STAR WARS: GALACTIC STARCRUISER Official Information & Questions Thread

[GADisneyDad14]

Sad, but grateful I was able to take my kids. My youngest moving rocks with “the force” was a core joy memory. It was truly special, and I would choose it over a 5 or 6 night DCL cruise again in a heartbeat.

Yep, me and DD7 at the time were just hanging out in a quiet atrium the afternoon of the second day. One of those CMs (I’m forgetting their role/name) chatted us up for a bit and eventually asked if we’d like to go see something, and took us to the garden. I had avoided any spoilers so had no clue what we were doing. Core memory is absolutely right. Very thankful we had the opportunity.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Top on my mind after reading the news. Really some of the best CMs we have ever encountered. We can all argue about the cost and such, but the passion of the humans that made and worked the experience were what really made it special.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1659296380299407363

 

[Vickie1016]

Reading that the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser is closing is sad, but not unforeseen with the decline in reservations. DD(17), DH & I are grateful that we were able to take a "voyage" last summer. DD & I are huge Star Wars fans & loved every minute of it. DH, not a huge fan, but knew enough of the story to follow along.

To echo GADisneyDAD14 - each and every CM we encountered from the first moment we drove up to the security booth till we left were AMAZING!! They were friendly, helpful, never left their character (which must be hard to do in some instances), talented, but most of all - they seemed to truly love the positions the held, had a passion for those positions and had a love for Star Wars.

Thank you to all the CMs that made, and will continue to make, MAGIC happen!

 

[kwdw]

"Medium" Star Wars fan here. I LOVED the idea and had hoped to go, but it was just out of my price range. Maybe if a few more extras had been included (basic costume, some alcohol, lightsaber build, anytime LL access the whole time, specialty droid build, photobook) it could have brought my perception of the price vs. value closer together. And I have to be honest - not having the option to see the real outdoors from my hotel window made me nervous about feeling trapped.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFan]

I wonder what kind of market research Disney conducted before making this $$$ blunder...I would hope in-depth surveys, focus groups, questionnaires, etc. If they did, they obviously asked the wrong people! I don't think the post-COVID economy was the primary issue either. But overall a bummer for those who had hoped to experience this "attraction" someday.

 

[amyg1]

We are so devastated. I am so glad we were able to go last Fall. We are still talking about our adventure.

I feel like Disney Marketing lost the story when it came out as a Star Wars hotel. The number of people posting about it needing a pool showed how they weren't able to explain what the experience really was. I also think they lost their champion in management.. they could have discounted, they never tried. If they really needed full price full sailings all the time, then they had business plan issues. I really think the budget cuts coming to Disney and the loss of a champion killed it.

Just really sad that the experience is ending.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Super sad to hear this. We were lucky enough to go last summer. It was truly a unique experience, although admittedly very pricey. I love the idea of using it as a small boutique hotel with access to the park. I wouldn't think that would be too difficult to do. I suspect the reason they just didn't lower the price was the entertainment costs. I think I read somewhere before that they were very high due to the length of time involved.

 

[auroralark]

We are huge Star Wars fans, but couldn't justify the cost. I'm not surprised it's closing, but I feel bad for the cast members.

 

[shosh1530]

My 11 year old is so bummed about this news that he asked if we could cancel our DCL Alaskan cruise (that he was previously very excited about) to do the Starcruiser this June instead. We have debated doing the Starcruiser several times, but the high cost was what actually prompted us to book Alaska. We can get 7 nights for pretty much the same price.

But when they had announced the recent 30% discounts I was starting to mentally plan on this for 2024 (while also daily submitting to that contest!). I wonder if the Disney Visa Discount will still be available this summer now.

 

[AmishGuy91]

My 11 year old is so bummed about this news that he asked if we could cancel our DCL Alaskan cruise (that he was previously very excited about) to do the Starcruiser this June instead. We have debated doing the Starcruiser several times, but the high cost was what actually prompted us to book Alaska. We can get 7 nights for pretty much the same price.

But when they had announced the recent 30% discounts I was starting to mentally plan on this for 2024 (while also daily submitting to that contest!). I wonder if the Disney Visa Discount will still be available this summer now.

I’ve searched for evidence the AP and Visa discounts still exist and have yet to find it

 

[Kestryl]

“They’ll just turn it into a hotel.”

… will they? It’s 100 rooms. Apparently not having a pool is a deal breaker. I don’t see a way from the current configuration where you can park without using valet. It’s in an incredibly weird location (and feels like you’re entering a backstage area).

100 rooms. Riviera has, what, 300? What could Disney charge for that exclusive of a hotel?

 

[squirk]

I always like seeing Disney get its comeuppance on its aggressive pricing, but this one makes me sad. As others said, you could really see and feel the passion that was put into this project.

But, sweet heavens, the pricing. How did all of us see this coming a mile away, but the Disney marketing analysts and bean-counters did not?

Or was this a case where executive leadership rammed it through despite protests from said analysts that the project was not sustainable at the target price point?

