Disney cancels many summer Galactic Starcruiser voyages

[iheartglaciers]

For what it’s worth, we did the Starcruiser earlier this week and had a fabulous time. We’re glad we went before any changes are made. I think the magic would have been lost if it was “just” a hotel or “just” a dinner show.

Agree, I was a little skeptical going in because of the high price tag, but we were blown away by the whole experience. It was really well done. Everyone in my party (two families with young kids and two adults with no kids) really want to go back and do it again. We've been hoping for a return guest discount though I'm not sure how much they can significantly reduce the price without reducing the experience.

I hope Disney finds a way to make it work becuase the Imagineers did an incredible job making this interactive story. It'll be a shame if this discourages Disney and other companies from taking a chance on these unique immersive experiences.

Funny story. We went to Universal Studios Hollywood yesterday. My husband, the massive Star Wars nerd, who has never "seen a Harry Potter" (as he says) LOVED Hogsmeade. His mouth dropped open when we rounded the corner and he saw Hogwarts. He was mightily impressed. He finds Batuu so lame, as a comparison. It made him pretty sad that Disney "wasted the opportunity they had with Star Wars land."

While we were in the Hogs Head pub, he began talking to the guy in front of him in line and mentioned "I don't understand anything in this land, but it's pretty cool. I'm more of a Star Wars guy." Guy in line perks up and tells him he is the same way, and his family JUST got back from doing the Starcruiser. I asked him "so, was it worth it?" He literally said "Weeeeeellll, that was kind of the running joke...we could have probably gone to actual space for less."

But in the end, he said they really enjoyed it and would do it again, but that it was "a lot" and at the end of it, they were all mentally exhausted and felt their "cruise" had been a week long.

I'm a really big SW fan and a moderate HP fan and I feel exactly this way about Galaxy's Edge v. Wizarding World of HP. Part of it for me is that it feels obvious that Batuu is deisgned to handle crowds and I think that takes away from the immersion (e.g., the wide walkway that bypasses the market). WWOHP has all these nooks and crannies with things to discover that makes it really fun to walk around and feel like you're really in the world.

Similarly with Oga's--it's really well designed, but it's too small. Feeling like you're being crammed in takes away from the experience.

 

[DLgal]

Agree, I was a little skeptical going in because of the high price tag, but we were blown away by the whole experience. It was really well done. Everyone in my party (two families with young kids and two adults with no kids) really want to go back and do it again. We've been hoping for a return guest discount though I'm not sure how much they can significantly reduce the price without reducing the experience.

I hope Disney finds a way to make it work becuase the Imagineers did an incredible job making this interactive story. It'll be a shame if this discourages Disney and other companies from taking a chance on these unique immersive experiences.



I'm a really big SW fan and a moderate HP fan and I feel exactly this way about Galaxy's Edge v. Wizarding World of HP. Part of it for me is that it feels obvious that Batuu is deisgned to handle crowds and I think that takes away from the immersion (e.g., the wide walkway that bypasses the market). WWOHP has all these nooks and crannies with things to discover that makes it really fun to walk around and feel like you're really in the world.

Similarly with Oga's--it's really well designed, but it's too small. Feeling like you're being crammed in takes away from the experience.

Yes, my husband LOVED the Hogs Head and Three Broomsticks atmosphere. He said, while inside Hogs Head "I could sit in here all day. It's so dark and cozy and feels just like a real pub. They really nailed it."

 

[iheartglaciers]

I think those who have gone probably see it as a 'one and done' sort of experience and likely won't return anytime soon.

There were a few different parties on my voyage last month that were on their second or even third voyage.

My group all thought it would be a one time splurge going in, but all want to go back again.

I could see where doing 3+ voyages would start to get old, but there's defintiely room to go down different paths within the current storyline.

Also, the experience was so unique and fun, I'd do it again even if my own storyline were exactly the same.

 

[_19disnA]

Maybe true for some, but I have ZERO interest in spending that kind of $$$ on any Disney hotel no matter what the theming/storylines are. I really doubt there are enough gungho Star Wars people to make this viable. Likely why Disney is cutting back how often this place is open.

