Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser - A Triumphant Failure
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- čas přidán 18. 05. 2023
- The Star Wars Starcruiser Hotel is closing. We all knew that this was an eventuality, but I don’t think many of us expected that it’d happen this soon. Let's reflect on it's history, how it ran, and the possible future of this iconic attraction.
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I guarantee Disney will learn the wrong lessons from this. They're so out of touch with consumers that I'm sure it will be the worst case scenario where Disney thinks that high-end experiences aren't worth it and continues to degrade as a themed destination
I agree. It's 100% 'worth' it. People just didn't know what 'it' was. I had no idea. I went the first time because my mother bought my sister and I a cruise. I went the second time on my own dime. It is the best entertainment event I've ever experienced. You can't make it cheaper w/o making it ... cheaper. The price is to pay for the people who make it happen. It isn't an automated ride. The cast and crew are what makes this experience 'worth' it, and people cost money.
@@wendellista100% accurate.
The cast and crew all the way to the security guards outside made it work
These comments sum it up well:
"One user on Reddit said: “Hmmmm…so you mean to tell me that Disney opened a crappy, cinder-block hotel filled with bad cosplay, cheap sets, silly acting theatre, basic arcade games, cell-like beds, and bland space windows, charged $5,000+ for a two-night stay…and somehow, this did not attract the average person into purchasing said experience enough to keep it afloat?”
“It was essentially a $5000 escape room with Star Wars sprinkled in. And they damn near force you to participate in the ‘story,'” echoed another user."
yep ON TOP of NOT delivering what THEY promised in the first place for that crazy price! I mean this is something this CZcamsr and others constantly fail to mention all while showcasing the original promo teaser attraction video for the thing. Droids rolling around...blaster beams coming at the lightsabers...holograms coming from actual Star Wars looking communicators...better costumes and overall look & feel...THAT is why it failed. No more, no less. I mean come-on one freaking Protocol Droid called C-3PO being the concierge would have certainly helped along with R2 rolling around the place! But oh no...we got laser lights flashing at some cheap lightsabers, hologram"ish" stuff coming from iPhones and an overall look & feel that was just so-so...just like Galactic Edge felt upon entering it for the first time. Don't over promise and under-deliver is the failure here.
As someone who was lucky enough to stay on the Starcruiser, I totally get how people weren’t able to see it for themselves might summarise that way. But it’s way off the mark and incredibly reductive to paint it that way. I think that’s clear from almost every video created by people who drew their conclusions from actual first hand experience. That’s the real problem though. Soooo much money was invested in hiring the finest staff across all Disney parks, actors who had to role play a specific story while remembering guests’ names and stories, people pulling the strings backstage and the technology and theming underpinning a carefully choreographed 2½ day “show”… etc, etc… that Disney backed themselves and fans into an impossible corner, excluding many fans who should have been able to visit. I hate role playing and stuff like that but I stepped out of the place in absolute awe of what they achieved. It certainly wasn’t perfect but it was light years better than quotes like the one you posted suggests. It was just too expensive to be sustainable. That was the failure. 🤷🏻♂️
@@TheFroneyZone Free-roaming droids are one of those “dream vs reality” things that will literally NEVER happen, not because they’re particularly hard to make work but because they’re walking (rolling) legal liabilities. They were stupid to include that stuff in the promo material in the first place. If they wanted to do droids, stationary animatronics (like your idea of a protocol droid concierge) is how it would’ve been implemented.
You are not welcome here. None of you are welcome here.
@@TheFroneyZone exactly I was thinking the exact same thing
Haha, that moment when Rey activates the lightsaber, then puts it down and picks up the "stunt double" saber always cracks me up.
When I first heard the $5000 price, I thought that must be the inflated cost for early adopters. I figured the real price Disney was planning on was around $1000, after a year or two or operation. The fact Disney ever convinced themselves there was a big enough market to charge $5000 on an ongoing basis is absolutely mind-blowing.
Or could they have done the reverse pricing structure? Launch with a $2,000 price, then let demand pile up with long waiting lists - which would have happened at that price point. Then raise prices. The big problem was that price became THE story. It overwhelmed the actual experience and the glowing reviews. It kicked off resentment at Disney (price gouging) and class resentment (Disney catering to the rich). The vitriol hurled at Disney in the reviews was due to a lot more than Starcruiser itself. I went in May and am truly sad it will be gone. It was amazing!
Why would they lower it to 1000 when the grand floridan charges that much for everything but the most basic rooms? The more high end floridian rooms (3 or more beds) could go for 2400+ during peak season.
@@Robb1977 You aren't paying for the room, or the theming. You're paying for the people who make the experience happen. You're paying for the cast and crew. It's phenomenal. It's the best entertainment event ever, but I had no idea until I experienced it. I also (mistakenly) thought it was an over-priced hotel.
@wendellista 100 dollars for a day pass at the park for killer theming and cast.
To be fair i can get great theming, with volunteer and paid actors, performers ect. Who provide great 16th century experiences at a ren fair... for 25 dollars, and free parking... also the guests are contributing just as much if not more half the time.
Dont get me wrong, i actually want a sci fi version of a ren fair, and i think the starcruise has some merit. But im not going to throw away the average americans monthly salary for a day at the disney star wars fair.
Literally just have it run during business hours as a different park because the only defense people ever have for it is: "its more than just a hotel... its not about the hotel part"
If thats a case get rid of the bedrooms, and charge the usual day pass for it.
@@Robb1977 Why don’t people who haven’t gone believe the people who have? It’s not wandering around at a fair, it’s a personalized theater experience for two days. With complex back office planning, each person has their own journey. I am no fool; if I thought I was ripped off, I would tell you. But I don’t. It was an amazing experience that was worth the price. Some people might pay this amount to go to the Super Bowl. That’s out of the reach of most people, too. So why diminish this experience that was so extraordinary? You don’t “get” how special it is. But believe the people who have gone.
I think Disney sometimes forgets that, despite their astounding dedication to theming, there’s difference between a simulation and the real thing. There’s a difference between Epcot’s Paris and the actual Paris. There’s a difference between the Golden Gate Bridge and California Adventure. There’s a difference between an actual cruise ship experience, and the Halcion.
Yeah, their is a difference between a Disney Cruise ship and the Galactic Starcruiser, 1 floats on water while the other sinks.
@@StillSaber It’s on concrete and it’s still sinking! 😆
What you are missing is that Starcruiser is the closest you will very get to actually BEING in a Star Wars movie. You are there when a droid rolls by or Stormtroopers push you aside. I was there and helped Chewbacca escape from the First Order. I pushed the lever that put the ship into hyperspace - every window changed to reflect it. Anyway, Starcruiser is/was amazing. I will never forget it - and I know that no matter what I say, people who haven't gone will not get it. It was fantastic - and everyone who went would agree.
@jlasf well, most people cant afford the price tag. Nor would i really want to sleep in a place that heavily themed to a movie franchise.
Id love to visit for an afternoon. A few friends and i wouldnt mind a standard entry fee, and wed be delighted to get some drinks and food, then see the daily events or whatever. Itd be a great Renaissance faire like setting for star wars fans... but it seems like a lousy idea for a hotel especially at the price.
The venn diagram of Star Wars fans who can afford $5000 (or vacation with other people who could love it enough to pay $2500) for 2 nights, and who love the sequels and First Order version of Star Wars, whose idea of Star Wars is a brightly lit luxury liner and not dirty grungy spaceships, who can also afford the surrounding WDW vacation, and who like to LARP... that's a very, very tiny amount of people. WDI did not understand that the sort of Star Wars fans with 5K to drop on a vacation tend to be older, middle-aged people who love the older trilogies. Making it primarily for children who love the sequels, not their parents, was a critical mistake.