Regardless, the experience itself was awesome while it lasted.

 

[DisneySonia]

I love the whole experince but the price is really hard for everyone.
I have one question that my freind and I are still talking about.
Their mattress in the bunk bed was so comfy but we forgot to ask which brand
It will be great if anyone here can help

 

[Gabby01]

But, sweet heavens, the pricing. How did all of us see this coming a mile away, but the Disney marketing analysts and bean-counters did not?

Or was this a case where executive leadership rammed it through despite protests from said analysts that the project was not sustainable at the target price point?

It may have been a case of being ambitious and trying to “create the demand” for something new.

My 11 year old is so bummed about this news that he asked if we could cancel our DCL Alaskan cruise (that he was previously very excited about) to do the Starcruiser this June instead. We have debated doing the Starcruiser several times, but the high cost was what actually prompted us to book Alaska. We can get 7 nights for pretty much the same price.

But when they had announced the recent 30% discounts I was starting to mentally plan on this for 2024 (while also daily submitting to that contest!). I wonder if the Disney Visa Discount will still be available this summer now.

Awww, I feel for the little guy! Is the length of the vacation the most important thing? If everyone agrees to let the Starcruiser be your “vacation for the year” (or whatever), might not the experience and memories be worth it? Maybe combine it with a “staycation” to plan your costumes beforehand or scrapbook your pictures afterwards?

 

[squirk]

It may have been a case of being ambitious and trying to “create the demand” for something new.

I agree there was ambition, but again, some smart people at Disney surely recognized that the market for a deep-dive Star Wars LARP experience was niche no matter how you sliced it, and that they would quickly run out of nerds who had the disposable income to swallow the price.

All of us here saw that. Surely there were folks inside Disney who saw the same thing.

Don’t get me wrong - I don’t want this to close. I just wish they had approached the project with more mass appeal (and mass appeal pricing) in mind vs. a boutique experience with an extremely finite market.

A happier medium, for lack of a better phrase.

 

[RanDIZ]

Blame Disney once again for this one. They want to squeeze the consumer every chance they get and it back fired. Love it!

 

[boBQuincy]

Galactic Starcruiser was overpriced but that was not the deal-breaker for me. I am a Star Wars fan but my wife is not enough of a fan to want to do role-playing for 3 days. The food (from the reviews I read) was ok but not up to what it should be for the price. Weird alien colors and names is not enough, the food has to be up there with the best WDW restaurants.


Valet parking is a major turn-off, I do not hand the keys to my car to anyone. I wrote to Guest Services about this and they would not even try to accommodate other options.


The "view" from the rooms and lack of a pool helps to maintain the starcruiser ambience but I can see where it could feel confining. More open areas would help.


Where does Halcyon fly from here? They have a restaurant that could be a nice dinner/show option for Galaxy's Edge. The ship itself could be an Individual Lightning Lane attraction with tours of the bridge and such. The resort rooms could be a place to stay for guests that want to primarily visit Hollywood Studios, I could see staying there for 2-3 nights (as long as there is open access to/from the park and my car).

 

[E2ME2]

SWGS Cruise was a Bucket-List item for me, and I split the cost of a Deluxe Suite with a friend.
(Neither of our wives were interested). I am Soooo Glad that I did not hesitate, and we voyaged back in March of 2022! We went "All-In", purchased the Captain's Table Dinner & the Photo package. I regret not buying the SWGS-exclusive Light saber, now that it is sure to be more rare to obtain.
Was it Over-Priced ? Abso-freakin-lutely
But I talk about it all the time with friends who are SW Fans, and I have no regrets at all about this one-time splurge!
I'm anxious to se what Disney means by "expanding" this type of experience to a wider base of their audience?,
to see what becomes of the building, and to see if those special-edition Light sabers pop up later in Batuu at DHS
As they say onboard the SWGS "Bright Suns & Pleasant Journeys"!
MTFBWY
This is The Way
<(-_-)>

 

[shosh1530]

Awww, I feel for the little guy! Is the length of the vacation the most important thing? If everyone agrees to let the Starcruiser be your “vacation for the year” (or whatever), might not the experience and memories be worth it? Maybe combine it with a “staycation” to plan your costumes beforehand or scrapbook your pictures afterwards?

To be fair back when we planned the cruise last fall, he was pushing hard for a Disney cruise and chose that over a WDW trip. And Alaska is a bucket list item for me. I just thought we'd have time to do both

DH has also remained unconvinced. He is huge Star Wars fan, but the price tag has just been a deal breaker for him. He's tired of all my Disney-craziness and wants more national park type trips. Alaska seems like a good compromise!

Maybe the upcoming closure combined with some kind of discount will convince DH. We'll see...

 

[Rigby]

We’re booked for two weeks from now. I think when I booked it they said that they would reach out a couple of weeks early to make sure we were all setup with the app we’ll need to use on everyone’s phone. Does that still happen? Haven’t gotten any call yet. Thanks. Bummed this is closing but glad we’re getting in under the wire.