It’s my understanding that there will be designated checkin and checkout dates a la a cruise ship.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Office Building
- Thread starter GrandpaD
- Start date
The entire operation is supposed to run exactly like a cruise ship. From the checking in/out dates, to the pricing, etc.
For as much as people love Disney and Star Wars it looks like this may have been a little too much for a lot of people.
Disney Is Struggling to Book Rooms in Its $5K Star Wars-Themed Hotel
The hotel is struggling to attract guests.screenrant.com
I really don't care about Star Wars beyond that few month obsession with Hayden Christensen that popped up right when Episode III came out, but this is still a really cool concept I would love to experience. If they want to keep that price point tho, I think they need to extend the days you're there. Or, keep it it two days so the show doesn't have to change and knock it down to $3k.
They're going to have to change the format every few years any ways due to the lack of "re-rideability." I think those who really want to do this have been saving up through out the construction process and will book within the first 24 months if not sooner.
They're going to have to change the format every few years any ways due to the lack of "re-rideability." I think those who really want to do this have been saving up through out the construction process and will book within the first 24 months if not sooner.
The plan...
Step 1: Get as much $$$ as possible during the "grand opening" phase.
Step 2: Add some "more exclusive" benefits to staying at the hotel that don't really cost Disney money.
Step 3: A first "sale" on packages including stays at the Starcruiser as well as another Disney resort (5+ days total).
Step 4: Starting (slowly) taking away things that made it special in the first place, and drop the cost (slightly).
Step 5: Start the transition of this to more of a "general" (come and go) Star Wars themed deluxe resort.
Step 1: Get as much $$$ as possible during the "grand opening" phase.
Step 2: Add some "more exclusive" benefits to staying at the hotel that don't really cost Disney money.
Step 3: A first "sale" on packages including stays at the Starcruiser as well as another Disney resort (5+ days total).
Step 4: Starting (slowly) taking away things that made it special in the first place, and drop the cost (slightly).
Step 5: Start the transition of this to more of a "general" (come and go) Star Wars themed deluxe resort.
Isn't this every smart business' plan to maximize profit?
I think this is gonna end up falling flat. That much for that little time and one day at only part of one park? Would have been better off making a custom cruise ship that only goes to a private island this experience. Plenty of water planets within Star Wars lore to pull from to do something like this.
I felt this when it was announced that there was a big whiff on this in not doing a different format.
Galatic Starcruiser should be a resort option. There should have been two options: Rebel forces or Empire training. You stay 2 nights in a self contained area (like now) within the resort with an exclusive time in Galaxy's Edge. Then at the end of that part you either can go home or move into the main hotel (or the "base" for your chosen path); and you can easily build in a story that WDW is part of a leisure planet that both sides go to in order to blow off steam and relax.
I felt this when it was announced that there was a big whiff on this in not doing a different format.
Galatic Starcruiser should be a resort option. There should have been two options: Rebel forces or Empire training. You stay 2 nights in a self contained area (like now) within the resort with an exclusive time in Galaxy's Edge. Then at the end of that part you either can go home or move into the main hotel (or the "base" for your chosen path); and you can easily build in a story that WDW is part of a leisure planet that both sides go to in order to blow off steam and relax.
Could’ve lowered the prices so that they could actually fill their voyages.
Presumably the plan is to strip it of its expensive acting staff, remove the story, strike the all-inclusive aspects, and reopen it operating more like a standard Disney hotel. I imagine the operating margins could be largely maintained that way while also consistently booking the place solid.
I appreciate the goal of what they were shooting for, it just wasn't the right place or price point for it. Nobody needs an experience like this in Disney World when you have all of Disney World to explore for a fraction of the cost. Honestly this could have been a successful concept somewhere that Disney doesn't have a foothold but still gets tourists, like NYC or some other city. Somewhere that people need something specific to do for a day that isn't already the largest and most time consuming group of theme parks around.