Wealthy and like to LARP is indeed a very small market to go after.
This was the epitome of Chapek’s goal of only courting the most wealthy people to visit the parks, while actively keeping people who spend or can afford less away
Disney called it a "boutique" experience, that was their downfall. Star Wars is not a boutique brand, it should be accessible for the masses.
I dont think that agenda is exclusive to Chapek. Iger has done plenty of sheisty shit.
Walt Disney himself intended Disney to be a brand for the middle class.
Wasn't the hotel developed during Iger's reign?
This was planned well before chapek
Disney failed because this was like a cruise that never left. In addition to pricing so astronomically high, many were turned away from it; this only appealed to a certain niche. Im an avid Star Wars fan and i could never justify spending nearly 4-6k for a two night stay that did not look worth it. But hey disney tried i guess.
The price and the deterioration of the Star Wars brand over the last few years is really what killed this from ever succeeding. Me and few friends (and even my dad) used to be really big Star Wars fans, but most of us don't really care for it anymore. It really doesn't help that they made this set during the sequel trilogy era. Maybe if this was set during the OT or hell, even the prequel era (since there seems to be a lot of nostalgia for that era these days), I think this would've done a bit better, but even then, I don't think it'd be enough to save this.
The much maligned prequels are now looked upon far more favourable since Disney started to producing their rubbish version of Star Wars.
@@braxxian That, and the prequels have a lot of really good media surrounding it outside of the movies. The 2D Clone Wars cartoon, the original 2 Battlefront games, the Podracer games, Republic Commando, etc.
IF you look at those concept art shots you used during the "survey" section, you'll see big rooms with king sized beds and luxury amenities--all worth not only of a $1k per night experience but also what one might expect of a future deluxe "cruise starship" with well-to-do galactic guests. What we got instead was tiny rooms with bunk beds akin to a kid's summer camp cabin, mediocre tiny bites of food made "interstellar" by dying them bright odd colors, and some bad-FanCon-weekend cosplay stuff with ONLY Chewbacca from the original trilogy characters (same problem with Galaxy's Edge--the older fans who loved the original movies and could more possibly AFFORD the crazy prices were alienated) present in the story. NOW they have a huge "white elephant" that is utterly unfixable--some have suggested it as a revamped dinner theater possibility and others as what it SHOULD have been--a scifi version of the classic and TRULY worthy of your praise Adventurers Club which was destroyed to make room for generic mall shops and mediocre restaurants at Disney Springs. PLUS the remote locale means it would never get any foot traffic nor justify the cost overruns. The only way it can possibly be redeemed is as an added attraction for galaxy's edge, but even then there's the problem of the TIME it would take to take the shuttle to/from, enjoy a meal and show, and return and whether people would want to dedicate that much of their Disney park experience to this one thing other than those idly curious to see the "ruins" of what was a boondoggle from moment one. I can tell you really loved it--I respect that. But you are a VERY tiny subset of the audience, especially with respect because you didn't pay for it yourself and being there gives you content for this wonderful channel. Further, this is a one-and-done experience with virtually no "re-rideability" for 90% of those who make the financial sacrifice. IF you were going to go on a 3-day-2-night experience, why not go on a Disney cruise ship with all the amenities of a "comprehensive" vacation and at what could even be a similar or lower cost? As for your diagnosis of the problems, the timeline issue isn't about having a unique story--it is about having virtuall NONE of the beloved characters and context and MOST of what Disney has virtually killed the franchise with. And it isn't just marketing--it is content vs. value vs. time. TOo much of it is NOT "first of its kind" because with cosplay, escape rooms, and lots of such roleplay experiences out there it is just a re-themed take on that. As for StarWars being a success? Not lately--the spin-offs are spiralling in. Couple that with presenting a product in rooms, cuisine, and service that wasn't up to the pricetag and was certainly inferior to deluxe vacations that wealthy people can not only do but re-do with satisfaction. I love you and your vids, but I think your own personal love-affair with this thing clouds your reasoning in this video. It is a HUGE bomb and financially one more nail in the ever-growing rickety structure of the Disney financial empire. Stockholders will be pissed, Iger will again blame Chapek, and life will go on as Universal eats Disney's lunch when Epic Universe opens.
As I have written to other critics: did you go on Starcruiser? If not, you have no basis to judge the experience. I'm not a shill. I am not a Disney employee. I didn't get a free trip. I'm not a fool who is easily parted from his money. So, why can't you - and others - believe that it was fantastic and worth the price? Everyone I know who went loved it. And you will be hard-pressed to find negative reviews from people were actually on Starcruiser. Were there marketing and business mistakes? Sure. But this was a creative triumph that Disney should be proud of. It was a bold experiment - like making the first full-length cartoon or opening a theme park like Disneyland. Starcruiser would have made Walt Disney proud. Sorry you didn't go - you missed the boat.
@@jlasf How one defines fool is beside the point, except that those who are fools WITH money soon are WITHOUT it. I'm just telling you that if it was the REAL "star cruiser" in the galaxy far far away catering to wealthy patrons (say an intergalactic version of Viking or Regent 7 Seas) they couldn't sell them teensy rooms and food that's just dyed funny colors at that price or any price. And the proof is in the closing--there are very few of you and not enough to justify the expense to the company, period--and most who ARE wealthy enough love the ORIGINAL Star Wars story and characters, not the b-minus team and cosplayers in blue makeup. Period.
@@dlfendel2844 1: Most of the food isn't just "dyed funny colors." For instance, you get a round bun and when you bite into it, it's got PB&J inside. In other words, it's a creative way to present known food. That's interesting. And there are other examples. 2: The room is small, but so are rooms on a real cruise ship - and that's the reference point. It's a cruise ship in space. But, more importantly, if you are in your room, you are not enjoying Starcruiser the right way. I was never in my room, except to change clothes and sleep. 3: The actors are amazing, not B-. Lin. Croy for the First Order was so in character that I debated him about the legal aspects of the First Order. And that extends to every server. "I was born on Naboo, but now I live of Tatooine," said a waiter. Look, you can hate on Starcruiser all you want. Lots of people loved it. I think it's being pulled because of terrible marketing and bad business decisions. But as the title says, it's "A Triumphant Failure."
@@jlasf Look--clearly you loved it. I respect that. But....clearly it failed, and you seem to think that the reason is that those awful evil plebes didn't dare to be as enthusiastic as you are. That's silly, bad business, and speaking as a lifetime editor/writer/expert on cuisine, trust me--what I saw is hardly innovative. IF you are selling a hotel and say "Yeah, the room is tiny but screw that you don't stay there much" you are NOT selling a luxury experience, you're selling a CHEAP cruise ship or a bargain Vegas hotel at a CHEAP price. The contradictions between the level of value and the price are too great to be ignored, no matter how much YOU loved it. You have to just plain admit (or be in denial) that you are an OUT of pattern consumer of this, an outlier. Spending hundreds of millions in construction, planning, prep, and marketing on something that appeals to and can be afforded by only outliers just plain didn't and wouldn't work. No matter how much you "yeah, but..." the thing, the bottom line is that it was and is a FAILURE and one that could have been predicted by sensible people. It is a mark of the BAD management that's plagued the company for years now. IF their excuse was that there were hundreds of thousands of people like you, it would be laughed at so they aren't making that claim. There aren't. There weren't. And wiser folks would have known that going in and said "Wait one, gang...let's re-think this."
