Disney Wanted To Re-Brand The Star Wars Starcruiser Hotel To The Mandalorian
Disney considered re-branding The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser interactive experience after The Mandalorian.
Many would consider the sequel trilogy one of the worst things that Disney has done with Star Wars, but as far as finances go, the Galatic Starcruiser Hotel at Disney World might go down as their biggest blunder. The hotel wasn’t open long, and it’s already set to shutter its doors this fall. Apparently, there were plans to try and save it, and Slash Film recently reported that these plans included changing it to a The Mandalorian theme to turn things around.
For those not in the know, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel was an immersive experience, akin to a cruise that allowed guests to stay in a ritzy-themed room and pretend like they were bounty hunters in George Lucas’ expansive universe. However, the experience was prohibitively expensive, averaging out to around $1600 per person, and Disney didn’t get the engagement they were expecting. At that price point, it’s definitely not surprising that the venture failed, and even bringing on the adorable Grogu and the cool-as-ice Mando probably wouldn’t have changed much.
Apparently, the Mandalorian theme idea wasn’t the only idea to save the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser from going defunct. They also considered giving tours of the experience for those visiting Disney World — for an additional price. Overall, it kind of seems like Disney was assuming only the super-rich were coming to visit their theme park and hotels.
While the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was probably a cool experience, the juice doesn’t seem worth the squeeze. Fans can still enjoy the Galaxy’s Edge area of Disney World, but it seems unlikely that Disney will revisit the immersive hotel concept anytime soon. Especially because it’s estimated that the losses from the project are around $1 billion.
Fortunately for fans, there are other ways to enjoy the Star Wars universe at a much more reasonable price point. A Disney+ subscription, for instance, will give fans access to all of the content they’ve made so far, along with the anticipated upcoming shows like Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, The Acolyte, and Andor Season 2. Most recently, the platform dropped the second season of the animated anthology Star Wars: Visions, the second season of The Bad Batch, and the third season of The Mandalorian.
Not too far in the future, fans will also be able to visit the Star Wars universe on the big screen once again. After the critical disappointment of The Rise of Skywalker, fans were unsure when the franchise would be brought back to theaters again. However, Disney surprised everyone with a sweeping announcement of its upcoming film slate.
Amongst the upcoming Star Wars movies are a movie that will see Daisy Ridley’s Rey attempting to start a new Jedi Order 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, a Dave Filoni-directed film that ties together Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and a movie about the origins of the Force. These all seem a little more interesting and exciting than a Galactic Starcruiser hotel. Also, it presumably won’t cost over a grand to see them.
