Galactic Starcruiser Closing Permanently In September!

[Donalddidwhat…?!]

I watched the whole 4+ hours of that video on and off, over about an 8-ish hour period 2 days ago.
A bit tedious in places, but it was extensive and a good overview.
Many of us had a bad feeling about this idea early on, especially once they announced the price point.
Just seemed like such an unsustainable business model.
Even if it was a dream you saved for to only do once, that would be a problem, as Disney only got that big money from you one time at that location.
And, if you had plenty of money and were able to afford it anytime you wanted (and how could it be much different every time…???), why would you when that money would afford you so many other superior options for travel all over the world…?!
Seems to me it would be a one and done for the vast majority, just to say they did it once.

 

[Karin1984]

it would be a one and done for the vast majority, just to say they did it once.

That was probably another (deliberate?) design flaw, no or little reasons for repeat visits.
The hotel relied much on the wow factor, which you probably only really achieve once. If they had planned for the hotel to exist for longer than it did, they would probably only have changed the games or storylines once every 5 years.

 

[RivShore]

I watched all 4 hours of her video. I didn't feel there was that much new information. We've heard most of it before including here, but she definitely struck a nerve with DisTwitter and the Starcruiser defenders.

I can't wait to get the backstory of how it got approved (I'm betting it was Chapek's pet project) and who ultimately killed it (I'm betting Iger).

Thanks for watching so I didn't have to! LOL

Hopefully we do get the backstory some day - it seemed like any basic analysis would have showed it was going to be a money loser. Would love to see the business case they used to sell it to the execs.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Has anyone seen the very obvious PR pieces Disney is putting out in response to Jenny's video? I love how this one in particular is exactly what Jenny was criticizing when it comes to influencer shilling lol

https://screenrant.com/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser-hotel-what-everyone-gets-wrong/

Also not this author but another contributor for Screen Rant admitted on their Twitter account that they haven't even watched Jenny's video which is even funnier.

 

[Skywalker3]

My weekend mornings are usually spent watching some Youtube, so watching now. It's a lot better than expected. Plus it's divided into segments, so you can skip over things easily.
One of her first segments goes back and chronicles the marketing history, and that is very telling.
As an avid SW fanatic, married to an avid SW fanatic, we were initially excited about a SW hotel coming to Disney.
We LOVED SW weekends, and thought this was going to be an expansion of that. Once we started seeing the promos though, we thought it looked completely goofy and uncomfortable. We realized this was going to be some extended dinner theater type role playing, and for that insane price tag, we weren't going to be going. If it had been a LOT cheaper, or the younglings were younger, we might've eventually considered it for their sakes. DD would've loved that type of thing, DS would've also when he was younger. But paying that pricetag, for that type of activity, just not at all worth it for us.
I know it was a fabulous experience for a lot of folks who went, who really like that type of activity/immersion. It sounds like the immersion was wonderful, but I'd rather spend that money going to a Star Wars Celebration convention.
I watch a lot of SW vloggers, listen to a lot of podcasts, and only a tiny handful of them went to the Star Cruiser. or expressed any interest in it. Disney totally missed that entire customer base. But the one who brought their family and a big group w friends, had a wonderful time.
Anyway, her video so far is very well done, better than expected.
I sure hope they'll do something SW with that space....Would prefer other time periods for sure. I think they should give up on keeping the whole land in that sequel era and just allow for different timelines

 

[Jwaire]

Thanks for watching so I didn't have to! LOL

You're welcome. You missed nothing.

 

[chekhovgirl]

For those interested, Jenny Nicholson posted a video on the Galactic Starcruiser's failure. It's only 4 hours long ;-)
If you are not familiar, Jenny has several great deepdives in Disney park content, like about Galaxy's Edge and Pandora, but also some other great content about movies and tv shows.

I watched all of this and could have watched more. Very entertaining and well done.

 

[Karin1984]

I watched all of this and could have watched more. Very entertaining and well done.

I can recommend her deepdives into how Star Warsland and Avatarland came to be.

 

[chekhovgirl]

I can recommend her deepdives into how Star Warsland and Avatarland came to be.

I have watched the Avatar one, which was good!

 

[Karin1984]

Jenny's video has now over 6.3 million views, which is impressive. What is even more impressive is how the media picked this up. On Tiktok and other channels fans are battling again whether or not this experience was worth it.
And in traditional media from CNN, NPC, Forbes and countless others they not only rehash the hotel itself, but also the phenomenon of in depth youtube documentaries. and who the PEEP has time to watch these videos.

All in all, quite interesting response by the rest of the world. And, indeed, it makes me think: what does Disney think about her video

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7371925282879671598

 

[RivShore]

All in all, quite interesting response by the rest of the world. And, indeed, it makes me think: what does Disney think about her video

And does that mean there is still significant interest/demand for such an experience?

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

And does that mean there is still significant interest/demand for such an experience?

If you had connected it to the OT with OT characters it would still be open. You greatly limited your audience by only tying it to the Disney ST.

Older Gen X and Boomers have by far the most amount of disposable income to spend on such an expensive experience like this. They also happen to be the demographic that likes the OT the most. It was just a really bad business decision by Disney.