@@dlfendel2844 But it's NOT just me. CNBC wrote, "The experience has earned some of the highest guest satisfaction ratings in the history of Walt Disney World." I don't know anyone who went and didn't love it. So, there are two camps: People who went and loved it. People who didn't go and hated it. All your comments about the rooms, the food and everything else are meaningless. The people who actually went didn't have any problems with those things. Yes, as a business venture, it failed. But as a creative development, it succeeded.
This was always bound to fail. You go to disneyworld to ride the rides and go to the theme parks. The average person was never going to pay for this, and hence why it failed so quickly, and I think this will be seen as one of if not tbe biggest failures in disney history. But with that being said, I think we can all agree, the idea of a starwars hotel is dope AF. What they should have done is made a large resort style hotel with a lot more things to do. Imagine a solarium style pool that looks into "space," maybe have different bars or restaurants that are in different starwars locations. And even for the rooms, maybe you have a foresty endore wing, you have a space wing, maybe a hoth wing, and maybe even a death star/ star destroyer wing. But i think its pretty clear that this could have and should have worked and been really cool, if just executed, in the exact opposite way that Disney tried
Should have been a large, themed hotel.
The Galactic Star Cruiser failed the moment it was themed exclusively to the Disney Star Wars Trilogy.
Agreed
The disney star wars trilogy that hardly is referenced during the experience... go be mad somewhere else
@Evan Robinson kylo Ren, Rey, first order storm troopers and officers. Shooting down first order tie fighters? It's all sequel trilogy. The whole plot and esthetic
@StraightOtohGunga yes Kylo and Rey, Rey specifically is only seen in the finale and if you deliberately go out of your way to see her for an optional mission Kylo is only in the finale..... btw I think you'll live seeing a couple of storm troppers
@Evan Robinson first order stormtroopers look like a cheap bootleg. I want the real iconic imperial storm troopers that first burst onto the big screen in a new hope. I also would rather have clone troopers instead of the Disney off-brand designs
I’m not shocked by this. Normal families cannot afford such a crazy luxury and Disney during Chapek’s time at the helm became increasingly unaffordable for the common family. It is a shame for those cast members who had to work tirelessly to provide guests an experience that fit their astronomically high bill. Hopefully Disney can repurpose it into a resort of some form or simply make it a Space 220 hotel edition that could give the Star Wars vibes but still allow people to get to experience the theme parks.
Well they could repurpose it as a casino instead. It is a shame to let all billions go to waste letting the hotel sit there like an abandoned hotel
“This was Disney’s most service and guest-experience project in decades.” Yes, for rich or very well-off people exclusively. Meanwhile the average guests in the park who might be taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip get mediocre service. That is precisely the issue
Clearly not. The audience has spoken.
I'm a BIG Star Wars fan - this was on my bucket list while it was open. I am very disappointed that it's closing, but I understand why it wasn't a success, I am a single woman who lives with her parents, neither of who are as much of a fan of Star Wars as I am, when I looked into it to see if I could do a voyage on the Starcruiser for a trip I just took in February, a single person could not go on the trip by themselves, my next best bet would have been to go with my sister and brother-in-law who are also Star Wars fans, we could not justify the 6,000 dollars it would have cost for us three to go for 2 nights, when our whole week long vacation, cost a little more than half of that. We had hoped that they would lower the price eventually, to a point where we felt comfortable spending for the experience.
Sorry, they would not take a single booking? I'm wondering if on fact now that they've built the place weather in fact they will use the property as a non all inclusive non fully immersive boutique hotel experience with the pricing closer to that of a very high end resort room along the lines of some of the pricing I've seen for the Contemporary.
Sorry, but I don't think this is correct. I went with a friend, but we each had separate rooms. One person; one room. I had no indication that I needed to bring someone. As far as they knew, I had come by myself.
@@jlasf When I looked it started at 2 people rooms
@@sarahvanorden670 ah, I think I know what you mean now as I travel a lot on cruise ships and while they're more than happy to let me buy a room for myself, I do have to pay based on double occupancy. I can stay alone, but I have to pay for a 2 person room
@@sarahvanorden670 Nope. I booked with 1 person per room.
I'm shocked that Disney actually pulled the plug permanently. I was expecting them to "close for refurbishments" and then announce a revision of the hotel. Hopefully the Galactic Starcruiser theme resurfaces on one of Disney's actual cruises.
They aren't going to let it sit there like an abandoned hotel , not after spending billions on it. It is a waste of space. They could re-theme or repurpose the hotel as something else
Having it on an actual Disney cruise could make it much better, mainly because it lets the guests actually travel instead of simulate it.
BIG star wars fan, but this never really did anything for. First of all the price was just absurd for what you get. It's basically a murder mystery dining event and a cruise ship merged into something in what is basic windowless warehouse. There's not really much to do there and corners seem to have been everywhere you look. If it was $500+ per person (for two nights) it might be worth it for a one time experience. Repeat visits though I would say isn't worth it either.
Did you go? I was a cynic before I went (in August). After I went, I was doing everything I could to get on another voyage before it closed. I called 60+ times a day. I asked my mom to call. She got a cancellation last week, so my family was able to go again. It's the best entertainment event I've ever experience in my 51 years on this planet. To say it's 'immersive storytelling and an immersive game' doesn't do the experience justice. It was 100% worth the price. We paid about 1500 per person. You are paying for the many PEOPLE (actors, CMs, crew) who make the immersion. You aren't paying for a 'hotel'. Your loss. Truly.
Star Wars fans spend stupid amounts of money on stuff that they love (speaking from personal experience here). Their target market here is massive fans who are willing to part with that kind of cash for the experience. Those kinds of Star Wars fans hate the sequels, the Starcruiser is focused on the sequels, psycho fans will not spend the money on a sequels based experience, Starcruiser fails.
Yup. If Galaxy's edge was a Tatooine or Coruscant it would have been packed like Nintendo World and Wizarding World.
I think there's more to it than that for why Galaxy's Edge didn't do so well, but I do see your point.
Agreed. I’m an old school SW fan and would defiantly spend the money on an OT experience. But the sequels, for get it.
For me, the concept is wrong from the beginning, if they make a thousand rooms and a show that can be reserved for different passes a day, they would make it an experience for everyone and not exclusively for wealthy people (for those who can pay for it, they could sell them the complete experience every weekend). In my 46 years I have visited Orlando once and once Anaheim, this project was exciting from the beginning but seeing the exclusivity and the final prices was like seeing a great sign in which it said: " Dear fan, we are not interested in your visit if you do not give us half of your annual salary." For me it has been a disappointment and an insult not to say that they have eliminated the magic that they always proudly presents.
Hey Luke! I went on the Starcruiser from March 16-18 2023. My thoughts are identical to yours. My friend and mine’s main story was also with Raithe. We started ours the same way you did, scanning our band and getting into the engineering room. My entire life I have had a bad stutter, and the cast and crew of the Halcyon made me feel welcome and were so kind to me. We also were a part of the resistance story which was great. We had a different Raithe than you, and he was fantastic. Our Lieutenant Croy looks like the same one you had, but he had to leave after the first day and got replaced by your Raithe Kole playing Croy on the second day. It was really weird, but the actors handled it really well. When I went, our cruise was nearly full. My sibling had no desire to go, and they loved it. My mom thought it was the best thing Disney has done in a long time, and she hates Star Wars! At the end of the Starcruiser, my friend and I stood in the bridge, while listening to the ending credits Star Wars songs, and watching fireworks from the bridge. We shed a few tears. The Starcruiser means so much to us, and I am so sad that nobody else will get to experience. If anybody is reading this, if you can go, do it. It is an incredible experience and I think everybody will love it. It is no wonder that the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser has the “highest guest satisfaction scores in the history of Walt Disney World”. My end goal is to become an Imagineer, if I do I want to create the same feeling of excitement and happiness that I had on the Starcruiser for other people. Rest in piece Halcyon, may the stars light your way and Ta’bu e tay!
