Months after its closing, Disney’s Star Wars Hotel is STILL making waves.
Window inside cabin
The Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser is going to go down as one of the most fascinating projects undertaken by the Walt Disney Company. Some would argue it was an ahead of its time, unforgettable interactive experience that immersed users in the Star Wars universe. Others may refer to it as an overpriced boondoggle that underdelivered on its premise. What can’t be denied is that, for the 19 months it was open, there was no shortage of opinions on the Star Wars hotel. Since the Galactic Starcruiser closed for good in September 2023, there have been many, many postmortem comments from Disney executives, articles, podcasts, and YouTube videos dissecting what went “wrong.”
Before we get into some thoughts on our experiences with the Galactic Starcruiser and whether it was “worth it”, let’s run down what a stay at the hotel actually consisted of for those who may have forgotten or never experienced it.
Dining on the Galactic Starcruiser
A stay at the Galactic Starcruiser was structured like a stay on a luxury cruise liner. In fact, in-universe, the hotel was themed to be the Halcyon, a large ship that took travelers through space in the Star Wars universe. The two-night experience – which cost a whopping $4,800 minimum for two people (the price included all of the ship’s activities, meals, and admission to Hollywood Studios. The price also includes two breakfast buffets, two lunches, two multi-course meals with included gratuity, and a dessert party) — would begin with boarding the ship at 1:00PM on the first day of your “voyage.” From then on – with a major exception we’ll get to in a second — you were locked into being inside the hotel grounds and immersed in an on-going evolving story.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
Over the course of your first day and night, you’d encounter characters (both physically and on the Datapad app that provided the narrative backbone of the experience) launching you into various branching storylines linked to the Star Wars saga across different areas of the “ship” including a visit to the ship’s bridge, cargo bay, engine room, Lightsaber training, and your meals. Speaking of meals, the Starcruiser featured two major eating establishments: the Crown of Corellia Dining Room and the Sublight Lounge.
Sublight Lounge
The second day of a Starcruiser voyage featured an early morning “space journey” to Batuu (AKA Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios). This wasn’t just any typical visit to the park however, as you’d be transported to the park in an enclosed bus that was designed on the interior to look like a space vessel. You’d arrive in the land through a special entrance, slightly before the park was open for the day, and experience Galaxy’s Edge in a way that would be almost impossible as a day guest, all the while continuing on “missions” assigned through your Datapad that furthered the on-going narrative. After returning to the ship, the story would climax with a final encounter with the First Order that tied together many of the story threads that had been building throughout the trip. Departure was at 10:00AM the following morning.
We took two “cruises” on the Galactic Starcruiser — one where Disney invited us to a media preview and one that we reserved and paid for — to ensure that our experience was the same as any other person who reserved a stay. You can watch our video about our experiences right here!
So after running down what a journey on the Galactic Starcruiser mainly consisted of, we move on to the eternal question that’s defined the hotel both while it was open and since it closed: Was it worth it?
In all honesty, that’s a complicated question. For those who were fully willing to immerse themselves in the Star Wars saga, commit to storylines, and interact with characters in an elaborate role-playing scenario, it arguably was worth it. However, for those who that didn’t appeal to — or would prefer to spend a large amount on a true luxury vacation experience with larger rooms and more amenities — it likely wouldn’t be.
Characters on the Starcruiser
As we wrote while the experience was still open, “For Star Wars fans, gamers, and escape room fans who are willing to launch full throttle into the story, the experience delivers. If you’re one of these people and it sounds like a must-do, then it could be worth the money since you don’t have an option to do the same thing anywhere else. Others who experienced the trip had varying answers when asked “Is it worth it?” Some said absolutely, again and again, while others were stuck on the price tag despite loving the experience. And we spoke to a few people aboard who found it lackluster and felt the game was more like work than play. That very well could be you if you don’t think you’ll be able to buy into the story. There’s only so much to do otherwise, and I don’t think you could play enough holo Sabacc and drink enough unlimited Blue Milk to find the experience worth the dough.
Star Wars Hotel cabin
There’s no denying that the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser was one of the most unique experiences Disney has ever presented, and also one of the most high profile “failures” – certainly in a financial sense — that they’ve ever had. Whether it was a creative success or failure, or “worth it” for those who experienced it, is likely in the eye of the beholder. Stay tuned to DFB for more deep dives into Disney history.
A Part of the Permanently CLOSED Star Wars Hotel Is Hiding at Galaxy’s Edge in Disney World
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Back of the napkin noodling says they weren’t charging enough to make it viable.
It was worth every penny and I would have gone again.
When they had originally announced they were building a Star Wars themed hotel, I was thrilled and was ready to make reservations. I thought a Star Wars themed resort would be great – all the way down to the costumes. When it came online and we saw the prices we knew it would never be on our agenda. Besides the price, one queen bed isn’t enough. My husband is very tall, so we have to get two queens when we travel. I was so disappointed.
I hope someday they just do a themed hotel for Star Wars – would love that.
I was fascinated by the concept, but the money was a big factor. I believe it was worth the cost given everything that went into it, but I do not live in a world where everyone has several thousand extra dollars for a 48-hour novelty experience. And closing so quickly didn’t really allow the time to save up for it either. People complain that Disney only wants rich guests, and they’re not exactly being proven wrong here.
I went 2 months after it opened. My wife and kids loved it I didn’t.
Food was only average and rather repetitive breakfast both days was identical. Main entrees were small and overly seasoned. Further main plot points always happened during the meals so you couldn’t enjoy a meal without interruptions.
Nothing you did or didn’t do actually effected the experience.
Light saber training was the coolest thing we did.
Park visit was not before the opening of the park. Both rides had significant issues that day.
Room was very small for 4 people and the beds were rock hard. The staff didn’t put a luggage tag on my CPAP so that was misplaced but soon found and brought to my room.
The ship itself had issues in engineering were some of the interactive equipment didn’t work.
Jail break the code reset every few seconds so you had to have a partner to enter the code while you read it off the computer. You didn’t have enough time before the reset to do it by yourself.
Another annoying thing was the pro photographers sessions that would close areas so guest who paid extra could have photos taken in various areas.
All things considered it should have been very foreseeable that it would fail. As we drove home I predicted it would fail within 2 years. Sadly I was correct.
I was lucky enough to go on multiple voyages and would have made it an annual trip if it would have stayed open. To me this was a shining example of what Disney imagineering can do – it was such a well thought out experience and so cool how it tied into Galaxy’s Edge. It wasn’t perfect, but given it was so new and different, I think they just needed more time to work out the business model for it. Starting with doing more and better marketing. I think they also probably should have had some lower cost shorter options so that more people could experience it and would have allowed more people to understand what it was. The sad thing is that they pulled the plug right when interest was gaining momentum. They really didn’t give it enough time to succeed. I really hope they bring it back and don’t water it down too much. It truly was the best experience I’ve ever had.