Disney announced its new “Galactic Starcruiser” hotel, immersive Star Wars experience. But now that it’s open, prices and delivery have many taking potshots at Disney World.
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Galactic Starcruiser Hotel
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida officially launches its Star Wars “Galactic Starcruiser” hotel on March 1st, 2022. The property is constructed behind Hollywood Studios, home to the park’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge land. Like other theme park additions of the last 10-15 years, Galaxy’s Edge is treated as an immersive experience where there are no mentions of the rest of the park, prices for goods are referred to as “credits” and Disney cast members refer to being “on” or “off-planet.” The land is home to a number of unique dining and shopping experiences as well as a ride featuring the Millenium Falcon and the new Rise of the Resistance.
Walt Disney Company is trying to take Star Wars fans out of this world by completely enclosing the experience for visitors. One way in which they achieve this is to offer guests valet parking, and then treat them to a “cruise” whereby the entire stay is meant to be like a cruise in the Star Wars universe.
“Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is a revolutionary new 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.
Arrive at the Walt Disney World Resort terminal, board a launch pod and rendezvous with the magnificent Halcyon starcruiser. Stay in a cabin or suite with an exquisite view of space. Throughout the ship, you’ll interact with an eclectic collection of characters, sit down to exotic galactic cuisine and perhaps even plot a secret mission together.
As the itinerary continues, you’ll take the story further and deeper. Choose your path. Seek out the inner workings of the legendary starship, learn the traditional art of wielding a lightsaber and even jump on a transport to the planet Batuu—where your mission continues at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!” – Disney
Disney’s Execution Is Of Concern
Disney’s Star Wars hotel has been hotly anticipated, but some have already indicated concerns about execution, a rarity for Disney Parks. One of those concerns has been that the parks will not be able to deliver on amenities they promise. Recently, the theme park couldn’t get cases for their $200 (minimum) lightsabers (colored flashlights) so instead, they offered umbrella sleeves. The “transport” to the “Galactic Starcruiser” appears to be conducted by a box truck which again levels concerns that Disney may not be putting in the limited extra effort for a simple body kit like they do for all of the rest of their vehicles.
The Star Wars hotel price is an additional source of ridicule. Fashioned after a Disney Cruise Line model (cabin purchase, all-inclusive experience), standard cabins for a couple start at $4,809 for the two-night stay, a family of four runs $5,999. But wait, there’s more – that’s for weeknight experiences with weekends running even higher. For comparison, a Disney cruise for 7-nights with “Star Wars Day at Sea” and actual Caribbean island stops starts at $4,662 per cabin for the entire journey. At more than $1,200/night per person, no detail can be overlooked.
For comparison, here are the prices for other luxury two-night weeknight stays in Orlando during the same period:
- Waldorf-Astoria $748 ($374/night or $187/person/night)
- The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes $958 ($479/night or $239.50/person/night)
- Four Seasons Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort $1,712 ($856/night or $428/person/night)
What People Are Saying
When images surfaced of the box truck that was to stand in for the experience of lifting off from the planet and heading to the Galactic Starcruiser, the internet was not kind:
Aerial look at the truck (left) with a simulation inside. Transport Shuttle flight between the Halcyon spaceship (Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel) and planet below (Batuu, as seen as Galaxy’s Edge DHS).
A similar transport shuttle door is on other side of the truck. pic.twitter.com/HWocCqAWav
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) January 30, 2022
Exclusive photos of the new Galactic Starcruiser to Galaxy’s Edge transport vessel pic.twitter.com/c21Ypxo2ty
— Toby (@303SnowWolf) January 28, 2022
Oh look, the transport to Battu is here. #starwars #starcruiser #DisTwitter pic.twitter.com/Y2FmxHnnog
— T E A S D A L E •-• (@Chuck82Tea) February 2, 2022
Half of New Grand Floridian Rooms Added to Condo Association, Aerial Look at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Box Truck & Docking Bay, Mickey & Friends Motorcade Ending February 12, and More: Daily Recap (2/4/22)https://t.co/PGZ2ewgmvz
— Disneyland News Today (@dlnt) February 5, 2022
Here is a closer look at the new transport that takes you from the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to Hollywood Studios. pic.twitter.com/lWc6eeAKsx
— Castaway RJ (@CastawayRj) January 28, 2022
And lastly, Universal Studios Orlando could hardly resist taking a shot.