(Gaya’s Crew/ Gaya’s Singing Stones for life!)
So glad to hear you enjoyed the experience as much as I did! I never thought about what would happen if a performer got sick halfway through the experience, interesting!
Ditto. Why won't people believe us? I am soooooo glad I went on Starcruiser. One of the most fun things I have ever done and I have memories I will never forget. How do you put a price on that?
@@jlasf Disney didn't explain what it was. The advertising was terrible, and they never countered the negative narrative. So, then really the only way for it to succeed was for word of mouth to work its magic. But that takes time. I just went in Aug and again in Sept. Eventually I will post videos for my friends, and they will then say, 'OMG, I had no idea it was so amazing! I really with I could have gone!". I'm gushing to anyone who cares (and doesn't care) to listen about how it's the best entertainment event ever. Eventually, word of mouth would have brought people in. But Disney didn't give it the time needed for that.
@@wendellista Completely agree!! How do explain something that never existed before. I tell people it’s like riding “Rise of the Resistance “ but getting off midway and living in that world for two days! Lucky you to go twice. I would have gone back. So, all we can do is tell our story. I feel TRULY sad. And sorry for all the designers, planners, Imagineers and actors who gave their all.
We will be the few and proud who got to go!
@@wendellista By the way, where was PR with Daisy Ridley and Mark Hamill to promote it? Pretty simple to get quotes: Ridley : “I just acted in the movie. Here, you get to live it.”
History tells us that it will probably be left to rot for years, before it becomes a destination for urban explorers and eventually is torn down for safety reasons.
Especially if they take it as a tax write-off. You can't write-off something like that and then turn around and keep using the space for something else. The IRS frowns on that sort of thing.
For 6,000 dollars, you could go on an actual cruise for about a week on an actual ship going to actual places. You could even go on an actual disney cruise if you want that disney experience for 6,000 dollars. How in the name of all that is holy did disney ever think this was a good idea to begin with?
Tbh it kinda look cheap for the price tag… also a nightmare for an introvert
i would love thos event, if that was for a 12 Man Group, not for 40-100
I wouldnt be surprised if they repurpose it as a normal hotel or a walkthrough experience
Some speculate it'll be a restaurant show since it's already themed and has the large rooms.
@@ZontarDow I feel like that would be sort of a waste of space, considering how the restaurant are is only a small part of the Halcyon. There are 100 Hotel rooms, the lobby and probably many other areas left. Maybe they could use it as a giant escape room experience
I am betting it will be turned into a storage building.
a hotel.....for ants? it needs to be 3 times as big
I dont know who would want to stay at a land hotel with cruise sized rooms.
Shouldve been a star wars themed hotel thats by the parks instead of a cruise like experience to where you can't leave
It's weird cause I heard they were gonna try to do a dinner show experience during off days while still having the full service for peak days. I thought they would have tried that before considering shutting down.
SOMEbody figured out that wouldn't sell enough to pay the expenses either. Finally a Disney person who can actually crunch the numbers. If they had more of those in charge they wouldn't be going broke the way they are now....Hulu/Comcast anyone?
15:54 The hotel needs some SERIOUS nip/tuck in order to be a normal Disney hotel. It needs...
-A Quick Service Dining Option
-A Pool
-Bus Transport to other parks (They can repurpose the "Box Truck" to get to Studios)
-A proper hotel shop
-And other things I can't think of...
They really need to stop blowing their money on what could be great ideas by tying them to the sequel trilogy
As someone who was once a cast member and has relatives who worked alongside Tony Baxter and Joe Rohde, it is clear that this project was primarily motivated by profit (everything is, but GSC was insulting). The decision to cut corners on the construction while overcharging for the experience was a blatant attempt at cash gouging. Unfortunately, the public could see through this scheme and found it insulting to be sold an underwhelming Star Wars experience while being asked to believe that it was "totally worth it." This is likely why the project ultimately failed - people are smarter than to fall for such tactics. I also collect pinball machines…you see the same thing. The most poorly constructed lazy efforts you will have a handful of people that own them because “it’s fun”…but they can’t go much furthur than that and justify paying 10K for it…Customers that can metally make sh^$% to sugar and pay top dollar are always the best customer. Duke Nukem Forever was “Fun”, but it was still crap.
Great video BTW. Love your vids.
Tony baxter is a disney legend. He helped design the big thunder mountain railroad and the splash mountain at disneyland.
Real simple question: did you go on Starcruiser? If not, you have no basis to judge the entire experience. I went and had a FANTASTIC time as did everyone else I know who went.
Would you judge a movie you hadn't seen? Review a restaurant you hadn't eaten at? Why do you lambaste Starcruiser when you didn't go? Do you think all of the positive reviews are from idiots and shills - including The NY Times. If Starcruiser was a rip-off, I would be the first person to complain. But it wasn't. I saw where my money went and it was worth it.
Sorry you didn't go. You missed the voyage of a lifetime.
13:18 The main issue with the price point is that due to Disney's vacation calculators, you can easily see how much more you can get for the same amount you'd pay for this experience.
The biggest issue with Starcruiser for me was that a lot of the story experience was initially pitched to be a part of Galaxy's Edge. Putting all of that behind a $5000 paywall was gross to most average park goers, and really turned off a lot of people to the idea, as well as down selling Galaxy's Edge as a lesser experience.
I'm not surprised it failed, even if one ignores the fact that the price and type of experience are not the type of thing there was a viable market for, even at significant discount, people who typically handle the numbers side of things for major companies estimated a full century to recoup its cost. Simply put, even with the promised quality, and even if it'd been based around a part of Star Wars people actually care about rather then what was, it was doomed to fail. The perfect example of a conceptually bad idea that's had to be an almost entire write-off. When the numbers are not viable at 80%, the level such hotels hope to achieve overall, well, it is what it is.
Another issue with the Starcruiser (that was brought up in FreshBaked's take on this) is that element of "you get out what you put in". Most people don't really want to be responsible for their own entertainment, especially when they're paying a lot of money to be there. Putting in the effort to come up with your own backstory and seeking out characters to interact with is not something everyone wants to do, even if it makes a great experience for those that do.
I am the type of guy who dreads being pulled out of an audience. So, I feared feeling like that on Starcruiser. But I didn't. The actors are so good and welcoming that you got into the action naturally. After meeting one of them, you'd get a message on your datapad to meet for a mission. When you got there, they remembered your name. (How??) Really hard to describe, I know. I am also cynical and ready to critique everything. But I let that go and let myself be a kid.
One wise wag called it "Mandatory Fun" and that's the problem. The same guy predicted this would be the "Ishtar" of Disney projects, and so far he's quite right.
As TV Tropes says, "Awesome but Impractical"
This is going to sound bizarre, but I am SO EMBARRASED by playing tourist. Like, going to Pandora makes me embarrassed about being a tourist there (rest of Disney is fine. We all are on the same page. But playing tourist in a place set up as a fictional tourist destination? With culture? I melted at the drum circle. And in New York my grandmother - who lives in NY - wanted to take a photo of me eating by those street hot dog stands. I refused, but took a picture of her)
So, this is a long way to say, I love themed entertainment but I would be mortified doing any of this stuff. I don't know where or how to start, it's too overwhelming (especially for that price if you only go once!) and it's all playing tourist for a fictional tourist. UGH. That's outside of the pricing too. I admire the creative risks, but couldn't some of this have been avoided by... putting it in Battuu like they said they would do initially? Because with that in mind, it sounds like they removed stuff from Battuu to charge extra for later. Like some egregious DLC.
