Makeover Options Revealed for Disney’s Doomed Starcruiser

The Force is not with Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, and seemingly hasn’t been since the start.

Disney’s ambitious, immersive, and frankly very expensive themed hotel at Walt Disney World in Florida has been a talking point ever since its launch back in March 2022.

The Walt Disney World Resort hotel has received mostly positive reviews from Guests who have experienced the voyage first-hand and mixed opinions from those who criticize the hefty price tag.

After a string of canceled dates, experience cutbacks, and huge discounts, the newest Disney Resort Hotel was surprisingly revealed to be shutting down later this year, and now we know the retheming options for the doomed Starcruiser.

On May 18, 2023, Disney made the shock announcement that the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will take its final voyage this September.

The eagerly-awaited Galactic Starcruiser hotel takes Guests on a (simulated) two-night voyage through a galaxy far, far away. While aboard, Guests are fully immersed in the Star Wars story, as each decision they make shapes the outcome of their journey. Characters such as Chewbacca, Rey, and Kylo Ren are all onboard, while Guests also go on a port excursion to Batuu’s Black Spire Outpost in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Galaxy’s Edge.

The cost of the immersive experience, however, has always been an issue for many fans of the George Lucas franchise, with prices starting at roughly $4,800 for two Guests on a two-night voyage. This is a costly price to pay for a two-night experience at the Star Wars hotel (a similar price to a week on a Disney Cruise Line trip) – and it has been shown in the availability calendar.

Well ahead of the closure announcement, Disney began removing some of the Starcruiser’s voyages from its booking website, and on the remaining voyages, Guests noted that the crowd levels were incredibly low.

The end for the Florida hotel was signaled by the Walt Disney World Resort offering a 50% discount for Cast Members and other discounts for Annual Passholders, discounts that still left the Halcyon pricey.

Now that the Star Wars hotel has been canned, Disney has not yet stated what will happen to the building, but we now know the retheming options discussed for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser thanks to a report from The Wrap.

According to The Wrap, Disney has considered turning the Starcruiser into a Mandalorian experience. The popular Star Wars show on Disney+ has taken the Lucasfilm world by storm and follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Grogu (or “Baby Yoda”), Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and others in quests around the galaxy.

We’re not sure what “The Mandalorian” version of the Starcruiser would entail, but we’re sure fans of the Star Wars franchise would have enjoyed a more familiar storyline than the one currently on the Halcyon.

It was also apparently suggested that the Galactic Starcruiser could be turned into a place for day tours. Imagineers considered giving Disney Park day Guests “tours” of the hotel that would include access to the bar, dinner, and gift shop.

Disney CEO Bob Iger seemingly considered these alternate rethemings of the hotel, and instead decided to shut Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser down.

A Disney spokesperson told The Wrap that the issue came down to attracting Guests with the large price tag: “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,” they said.

The two-night adventure is priced at around $6,000 for a family of four and includes 2 nights’ accommodation, 4 meals and refreshments aboard the Starcruiser, 1 quick-service meal at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, interactive and immersive entertainment, as well as admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a Galaxy’s Edge excursion (including Oga’s Cantina, Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and the popular Disney ride Rise of the Resistance).

Another Disney insider revealed that “No one connected to this came off well.”

After Disney’s surprise announcement, the final voyage in late September completely sold out. The Halcyon only has 100 Guest rooms, including 94 Standard Cabins that sleep up to 5, four Galaxy Class Suites that sleep up to 4, and two Grand Captain Suites that sleep up to 8.

Though the expensive Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser only lasted a little over a year, it will be a $300 million tax write-off for Disney. It also won the 2022 TEA Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in Brand Experience.

There is a cheaper option for Star Wars fans. The Outer Rim planet of Batuu is both at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida. The Star Wars-themed land is set between Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in the Star Wars timeline, and features two attractions – Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run and the continually popular Rise of the Resistance.

We’ll keep you posted on what happens to the Galactic Starcruiser in Lake Buena Vista, but for now, we can dream about what it would be like to hang out with Grogu and Mando on a spaceship for two nights!