Just as fast as it came about, Disney’s “Star Wars”-themed hotel, the Galactic Starcruiser, the nearly $1 billion resort unceremoniously shut down by the company last weekend. What started as an awesome idea for a Star Wars themed hotel wound up — thanks to a combination of hubris, mismanagement and greed — as perhaps the greatest Disney theme park disaster ever.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was met with relatively positive reviews from the start. The real problem came with pricing. Trips started at $4809 for two guests in a standard cabin and going upwards of $6000 for a family, it was immediately out of reach for the vast majority of people visiting the theme park. Even with the high price point, it sold out in the beginning, but seemed to lose steam immediately afterward. Whether it was the price, or because it was based on the sequel trilogy is still up for debate.
“Once you went through the one-percenters who could afford it and the fanatical ‘Star Wars’ fans who would sell their mother to do it, you were done,” a Disney insider tells the trade. Another adds, “No one connected to this came off well.”
Some interesting news just broke thanks to The Wrap, about plans for the hotel, before the decision to cut losses. Before returning Disney CEO Bob Iger made the decision to pull the plug, a number of ideas were thrown around. Among them were “tours” of the facilities that would have given access to the bar, dinner show, and gift shop for an additional charge. They also considered retheming it to Star Wars: The Mandalorian, but Iger said no. Now, it’s unclear what will become of the building that has 100 hotel rooms in it.