 

[BrianL]

Carsland is a perfect example of how to do it right. I don't know why they went this "create your own story on a brand new planet" nonsense. They had a winning formula already.

Yeah, Carsland kinda follows the formula, however it's not so "locked down" into something specific. It comes across as fun and playful, not "this is REAL!"

 

[New Mouse]

They could have built a full scale walk through death Star as the entire land and it would have been a hit.

 

[etherealcaitiff]

They could have built a full scale walk through death Star as the entire land and it would have been a hit.

I dont know about the full scale part lol. I basically agree though, I think a lot of people's favorite part of Galaxy's Edge is being on the 1st Order's Destroyer ship and looking out into space on Rise of the Resistance.

 

[AliceIn]

I would like to do the Starcruiser, but the price doesn't match my perceived value. It is not that we can't afford it, but I would rather spend the money on something more substantial.

 

[jkh36619]

Off topic but Diagon Alley has an off putting smell. I'm sure it's whatever they are brewing at the Leaky Cauldron but I don't like it.

 

[Pooh's World]

I think Universal had a much easier time reproducing a Harry Potter environment, because it's limited to Hogwarts and its surroundings. If you want to reproduce a Star Wars place, what can your really do? Most of the planets are impossible to duplicate; they couldn't do Mos Eisley because that's on a desert planet, and let's face it, Mos Eisley was a depressing, dangerous dump. Star Wars doesn't have a single location where most of the action happens like Harry Potter does, there was nothing fun and interesting like Diagon Alley they could reproduce.

Simple.

1. Rebel star cruiser interior (from opening)
You have to escape stormtrooper attack and if droid get into escape pods or as rebel soldier hide or get taken prisoner by empire

2. Tatooine need to get picked up by sandcrawler

3. Uncle owens farm and house

4. Escape to Obi WANs House

5. Now Eisly

6. Milenium falcon

7. Death Star
Multiple levels and rooms
Light saber store
Weapons store
Empire cafeteria
Trash compactor
Cell block

 

[KayMichigan]

Simple.

1. Rebel star cruiser interior (from opening)
You have to escape stormtrooper attack and if droid get into escape pods or as rebel soldier hide or get taken prisoner by empire

2. Tatooine need to get picked up by sandcrawler

3. Uncle owens farm and house

4. Escape to Obi WANs House

5. Now Eisly

6. Milenium falcon

7. Death Star
Multiple levels and rooms
Light saber store
Weapons store
Empire cafeteria
Trash compactor
Cell block

OK, that sounds great, but how are you going to recreate a desert environment in Florida? Tatooine is a desolate planet with endless barren sand dunes in all directions. How are you going to do that in the middle of a theme park surrounded by trees?

And while Mos Eisley is a more familiar environment than Batuu, it's not somewhere I'd ever want to go. It's dangerous, run down, pretty much a slum area full of low lifes and criminals. Tatooine as a whole is presented as a lousy place to be. I can see why they decided to go with somewhere else.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I love Star Wars, but i want nothing to do with dressing up for anything like that. I'm not into cos play, its just not my thing. and i dont want to play a role at all.

I want to enjoy the environment. I get that there are some that like that stuff, but id love a themed hotel that i can come back to after spending the day in a park that's themed to star wars, that doesnt cost me an arm and a leg.

Surely i'm not the only one. Surely there are tons of people in the same boat as me, and that would pay money for that, but not the amount that it is currently.

 

[etherealcaitiff]

I love Star Wars, but i want nothing to do with dressing up for anything like that. I'm not into cos play, its just not my thing. and i dont want to play a role at all.

I want to enjoy the environment. I get that there are some that like that stuff, but id love a themed hotel that i can come back to after spending the day in a park that's themed to star wars, that doesnt cost me an arm and a leg.

Surely i'm not the only one. Surely there are tons of people in the same boat as me, and that would pay money for that, but not the amount that it is currently.

Honestly I'm kind of surprised they haven't either redone the All-Stars or opened a similar value resort group that is themed to Star Wars - Marvel - Avatar (or some other combination).

 

[iheartglaciers]

Honestly I'm kind of surprised they haven't either redone the All-Stars or opened a similar value resort group that is themed to Star Wars - Marvel - Avatar (or some other combination).

