Round-up: One last goodbye to Disney World's Starcruiser

I'll probably never get over Disney closing the Starcruiser so abruptly. I'm in the camp that knew about it, could afford it, and intended to go, but I didn't know my opportunity had a time limit. Completely mishandled in nearly all aspects other than the creation of the experience.

@ryansdavis - we could also afford it but decided not to bother mainly because we are partial Star Wars fans and didn't like the lack of regular services available at the "hotel". I mean no pool? no gym? Tiny rooms? This was suppose to be a luxury liner in universe so it should have had those things and much much bigger rooms!

A lovely write-up on the Starcruiser, makes it sound really fun. Imagine if Galaxy's Edge had been as originally planned, with characters walking around and guests invited to dress the part and play along. Had that environment existed, the Starcruiser would have been the cherry on top. Instead we got a vacant movie set and the poor Starcruiser has left the planet.

Somebody had a lovely dream and corporate concerns crushed it.

Toontown is ridiculous, Disney didn't see these issues coming? Makes me worried about the refurbished Treehouse, am I going to survive that thing?

I had a feeling the Star Cruiser was going to fail spectacularly the first time I saw a picture of the ship’s captain who looked suspiciously like Kathleen Kennedy. Just another corpse thar she’s left in wake at LF.

Kudos to the cast members who gave it their all though. They deserved so much better than this.

Dave’s write-up of his Starcruiser experience was top-notch. It honestly made me emotional a couple of times and it’s great to hear about what it was like to be a part of the cruise from somebody who really allowed themselves to let loose and dive into the participation and role-playing. So much of themed experience is made better IMO by the simple choice we make ourselves as the ones who are experiencing it. It’s hard oftentimes to not view everything through a hyper-critical or extremely well-informed lense, just as it’s hard to remember how rewarding the simplest suspensions of disbelief can be in the perfect setting.

thecolonel: "Imagine if Galaxy's Edge had been as originally planned, with characters walking around and guests invited to dress the part and play along."

Me: There are characters walking around Galaxy's edge. Kylo Ren, Storm Troopers, BB-8, Rey.Vi Moradi. Also every time I have been to DHS I always see guests wearing Star Wars influenced wardrobes. My son and I dress as Corellians.

thecolonel: "Had that environment existed, the Starcruiser would have been the cherry on top."

Me: So the Starcruiser has been paused because people were not allowed to wear costumes to DHS Galaxy's Edge?

I see.

Between myself and my wife we know nine families that took the cruise. Everyone of them describe it as an amazing experience. One of those people is a legend in theme park design/development. And, of course, the is Russell's definitive, multi-part report published on TPI.

I sincerely hope the pause represents a "back to the drawing board" situation, so the Halcyon can fly again.

I want to think that the Starcruiser was a concept that was ahead of its time, but sadly I think it's a concept that looks great on paper, but requires a level of commitment, attention to detail, and guest participation that Disney was unwilling to finance and deal with from a logistical, marketing, and management standpoint. The experience really wasn't even ahead of its time, because a lot of the concepts, certainly the performance, role playing, and entertainment options, were straight out of the Adventurer's Club playbook, which met its demise in 2008. You would think that given what Disney should have learned from Adventurer's Club, they would have no problem making a similar experience work within one of the most popular IPs on the planet and where guests were willing to pay to be a part of the show (instead of Adventurer's Club where Disney had to essentially force guests to buy drinks to hang out inside).

Here's what I think went wrong with this amazing experience...

