Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

[Nico]

Yeah I follow the guy that played the Engineer on TikTok. He said it was a really cool experience, but it totally relies 100% on the cast.

It sounds like they have an insane amount of responsibility put on them, remembering who people are, what they said, what they did, all of that stuff. It's on the cast members themselves not tracked or logged somewhere. Honestly I think it takes a very rare and special person to be able to do that and not get burnt out after a short amount of time. My feeling is they are basically 24/7 (ish I know that isn't correct) improv actors with a loose script they have to figure out how to mix in with the day to day.

I'd like to see what this is all about but between me not wanting to LARP at all, be trapped for multiple days on a tight schedule, and the cost; I'll probably never set foot inside here. Heck I hide on Laugh Floor every time I'm dragged on.

What’s his username? I wouldn’t mind following him.

 

[HandsomePete]

There's nothing I love more than cracking a Friday beer and ripping on this thing - yet another Global Development masterpiece.

Rumors are popping up about Starcruiser calling guests to rebook as they are cancelling low attended bookings this summer.

This isn't even the worst of it. I'm not going to post exactly what for at least a little bit but... yeah.

Galaxy’s Edge was what this was supposed to be but the got greedy and put the interactive experiences behind a pay wall hotel.

Not really. This is kinda-sorta what Galaxy's Edge was supposed to be at one point, except Parks people shot it down because they understood that this level of interactivity and story-following isn't really possible to get right at scale. It sounds good on paper, and I know people go back to that MiceChat article that lays all of the blame at the feet of Bob C cost cutting, but if you drop 15 actors trying to pull something like this off into Batuu they all just get absorbed into the masses of stroller-pushers and map-readers populating the land. The concept of a "living land" was a WDI/Entertainment pie in the sky dream (right up there with a black box attraction), but it just doesn't work.

But when it got pitched as a hotel, Resorts people had never worked with WDI/Entertainment on something like this before so they drank the Kool Aid. Oops.

It sounds like they have an insane amount of responsibility put on them, remembering who people are, what they said, what they did, all of that stuff. It's on the cast members themselves not tracked or logged somewhere. Honestly I think it takes a very rare and special person to be able to do that and not get burnt out after a short amount of time. My feeling is they are basically 24/7 (ish I know that isn't correct) improv actors with a loose script they have to figure out how to mix in with the day to day.

Yeah, you can't just throw an equity performer in there and hand them a script. The performers themselves are not tapping MagicBands to get your name. They're basically remembering what's happened over the course of two days - and technically with two parallel threads because there's early dinner seating/late storyline and late dinner seating/early storyline.

Also, as performances go, to me this seems like a very small stage. Great performers want to move on to bigger and better things - if you're talented enough to pull this sort of thing off then LARPing with rich folks for anything longer than 6-9 months seems like a stretch.



But just in case anyone was worried, absolutely nobody has been or will be held accountable for this. At least they were smart enough to hide the building so it will be way less obvious if they ever bulldoze it.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

There's nothing I love more than cracking a Friday beer and ripping on this thing - yet another Global Development masterpiece.


This isn't even the worst of it. I'm not going to post exactly what for at least a little bit but... yeah.


Not really. This is kinda-sorta what Galaxy's Edge was supposed to be at one point, except Parks people shot it down because they understood that this level of interactivity and story-following isn't really possible to get right at scale. It sounds good on paper, and I know the internet keeps going back to that MiceChat article that lays all of the blame at the feet of Bob C cost cutting, but if you drop 15 actors trying to pull something like this off into Batuu they all just get absorbed into the masses of stroller-pushers and map-readers populating the land. The concept of a "living land" was a WDI/Entertainment pie in the sky dream (right up there with a black box attraction), but it just doesn't work.

But when it got pitched as a hotel, Resorts people had never worked with WDI/Entertainment on something like this before so they drank the Kool Aid. Oops.


Yeah, you can't just throw an equity performer in there and hand them a script. The performers themselves are not tapping MagicBands to get your name. They're basically remembering what's happened over the course of two days - and technically with two parallel threads because there's early dinner seating/late storyline and late dinner seating/early storyline.

Also, as performances go, to me this seems like a very small stage. Great performers want to move on to bigger and better things - if you're talented enough to pull this sort of thing off then LARPing with rich folks for anything longer than 6-9 months seems like a stretch.



But just in case anyone was worried, absolutely nobody has been or will be held accountable for this. At least they were smart enough to hide the building so it will be way less obvious if they ever bulldoze it.

An even more damning outlook, yeesh. I get that the actors never would have worked in the land but the fact they cut the sit down dining was always super dumb.

 

[MrRoamer]

What’s his username? I wouldn’t mind following him.

Here's the link to the video of him saying he was leaving. He's a really talented dude, and I bet you we have all seen him many many times.

