by Thinus Ferreira
Disney is shutting down its multi-million dollar, immersive Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort after just 18 months, saying the Mouse House has learnt lessons from the very expensive flop.
After opening in March 2022, Disney has announced that the Galactic Starcruiser will be shutting down in late September.
On the Halcyon, located close to the Galaxy's Edge Star Wars attraction at Walt Disney World, holiday-goers were immersed in various interactive adventures "aboard" the ship with the crew who were actors, staying in character for the 2 days per stay that a "space journey" took.
"Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our guests and recognised for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment," Disney said in a statement announcing that it's shuttering the hotel after 18 months.
"This premium, boutique experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and as we prepare for its final voyage, we will take what we’ve learned to create future experiences that can reach more of our guests and fans."
Disney spent hundreds of millions of dollars to create Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser in Orlando, Florida in the United States during the reign of the now-ousted Disney CEO Bob Chapek but its last voyage will now be on 28 to 30 September.
The experience had an out-of-this-world price, starting at $4800 (R94 000) for two people sharing a cabin, to $6000 (R117 500) for a family of four.
After it opened, Bob Chapek kept hyping the popularity of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, saying at the time that demand for booking remained very strong and that "response to next-generation storytelling like Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser has been phenomenal."
In a Q&A session at at a JP Morgan communications conference this week, Josh D'Amaro, Disney parks, experiences and products chairman, said that the Galactic Starcruise was a stunning asset.
"The Imagineers did a stunning job putting it together, it got high guest ratings but it didn't perform how we wanted it to, so we decided we'd sunset it. It was a never-before-seen type experience and it raised the bar creatively but it was time."
Pete Werner, co-owner of the Dreams Unlimited Travel travel service in Orlando, on his DIS Unplugged podcast this week, weighed in and said "As far as what went wrong - we don't have to guess".
"Every major Disney outlet said the same thing when the pricing came out: The pricing was insane! Absolutely insane. Too expensive - and focused on a micro-niche market. I said it at the time: It's not sustainable long-term."
"The audience told them this. As usual Disney management rolled their eyes and doesn't take us seriously. Had they listened to us from the beginning, maybe they could have adjusted some things that would have given this at least a little bit longer life, if not made it a sustainable business model. But they don't do that," Werner said.