Marketing - I think this is the #1 reason why the Starcruiser went belly up. Disney attempted to control the marketing by creating intrigue around the experience. There was far too much of the experience that was hidden to the average guests that it was not clear what you were getting or what you would be doing during your 3-day, 2-night adventure. Disney attempted to pull back the curtain by using the media and bloggers to write about their experiences during media voyages, but I think this was such a complicated and intricate experience that guests thinking about paying for this would have to read dozens of reports to get a true feel for what they would be doing. Also, because the experience was so highly variable and guest-dependent, that even if you think you know what's going to happen, the Starcruiser is liable to throw you an unexpected curveball or send you down an unexpected path. From a marketing perspective, Disney was never able to accurately articulate what the Starcruiser was in a succinct way, which led to critics labeling it the Star Wars Hotel, which is probably the worst way to describe the experience. Disney never advertised the Starcruiser in a way that clearly let people know what it was and why it was seemingly more expensive than other Disney experiences. If you want people to pay $1,000 a night, you've got to describe why it's worth that cost, and what guests are getting for that relatively expensive outlay. Disney relied on the media and other guests to do that for them, and there was so much negativity generated around the experience's price that media and guest-generated marketing was never going to overcome it.

Price - This was obviously one of the biggest negatives about the experience, and that certainly wasn't helped by inflation and belt-tightening following the pandemic. I have to wonder if this experience would have been able to gain more traction had it opened under the economic conditions of 2019/early 2020. There were also some other aspects of the price that were a bit frustrating. First, while the price included unlimited food, it did not include alcoholic beverages. I can understand why Disney would not want to give guests an open bar, particularly given the complexity and expense of making the thematic mixed drinks. However, it would have been nice that adult guests of the Starcruiser received drink tickets (that could also be used in Oga's, which can be included in the itinerary) as part of their fare to sample the cocktails with the likelihood that many would probably pay for more (full disclosure - we received 2 drink tickets as part of the media voyage and got to try 4 of the specialty cocktails). Would giving guests a few drinks really move the needle in terms of value? No, but it would have solidified goodwill and further established this as a luxury experience. The same goes for another aspect of the experience that Disney mismanaged from a pricing aspect. That is the costuming, accessory, and souvenirs, which in my experience were not handled in a way that I expected. First, Disney really mismanaged the desire from a large number of guests to cosplay while on the Starcruiser. They did offer costumes on ShopDisney.com, including a store that was exclusive for Starcruiser guests, but those costumes were really expensive (though of very high quality) and rather limited. In fact, a cottage industry popped up online for Starcruiser guests looking for costumes with dozens of artisans and small businesses selling to Starcruiser guests - including custom-made items. I mentioned this as part of my initial review of Disneyland's Galaxy' Edge back in 2019, but if Disney didn't want guests to wear costumes throughout the park, fine, but they should have set up a costume rental store at the entrance to Galaxy's Edge. Much like local Ren Fairs, Disney could rent costumes to guests so they could cosplay for the few hours they were going to spend inside the land, and the same could have been done on the Starcruiser, only for 72 hours instead of 3-5 hours. It probably wouldn't have been a huge moneymaker (especially if guests could have preordered costumes in advance at a discount), but it would have been something to help guests feel part of the experience without having to buy costumes and accessories they'll likely never wear again. Also, I felt that Disney really took advantage of the exclusivity of souvenirs sold on the Halcyon, which appeared to carry 15-20% premiums, more or less preying on the captive audience.

Ultimately, the price needed to be high to ensure a high quality experience and to make sure guests were committed, but that price was such a publicity nightmare, that Disney was never going to be able to counter all the negative reactions. FWIW, when Disney first announced the Starcruiser, there were numerous predictions for the cost, and they were almost universally at or above the ultimate price points that were initially released. The price was high, but wasn't unreasonable nor more than what was expected for the experience.

Overall Execution - This is probably the least likely issue with the experience, because from most indications, the guests who got past the price and poor marketing generally enjoyed the experience so much that many wanted to do it again. However, there were some minor issues with the overall experience that Disney either couldn't or didn't address after initial impressions (delivery truck transport, small rooms and lack of traditional hotel amenities, etc.). The biggest one for me is that because of the poor marketing and uniqueness of the experience, there was a ton of FOMO where you feel like someone else was getting a better story or experience. That FOMO is intensified when you feel like you're paying a premium for what is marketed as a luxury experience that you supposedly control. A lot of this goes back to Disney's inability to more accurately and succinctly describe what the Starcruiser is, but it became an issue nonetheless, and made potential guests hesitant to spend the kind of money it cost to do the experience.