Get in, folks. We’re goin’ to Universal! pic.twitter.com/utMgB6rUEX
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) January 28, 2022
This post breaks it down into an hourly price ($53.43/person/hour) without addressing the questionable quality or labor struggles (Disney has had a tough time getting servers to sign up to work the restaurants.) USA Today had a more favorable view on comparative pricing but stays within the Disney universe and its inflated nightly costs to do so, but is an accurate portrayal.
Conclusion
I love Star Wars and I am sure I would love this experience but for $2400/night – it’s a ridiculous notion. To find that it comes with transport via box truck, a couple of park meals plus a pair of Lightning Lane passes makes this all the more absurd. Availability of the cruises seems to suggest the market agrees that this is an overpriced cash grab.
What do you think? Are you planning on staying at the Galactic Starcruiser? Do you think this is fair, absurd, or even under-priced? What about delivery, do you think they are underdoing it for once?
Keep in mind,this is all happening in a galaxy far,far away…from reality,common sense and value for soon to be devalued US currency.
Buy Disney stock. If anyone is so stupid as to pay this then Disney is robbing people but it translates beautifully to the bottom line. Love it. Idiots.
The stock has been a horrible bet regardless of how crazy busy the parks are. All Wall St cares about is streaming subscriptions.
It’s capitalism. Pay up and shut up.
If you cant afford it try not being a poor loser. And don’t bloody whine. That orange loser boy might have engaged in it routinely but it is quite unbecoming.
^ my sentiment directed mostly at people that tell others to pull yourself by the bootstraps.
Presumably, passengers in the “box truck” won’t be able to see outside during the “voyage” from Batuu to the Star Cruiser. There may be some monitors inside the transport to give the impression of space travel. It’s probably very much like the transport “ride” from Batuu to the rebel training base that is intercepted by the First Order on Rise of the Resistance. Unfortunately, I’ll never know. I’d never pay their prices even if I could afford it, unless it involved a real space flight to a real star cruiser!
Correct – guests won’t see the outside of the box truck. Just like how guests in the park don’t see the back of Galaxy’s Edge.
I don’t understand why people are so upset about it – guests aren’t meant to see this!
I hear they throw in a free Death Star trash compactor ride in the back of a garbage truck for those who complain
I love it….and don’t forget all this money is being spent on a vacation to Orlando, Florida! You can’t make this stuff up…. these idiots will buy anything.
At those prices, even Jabba the Hutt would want in.
I mean you can’t really compare this to a regular hotel. It appears to be more of a wholesale immersive experience along the lines of Sleep No More than anything else. The amount of cast members per guest is far higher than any other resort (and many of them have to be actor-type cast members which are far more expensive), the tech that’s going into the resort itself (regardless of whatever “shuttle” takes you there) and the fact that its all-inclusive (which at WDW food and drink prices is pretty expensive) at least seems to get more to why the cost is as much as it is. Also, Disney wouldn’t be charging more than they think they can get for it.
Also, given the description of how it works, no one would be booking this as just their “hotel” to stay at while at Disney World, so your comparisons are somewhat meaningless (also you fail to add in even food costs that are covered, let alone whatever the hell they are doing to make it “immersive”), mostly because it doesn’t seem like you are really able to leave except for your morning trip to Galaxy’s Edge. You wouldn’t go to the Star Wars hotel unless you were signed on for the full experience, and its not designed for people who also want to do the full WDW experience.
Basically, its designed to be a one-off full experience unto itself rather than a hotel. It will remain to be seen whether it actually is worth the price, but its relatively tiny (it has maybe 150 rooms and that’s being generous) and its designed to target a specific audience (aka rich Star Wars fans). It definitely wouldn’t be my cup of tea, but I can see how there would be a market for it and I’m interested to see what they do with it. I agree this could be a big fail, but aside from the price (meaning Disney overestimated the market for an immersive 2-day Star Wars experience), I don’t see how any of the things you cited should be an issue. To compare it to any hotel is not fair because the Star Wars hotel was never conceived to be a “hotel” you stay at while visiting WDW. If Disney delivers on the concept they have presented, which would require a lot of costs on their part from employees alone, the price seems fair to me.