 

[Kestryl]

Jenny's video has now over 6.3 million views, which is impressive. What is even more impressive is how the media picked this up. On Tiktok and other channels fans are battling again whether or not this experience was worth it.
And in traditional media from CNN, NPC, Forbes and countless others they not only rehash the hotel itself, but also the phenomenon of in depth youtube documentaries. and who the PEEP has time to watch these videos.

All in all, quite interesting response by the rest of the world. And, indeed, it makes me think: what does Disney think about her video

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7371925282879671598

I really, really want to know.

And does that mean there is still significant interest/demand for such an experience?

You know... I had never really heard of Evermore until she was talking about it. And she absolutely slammed Evermore, but it kind of made we want to go if I was in the area. Too bad it closed a month or so ago.

 

[Karin1984]

And does that mean there is still significant interest/demand for such an experience?

I think there is. On one hand technology, like VR and augmented reality etc shows that there is an interest in immersive / being a part of the world. Also that cosplay is getting more and more normalized helps. Social media is a positive influence on this, people find each other or can just admire a cosplayer's work more easily.

But on the other hand, we do get tired of too many screens. Think of it as the Lord of the Rings movies vs The Hobbit. Plenty of things wrong with The Hobbit, but relying on technology instead of practical effects was one flaw for sure. As Jenny points out in her video, the old games at Epcot where you interacted more with the real world were more interesting than a game where you have to scan QR codes. It might be a cheap form of a game and therefore attractive to Disney, but less fun for the guest.

I think if Disney, or whoever, wants to create an experience like this, really has to look at it from a guest's perspective. What does the customer want and what is he willing to pay for?
And with the budget you have to make choices, rather do 5 things very well than 10 things mediocre.

I do think it was an expensive experiment, but something the industry can learn from. Combining actors with technology will probably get developed further in the future.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

And does that mean there is still significant interest/demand for such an experience?

I think there was clearly some demand. As soon as the announced it was closing 6 months Immediately sold out. But just not enough demand to fill so many slots at the price point it was selling at. Their margins must not have been that big I guess. I don’t recall if they ever did any discounts. Or tried to reduce the number of sailings.

 

[Kestryl]

I think there was clearly some demand. As soon as the announced it was closing 6 months Immediately sold out. But just not enough demand to fill so many slots at the price point it was selling at. Their margins must not have been that big I guess. I don’t recall if they ever did any discounts. Or tried to reduce the number of sailings.

They tried both. There were discounts announced around April, I think. And they were adjusting the schedule to put more “dark cruises” on the calendar.

When they announced the closure, they froze bookings so those booked past September 2023 could rebook to an earlier cruise. And then the remaining slots filled up immediately when they reopened. Effectively every cruise was fully booked and the only way you could get on was to call often and hope for a cancellation. It was a huge mess. We only got on for August 2023 because someone on a Facebook group scored a super last minute reservation- as in two days from then- we think because of a hurricane affecting flights. And they opened up their room to add on complete strangers- including me. (Starcruiser Suitemate Finder, what a time that was.)

I really think Disney could have gotten 6 or so more months of fully booked voyages beyond that, given just how much of a bloodbath that was. There were people desperate to go (or go again) and never got in, and there were a lot of people saving up or waiting for their kids to get just a little bit older or putting it off for other reasons. But Disney really wanted that tax write off, so that was that.

 

[Karin1984]

I wonder how much of business plan was made for this.
If that building cost 350 million dollar to build, the hotel only has 100 rooms, and let's say the average price people pay is $7,000 per stay, that is 12 million per year income. Deducting the operational costs... it would take decades to become profitable.

But Disney really wanted that tax write off, so that was that.

Not familiar with US tax laws, can you explain how was this investment, fail and get a tax write off a better deal than not doing the Starcruiser project at all?

Is it like the movie/musical The Producers, where they plan to bag the money and go to Rio?

 

[MPD]

I think the concept was fascinating and have no issues with it being set in the "current" trilogy universe. And I say that as the target audience for the OT - I was 10 when Star Wars premiered. I love walking around Galaxy's Edge and would pay good money for a themed dining event or a themed hotel. But, as an introvert, the idea of a multi-day LARP was just not for me. I hate to have missed seeing it but that much "peopling" is stress-inducing! I expect I'm not the only one who feels that way. That said, I thought the video about why it failed was fascinating.

 

[Jwaire]

Not familiar with US tax laws, can you explain how was this investment, fail and get a tax write off a better deal than not doing the Starcruiser project at all?

They're not writing it off as a loss. They're taking accelerated depreciation.

Since it's property, you would normally get regular depreciation on the building/property over say 10, 15 or 20 years, etc. as long as there is a business use.

By closing Starcrusier, they've chosen to accelerate that by taking $250 million in depreciation in the last couple of quarters of 2023 instead of over 10, 20 or 30 years, etc.

That's a huge tax deduction for TWDC.

 

[RivShore]

They're not writing it off as a loss. They're taking accelerated depreciation.

Since it's property, you would normally get regular depreciation on the building/property over say 10, 15 or 20 years, etc. as long as there is a business use.

By closing Starcrusier, they've chosen to accelerate that by taking $250 million in depreciation in the last couple of quarters of 2023 instead of over 10, 20 or 30 years, etc.

That's a huge tax deduction for TWDC.

Right, and they shoved it in quarters that had lots of other write-offs and adjustments - flushing the last of the Bob 2.0 era down the toilet.