Thank you for the journey #galacticstarcruiser #disneyparks #castme... | TikTok

 

[Nico]

Thanks for this! Feels like a lot is being said without being explicit. I’m sure his message was clear to the respective parties.

 

[Nick]

This building can be turned into a daily Star Wars experience where knowing the name of every person isn't something promised or expected. Do daily experiences for cheaper and you'll be filled all the time. The building can also simply be converted to a conventional hotel.

Disney has suckered a bunch of money out of Star Wars fans for the last year and probably paid for this place already so I doubt they are worried too much, especially when in recent years they spent hundreds of millions on Rivers of Light and Harmonious simply to have to eat the costs shortly thereafter for a loss. Harmonious actually led to less people coming to World Showcase and eating and drinking which is why it is *truly* being replaced. As I said, Disney already squeezed the teet of the rich SW fans and if they have to change concepts then so be it.

This hotel was/is nothing if not ambitious. If the price wasn't so obnoxious, maybe they would see more business. I think it's biggest problem is that it's a 2-day vacation away from your vacation (that asks you to do anything but relax). People come to Orlando to go to the theme parks, etc. Starcruiser is asking you to take TWO DAYS of your trip and devote it to simply spending it on a faux space voyage with a stop at SWGE. Most people don't have more than 7 days of vacation and if you plan to do both WDW and UOR, it just doesn't make sense to take two days out for this and that's before looking at the price.

 

[BigHouseFootball]

I don’t feel like the commitment is what is keeping people away. I absolutely feel that if they lowered the price point they would consistently sell this place out, or close to it.

I think the price point just showed the arrogance of Disney. They thought they could literally charge anything and it would sell. And let’s be honest, for the most part when it comes to parks and resorts they have been able to. Why would this be any different?

The problem is they were pricing this against resort prices they already have. You have to charge more for this than a deluxe. But you are already charging $700+ a night.

 

[SkiBum]

I don’t feel like the commitment is what is keeping people away. I absolutely feel that if they lowered the price point they would consistently sell this place out, or close to it.

I think the price point just showed the arrogance of Disney. They thought they could literally charge anything and it would sell. And let’s be honest, for the most part when it comes to parks and resorts they have been able to. Why would this be any different?

The problem is they were pricing this against resort prices they already have. You have to charge more for this than a deluxe. But you are already charging $700+ a night.

I wonder how much having to have additional staff to fill out all the character positions also plays in their pricing? I will agree that it's too expensive, especially when considering what you get for the money spent. I do wonder what the markup was for staying as I'm sure that they would make a lot for sold-out or close to sold=out stays. I completely agree that they felt that they could charge whatever they wanted for this but found out that it wasn't Jurassic Park (see John Hammond quotes in the first movie about what he could charge).

 

[Disneyhead]

Brainstorming session at WDI: "The Kyln." You have 2 days to use the clues to figure out how to escape Nova Corps intergalactic prison. Special guest stars Wall.E and BB-8.

 

[SeventyOne]

Not really. This is kinda-sorta what Galaxy's Edge was supposed to be at one point, except Parks people shot it down because they understood that this level of interactivity and story-following isn't really possible to get right at scale. It sounds good on paper, and I know people go back to that MiceChat article that lays all of the blame at the feet of Bob C cost cutting, but if you drop 15 actors trying to pull something like this off into Batuu they all just get absorbed into the masses of stroller-pushers and map-readers populating the land. The concept of a "living land" was a WDI/Entertainment pie in the sky dream (right up there with a black box attraction), but it just doesn't work.

But when it got pitched as a hotel, Resorts people had never worked with WDI/Entertainment on something like this before so they drank the Kool Aid. Oops.

It seems obvious this was never going to work in a full land at DHS. But I'm still not sure why the jump to a hotel. For 20-odd years WDW and UOR have been trying to crack the Discovery Cove code -- UOR considered pulling the trigger with a Potter boutique park. A day on an interactive star cruiser, with the ability to go back to a normal room with a pool at the end of the day (or leave uninterested family members there),seems like the ideal boutique park, ironically with less staffing.

 

[wutisgood]

It seems obvious this was never going to work in a full land at DHS. But I'm still not sure why the jump to a hotel. For 20-odd years WDW and UOR have been trying to crack the Discovery Cove code -- UOR considered pulling the trigger with a Potter boutique park. A day on an interactive star cruiser, with the ability to go back to a normal room with a pool at the end of the day (or leave uninterested family members there),seems like the ideal boutique park, ironically with less staffing.

Discovery cove apparently only cost 100 million to build and gives people visiting Orlando an option they were already used to and didn't have access to. That is lounging around on a premium beach all day with easy access to animal experiences and food.. I'm honestly shocked Disney didn't straight up copy the concept and plus it with some additional things. I am also shocked that discovery cove can be such a great value considering it is now not much if at all more than a regular day at Disney. I suspect they make bank off of last minute bookings.

