Disney shutting down Star Wars hotel

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who went earlier this year. I hope they figure out how to preserve some of what made it special. It's hard to see how they'd keep it as a hotel, with only 100 rooms and no pool or other amenities that their other resorts have. But I really hope they learned a lot that can be incorporated elsewhere. The technology for the "choose-your-own-adventure" and individualized experience was incredible. But even simple things, like the bedtime story from the in-room droid, were magical.

I personally would love to go back and drink in the bar and have dinner there again. Part of what made it great, though, was that it was a small space and uncrowded. There was a big difference between the relaxed bar on the Starcruiser and the packed (but still fun) experience at Oga's Cantina in Hollywood Studios. If they try to convert the starcruiser into more of a standard, but Star Wars-themed resort, much of the magic will change.

Even tho no pool - it's cool that it is in the park. Maybe they could give pool privileges to guests at another hotel - something close - beach club???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did DeSantis do this? F him.

F him, but no, this wasn’t him.

[Anonymous]

It’s probably difficult to keep the cast members. I imagine there’s a degree of burnout working there and then you need to train-up new cast members, which is likely a very lengthy and expensive process. There’s a reason why most Broadway productions only run for 6-12 months max. The longer shows that last forever (Lion King, Wicked, etc.) can insert new actors like widgits, with an endless supply of actors in NYC and LA. They probably need to import talent into Orlando from other places.

They should’ve marketed this as a limited run experience. Maybe 2 years max. That would’ve created a scarcity mindset and they could positioned cast members for a set contract. At $2500/night I’m guessing that service expectations are sky-high. It’s got to be exhausting for the cast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s probably difficult to keep the cast members. I imagine there’s a degree of burnout working there and then you need to train-up new cast members, which is likely a very lengthy and expensive process. There’s a reason why most Broadway productions only run for 6-12 months max. The longer shows that last forever (Lion King, Wicked, etc.) can insert new actors like widgits, with an endless supply of actors in NYC and LA. They probably need to import talent into Orlando from other places.

They should’ve marketed this as a limited run experience. Maybe 2 years max. That would’ve created a scarcity mindset and they could positioned cast members for a set contract. At $2500/night I’m guessing that service expectations are sky-high. It’s got to be exhausting for the cast.

Very interesting and good point that highlights that staffing would have been a challenge even without the Great Resignation. The lack of good business judgment in this whole endeavor is astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s a real shame. I think it should just be a Star Wars themed hotel vs. the fully immersive aspect. It’s really too expensive for most people.

Did you see it only has 100 rooms though? If they drop it down to Grand Floridian/Polynesian pricing it will surely sell out but I’m not sure 100 rooms is profitable at that price point. Maybe. We’ll see.

It's only 100 rooms and it's no where near the other resorts, so it'd be isolated in it's own tiny bubble, which they need to sustain bus service to. Even deluxe hotels share buses with neighboring hotels. It also doesn't have typical resort amenities, like a pool, which is a pretty big deal in the Florida heat. The building is an unassuming concrete box, so they can't even transition it to a luxury space cruiser docked outside of Batuu without a major renovation. They'll likely scrap the building for parts, then demolish it.

Is there room to expand it, though?

Maybe? It's nestled between a road, a parking lot, and a wooded area. This is what it looks like from the outside.

Their best bet would be to theme the outside to look like the actual ship, and then build a bigger tower with a standard Disney number of rooms as a space port surrounding it. You pay a premium to stay on the existing ship, and get normal resort amenities in the space around it.

I think turning it into a Space 220 experience would be the more likely direction they take it in, if they don't turn it into a tax write off.

[Anonymous]

Was this Chapek’s baby? He was a moron on so many levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was this Chapek’s baby? He was a moron on so many levels.

No it wasn't. It was Iger and Kathleen Kennedy who set this motion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who went earlier this year. I hope they figure out how to preserve some of what made it special. It's hard to see how they'd keep it as a hotel, with only 100 rooms and no pool or other amenities that their other resorts have. But I really hope they learned a lot that can be incorporated elsewhere. The technology for the "choose-your-own-adventure" and individualized experience was incredible. But even simple things, like the bedtime story from the in-room droid, were magical.

