Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, the two-night adventure experience, at Walt Disney World, will have its final voyage in September. The highly-touted project is coming to an end much sooner than anyone expected. After failing to attract enough visitors, Disney has thrown in the towel on the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
The award-winning experience has been described in various ways. It’s often referred to as a hotel but that’s not quite it. It’s more like a cruise on land and a real-life video game for 48 hours. The Galactic Starcruiser was located in close proximity to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which was included in the experience. Your experience was character-driven, as you could help the Resistance and the First Order. During your voyage, you’d have the chance to interact with musicians, stormtroopers, spies, and even iconic characters like Chewbacca, Rey, and Kylo Ren.
The downfall of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was that it was expensive. It was unattainable to the majority of guests. To make matters worst, most of the experiences included in Galactic Starcruiser were intended to be available in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. (On another note, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser allegedly went through some budget cuts during the creation process. As the original plans we’re likely more ambitious than what we got).
“Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our guests and recognized for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment,” Disney said in a statement. “This premium, boutique experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and as we prepare for its final voyage, we will take what we’ve learned to create future experiences that can reach more of our guests and fans.”
The few that got to experience the Galactic Starcruiser have given it glowing reviews. It’s also earned some of the highest guest satisfaction ratings of any Disney experience. Disney and Lucasfilm integrated the Halcyon, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser ship, into Star Wars lore. The Halcyon was where Han Solo and Princess Leia spent their honeymoon, the place where Rey and Kylo Ren fought in between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (unclear if this encounter is before or after the events of Rise of the Resistance), Lando Calrissian teamed up with Hondo Ohnaka on the ship, High Republic characters like Burryaga and Nib Assek have visited the ship, and lastly Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker also went on a mission on the Halcyon and they get into a collision with Asajj Ventress.
From my January 2022 newsletter:
But the Galactic Starcruiser is faced with multiple challenges. What should’ve been an easy home run for Disney is now looking like a tough task to even pull off. The biggest challenges the Galactic Starcruiser is facing are the price of the experience, the value of the overall experience, the over-immersive factor, and the lack of the Star Wars wow factor.
I’ll have more thoughts on the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser shutdown in my newsletter this month. Make sure you’re subscribed.
The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was facing an uphill battle when it came to its price and then you add in the fact that the marketing didn’t do it any favors as well. I think we are all looking forward to the Defunctland episode on this in a few years.
What’s the future of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser property? That’s something I’d assume we’d find out closer to when the experience closes. For now, we just have a couple more months of the experience left. Maybe Disney has a plan to integrate elements into Galaxy’s Edge? I guess we will have to wait and see.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will have its final voyage from September 28 through September 30.
Be sure to continue to follow Boardwalk Times for more coverage of The Walt Disney Company.
Support Boardwalk Times on Ko-Fi.
Support Boardwalk Times by shopping at Boardwalk Store:
If you like this article. Subscribe to my free newsletter Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore, a monthly dose of Disney, its businesses, and the wider themed entertainment industry.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