I totally understand what you mean, it's not bizarre. I think that the same thing happens to me when I go on vacation to a foreign city. I want to blend in with the locals, not stick out like a tourist.
Lucian. I like that :3
I was very much a skeptic during the leadup to the Halcyon's maiden voyage due to the price, but after seeing TimTracker's videos on the experience, I realized overall it was a lot more intimate and entertaining than I thought it would be. I would've actually enjoyed staying at the hotel. The only problem was, again, the price. Even with the discounts I was completely unaware of until now, I really don't think I would've afforded to stay there.
Besides, I do _not_ gel with the idea of welcoming food coloring into my diet for two nights
Yeah my brain did not agree with those blue shrimp, they tasted like regular shrimp but boy was it hard to push past the colour! - Luke
Yeah, if they could've made that price at least somewhat more reasonable, like $1000 at most then it probably would've fared better. It shouldn't have been about focusing on the wealthy individuals.
It was the best entertainment event I've ever experienced. Disney didn't explain what it was. They marketed it poorly. It came out to about 1500 per person. Yes, that's a lot of money, but people spend that money for other two day events. Twice in my life I've bought Broadway tickets that were 1000 per person. People go to the Super Bowl, Coachella, the Stanley Cup, Vegas, etc., and pay more than that for a two days for entertainment, lodging and food.
I can't imagine paying $5k for a Star Wars experience without Darth Vader, C3PO, R2D2, Han, Leia, Luke, Lando, Anakin, Obi Wan, etc
Crazy, isn’t it?
The articulated and expressive Rodian mask gave me chills.
I enjoy Star Wars and would've enjoyed doing this with my best friend if that price point weren't so high. Moving forward, I think Disney could turn this into an exclusive hotel and make the experience a separate, lower cost day trip attraction. If that proves profitable, I could see them doing limited cruising engagements like what was originally intended. But they really need to knock it off with these prices. It might have been worth it, but you can also get a pretty much all-inclusive 2-week river cruise in Europe for about the same price.
I don’t see how they make a profitable hotel on that tiny scale of 100 rooms.
100 TINY rooms not worth what they'd charge for them.
They'd have to re-market this as one of their Value Hotels, which I think is possible. Are the rooms as big as their actual value hotels, no. Buy this would fit with the teeming around those hotels and prices right, I think would work.
@@tracyjohnson4478 No, the value hotels work because of their potential VOLUME and thus expenses are spread over LOTS of revenue sources. 100 rooms is NOTHING. For one example, value hotel All-Star-Sports has NINETEEN HUNDRED ROOMS.
The thing that made me say „oh hell no“ to this experience was the pricing.
I think there really is no universe where such a price could be considered as „normal“ for what essentially is a 2,5 Day experience.
I really hope they overthink the pricing, maybe lower running costs, cut the last day and then reopen it with a better and more affordable price.
(I highly doubt it though)
even at half the price not many will go
Cant wait for Rafiki’s Planet Watch 220 to open soon!
Maybe people simply don’t want to create their own Star Wars story as much as Disney seems to think. Maybe people just want to see the next chapter of Luke and Han and Leah’s story. I don’t know by Disney fails to even acknowledge that possibility.
That's the problem, you shouldn't have to _pretend_ the Storm Troopers are wearing different helmets, they're not.
From what I've seem, there's almost nothing connecting this to real Star Wars. Yes, I am 100% gatekeepers.
Guests do not have to pretend anything in the Wizarding World. It just is the Wizarding World. Universal has won.
The issue isn’t that they took risks, it’s that during R&D, they knew what the price would be and still went through with it. It would be unaffordable for most guests that normally go to the parks even more upper middle class guests. When a large number of people are priced out of the experience what do you expect to happen?
Love your video! My Starcruiser adventure began on May 6, 2022 and as you said it was the most amazing themed entertainment I’ve ever experienced. I’m very sad to see it go.
could not agree more. truly a let down that disney could not muster the price point/resource to keep this going. might just be me, but a walk through refurb (if it happens) will NOT do this justice. the ability to live out your star wars dreams was beyond incredible, and all cast members involved were superstars.
I was literally about to text you before i saw your comment. I was planning on taking Brayden when he was 4.5 in 2024 and was crushed to hear it’s closing in September. I have to do this before it closes right? Even if he is < 4? It’s the sum of everything i love in entertainment. Disney, Star Wars, Interactive theatre, improv, and escape rooms 😢😢
I've been feeling so hollow the past couple of days. It was my dream to attend the Starcruiser, and now it's all gone.
RIP to this immersive blip
how long have you had this prepared
We all saw it coming
The whole project reminded me a bit of Jurassic Park in that they thought they could charge any price - "We'll have a coupon day, or something!"
Disney is getting it's own "immersive experience" called reality. There was nothing remotely Star Wars about the Galactic Star Cruiser. It was Star Wars in name only. What if Universal took the Harry Potter characters and stories and did away with them to create a "Universal Harry Potter?" It would have never worked. People who have 6K to burn will usually burn it on something they deem worthwhile. Turns out they didn't. The argument that Disney could have lowered the price is null because the cost to run the whole required a high price. A's a child of the 80's, I know the Star Wars vibe. I was buying toys from Empire Strikes Back in the department store. If you know you know. And nothing that Disney has done with the parks gives anyone that vibe. The experience may have been amazing. The cast members may have been amazing. But that was for the select few, either the influencers or those who chose to part with 6k. I feel for all who were involved, but they need to point the fingers at leadership , or lack of leadership. Hopefully something amazing and new comes out of this debacle.
The hologram Yoda-moment made me laugh so hard😂😂😂 guess I suspected a much bigger hologram like in the movies........
Great review! I went in May and it was an experience I will never forget. I have been all over the world and done a wide variety of things - climbed along the Great Wall of China, been at the top of the tallest building in the world in Dubai, etc. This is one of the funnest things I have ever done. I was exhausted at the end of the day running missions on the ship and on Batuu. I am very, very sad it's closing. Just watching this video makes me want to go back. As I was getting ready to leave, I saw a 10-year old boy in the lobby. He was crying and said to his father, "I don't want to go back to Earth." Yup. I agree.
Had this video on deck
for $5,000 I could take an INCREDIBLE trip to Europe (from the USA); last year I spent a week in Portugal and with flights and everything I think it was like $2,500-$3,000 total and that was without even thinking a single time about what I was spending and just having the time of my life
i think when it comes down to this, it really is cost vs. value - could i afford to go on the Starcruiser if I really wanted to? Sure, I could make it happen. The value just isn’t there though and that’s the biggest issue, not to mention I doubt people would pay to go twice so once the people who can afford it have gone, that’s it for them.
All that promo material you used in the intro is what people expected to get for the price. They got a bit of a watered down version.
Imo the problem is that all the things in Star cruiser were things originally promised for Galaxy's Edge
Universal:”Take that…DISNEY”
Not since The World Of Sid & Marty Krofft's closing ... yes, I'm that old...have I been disappointed by something shuttering its doors before my getting to experience it... although, truth be told, it was way out of my price range, and probably would've been for the rest of my life. No doubt that was a factor in its premature end. A certain disease that, three years ago, became our "new normal"... GOD, I hated typing that... certainly didn't help.
Guess I'll have to be content with videos of those who did visit.
There goes my dream of seeing this on Hotel Hell.
The Galactic Starcruiser was money, effort and actors that would have been better spent creating a permanent fixture for Club Villain.
Great video.