Maybe because they’re not having a hard time filling the All Star resorts currently, so they don’t see the need to spend money on a retheme? They have a steady stream of sports groups that stay there + families looking for the cheapest resort option.

It seems like the deluxe resorts are the ones they have trouble filling because they keep converting parts of them to DVC rooms.

 

[imbelle]

i looked into doing the Starcruiser but they lost me when I read that all the activities are managed on your phone. You can't escape that thing even in space, apparently.

 

[_19disnA]

I think any hotel themed based on a movie (or series of movies) will always have a shorter shelf life. Movies come and go and what was popular 10 yrs ago isn't now. Even with Star Wars, there are only so many story lines associated with good fighting evil and people eventually move on to something else.

 

[iheartglaciers]

i looked into doing the Starcruiser but they lost me when I read that all the activities are managed on your phone. You can't escape that thing even in space, apparently.

Part of the reason is because everyone’s schedule is different (e.g., you could get invited to secret meetings depending on the missions you did and conversations you had).

I also liked how you could still move along your storyline through messaging in the app if you were an introvert and didn’t want to jump all in with interacting directly with the characters. I did wish there were more missions with physical objects, because most involved scanning with your phone (or kids can borrow a loaner device from Starcruiser to use).

My crew all felt so busy that while we were checking the app for new messages and missions, we didn’t really check social media or text messages much, even though we were in our phones a lot. It really felt like an experience where we were all in the moment and I never saw people that looked like they were just mindlessly on their phones. It was a cool experience!

 

[JC1984]

Part of the reason is because everyone’s schedule is different (e.g., you could get invited to secret meetings depending on the missions you did and conversations you had).

I also liked how you could still move along your storyline through messaging in the app if you were an introvert and didn’t want to jump all in with interacting directly with the characters. I did wish there were more missions with physical objects, because most involved scanning with your phone (or kids can borrow a loaner device from Starcruiser to use).

My crew all felt so busy that while we were checking the app for new messages and missions, we didn’t really check social media or text messages much, even though we were in our phones a lot. It really felt like an experience where we were all in the moment and I never saw people that looked like they were just mindlessly on their phones. It was a cool experience!

You all had cell phone service in space? Man Verizon has really stepped up their 5G game.

 

[iheartglaciers]

You all had cell phone service in space? Man Verizon has really stepped up their 5G game.

And your whole family can visit space for only $6k. It’s a crazy deal!

 

[soniam]

Part of the reason is because everyone’s schedule is different (e.g., you could get invited to secret meetings depending on the missions you did and conversations you had).

I also liked how you could still move along your storyline through messaging in the app if you were an introvert and didn’t want to jump all in with interacting directly with the characters. I did wish there were more missions with physical objects, because most involved scanning with your phone (or kids can borrow a loaner device from Starcruiser to use).

My crew all felt so busy that while we were checking the app for new messages and missions, we didn’t really check social media or text messages much, even though we were in our phones a lot. It really felt like an experience where we were all in the moment and I never saw people that looked like they were just mindlessly on their phones. It was a cool experience!

I completely agree. I know people seem to absolutely hate this, because they think this is like a convention cosplay thing or LARPing. It doesn't have to be. You don't have to talk to anyone but servers and your family. Technically, you don't even have to talk to them either You don't even have to wear special clothes. You can still get missions and communicate pretty much exclusively through the app/datapad. We did have some of the characters come up and talk to us after we had communicated with them through the app, but it wasn't a big deal. We talked to some a little, but I don't like being pushy and didn't want to throw a child out of the way to get in person attention from a character. We still were hugely busy with missions and meet ups. My husband, son, and I had some that were the same, sometimes at different times, but we also had unique ones too. It was a lot of fun and felt way more like a scavenger hunt than LARPing. Yes, I did LARPing in high school before the name had been invented. Yes, I am old. There were a lot of physical ones in the engineering room, and we actually hung out there sometimes, even when we didn't have a mission. Met some highly sought after characters in there. We were the only guests in there at one point. It was really cool to get one on one time with the big beast himself