Just 18 months after Disney opened its first “Star Wars”-themed hotel, known as the Galactic Starcruiser, the company announced it would permanently close the immersive experience.
The news comes as Disney announced its plans to cut overall costs by more than $5 billion. Disney has also been having trouble selling voyages to the immersive Starcruiser experience, having offered deals to select Guests and Cast Members to boost sales.
Disney Closing Galactic Starcruiser
All visits aboard the Galactic Starcruiser are two-night stays with a starting cost of more than $4,800 for two people and around $6,000 for a family of four, making it more expensive than many anticipated. However, it is all-inclusive and does offer a one-of-a-kind immersive experience.
Disney describes the experience as: “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is a revolutionary 2-night experience where you are the hero. You and your group will embark on a first-of-its-kind Star Wars adventure that’s your own. It’s the most immersive Star Wars story ever created—one where you live a bespoke experience and journey further into a Star Wars adventure than you ever dreamed possible.”
Just 18 months after Disney opened the “Star Wars”: Galactic Starcruiser, located at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, the company announced it would take its final voyage at the end of September. The last journey (September 28-September 30) has completely sold out!
Guests looking to book a stay at the Galactic Starcruiser can still do so for many other voyages, and more information can be found on the website.
The closing of Galactic Starcruiser was announced shortly after Disney said they are canceling their plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Orlando, Florida.
Fans React To The News
While some fans are not shocked to hear that the Galactic Starcruiser is closing, others are surprised that Disney is not trying alternative ways to fix the experience and have it appeal to a broader audience, especially after the amount of money the company put into the “Star Wars”-themed hotel.
Dylan Dickson, who runs the Theme Park Obsession YouTube channel, released a video expressing his opinion on the news, stating that the closing is “disappointing” and “shameful.”
“It’s just odd that Disney isn’t willing to figure out a way to discount the experience to make it more obtainable for the average family,” Mr. Dickson said in the video. “All that wasted money, company money, time, blood, sweat, and tears went into this. To me, that isn’t very kind to the Imagineers. That’s a slap in the face.”
The Walt Disney Company spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build the “Star Wars”: Galactic Starcruiser.
Disney did acknowledge the Imagineers when announcing their decision to permanently close the hotel, stating, “We are so proud of all of the cast members and Imagineers who brought Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to life and look forward to delivering an excellent experience for guests during the remaining voyages over the coming months.”
At this time, there is no word on what Disney plans to do with the space that the Galactic Starcruiser currently sits on or when/if exactly the hotel will be demolished or just reimagined.