I actually got to go to this. It was absolutely incredible. I am not an outgoing person, but I did my best to get into it as much as possible, I even had a costume for it. I managed to do most of the story beats and even won the Sabacc tournament. I also want to mention that the cast members were amazing! The Lt. Croy actor for my stay especially. I understand that the price was unaffordable for most people (though after having gone I can see why it was priced that way) and that they did not understand what it actually was. I had to keep explaining to people that it wasn't just a themed hotel. I have a lot of criticisms for Disney myself, but I feel like this was one of the times where the online reaction was and continues to be very... internety and that word of mouth seems to have hurt the success. I also wouldn't be to keen on investing more in Florida at the moment either. It is depressing to see the most unique attraction in a long time go, but I can't say I don't understand how we got here. At least I got to experience it first.
Blaming word of mouth implies that there are a lot of people who would have gone if only meanies on the Internet weren’t saying such mean things about it. The reality is that the vast majority of people who would potentially be interested in this experience will NEVER be in a life situation where they can afford to drop $6000 on a 2-day experience.
@@sssspider Online sentiment and confusion was absolutely a factor, but I would hardly call it the sole, or even the main reason. As I said, this is an unaffordable experience for a lot of people. If it could be run at a cheaper price Disney would likely be trying that rather then shutting it down, but $4,800 (2 person) is just too much for a large amount of potential vacationers. The weird thing was it was full or nearly full up until about Halloween, then it just seemed to IMMEDIATELY drop to half capacity and, apparently, never recovered. Alas I hope Disney doesn't take the wrong lessons from this. Perhaps they can start it again with a far cheaper version that doesn't utilize a bazillion cast members and only run this version occasionally.
@@redlethal4358 it’s not that weird, that’s probably right around the time the majority of people who wanted to go, already went.
I’ve lived just 3-4 miles directly north of Disney in Orlando as the crow flies for 25. I’m a big Star Wars fan (at least the original trilogy) and a Disney annual passholder. And I barely heard a single thing about this whole experience. The only two memories I have of it are seeing just a couple inconspicuous road signs near MGM (yes, I’ll always call it that, and just hearing via word of mouth of the insane prices. But I honestly never saw one but of video or marketing for it until this video. But even as a fan and living so close, there is no WAY that I would pay even close to those prices. If it was an extra experience that was maybe $200-$300, then yeah, I possibly would try it. But $4,800? That is absolutely laughable, and I can’t believe anyone would throw away their money like that. You can easily fly to Europe for less than that, actually going somewhere, and interact with actual real people in great places from big cities to villages. This Starcruiser thing does look very well done. I definitely give it that. But like I say, it’s something I’d pay an extra $200-$300, but no way in hell I’d pay upwards of $4,800. I don’t know what Disney was smoking when they came up with that price. I also wouldn’t go do this unless I had kids or at least teenagers with me. What unbalanced adult goes to something like this made for kids by themselves? I do like that Disney is still trying SOME new things. Unlike their absolutely horrendous and unnecessary live action remakes of so many of their classic and beauty animated films, or just another Marvel sequel no one asked for or needs. Disney did used to be such an original company overall. Even if some of their animated films came from classic stories in books, or some concepts for the theme parks came from some other amusement parks in Europe such as Tivoli Gardens in Denmark. But today they wear me out, just pressing another of the IP’s in my face again, without much new, or slapping the words “limited edition” on some piece of plastic stamped out in the thousands in China.
How did you guys make this so fast? The news came out yesterday!
Maybe it's like newspaper obituaries, they prepared it in anticipation
In retrospect we should have had this pre-prepared and ready to go but even we didn't think it would close this early! The reality is both myself and Dom worked on this video the day the news broke and thanks to our time zone here in Australia we were able to get it done by the time most of the world was waking up! - Luke
A group of us were planning to go next year as a joint 40th birthday trip.
We have been playing the Star Wars TTRPG together for three years, so we already have characters that we could play.
We had already started assembling costumes and props, so to say that we were gutted when this news came out is an understatement.
One the one hand it’s going to make our trip a LOT cheaper, but I think that I’ll always be a bit resentful that I’m going to miss out on what was probably going to be a once in a lifetime experience.
If someone can point me in the direction of a Disney exec that I can bribe/blackmail/“service” to get onboard before the Starcruiser closes, please do so.
It’s one thing for Disney to build a themed hotel. Their “Toy Story” resort in Japan (where the rooms resemble Andy’s bedroom) looks so cool and has probably become very popular. Even adding Marvel Comics decor to Hotel New York at Disneyland Paris has been successful. They would’ve been better off just building a “Star Wars”-themed hotel in the first place, instead of this “immersive experience.” Exorbitant cost aside, you’re still basically trapped in a windowless building, encouraged to limit yourself to Galaxy’s Edge instead of exploring all of Hollywood Studios or the other parks, and don’t have the opportunity to make your stay longer or shorter. Give me a standard hotel experience in a building designed to resemble Tatooine or Naboo, while permitting me the freedom to see any area of Disney World at my leisure, I’ll take it!
No everything except alcohol wasn't in included. Unlike a real cruise ship on Halloween, costumes were not provided and you had to buy them from the store. So to get the full experience as you mentioned you really had to be in costume. There was as some VIP experiences that were also an extra cost. Not to mention if you took the bus, err shuttle craft to Star Wars Land at Disney World they did load credits to get a meal and provide you a "cough cough free: bottled water but otherwise you had to pay for anything else - which was reasonable but destroys the experience as you wrip out out American Dollars or a 21st century credit card. For the price they could have included or at least offered at extra costs a "drinks" package.
All the ideas, research and development, and details put into this and they literally made the two biggest mistakes you could possible make. Absolutely ridiculous price and this not being based around the original trilogy. Basing this around the Sequels is absolutely hilarious. It's sad that Disney really has no real idea what to do with the Star Wars franchise.
I’m not a huge Star Wars fan, but I do enjoy Galaxies Edge. But why on Earth would I spend over $5 THOUSAND doll hairs for 2 measly nights when I’ve been to Disney World for 5 park days AND stayed on property for less or a 7 night RC cruise for less?? The math ain’t mathing!!
If this raised the bar so much people would have gone, despite the cost. If it was successful it wouldn’t be closing. This was a huge misstep by the company in an effort to cater to the wealthier class who aren’t going to spend their money at Disney. This channel has moved away from being honestly critical about Disney to being apologetic about anything Disney does wrong. I don’t understand why but if it’s an attempt to pursue the title of “media” for the mouse that is just sad.
Random idiots on the Internet were calling it the moment it was announced… the project should’ve been canned the moment they crunched the numbers and arrived at $6000 as the cost they’d have to set in order to make an acceptable profit. At the very least it should’ve been sent back to the drawing board to be redeveloped into something actually sustainable.
It doesn’t take a business genius to see that a $6000 entry fee is a complete non-starter, and I’d be willing to bet that the bean counters pointed this out but were ignored by the clueless idiot(s) in charge.
Four videos ago we called out Disney’s biggest anniversary of the decade as a massive failure and how it was their own hubris. We enjoyed the concept of this attraction but it’s execution and cost we’re a failure as explained in the video. How does that make us apologists?
@@ReviewTyme Praising Disney for “taking a risk” on the Starcruiser comes off as a little ridiculous when any idiot off the street could’ve predicted this outcome from a hundred miles away. In fact, tons of idiots off the street WERE predicting exactly this outcome the moment it was announced, and they were unsurprisingly proven right. Most of us idiots have zero business experience and it was STILL blindingly obvious.
Seriously, there is no galaxy where this attraction could’ve lasted longer than 5 years without major changes. The whole project was doomed to fail the moment they decided that $6000 was an acceptable price tag. A “risk” where the cost is half a billion dollars if not more while the chance of success is pretty much zero isn’t a “risk”, it’s just stupidity. Such stupidity is worthy of ridicule, not praise.