I think it is a problem with Disney in their pricing structure that special experiences MUST be priced higher than regular experiences and they feel compelled to create something that would command such a higher price vs just expanding total capacity of the parks and resorts by creating new experience.

 

[GAcoaster]

Discovery cove apparently only cost 100 million to build and gives people visiting Orlando an option they were already used to and didn't have access to. That is lounging around on a premium beach all day with easy access to animal experiences and food.. I'm honestly shocked Disney didn't straight up copy the concept and plus it with some additional things. I am also shocked that discovery cove can be such a great value considering it is now not much if at all more than a regular day at Disney. I suspect they make bank off of last minute bookings.

Especially surprising since Disney was interested in acquiring DC when the whole chain was for sale from AB. They could have easily built their own version on property and plussed it.

Instead they built a hotel that charges a fortune, and forces people to cosplay. NO RELAXATION FOR YOU!

 

[PenguinCowboy]

My two cents. Disney should have ALWAYS understood that there would be a cap for this kind of experience in terms of new and repeat guests. They treated it like a Disney Cruise, which wasn't a bad jumping off point, but they should have understood that you get repeat cruisers because even after you have experienced all the shows, entertainment offerings, you still have the added amenities that allow you to relax and have a leisurely vacation (pool, varied dining, etc). This is even discounting the destinations, as many people sail the same ports and Castaway doesn't change much, so it's not even an issue that they just offer Batuu as the sole "port".

Ultimately they screwed themselves over with the infrastructure design of the place, so I'm afraid it will take more than just an operational change of pace to turn it around. What should have been done from the beginning is a well designed, moderate level room layout, a couple eatery options that could be considered fast casual, and the amenities that a typical guest might expect from a moderate hotel. The key here is that it would be able to be turned over for monthly "sailings" but remain at a space "dry dock" in the interim. People still pay to stay on the Queen Mary even though she is parked permanently. The ship is still in space, you still get the experience of being in the world of the story, but no storylines, no extended immersion, and free space elevator service back to your cars. Your price point reflects the added theming, but doesn't try and pretend it's a luxury resort either.

Then, once a month (or more if they even so desired) a block of a week is set aside to run the experience. This is naturally a premium experience, so price away accordingly, but people will pay for limited capacity, limited running events like this. When Starcruiser runs consistently every single week of the year, it may be a limited capacity but the exclusivity and special nature of it is all but lost. This also leaves room for a lot more updatability in terms of the storylines. Guests staying at the hotel while "docked" aren't expecting interactivity, so if the engine room is under construction updating or swapping out effects, no one is any more the wiser, unlike if that had to happen currently where you'd be missing a chunk of story. For those worried about a break in immersion when the event is running, you can elect to either just close the darn pool, or understand if people are making the choice to come specifically during the premium days, they are likely all in.

What we got instead are small, relatively cramped rooms (thematically appropriate, yes; convenient or welcoming, not so much), and slim pickings in terms of anytime dining. The experience is great, but the foresight was narrow.

 

[OLSinFLA]

My two cents. Disney should have ALWAYS understood that there would be a cap for this kind of experience in terms of new and repeat guests. They treated it like a Disney Cruise, which wasn't a bad jumping off point, but they should have understood that you get repeat cruisers because even after you have experienced all the shows, entertainment offerings, you still have the added amenities that allow you to relax and have a leisurely vacation (pool, varied dining, etc). This is even discounting the destinations, as many people sail the same ports and Castaway doesn't change much, so it's not even an issue that they just offer Batuu as the sole "port".

Ultimately they screwed themselves over with the infrastructure design of the place, so I'm afraid it will take more than just an operational change of pace to turn it around. What should have been done from the beginning is a well designed, moderate level room layout, a couple eatery options that could be considered fast casual, and the amenities that a typical guest might expect from a moderate hotel. The key here is that it would be able to be turned over for monthly "sailings" but remain at a space "dry dock" in the interim. People still pay to stay on the Queen Mary even though she is parked permanently. The ship is still in space, you still get the experience of being in the world of the story, but no storylines, no extended immersion, and free space elevator service back to your cars. Your price point reflects the added theming, but doesn't try and pretend it's a luxury resort either.

Then, once a month (or more if they even so desired) a block of a week is set aside to run the experience. This is naturally a premium experience, so price away accordingly, but people will pay for limited capacity, limited running events like this. When Starcruiser runs consistently every single week of the year, it may be a limited capacity but the exclusivity and special nature of it is all but lost. This also leaves room for a lot more updatability in terms of the storylines. Guests staying at the hotel while "docked" aren't expecting interactivity, so if the engine room is under construction updating or swapping out effects, no one is any more the wiser, unlike if that had to happen currently where you'd be missing a chunk of story. For those worried about a break in immersion when the event is running, you can elect to either just close the darn pool, or understand if people are making the choice to come specifically during the premium days, they are likely all in.

