Disney World’s first larping hotel is about to have under-capacity days for the first time. Still, they’re pushing ahead into 2023.
For now, it appears there will be no major overhaul of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. The one-hundred room “experience” that is equal parts role-playing and land-locked, windowless cruise, is now having difficulty filling dates to capacity… but that isn’t stopping Disney from trying to make it through the end of 2023 with what they have. In one way, that’s a good thing: it means cap ex spending can go to other (new) projects. In another way, this is a tough one: the Galactic Starcruiser hasn’t had an easy time selling out and 2023 is likely going to be harder.
Additionally, the cost for the adventure seems to be going up. The cost for at least one meal feature has gone from an additional thirty dollars per person to fifty dollars.
According to Brooke Geiger McDonald, prices for the “Captain’s Table” dinner upcharge have increased for 2023 voyages aboard the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. The price jumps from $30/person to $50/person for 2023 dates. There is no change for any dates in 2022.
— Mike, Blog Mickey
What else might go up is still on the table…
People I have talked to say there’s still no doubt that the Galactic Starcruiser is going to have an early overhaul. According to at least one source, Disney may be padding out some of their lower attended days with recipients of prizes and charitable giving. I can’t confirm that, but even if it were true, it’s not slowing down the oncoming lull that is September. Even in August, we’re heading towards days where there’s still availability. That means empty rooms and missing players come some of these fall voyages.
What this more likely means is that the bean counters at Disney are hoping they can get through twelve more months (give or take) before they have to abandon the current vision. But if things don’t improve for this September and October, one can only assume that January through March is going to be very tough for those trying to keep this thing profitable. I’ve always said that September would be the beginning of where we see if the Galactic Starcruiser can hold evergreen interest — but it looks to me like the end of August is already making that determination.
Now the question for Disney is: how long can they keep this going before they’re forced to make the switch?
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Okay, so my family of 5 went on the Galactic Starcruiser the last weekend of July. First off, I am not a fan of the Sequal Trilogy, so the time period of the Starcruiser was not a plus point. The food was also a bit disappointing considering the price point for the trip…we paid a premium to be there and should have gotten top 5 Disney World food (from my point of view). There were good items at each meal and there was lots of food at every meal, the highs were just not as high as I would have expected.
With those 2 complaints registered, the Starcruiser is an incredible experience. Everyone in our party loved it and we are already talking about when we would go back. My kids are 2, 5, and 14. My wife enjoys SW, but is not a huge fan like I am. She also spent most of the time with our smallest aside from when I watched her while my wife went on the rides at Batuu. There is a huge amount of replay for those that enjoy and it really does seem like you are living 40 hours of a Star Wars movie. The ship feels SW and the food looks exotic. My 5 yr old interacted with Chewie and it was the most adorable thing. The cast played into it and it was everything you could dream of as a parent. On the drive home, she said that hugging Chewie and helping him was her favorite part. My 14 yr old son was able to be off on his own exploring and he actually had more missions than I did. Towards the end of the experience, you have to choose who/what you want to do as there are several things going on at once and you literally can’t do them all at the same time…just like in the movies. I know negativity gets clicks. This stay was amazing and I highly recommend it. Don’t go into debt to do it (should go without saying), but save up for it and have an absolute blast when you go.
Do I expect to go back, yes. Will be the same version…maybe, since there are enough other things to do that we could have another blast on this specific trip. Would I love it even more if it were set in the Original Trilogy??? Of course. They will go there eventually is my expectation. Was it worth 2 years of DVC points to go on a 2-night stay? Yes. The entire family loved it and created incredible memories.
Great comment and thank you for sharing! The problem is that Disney seems to be having difficulty pulling enough interest based off the sequel trilogy — something that correlates with merchandise sales. They’ve punted until 2024, but if you can hold out a little longer, you just might get your wish.
Wow seems things are going from bad to worst for the starcruiser hotel well done on reporting on this as it’s funny how much all the hype Disney was praising it so much just gone to like it didn’t happen.
I think this and some other “business-oriented” reviews miss a key factor. No business plans their target profit margin based on 100% capacity for an extended period. Any attraction that is dependent on 100% utilization on an ongoing basis to hit target margins would never be built or started in the first place. The full-capacity phase certainly is a great up front cash cushion and the business plan probably did anticipate some period of full capacity in the year 1 numbers, but don’t expect the “bean-counters” to be pulling it just because a few dates are below that. Somewhere internally in the accounting systems will be the actual capacity and target margin numbers this is based on. It will not be close to full capacity numbers as a steady-state assumption to continue it. That’s just not how successful businesses operate. And Disney certainly qualifies as a successful business. Reading on various sites how many people say they are planning trips to go back despite the cost suggests that it will come down to what the new versus repeat revenue mix is that they need and what their steady-state capacity assumptions are.