I'm not sure what the future holds for the Starcruiser, but I do worry that its failure will result in more hesitancy in creating large-scale immersive experiences. Considering what it cost to produce, Disney took a massive risk building the Starcruiser, and trying to restart it would still pose risk beyond the original construction. Do I think Disney could repurpose the Starcruiser, sure, but for it to return its original form that encouraged cosplaying and total immersion, I don't think that's in the cards. I tend to think Disney could (and maybe should) utilize the Starcruiser as a shorter premium experience for guests wanting to explore Galaxy's Edge beyond what's currently offered on Batuu. While there's space that was designated by Oga's Cantina for a dinner theater-type experience, transporting guests to the Halcyon for a dinner show that may or may not include a version of the finale and bridge maneuvers that formed the core of the Starcruiser experience. However, as far as the rooms go, I just don't see how those could be repurposed, even as a cheaper single night experience. Compared to even Disney value resorts, the rooms are substandard, and without major modifications would not meet WDW guest expectations.

Ultimately, it's disappointing to see Disney give up on this, but it's more saddening to see the glee from the peanut gallery that bashed this concept having never stepped on board. The vile hatred that stretched across all corners of the internet, focusing primarily on pricing and the LARPing culture, was unavoidable, and created an uphill battle that even a company with tons of goodwill and loyal following like Disney could not overcome. In the end, our society is doomed to the least common denominator of taste and experiences because we just can't have nice things. The same story has played out again and again over the course of the past few decades, and every time we hope someone has found a way around the sanitized sameness in our world, the trolls find a way to snap us back into reality.

TH- “9 families I know took the cruise and they loved it!”

Uh how many of those 9 families returned to do it a second time?

If you truly want to argue, based on anecdotal evidence, that an experience that cost half a billion to build, opened to great fanfare, and closed after 19 months, was actually a smashing success, knock yourself. It just makes you look even more ridiculously in the bag for Disney than we already know you are.

If course someone who thinks this is merely a “pause” has a pretty skewed view of reality to begin with.

TOC: "Uh how many of those 9 families returned to do it a second time?"

Me: None. They were too preoccupied with the United States' pending war with China.

@ Russel - Don't forget the laughably awful rollout video using the kid from the Goldbergs during the Christmas special. The "technology" and "effects" looked straight out of 1987, and they were obliterated on social media in the immediate aftermath.

Great post Fattyackin, totally agreed.

Russell, your post is wonderful as well. One question. You write: "if Disney didn't want guests to wear costumes throughout the park, fine, but they should have set up a costume rental store at the entrance to Galaxy's Edge."

What's so strange is that despite the ban on people wearing costumes, most of what they sell in GE are Star Wars costumes--clothes, cloaks, accessories. It's like they set up the land to sell cosplay gear, changed their minds on letting people cosplay, and forgot to change the stores. And the stores haven't changed one whit since it opened--even now they sell "in world" clothes, clothes meant to look like you're living in Baatu (as opposed to sweatshirts with Yoda holding a light saber, like they sell over by Star Tours).

So: they built the land thinking everyone would cosplay along with SW characters; they changed their minds on that; yet they still seem to be hawking the costumes you would have worn. It's baffling to me.

‘Appreciate the kind words Colonel

@thecolonel - You're so right, and I noted that in my 2019 review of Galaxy's Edge. Also, the prices on those "costumes" are on the high side, though of generally good quality. I feel that the general park costume prohibition is only loosely enforced inside Galaxy's Edge, and allows for more than general "Disney-bounding", but I think they have so much more potential by actively promoting costumes and makeup inside the land - restrictions were virtually non-existent for Starcruiser guests (including allowing for adult masks and full-face makeup).