What we got instead are small, relatively cramped rooms (thematically appropriate, yes; convenient or welcoming, not so much), and slim pickings in terms of anytime dining. The experience is great, but the foresight was narrow.

I think it would be difficult to get that many trained employees to work for just a week a month. You could cycle them to other attractions ... but this type of acting requires people who can also improve on the moment.

 

[SkiBum]

My two cents. Disney should have ALWAYS understood that there would be a cap for this kind of experience in terms of new and repeat guests. They treated it like a Disney Cruise, which wasn't a bad jumping off point, but they should have understood that you get repeat cruisers because even after you have experienced all the shows, entertainment offerings, you still have the added amenities that allow you to relax and have a leisurely vacation (pool, varied dining, etc). This is even discounting the destinations, as many people sail the same ports and Castaway doesn't change much, so it's not even an issue that they just offer Batuu as the sole "port".

Ultimately they screwed themselves over with the infrastructure design of the place, so I'm afraid it will take more than just an operational change of pace to turn it around. What should have been done from the beginning is a well designed, moderate level room layout, a couple eatery options that could be considered fast casual, and the amenities that a typical guest might expect from a moderate hotel. The key here is that it would be able to be turned over for monthly "sailings" but remain at a space "dry dock" in the interim. People still pay to stay on the Queen Mary even though she is parked permanently. The ship is still in space, you still get the experience of being in the world of the story, but no storylines, no extended immersion, and free space elevator service back to your cars. Your price point reflects the added theming, but doesn't try and pretend it's a luxury resort either.

Then, once a month (or more if they even so desired) a block of a week is set aside to run the experience. This is naturally a premium experience, so price away accordingly, but people will pay for limited capacity, limited running events like this. When Starcruiser runs consistently every single week of the year, it may be a limited capacity but the exclusivity and special nature of it is all but lost. This also leaves room for a lot more updatability in terms of the storylines. Guests staying at the hotel while "docked" aren't expecting interactivity, so if the engine room is under construction updating or swapping out effects, no one is any more the wiser, unlike if that had to happen currently where you'd be missing a chunk of story. For those worried about a break in immersion when the event is running, you can elect to either just close the darn pool, or understand if people are making the choice to come specifically during the premium days, they are likely all in.

What we got instead are small, relatively cramped rooms (thematically appropriate, yes; convenient or welcoming, not so much), and slim pickings in terms of anytime dining. The experience is great, but the foresight was narrow.

I also think that you hit one of the nails on the head with "allow you to relax and have a leisurely vacation (pool, varied dining, etc)." A room on a ship is going to be smaller but you don't care because of the reasons you listed. Plus, repeat experiences are not a thing as the story doesn't really change. So, the setup, price point, and amenities do not match.

 

[PenguinCowboy]

I think it would be difficult to get that many trained employees to work for just a week a month. You could cycle them to other attractions ... but this type of acting requires people who can also improve on the moment.

Totally valid concern about having the talent on reserve, there are also a lot of gig workers on tap around the area, but ensuring they are all trained accordingly is definitely a hurdle.

 

[Rhian]

Unless there's an emergency boarding event in the middle of the night then spending the night isn't really all that necessary?

Adding on to the day experience thing, it might be extreme but if they don't want to add any more to the building Disney could take out some of the rooms (less guests to burn out the actors while we're at it) and add in a museum? Have some special props or maybe even larger set pieces that couldn't fit anywhere else or aren't on display elsewhere that you otherwise couldn't see. That could be an upcharge (make it a proper museum-like thing, don't just shove them into a room) or just an exclusive thing for cruise excursions that only those guests get access to at the end of the trip (on top of the exclusive gift shop items of course).

I agree that if they're trying to appeal to fans of the franchise they really should have leaned into the nostalgia and pre-existing story more. If they want guests to go (and go back) they need to feel connected to it in some way, and not just because it takes place in the same universe.

I think it would be difficult to get that many trained employees to work for just a week a month. You could cycle them to other attractions ... but this type of acting requires people who can also improve on the moment.

They could have played other costumed characters in the land the rest of the time? They'd still get to use their skills, interact with guests, and it would make the theme park land more entertaining. Plus it would be a good hook from a marketing angle to go "like these interactions? Check out the hotel!" or something. I'm not a marketer but I think you get the gist.

 

[wutisgood]

I wish Disney would have utilized some of the ideas in the starcruiser to build something in the style of Poseidon's Fury. It could really tied things together in the land.

 

[Doug A.]

Just got the email as well and unless it’s just PR speak it seems they know you need 2 days to “relax and unwind” after full on LARPing

 

[wutisgood]

Classic Disney fake discounts.