@@ReviewTyme Your opening line of this being Disney’s most successful failure; it’s not successful, it is a failure. You’re attempting to soften your criticism, but why? Call it for what it is. An over-priced, over-blown, over-hyped, misstep, bloated, poorly executed failure of a project. If it set the bar so high why didn’t it take off? It didn’t set the bar high at all; the bar went in the trash. And yes, four videos ago you talked about how the 50th was a let down. But didn’t you all make a video with a giant thumbnail that said “We’re Sorry, Disney”? Maybe I’m mixing channels up but I’m pretty sure it was this one. You guys put out a great product, I mean that. But I think a lot of us don’t want you to lose that real critical eye of what Disney really does. And I’m not the only one who feels that way seeing that quite a few folks have given my comment a like. Sounds like your fans are trying to tell you all something.
The success of this project was referring to the critical success based on reviews from guests who experienced it. This project had the highest Guest Satisfaction scores of any product in Disney history, while the overall project is clearly a failure due to closing in just 18 months, it was a critical success due to those scores and the positive reviews.
We try to make each video starting from a neutral point no matter the context, we will praise a company when they deserve it and criticise them just as quickly. Pure negativity can get exhausting, so we try to find the good in situations where we can, but we still call out Disney a lot more than we praise them.
Sadness is upon the fans of the science fiction franchise like me that the joint is about to shut down in no time. No relation to bankruptcy somehow. But probably the humble attendance. I would go there if I could afford the "voyage" for the weekend. Staying in the Halcyon transports me out of the galaxy with candescent things to see which are super lit! So much to do when escaping from reality!😥
What about a separate paid experience like the lightsaber workshop? They pretty much have it built, just get a path over there from DHS. Two hour excursion or something. Abridged versin of the hotel idea, and you take home a costume or some keepsake
I love how you covered the initial engagement until now.
They should've gone for a "space station" themed hotel where the rooms are significantly cheaper ($300-500/night), have a "nearby planet" where guests can "transport" down with a themed pool & playground area (maybe have the lightsaber training & other activities guests can do), ditch the whole mandatory stay "space cruise" for a come & go as you please (like literally any other hotel) so guests can have visitors & enjoy other parks & attractions etc. - then I guarantee you it'd be a whole different outcome.
The whole "space cruise" idea doomed it beforehand.
$6000+ on a vacation isn't within your average family's reach (especially with a post-pandemic economy) & even those who could there's countless of other options (like an actual cruise, a star luxury hotel like the Ritz-Carlton, or an all inclusive resort like Sandals, etc) that there's no way anyone would pay for this.
I had a blast
Glad you liked it….but the only people I know that experienced it told me it was ‘nice.’ They also said too expensive. That seems to me the general consensus.
Personally I thought this looked terrible. I’m not surprised this is closing. I’d like to see this torn down and I’d like to see this land used for park expansion.
There are alot of reasons why I feel this failed BUT one isn't for bad service and cast members. I've read negative comments about this but those negative comments came from people that didn't experienced it and more of "of it looks like..." while those that did praised it or fairly acknowledged it was well done but not maybe for them personally. Overall my heart goes out to all the cast members, Imagineering, and anybody else that worked hard to bring this to life and during for the few guests that did get to experienced it. Their quality should be acknowledged not disrespected.
But still it is a super niche market and does have other weaknesses even if money wasn't a issue. I'm a Star Wars general fan but not a super fan plus I'm a introvert.
When I'm at the Parks such as EPCOT I adore the theming, details, and atmosphere BUT I also enjoy finding spots to escape from the crowds and just chill to regain energy and comfort (the now gone Innovations West hallway where is was well lit but mostly empty pleasant atmosphere with some light music, sofas, and windows looking out at the imagination pavilion and flowers with some people watching was a fine spot to relax with some A/C).
I enjoy doing Community Theater Musicals but I might feel awkward if put on the spot interaction (thus some places I might avoid where that could happen which is fun for some but for me I hope to just watch).
This experience sounds grand yet might overwhelm me and I don't feel comfortable if on the spot interactions happened. If this had areas where I could just sit back or places to relax while enjoying myself of other various choices that might be what I'll select.
So we are looking at people that can afford this experience, big Star Wars fan, and fan to actively partake in these immersive experiences and theming.
Then we have the other major contender/competition this experience has: all of Walt Disney World Resort itself! For some people might go to WDW yearly or multiple times in their lives. However for some it's truly a ONCE in a lifetime vacation and experience. For a person that takes a trip to WDW many times and has that opportunity in their lives going on this costly experience doesn't sacrifice time and money and ultimately choice between all of WDW and this vacation experience. But many around the world doesn't have that luxury and if they are going down to WDW truly as a once in a lifetime experience the odds are higher to go to the longer marketing, branded, and raved WDW Multiple Parks & more (provided they also did their homework towards research before going to WDW vs expecting a one day Disneyland type of experience but that's it's own thing).
Marketing as a cruise (you can experience and explain it's part of the 'storylines' but don't market it as 'a cruise' when you are not cruising vs going on the DCL) was a mistake I feel as part of the enjoyment of a cruise is the real travel and sights it can provide amoung other things.
Lastly I enjoy watching a show called "Foods that made America" part to see how certain things was started, how they marketed, and the surprises of how many brands was major failures when they began or had a negative reputation (Hamburgers and Ice Cream). Campbells Soup failed when they debut, Kraft Cheese nobody brought, Good Humor Bars in the new food/ice cream trucks bombing. Each failed for a big reason being they were new at the times and many didn't trust new things/foods/experiences. Hard to market and build trust when in Marketing often Insights into people's psychology and past experiences are put towards the marketing and choices but if truly "NEW" there isn't something familiar to hook towards. Each of these other companies was able to find a way to earn the general public but here a general public can't be earned due to the costs wall, subject matter, and needed personal comfort make use of the whole interaction surroundings which all adds up to a super niche market. Trying to use 'cruises' as the mental framing to fight the 'new' situation didn't work out.
Possibly got more of a understanding about this experienced from this video then from other's videos, Disney's Advertising, or social media posts (some that was inaccurate from people speaking/complaining about what they don't know and don't experience) about this.
Something tells me either DHS or Galaxy's Edge will be getting an extension at some point
I think they should run the shuttle spaceships (box trucks) from Batu to the Star Cruiser for dinner and a show. Only people with dinner reservations would be allowed on the shuttles.. They could be served drinks, shop, mingle with a character or two and experience "Light Speed" in the main Atrium and then continue on into the dining room for the dinner show with Guya. They already have a full menu and a full show. Take out the storyline and let Guya and company sing. Then they shuttle you back to Batu. Have a few showings a day like the "Hoop-de- Doo". Cycle people through at a more reasonable price. The dinner show could also be available from outside the park by using the "shuttle craft " that currently takes you from the Starcruiser parking to the ship. They could even make the last show of the night an "overnight excursion" so they could ger some use out of the rooms. They could very easily salvage this thing. It's already built. They just need to use it differently.
It really is a shame this project crashed and burned as badly and quickly as it did, but... it's not really that shocking. My wife and I are huge Star Wars fans, and we absolutely could not justify this expense. And we're also roleplayers! We love costumes and LARP and immersive experiences! Go down the list and we ticked all the boxes, but we still fell outside the logical realm of making that price and the associated commitments to just the experience when in Florida (or trying to wrangle an extended stay where that was only a part of it) made it feel thoroughly nonviable.