Hang on a parsec…
OVER 4K FOR A 2 NIGHT STAY FOR 2 PEOPLE SEEMS FAIR TO YOU??? Um, ok totally not a paid reviewer for Disney…
People spend more than that on the super bowl which is just one day…
I don’t disagree with any of your comments. I think the market for this is small at best, with little sustainability. I doubt there are many willing to pay this exorbitant price, let alone return and pay it multiple times. That’s what makes an attraction successful, repeatability. Not sure how well that will work out here.
I may be mistaken but I thought the article compared this to other luxury cruises, which I think is the most accurate comparison we can make right now. Even compared to the most expensive and luxurious 7 day cruises, this two day stay is much more expensive. And I think that right there is the sticking point
The market is almost certainly pretty small and yes, it doesn’t seem like it will get many repeat visitors. On the other hand I’m not sure if it even has 100 rooms and given that it operates like a cruise instead of a regular hotel (in the sense that all guests for a two night experience check in at the same time and check out two days later, instead of checking in whenever) it doesn’t have that many rooms to fill. Given the small size, I think there’s enough of a market of wealthy visitors who want the best of everything (I continue to be shocked at how the $1000+ per day private tours sell like hotcakes) and Star Wars fans willing to splurge to keep it profitable for awhile. Also, if people start losing interest Disney can always “reboot” it with a different storyline/update the technology or even reconfigure it for a different franchise. The building itself is a non-descript warehouse that wouldn’t necessarily have to be Star Wars forever.
So what will Disney do when they run out of rich superfine? The business doesn’t seem sustainable at their price point.
[redacted by admin] disney. The audacity to charge 4 figures for 2 nights.
I love star wars and am happy listening to audio books and new series.
Disney is a corporation. People will pay, but not me. It’s not worth it.
The Space Odysseum did not start with astronauts. They first sent a Dog and an Ape.
So let’s have a look on YouTube what the first guests will actually go through. Then WE could have a better opinion of what it is worth.
But I think Disney will delivrer a fantastic experience. To make it great, they can not have to many guests. That probable explains the very very high fee.
Check YouTube from early march!
We have a trip planned in mid July. I will be curious to see the reviews after the maiden
voyage on March 1.
We have really been looking forward to this I would hate to have to cancel but we will still be within them 90 day window if needed
Can we give the cartel a couple of these box trucks? I think it would be a much better experience for people crossing the boarder in one of these trucks as opposed to the normal box trucks they put them in. Can you image coming from Mexico and being able to enjoy a fake space voyage on the way!
Yeah, nothing about Disney’s version of what a Star Wars experience should be or what they think the fans will want interests me. The over charging for such a lackluster two days is a total waste of money. I’m done with Disney’s prices and politics anyway so nothing lost here.
Remember this is Disney…Disney is Disney… they don’t force you to go or be apart of what has been created. l have stayed at numerous hotel within the Disney property from my honeymoon staying at the Polynesian to the Grand Floridian at all different price ranges including POP . I have never had a bad experience and if I wasn’t happy they fix it. This adventure is for Stars Wars fans… Which I have been since 1977 … Went to see the first movie A New Hope opening day. I will be on the Maiden voyager along with my grown children who I introduced to Star Wars and became became bigger fans than me. March 1st I will be transported to a place far far away… … I will be on that Maiden Voyage….I can’t wait I’m ready to take it on with the fun it’s meant to be…. I’m all in… dressing for the cruise everyday in a different costume/outfit to evening gowns for dinner. Star Wars geek 100% . I look at it this way regarding the money I can spend it a little at a time and not know what I spent it in or I can spend it on a family memory that we will be talking about for years to come… Remember it all relative to what you think something is worth. And you can call people out for what you think is stupid or idiots etc. I believe life is linking memories from a free day at the beach or sitting under the stars to spending a crazy amount for something you always wished they would do since 1977 and you said I want to hang out with Han, Leia, and Luke… Maiden Voyage/Disney here comes this 60 year old lady ready to have the time of my life… Check back with me after my voyage. since none of you have done it, I will give you a first true impression instead of what you think you know.