once that vision took hold, it was already entrenched into the development team's minds and likely was so deep it would be hard to stop the rolling enthusiasm. There were no checks to the balances.

 

[BrianL]

it was a massive swing and miss. Remember the reactions here when they announced it and how excited people were? And the reaction when the pricing went out?

We were beyond excited when it was announced. Then the price came; and our reaction was, "welp, that's not something we'll ever get to do."

The hotel should have been bigger, with less of the dress up games. It should have been a larger hotel that was just that, a Star Wars Hotel with the Cantina, and a Character Meal. It probably would have been a massive success.

I mean, really, the pricing killed it. I heard the experience was great from those who actually did it. I agree that something less intense would have had a wider appeal.

 

[RivShore]

I mean, really, the pricing killed it. I heard the experience was great from those who actually did it. I agree that something less intense would have had a wider appeal.

I always thought they should have offered different levels of immersion - from the 5k a night that they had, to something much less for a room, dinner, and just wondering around in another world. Or, have a highly themed hotel for most of the year and then have some special weeks with full immersion. Seeing how loved the experience was by most, you would think there would have been some way to save that investment.

And I would love to see what their projections were on the revenue side. How many people did they think would come up with the cash needed for a stay and how far off were the actuals. I suspect the cost side of it quickly got out of control and that caused the pulling of the plug.

 

[Kestryl]

it was a massive swing and miss. Remember the reactions here when they announced it and how excited people were? And the reaction when the pricing went out?

We were beyond excited when it was announced. Then the price came; and our reaction was, "welp, that's not something we'll ever get to do."

The hotel should have been bigger, with less of the dress up games. It should have been a larger hotel that was just that, a Star Wars Hotel with the Cantina, and a Character Meal. It probably would have been a massive success.

It wasn't a hotel, it was an interactive experience. Expecting a hotel (with hotel pricing) would be like expecting a roller coaster to be a boat ride. That's a failure of marketing.

I still maintain that any Star Wars hotel- actual hotel- that would have opened in the states would be some boring bland bleached building with only some Star Wars art as a theme. I don't think we would have gotten the space windows everywhere or holograms.

I guess there would be a pool though.

(I'm also taking issue with the "dress up games" bit. It comes off as a little condescending, but I may be reading that wrong. Very rarely are people encouraged to "play"- in costume! in character! with a story!- for purely fun. I can stay in a hotel anywhere. I cannot have this kind of interactive experience anywhere. LARP is incredibly difficult to pull off. They probably should have marketed it more to than community than just your run-of-thee-mill Disney vacationer.)

 

[ChipnDale79]

(I'm also taking issue with the "dress up games" bit. It comes off as a little condescending, but I may be reading that wrong. Very rarely are people encouraged to "play"- in costume! in character! with a story!- for purely fun. I can stay in a hotel anywhere. I cannot have this kind of interactive experience anywhere. LARP is incredibly difficult to pull off. They probably should have marketed it more to than community than just your run-of-thee-mill Disney vacationer.)

there was no offense meant by it or attempt at being condescending, my apologies if it was

 

[clarker99]

I always thought they should have offered different levels of immersion - from the 5k a night that they had, to something much less for a room, dinner, and just wondering around in another world. Or, have a highly themed hotel for most of the year and then have some special weeks with full immersion. Seeing how loved the experience was by most, you would think there would have been some way to save that investment.

And I would love to see what their projections were on the revenue side. How many people did they think would come up with the cash needed for a stay and how far off were the actuals. I suspect the cost side of it quickly got out of control and that caused the pulling of the plug.

Len Testa and Jim Hill have said they think this is going to be resurrected in some capacity. Testa said that the speed at which the star cruiser sold out the rest of the dates after announcing it was closing probably saved the idea. Survey's have been going out with questions about the best parts of the experience and how certain aspects could be enhanced. They concluded that this will come back as a half-day experience that pack in the best ideas from the 2 days voyages. Shorter and more focused with more turnover.

 

[RivShore]

Len Testa and Jim Hill have said they think this is going to be resurrected in some capacity. Testa said that the speed at which the star cruiser sold out the rest of the dates after announcing it was closing probably saved the idea. Survey's have been going out with questions about the best parts of the experience and how certain aspects could be enhanced. They concluded that this will come back as a half-day experience that pack in the best ideas from the 2 days voyages. Shorter and more focused with more turnover.

Interesting and really logical! Was that on a recent podcast?

And from all the concerns about it being already written off, I don't think that is the case - they were planning to write it off in the Sep. quarter, if I remember correctly, so they can still pull back on it without any tax or accounting implications.
This would actually lead to some great press too (something they have been short of for a few years now) - "demand was so great when we announced the final voyages, surveys were out of this world, we heard our most loyal and important guests and we are bringing back an even better experience that even more fans can enjoy."

 

[clarker99]

Interesting and really logical! Was that on a recent podcast?

And from all the concerns about it being already written off, I don't think that is the case - they were planning to write it off in the Sep. quarter, if I remember correctly, so they can still pull back on it without any tax or accounting implications.
This would actually lead to some great press too (something they have been short of for a few years now) - "demand was so great when we announced the final voyages, surveys were out of this world, we heard our most loyal and important guests and we are bringing back an even better experience that even more fans can enjoy."

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-jim-hill-media-podcast-network/id452620851?i=1000629853516

From the Q3FY23 Earnings Report in August:
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2023/08/q3-fy23-earnings.pdf (page 7)
"The increase in costs (DPEP) was attributable to inflation and accelerated depreciation related to the planned closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser."

 

[RivShore]

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-jim-hill-media-podcast-network/id452620851?i=1000629853516

From the Q3FY23 Earnings Report in August:
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2023/08/q3-fy23-earnings.pdf (page 7)
"The increase in costs (DPEP) was attributable to inflation and accelerated depreciation related to the planned closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser."

Thanks!

I wonder if they took all the depreciation because it looks like the last voyage was scheduled in Sep. so i don't think they could write it off in full while still in use.

 

[RivShore]

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-jim-hill-media-podcast-network/id452620851?i=1000629853516

Very interesting listen, thanks @clarker99!

 

[Kestryl]

there was no offense meant by it or attempt at being condescending, my apologies if it was

Thank you, I appreciate your clarification! There have been a lot of detractors who have belittled adults for playing dress up, so I’ve been a little extra sensitive to any comments about “dress up.” So, so many negative comments. (Even from people who go to Disney regularly!) Thank you.

 

[EdFH]

I mean, really, the pricing killed it. I heard the experience was great from those who actually did it. I agree that something less intense would have had a wider appeal.

A lower priced experience would be a good thing. But that wasn't necessary for this to succeed. The capacity was so incredibly small and the marketing so poor and unseen by so many. Those of us who went, introverts like myself included more than once, found it to be the most incredible experience Disney ever created, as was backed up by record guest satisfaction survey results. Friends who could have swung it never heard of it or thought it was just a themed hotel. When they hear a full telling of what it was really like, so many say they wish they had gone. I hope Disney continues creating truly immersive experiences, and finds ways to have more affordable (probably much shorter) options without giving up on full-length experiences like what they created. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. But they need to stop being afraid of giving away spoilers and really market the nature of the magic they are creating. To some extent, I don't think even they really knew what was special about it before it opened. But the guests who went know and have been sharing it openly to help them avoid that mistake in the future.