I will say this though; if Disney wants to make some cash back? Auction the Halcyon's stuff if you're not gonna be using. Star Wars fans *will* show up to spend excessive dosh for a piece of this.
I had a random idea come to me today: If something like this is ever revived, why not put the Galactic Starcruiser... on a Cruise Ship. You could charge slightly more than usual for indoor cabins, maybe pair a Star Wars inside of ship (being the star cruiser and have some sort of 'transporter' take you to space from the inside of the ship, another crazy idea, have that be star tours but on a ship) with the rest of a generic disney cruise line ship (or maybe they have a marvel theme on the outside and star wars inside?) , maybe have a special Star Wars area on one of the Disney Ports of Call which is somehow accessed by the starcruiser bit of the ship. Pros: it is an actual cruise and new experience Cons: it will still probably be a premium over a normal cruise but it will definitely be less of a sting as staffing cost at sea is cheaper and people need entertainment on a cruise anyway so this would just replace it with a star wars theme. So maybe the next Disney ship should be: Stark Lines Supercruiser (being the exterior facilities and rooms) with the Halycon Galactic Starcruiser (being the interior facilities and rooms of the ship), if this makes sense.... I wish I worked at imagineering, I have an engineering degree and have brain farts like this now and again...
This isn't the 1st time a Disney project fell flat in its original conception. All of Disneyland was predicted to FAIL. They thought Euro Disneyland would be the 1st Disney park to FAIL. WDW had low attendance the 1st few months. The Circus DID FAIL. Flying Saucers + Luigi's DCA, I could go on. They'll learn from it, then "plus it." Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas was the same in dedication to planning, design & characters that cared MADE the experience. Jungle Cruise was to have real animals. It wasn't until Animal Kingdom before you had them in the park. That park was a hard sell as well. Marketing called it NOTAZOO. Thanks for another GREAT Video!
Love how you posted this, not even 24 hours after the announcement HAHAHAAHAHAH
I'm absolutely heartbroken about this. We were hoping to have our second voyage next year. I'm hoping we can go again before the closure.
Me too. I am considering a return trip, but fear some of the crew will already have left. Or that it will feel sad. Like going on the Titanic and knowing it will sink....
@@jlasf we actually did get to reschedule. I'm going back again in early Sept. I'm sure I'll cry most of the time
Marketing is definitely where so many misunderstood the experience and got turned off by the price. A choose your own adventure over 40 hours with actors, nightly entertainment, puzzles and quests. Plus throw in park ticket with lightning lane and it was a pretty immersive experience for the money. Those who went rave, those who didnt ranted from a place of there really isnt anything to compare it to.
Most successful failure? Meaning disaster.
Disney had a couple of options with Star Wars. But instead of going with what everybody knows, they went with an unknown brand. I guarantee if they went with classic Star Wars, most of old fans would have wanted to go. For a company based on classic entertainment something is really off here. I would say all of this was designed for failure. Imagineering knew what would work, but were told otherwise. That's a story we will hear more about in the future.
If they would have given the audience classic SW, they would have done anything to go. Instead...
It's telling your audience you get meet Mickey Mouse, but instead you get to meet his 5th cousin Fred Marsupial. But Pluto and Goofy are there.
Spot on. No one wants to meet goofy, made up characters.
Classic SW also probably would have appealed more to an older demographic that might have had the money for this, instead of trying to get young families with kids.
Never went, so I can't comment on the quality, but pure speculation and outside-looking-in stuff has me thinking:
1 - The price, obviously, was a *major* issue, maybe the biggest one.
2 - I think more people might need to accept that Star Wars isn't exactly a fictional world most people would want to live in, so the whole insistence on a story driven themed land and hotel for it just strikes me as odd. People would want to live in, say, the Shire from Lord of the Rings, or maybe the USS Enterprise during a peaceful mission, but the world of Star Wars is one of perpetual conflict and settings that aren't meant to evoke comfort or awe or any sense like that.
3 - I get that many people would love "living the story", but I admit that if I'm on vacation it's one of the last things I want to do. I've done plenty of theater in my time, I don't mind that aspect of things, but if I'm paying a lot of money to go there I basically don't want to be bothered, so to speak, with being "in character" for two days or whatever it is. Just kind of sounds exhausting.
4 - At the heart of things, I think, is the growing divide that exists in themed entertainment between "experience" and "story". Old school Disney attractions were built around experiences; there might've been the basic skeleton of a background story to a place like, say, Big Thunder Mountain or a classic EPCOT Center attraction, but the allure was the *experience* of a runaway train or a trip through time or whatever. Since the late 90s or so, the need for "story" driving everything fundamentally changes the theme park experience, and gives us all the rides based around "you're at a place BUT SOMETHING GOES WRONG!" or whatever...and ultimately, I think getting inundated with story can feel antithetical to having a vacation where you can just take things at your own pace and take things as they come along. That's a bigger issue I'd love to see more theme park channels explore and discuss, but it feels like it could partly apply here.
Sounds like Westworld without the robots.
What do you mean “you wouldn’t know what time this takes place”? The entire plot involves the first order influence in the ship, a faction that only exists in the sequels
0:37 "oh wow, we just sent an innocent wookie to the Spice Mines of Kessel!!"
They tried to charge an ultra luxury price for a non luxury experience. I can LARP in the park for free. Small windowless rooms, no pool, no luxuries like massages, no beautiful grounds and gardens, etc…There was no reason for this. The people willing and able to spend $5,000 on something like this expect better. You could get a 2 week vacation overseas in an actual luxury resort for the same price as 2 days in a themed bunker.
It was $6,000 a visit, that’s what happened.
A friend and I had a booking cancelled in April. Which was unfortunate. Disneyland Paris is currently constructing the Galaxy's edge saw it there a few weeks ago :)
Definitely think they should make this a 100-200 dollar addon at most which is a walking tour attraction, would be much better
The big thing no one is talking about? This is a one and done experience. Even if a Star Wars fan can afford it (which is a small slice of the demographic-most Americans don’t have even $500 stashed, much less multiple thousands to spend on a vacation) it’s not something they’re going to do over and over. They’re not going every year, or even every couple years. And everyone who could actually afford it…has gone already. It’s hard-REALLY hard to sustain a business on a one time experience. Maybe Disney always knew it would just be a few years while the new Star Wars came out, but I kinda doubt it.
It would truly be my dream to go. The price was so hard to accommodate as a college student working part time. Going on a solo trip was certainly not in the cards because it would come at the $6000 price tag, and finding two others who like Star Wars enough to drop $2000 on the experience with me was fruitless. I hoped one day they’d lower prices or run a deal for someone who’d appreciate this kind of experience and I’d finally be able to go. So sad it’s closing and I’ll never get the chance.
Disneyquest seemed so cool 😢 wish we got my things like this doesnt need to be disney themed tho
It looks fun and I'm a Star Wars fan but if I had money (which I don't) I still don't know if I would do it. I feel like it could get kind of cheesy if you don't fully commit to the experience. I'm the most forgiving of cheesy theme park experiences in my family but I know the only person I could realistically go with would probably hate it. It also just doesn't look very nice on the outside-it looks like a concrete block prison. I feel like I would get claustrophobic in there. I think based off of people's descriptions it's probably something that is more experience based than anything and not everyone is into that kind of thing. I also find it extremely insulting that it is only available to the super rich. Disney is expensive in and of itself, but people save up for years to have an experience at the park that's usually around a week, not two days. Overall, I'm not surprised, it was always going to have niche appeal combined with the fact that only the bourgeoisie can afford it and it was doomed for failure. At the end of the day, I feel bad for the cast members who put their heart into it, but I can only feel so bad for Disney because of the insulting way they went about doing this.