I completely understand why Disney has a general prohibition of cosplaying inside their park (don't want CMs and characters to be upstaged by guests and turning the parks into performance spaces or leaving guests confused as to who is a Disney employee and who is a fellow guest since costumed characters don't wear nametags). However, I think when you create a land billed as an immersive IP-driven land where guests live out their own stories, there has to be some expectation that guests would want to dress the part in order to live out those stories. I've always thought that once you walk through those corridors onto Batuu, you are now an inhabitant of the Star Wars Universe, and while some guests might be comfortable just being passive observers, there are plenty of those who want to truly be immersed in the land. Costume rentals and cosplay work relatively seamlessly at my local Ren Fair (Maryland), so I just don't understand why Disney refuses to get on board at least within the borders of Batuu.

Also, while WDI expressly set Galaxy's Edge in a definite period of time between The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker, they continue to insinuate that Batuu is a "timeless" land by introducing characters that could never meet within the Star Wars Universe (most recently General Syndulla from Ahsoka). So if Imagineers were so adamant about setting rules for the land (i.e. not having Vader and OT and prequel exclusive characters appear), why bother having rules in the first place? Now with the Starcruiser gone, there's no need to ground stories into a specific time (or perhaps use the Starcruiser as an extension to tell stories from different timelines that would alter presentations on Batuu), so why are things so rigid, particularly with over 3 years of guest feedback.

Not the first big swing and miss for The Mouse, and it won't be the last. It is what it is.

Good words on the write-up and Russell and is telling how so many of the slams are those who never went on it while those who did praise it so shows it was always about the audience expectations.

TH: Yeah I get it, you think it’s ridiculous to think we might be heading for a war with China and you’re very proud of how it’s some kind of fierce burn to reference when I said it’s a possibility. Very clever, give yourself a gold star. I don’t know how I’ll be able to sleep tonight being subjected to such an epic thrashing.

Doesn’t surprise me that you have such a condescending and ignorant attitude towards it though. I mean you can’t even come to grips with the fact that a $500 million project that closed in 20 months is a total failure for Disney. I really wouldn’t expect you to grasp the hard realities of a much more complex topic like international geopolitical affairs.

Enjoy waiting for the GSC’s “pause” to end.

There’s a reason why The Treehouse has been taking way too long. I talked to a construction worker last year at my job and he stated that something wrong happened during construction that pretty much forced the project to start from scratch. Just wished Toontown did the same instead of rushing it just to compete with Super Nintendo World(I bet it’s costing Disney much more money on trying to fix it instead of just delaying the land to fix everything the winter storms caused to it).

@TOC: Dude, you came after me on this thread. I posted that my wife and I are acquainted with people that actually experienced the Galactic Starcruiser and found it to be a great experience. After I offered that information you couldn't restrain yourself and had to respond.

TOC: "If you truly want to argue, based on anecdotal evidence, that an experience that cost half a billion to build, opened to great fanfare, and closed after 19 months, was actually a smashing success, knock yourself."

I never called it a "smashing success". Not even close.

My original comment (to which you had to respond -- because you can't control yourself) was about what I had heard from people who took the trip. And that comment (from me) dovetails nicely with what Russell posted on this thread: "Ultimately, it's disappointing to see Disney give up on this, but it's more saddening to see the glee from the peanut gallery that bashed this concept having never stepped on board. The vile hatred that stretched across all corners of the internet, focusing primarily on pricing and the LARPing culture, was unavoidable ..."

Also ... China!

(Chuckle)

You know, you've got to give Disney credit for trying something new and different. Far too often we give them heat for running the parks from a beancounter perspective and playing it safe.

I'd be willing to bet that the lessons learned from the Starcruiser experiment are going to give us better theme park experiences down the road. We may not explicitly recognize the improvements, but somebody in the Disney hierarchy is probably putting together, if they haven't already done so, a detailed analysis of the current and future applications of the Starcruiser capabilities.

Russell, thanks for that reply, and thanks for affirming my understanding. It's like GE is frozen in time, Disney opened it one way and that's the way it will stay. Very strange.

Your point about the timeline is a good one, and begs the ultimate question: if we can get characters outside the Baatu timeline, why can't we get more of what the people really want, characters from the original trilogy?