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Fans of a widespread entertainment company will always think they know better than that company when it comes to all things fandom, and Disney fans are no different. However, there is one significant difference between Disney fans and fans of other entertainment media companies…Disney fans are always right.
…Okay, maybe not all the time. But we’re definitely right when it counts the most! In the case of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, fans were right from the very beginning, and we have definite proof.
More About Disney World’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
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In an incredibly short time, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser has quickly become one of the Walt Disney Company’s most infamous ventures.
This Star Wars hotel was one of Walt Disney World’s most immersive experiences, from start to finish. This Resort hotel took Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and turned the dial to eleven.
Walt Disney Imagineering thought of everything, from the immersive entertainment to the transportation (as guests were transported to the ship to maintain the illusion).
Credit: Disney
RELATED: Disney Is Desperate To Get Rid of Everything Galactic Starcruiser
The Halcyon Starcruiser boasted thirteen decks, offering different activities to visiting guests, such as Lightsaber Training, transport to Planet Batuu (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge), relaxing in the Sublight Lounge, and so much more.
Best of all, the entire Galactic Starcruiser experience revolved around role-playing, interacting with various cast members, and living out one’s ultimate Star Wars fantasy, all for the small starting price of $5,000.
We’re speaking in the past tense because Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser recently experienced its final voyage on September 30. It’s worth noting that the infamous Star Wars hotel opened its doors in March 2022 and closed its doors forever in September 2023.
That means that this Walt Disney World Resort hotel operated for barely a year and a half before having to undergo its final voyage. The worst part is that one Star Wars fan, in particular, knew this was coming, and they weren’t alone.
One Star Wars Fan Took to Social Media With a Scarily Accurate Prediction
Credit: Disney
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Fans were understandably skeptical from the beginning, but one anonymous fan took to social media, fully articulating their feelings and giving an itemized defense as to why the Star Wars hotel would fail. This anonymous fan posted a detailed explanation on Reddit, detailing why they thought Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser would fail.
They begin by stating that they’ve been “an obsessive Star Wars fan” for 30 years and that their girlfriend is also a Star Wars fan. They write:
If we really wanted to, we could afford to do this. Yet I have zero desire to do so. For me to spend $5,000 on a [2-night] experience, it would have to be as perfect as imaginable. What I have seen advertised is in no way worth that kind of scratch. However, IF this whole thing had been set in the original [Star Wars] timeline, I would probably be very tempted and start saving now.
Credit: Disney
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They express that the original Star Wars trilogy is where their (along with many fans’) hearts truly lie and that by setting the Halcyon Starcruiser in the third trilogy’s time period, the Walt Disney Company made a massive mistake:
The idea of helping the rebels overthrow the empire could have been a blast. Having real og stormtroopers, and Darth Vader himself, board the cruiser at some point would have been thrilling. Receiving hologram transmissions from Luke or Leia would have been amazing. I would have signed up for the waiting list to be able to play out all my childhood fantasies, purchased an official costume from their online stores to wear, done the whole 9 yards. I may have regretted spending that much money after the fact, but I’d have done it…I’m sure there will be those of you who say “You’re just a weird obsessive super fan, more casual fans won’t be so picky, and will like it for being anything [Star Wars].” But my counter is: Would a ‘casual fan’ really want to drop $5k for a [2-night] experience if they didn’t really love the franchise? I feel like I’m their target audience. You gotta go for the super nerds like me with something like this, right?
The anonymous fan ends their lengthy post with a chillingly accurate prediction, stating, “I’ll be very surprised [if] the [Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser] is still a thing by 2025, without a massive overhaul.”
Credit: Disney
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The craziest part? This was posted on Reddit two years ago! In short, this anonymous guest was totally, unequivocally correct, years before the Walt Disney World Resort hotel ultimately met its predictable fate.
While we may never know the exact reasons for the failure of Walt Disney World’s most infamous resort hotel, we do know one thing: at its core, the idea was the perfect combination of too expensive and too flawed to be successful in the long term. If only the Walt Disney Company had paid more attention to guest and fan reactions on this one…
What did you think about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser? Was it ever a good idea? Let Disney Dining know in the comments!
My family went and we had more fun than we expected. The problem that I saw was that it wasn’t something that I would pay to do again because it wouldn’t be different enough. I think it would have been great to do a different storyline each year and have a different coin or pin to commemorate each year. I would have been onboard with checking out each storyline.
Terrible idea sadly, they lost me with the Last Jedi. Everything went down the drain after that, wasting the opportunity to have Leia, Hans and Luke together in the same place, and also portraying them as losers… nah. “Let the past die, killed if you have to” sums it all up.
This fan nailed it, but it reflects the exact same thing many (most?) of the fans are thinking. In fact, Galaxy’s Edge also suffers from the same third-trilogy problem: Where’s Vader? Chewie? Why couldn’t “Galaxy’s Edge” be called Tattooine? Rise of the Resistance is a fantastic ride, but it would be so much better if R2D2 sent us the message from Leia, and Vader was chasing us instead of the wimpy, dislikable character Kylo Ren. Disney definitely muffed this one. Galactic Starcruiser was a very expensive extension of this truly bad mindset from Disney execs that fans don’t want to look backwards (what???) and only want to see new or “current” characters. When Darth Vader makes an appearance in front of Star Tours, nobody cares that his character was killed off in 1983! He’s cheered and booed at the same time, all in good fun, and the crowd loves it. I saw Kylo Ren appear in Galaxy’s Edge, and people were like, yawn.
In the movies, sure, we gotta move on….but people love to RELIVE their favorites in the parks if they can. Failure to recognize this is what caused Galactic Cruiser Halcyon to fail.