Galactic Starcruiser Closing Permanently In September!

[BrianL]

Why couldn't they just make it into a normal hotel?

They can, but it lacks some amenities that a regular hotel has. That said, they could add those things, but it's still quite small with small rooms too. It'd be a tough sell compared to other options.

 

[buzlite]

Is the chase visa offer still available. I was literally gonna book today! Ughh

 

[GoingSince1990]

Why couldn't they just make it into a normal hotel?

Windowless rooms and no pool, for one. Reconfiguring if as a regular hotel would be so difficult and expensive, it would be easier and cheaper to tear it all down and start from scratch.

 

[Buzzster]

I’m so sad. Really wanted to do this.

 

[foolish_mortals]

Is the chase visa offer still available. I was literally gonna book today! Ughh

Unclear. They said no new bookings until May 26. Unclear if they will end those offers at that time.

 

[jo-jo]

They can, but it lacks some amenities that a regular hotel has. That said, they could add those things, but it's still quite small with small rooms too. It'd be a tough sell compared to other options.

I never looked into it. Could you walk right into the park? I would think some VIP type thing item, with just a cool semi Star Wars feel, not a total drowning.

 

[PinkPixel]

I never looked into it. Could you walk right into the park? I would think some VIP type thing item, with just a cool semi Star Wars feel, not a total drowning.

Yes, you walked right into the middle of Galaxy's Edge after taking a themed transport to a themed back door entrance.

 

[BrianL]

I never looked into it. Could you walk right into the park? I would think some VIP type thing item, with just a cool semi Star Wars feel, not a total drowning.

No, it wasn't quite that close (it's not far). The way they did it was there was a typical hotel porte cochere, where you would arrive, then you would board a "shuttle" to take you up to space where the Starcrusier was (it was just a shuttle bus with no windows). That then docked at the hotel and let you off inside, where all "windows" look out into space. So, you were immersed in the ship. There was an excursion "down" to Batuu in the same type of shuttle. The hotel building itself is just a big box - guests would never see it from the outside.

 

[PinkPixel]

My family had a blast on this experience, we had looked forward to returning next spring or summer after doing this in 2022.

 

[disneyfan123]

I was excited for this when it was first announced, but when the pricing came out, it was way too expensive. If it were 1/2 the price I might be willing to go, but obviously, that's not a price point Disney is willing or able to make happen. Sad that it's closing down, as it seems like a really innovative experience and I hope this doesn't shut the door on other unique experiences Disney may have in the pipelines. We need more ingenuity from Disney and I wonder if this will make them less so?

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Sad that Disney execs are so out of touch lately that they greenlighted this at the price point they did. Also if we’re gonna keep it Star Wars related can we please do something original trilogy related for a change. Like…why are they so averse to it. Just stop forcing the issue.

 

[juxtapose]

My Star Wars obsessed family is way too introverted to enjoy it, however I do hope they add a pool and another tower and make it a deluxe resort. Or demolish it and make a Star Wars themed resort.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

They would have been better off with the Reflections DVC instead of this boondoggle. Hopefully the building will be used and not left empty.

 

[DisAg10]

I’m Shocked. Shocked I tell you. Well…not that shocked I’d book it if they turned it into a regular Star Wars themed hotel without the mandatory fun and random characters nobody asked for. Looking at you Captain Keevan and Gaya.

 

[wabbott]

I'm going to be an optimist here, and applaud management for seeing quickly that this wasn't a paying operation. So someone was watching the books closely, which is what they're paid to do. When you see it just ain't gonna work, cut your losses quickly.

From me, they get a pass. It was a very daring, creative idea, that this time didn't work.

Seventy years ago, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE told Walt Disney his idea for a Disney's Land in Southern California was a batsh!t crazy scheme that noway, nohow would pay.

Lucky for all of us, "they" were wrong.

 

[BrianL]

Sad that Disney execs are so out of touch lately that they greenlighted this at the price point they did. Also if we’re gonna keep it Star Wars related can we please do something original trilogy related for a change. Like…why are they so averse to it. Just stop forcing the issue.

Well, because the whole point is to cross-promote what is current. If they do a project with OT characters, you'd see more of that. Of course, they did a project with an OT character and fans hated that too, so there's just no winning with a certain part of the fanbase.

 

[roctavia]

It's unfortunate, because the idea itself is great... having fully immersive places like this is cool and sounds like it was an amazing experience for the people that did it... but I can also see the expense of running it with more cast members to keep the experience going, in addition to all the other staff to run the hotel parts like meals/housekeeping etc is a lot.... which means they priced it way higher than they should have if they wanted to keep people filling the hotel all the time.

We would have loved to do it, but not at the prices they are asking. Turning it into a themed hotel, that's still a boutique hotel with some unique experiences, but not full immersion might be a better spot on the price meter, while still providing a good experience, even if it's still more of a 2-3 night hotel and not a full week hotel due to lack of windows/pool etc.

But I think it also depends on how people vacation- we use the pool at our hotel, but mostly on arrival day and if we have a rest day... otherwise we are in the parks, and could skip the pool if there was something else neat to see/do. Because it's such a small hotel, they wouldn't need to draw in tons of people to keep it full if they dropped some of the immersion and the price.

 

[10CJ]

I’m so sad. Really wanted to do this.

Me too.

 

[bcla]

This is clearly just a write-off. Disney has so much land there that they don't have to tear down anything if a project is abandoned. This bring any memories?

https://d23.com/river-country-walt-disney-world/

 

[buzlite]

Spoke with a disney rep. Looks like unlikely to carry forward chase discount. Wonder if they'll keep AP discount. Might get AP just for the discount