Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was supposed to be unlike anything Disney Imagineers had ever designed before. Not a hotel, but a totally immersive, two night Star Wars adventure. It was a bold, ambitious plan that most Disney fans seemed to think was at least a clever experiment… until they discovered the price. Just before the Starcruiser opened, our friends at Theme…
After Starcruiser: Lessons (Hopefully) Learned From Disney’s Immersive Star Wars Cruise & Where Its DNA Can Live On…
In January 2022 – just two months before it opened to the public – our friends at Theme Park Tourist asked their readers to “Place Your Bets” on whether Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser would be a blockbuster or a bust. No matter which side of the debate you “locked in” on, you probably didn’t expect to have an answer this soon. But it’s true: just 18 months after its debut, former CEO Bob Chapek‘s premium pet project will close forever after its last voyage returns on September 30, 2023.
The public never quite seemed to “get” the Starcruiser, whose experience (and pricing) was modeled after a cruise swirled with a low-capacity boutique theme park sprinkled with an escape room. The landlocked experience invited guests into one of 100 intentionally-compact “cabins” with screen-based “windows.” There, they set up camp for two nights’ accommodations, exploring the ship’s bridge, engine room, & chambers, engaging in app-based missions, enjoying all-inclusive dining and entertainment (including all-you-can-drink Blue Milk on tap), traveling to and from Batuu, and meeting-and-greeting Star Wars characters in the context of an immersive, multi-day story.