I personally would love to go back and drink in the bar and have dinner there again. Part of what made it great, though, was that it was a small space and uncrowded. There was a big difference between the relaxed bar on the Starcruiser and the packed (but still fun) experience at Oga's Cantina in Hollywood Studios. If they try to convert the starcruiser into more of a standard, but Star Wars-themed resort, much of the magic will change.

Even tho no pool - it's cool that it is in the park. Maybe they could give pool privileges to guests at another hotel - something close - beach club???

It's not actually in the park, it's got a special entrance that they bus you to from the hotel across the parking lot. And there isn't a "close resort" that you can hop in the pool without a 15 minute bus ride in between. Riviera is the closest Deluxe by bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who went earlier this year. I hope they figure out how to preserve some of what made it special. It's hard to see how they'd keep it as a hotel, with only 100 rooms and no pool or other amenities that their other resorts have. But I really hope they learned a lot that can be incorporated elsewhere. The technology for the "choose-your-own-adventure" and individualized experience was incredible. But even simple things, like the bedtime story from the in-room droid, were magical.

I personally would love to go back and drink in the bar and have dinner there again. Part of what made it great, though, was that it was a small space and uncrowded. There was a big difference between the relaxed bar on the Starcruiser and the packed (but still fun) experience at Oga's Cantina in Hollywood Studios. If they try to convert the starcruiser into more of a standard, but Star Wars-themed resort, much of the magic will change.

Even tho no pool - it's cool that it is in the park. Maybe they could give pool privileges to guests at another hotel - something close - beach club???

Stormalong bay is the busiest pool at WDW. They are not adding more guests to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP who went earlier this year. I hope they figure out how to preserve some of what made it special. It's hard to see how they'd keep it as a hotel, with only 100 rooms and no pool or other amenities that their other resorts have. But I really hope they learned a lot that can be incorporated elsewhere. The technology for the "choose-your-own-adventure" and individualized experience was incredible. But even simple things, like the bedtime story from the in-room droid, were magical.

I personally would love to go back and drink in the bar and have dinner there again. Part of what made it great, though, was that it was a small space and uncrowded. There was a big difference between the relaxed bar on the Starcruiser and the packed (but still fun) experience at Oga's Cantina in Hollywood Studios. If they try to convert the starcruiser into more of a standard, but Star Wars-themed resort, much of the magic will change.

Oga’s completely sucks. What a letdown. Love SW and never doing that again.

Hush. DJ Rex is the best!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was this Chapek’s baby? He was a moron on so many levels.

No it wasn't. It was Iger and Kathleen Kennedy who set this motion.

pe

speaking of killing a brand

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read besides the pricing issue that the rooms had screens instead of windows and many people didn't like that. It works on the Hogwarts train at Universal, but I don't know if I would like that in a hotel room.

Wait, the rooms are windowless? You can't call it a "room" and it's against firecode.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read besides the pricing issue that the rooms had screens instead of windows and many people didn't like that. It works on the Hogwarts train at Universal, but I don't know if I would like that in a hotel room.

Wait, the rooms are windowless? You can't call it a "room" and it's against firecode.

You're supposed to be “cruising in space,” hence the Galactic Starcruiser name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read besides the pricing issue that the rooms had screens instead of windows and many people didn't like that. It works on the Hogwarts train at Universal, but I don't know if I would like that in a hotel room.

Wait, the rooms are windowless? You can't call it a "room" and it's against firecode.

You're supposed to be “cruising in space,” hence the Galactic Starcruiser name.

Oh, and also there is a “hidden” door that leads outside for fire emergencies in every room, so two exits total.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s probably difficult to keep the cast members. I imagine there’s a degree of burnout working there and then you need to train-up new cast members, which is likely a very lengthy and expensive process. There’s a reason why most Broadway productions only run for 6-12 months max. The longer shows that last forever (Lion King, Wicked, etc.) can insert new actors like widgits, with an endless supply of actors in NYC and LA. They probably need to import talent into Orlando from other places.

They should’ve marketed this as a limited run experience. Maybe 2 years max. That would’ve created a scarcity mindset and they could positioned cast members for a set contract. At $2500/night I’m guessing that service expectations are sky-high. It’s got to be exhausting for the cast.

Very interesting and good point that highlights that staffing would have been a challenge even without the Great Resignation. The lack of good business judgment in this whole endeavor is astounding.

The pandemic upended a lot of businesses that relied on enough people onsite.