Yeah, I think a real, core part of the issue with the value proposition is that, to get value out of your on-site Disney vacation, you should be optimizing your lodging for experiencing the parks. Staying somewhere with set times for a bunch of activities and storytelling and whatnot taking place at the resort basically nullifies the place's usefulness as Disney lodging.
I, to, agree that built somewhere else entirely, I could imagine the concept performing better.
If they're gonna make it like one of their resorts then they'll need to expand as it only has 100 guest rooms. This building is like the size of a two story Marriott Courtyard.
Also, I'm not surprised it's closing in September. Here's a screenshot from Tim Tracker's recent vlog where he went with his oldest son. Look how dead the breakfast buffet is...
Ok, hear me out...DarKruiser Hotel at BGW. More affordable (not including surcharges) and less theming
Love it. The beds are snowmobiles, and sleeping on them is exactly as awkward as it sounds.
Re: Starcruiser, it always struck me as a concept that should have remained a concept.
While that's the obvious next step, there are apparently a few big issues that make it unlikely that they'll operate it as a regular hotel -
- It's in a backstage area. Since it's not close to any of the parks and not on the standard "resort track", it would take a lot of work on Disney's part to incorporate it into their transportation plans. It was also designed to only be approached in their themed (read: windowless) shuttles, meaning that any buses/taxis would have to go through areas not designed for guests - not a very Disney experience, unless they put more work/money into polishing up the surrounding areas (assuming that's possible).
- The rooms are significantly smaller than average hotel rooms, more akin to cruise rooms. A lot of guests were okay with the smaller rooms in exchange for a full-fledged experience, but they're not going to make for an appealing hotel on their own, even a well-themed one.
Its not really in a backstage area. It is at the intersection of World Drive and Osceola Pkwy. In fact there is an exit directly off the ramp from Osceola. It would be a fairly simple effort to modify the ramp to provide better access. What is lacking is a convenient parking lot. GSH currently shares parking with Hollywood Studios. A dedicated parking lot closer to GSH would be needed. This is all simple site work and can done quite quickly. All it takes is a little bit of money.
GSH is also missing some basic amenities, like a pool, playground, dedicated bus stop.
GSH is also missing some basic amenities, like a pool, playground, dedicated bus stop.
Lol just realized I posted this comment one year ago.
I'm really not convinced that they would need to. The basic rooms at Starcruiser minus the show elements, free food, etc are probably $1200 rooms at WDW, right? That's about the price of Club Level, park view studio at Contempory for the random June dates I picked. If they can consistently book a 100 room hotel with people spending that much per night, there has to be a HEALTHY margin there, right? Especially when there's no pool to maintain, minimal other amenities to fund, etc.
Then, to make things even juicer for Disney, they can convert the hotel's restaurant into a publicly bookable eatery like all the other resort dining is. They could even allow people at DHS to use the Galaxy's Edge shuttle to get there with booked dining reservations. Easy $120+ per person fixed price restaurant–more if they keep the live entertainment. That alone should represent an obscene amount of money for Disney that is currently being left on the table.
I agree that transportation is probably the most difficult problem to solve, but, at the same time, with so few rooms you could probably have a single Starcruiser bus running to multiple parks at all but the absolute peak times. Feels like something that should be solvable without much investment.
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Nobody is gonna want to book a premium stay in those existing rooms considering they have no windows, no balcony, and are smaller (square-footage wise) than the rooms at the All-Star resorts. They're about the same size as Carnival Cruise Line's standard balcony rooms, which are small at roughly 180 square feet. The Park View Studios at the Contemporary are expensive because the resort is in easy walking distance to Magic Kingdom's front gate and the rooms themselves being situated on the upper floors where it gives you a nice view of the park from your balcony. The Galactic Starcruiser hotel is only about 3 floors tall and even if they were to modify the rooms and add windows, one side of the hotel might get crappy views of the DHS's parking lot and the backstage areas of Galaxy's Edge.