Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

[Nick]

$200-250M is the cost of site prep and buildout with Disney’s insane costs, Len and Jim threw out almost $1B for the entire thing which I would believe.

You could write off the building and infrastructure and still repurpose a lot of other tech/props well within that estimate range assuming your accountants play along.

That hurts to hear when they could have spent that $1B further expanding the park out that way even beyond SWGE but instead decided to build this for some idiotic reason.

I'd love to see park expansion all over to that site and where Cast parking is and finally just build some garages for DHS.

 

[HandsomePete]

At that time of the closure announcement and probably still, the Accounting and Controllership team doesn't know the future of the asset so you still just do the entire accelerated depreciation at once, and any future evaluations can get that adjustment entered. It equals out

I don’t mean to be argumentative but that’s not at all how it works. For something of that size they’d literally be the first people consulted. And I’m not speaking hypothetically - I mean that’s not how things work there.

$200-250M is the cost of site prep and buildout with Disney’s insane costs, Len and Jim threw out almost $1B for the entire thing which I would believe.

There was a billion dollar hotel pitched around the same time, but it was not that. I’ve never seen that one described in any form on the internet (it could be described in one short sentence). Again, not to be argumentative, but knowing how the game of telephone can pan out, there’s just no chance this thing 4X’d what it was earmarked for.

I'd love to see park expansion all over to that site and where Cast parking is and finally just build some garages for DHS.

This honestly would be awesome - hopefully they could make that work.

 

[Skold]

You know an attraction bombed hard when some of the most exciting things to read about it are potential tax write-offs.

 

[Cygnus]

I don’t mean to be argumentative but that’s not at all how it works. For something of that size they’d literally be the first people consulted. And I’m not speaking hypothetically - I mean that’s not how things work there.

No worries nephew I just think we had different interpretations on "future plans"

I think whatever D'Amaro is "cooking up" will follow the trends of the past: be announced way too early, change 1000 times, and open 2 years later than expected. Maybe it will be cancelled. Didn't care for the hotel when it opened, and still don't care now

 

[Grabnar]

There was a billion dollar hotel pitched around the same time, but it was not that. I’ve never seen that one described in any form on the internet (it could be described in one short sentence). Again, not to be argumentative, but knowing how the game of telephone can pan out, there’s just no chance this thing 4X’d what it was earmarked for.

Fair enough, that was just the numbers that Jim and Len tossed out on the Dish pod a few months back, I think it was including development costs for the back-end technology, etc, too.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Fair enough, that was just the numbers that Jim and Len tossed out on the Dish pod a few months back, I think it was including development costs for the back-end technology, etc, too.

They toss out a lot of things lol

 

[SeventyOne]

The Wrap has a write-up, based on surveys given to guests in the final month, suggesting WDW is brainstorming ideas to bring this back (behind paywall).

Starcruiser Resurrected: Could Disney's $1 Billion Star Wars Experience Make an Unexpected Return? | Exclusive

Surveys handed to guests on Disney's Galactic Starcruiser suggest the company may reopen a streamlined version of the Star Wars hotel.

www.thewrap.com

On YouTube, "Drunk3PO" (the internet was a mistake) has a video summarizing the article nicely, as well as some more rumors. Goofy name aside, keep in mind he broke the hotel storyline initially, seems to have some contacts. Possibly a 4-hour add-on dinner show to Galaxy's Edge. Possibly converting to a single night motel without as many show elements--these two may be complimentary. Or possibly retheming the whole thing to Marvel. That Darn Contract and existing infrastructure make me think Marvel means Guardians, and I'm not sure there's a major market for that, but that's the rumor de jour.

 

[JungleSkip]

The Wrap has a write-up, based on surveys given to guests in the final month, suggesting WDW is brainstorming ideas to bring this back (behind paywall).

Starcruiser Resurrected: Could Disney's $1 Billion Star Wars Experience Make an Unexpected Return? | Exclusive

Surveys handed to guests on Disney's Galactic Starcruiser suggest the company may reopen a streamlined version of the Star Wars hotel.

www.thewrap.com

On YouTube, "Drunk3PO" (the internet was a mistake) has a video summarizing the article nicely, as well as some more rumors. Goofy name aside, keep in mind he broke the hotel storyline initially, seems to have some contacts. Possibly a 4-hour add-on dinner show to Galaxy's Edge. Possibly converting to a single night motel without as many show elements--these two may be complimentary. Or possibly retheming the whole thing to Marvel. That Darn Contract and existing infrastructure make me think Marvel means Guardians, and I'm not sure there's a major market for that, but that's the rumor de jour.

All sound like pretty desperate ideas to get something out of this boondoggle, but the dinner show seems to be the best out of the bad options.

 

[HandsomePete]

All sound like pretty desperate ideas to get something out of this boondoggle, but the dinner show seems to be the best out of the bad options.

Even at that, it would be a huge hassle to get a dining room worth of people to and from the hotel. Four hours would kind of limit the back and forth, but I also don’t know how they could take the write-off and still operate it in that fashion. Not an accountant, but “It’s now a restaurant, not a hotel” might work… “It’s now a different type of hotel” really shouldn’t.

 

[JungleSkip]

Even at that, it would be a huge hassle to get a dining room worth of people to and from the hotel. Four hours would kind of limit the back and forth, but I also don’t know how they could take the write-off and still operate it in that fashion. Not an accountant, but “It’s now a restaurant, not a hotel” might work… “It’s now a different type of hotel” really shouldn’t.

They have the shuttles they build for the resort transportation already. So it shouldn’t be too much of a problem

 

[Alicia]

That all just sounds like a failed Star Wars hotel with extra steps.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Even at that, it would be a huge hassle to get a dining room worth of people to and from the hotel. Four hours would kind of limit the back and forth, but I also don’t know how they could take the write-off and still operate it in that fashion. Not an accountant, but “It’s now a restaurant, not a hotel” might work… “It’s now a different type of hotel” really shouldn’t.

I suppose they could take a rate off on parts of the hotel, and completely scuttle the rest of it to get that sweet, sweet tax write-off money?

 

[SeventyOne]

I suppose they could take a rate off on parts of the hotel, and completely scuttle the rest of it to get that sweet, sweet tax write-off money?

Got a "C" in Tax Law and haven't learned much since, but I think it would have to sit empty at least a year. Of course, Disney has very good tax lawyers so maybe they have tricks in mind. In any case, it seems like bluesky ideas are out there, who knows how close they'll come to fruition.

 

[HandsomePete]

They have the shuttles they build for the resort transportation already. So it shouldn’t be too much of a problem

Those carry like 12-15 people at a time so they’d be a hassle - there’s always the normal bus option like people going to Hoop Dee Doo have to ride.

 

[Legacy]

They are going to do everything in their power to not add windows to this thing.

 

[wutisgood]

somehow .....the star wars hotel returned

 

[Alicia]

somehow .....the star wars hotel returned

Let the past die… kill it if you have to.

 

[Mad Dog]

Let the past die… kill it if you have to.

Sounds like this could be a future Universal HHN house idea. The Mistake that wouldn't die.

 

[GA-MBIT]

Think about the sheer amount of money that could've been saved between development, construction, operations if they had just made this a designated, separately ticketed, reasonably priced Star Wars dinner theater location to begin with.

Would it have been the craziest thing in the world? Maybe not, it probably could've been at least pretty neat with the fight effects and Disney budgeting on costumes and tech.

Would it have made its' money back immediately? Almost certainly imo.

Disney went and flew too close to the dual Tatooine suns.

 

[Nick]

Let the past die… kill it if you have to.

One of the most memorable Disney-era Star Wars quotes and yet they never listen