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The Case for a Bust

Image: Disney / Lucasfilm

Just look at the comments on any of Disney's tweets or Instagram posts referring to Galactic Starcruiser and you'll learn a lot about fans' attitude toward this once-heralded project.

It probably all started with the price. While fans knew that the Starcruiser would undoubtedly command "cruise" pricing, even the most dreamy guesses fell short of the actual price tag: starting at $5,000 for two travelers in the off-season. (Disney lists only "starting" – aka "off-season" – pricing on the website; you must call to book.) That's a hefty price tag for a two-night stay, even including food, a day at Disney's Hollywood Studios, the "cruise" model.

Is it really a surprise that Bob Chapek's pet project is "one-percenter bait"? Not really... But the pricing is high enough to make guests wonder if the overlap of Star Wars fans and high rollers is big enough to keep the Starcruiser filled for not just years, but decades... Of course, keeping reservations filled got a lot harder once Disney started showing off what was inside... In fact, each subsequent peek into the unopened Starcruiser has yielded reception that goes from cringey-at-best to staggeringly negative.

Concept (above) versus reality (below). Images: Disney

Check out the "concept" vs. "reality" lineup above. The metallic, steaming, industrial (and very, very Star Wars) aesthetic promised in concept art seems to have evolved into a much cleaner, whiter, plastic style. Yes, it makes the Halcyon look like a high-priced "jewel" among cruiseships... but it sure doesn't look much like Star Wars. The internet was alight with screengabs, decrying the hotel was less Star Wars than Star Trek... or maybe even Space Balls. (It's not uncommon for Disney release concept art of a project long before its design or budget is finalized, so we advise you to never fall in love with concept art. That said, it's entirely possible that the hallway depicted in the concept art does exist on the ship!)

It got worse. One video that provided a glimpse into the ship's on-board entertainment (via a pop-music-singing lounge act) was so universally panned, Disney had it uniformally scrubbed from the Internet and weilds DMCA take-down notices against anyone who dares repost it in whole or part.

In what Disney no doubt believed would be a sensational marketing moment, Parks Chairman Josh D'Amaro pre-recorded a "sneak peek" visit to the ship for Disney's Destination D23 fan event in November 2021. That cringe-inducing tour (above) did more harm than good... The promised opportunity to command the controls of the Halcyon instead looks to be a screen-based blasting mini-game with several buttons, a joystick, and all the complexity of a game of Pac-Man – just one of the ship's interactives and experiences that looks tailored to elementary schoolers more than die-hard fans. 

Perhaps worst of all, the Lightsaber training experience that many suspected would be the ship's must-see centerpiece doesn't use floating, laser-blasting drone targets or the "real," show-only Lightsabers demonstrated by D'Amaro, but apparently the same "toy," training Lightsabers you'd find at Target and laser-pointer beams to slice.

Place Your Bets

Summer 2022 availability for Galactic Starcruiser as of January 2022. Image: Disney

Fairly or not, fans of both Disney and Star Wars seem to have turned on the Starcruiser in a big way. Once sold out for nearly all of its 2022 dates, reservations began to reappear as pre-booked guests backed out... And given the 20%, non-refundable deposit they'd put down to make their initial reservation, that means some guests decided they'd rather lose $1,000 and cut their losses than complete their planned "sailing." That appears to leave most of the Starcruiser's first summer with plenty of availability... a shocking turn of events for such a landmark project.

The question is, will those who backed out regret it once reviews return from the Halcyon? Will a surge of incredible images, videos, and experiences convince Disney and Star Wars' most devoted fans that this experience is worth saving up for? Or will the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser get added to our list of big-budget failures and flops outside of Disney's theme park gates? Place your bets, lock in your answer, and choose a side... and we'll soon see if you're right. 

 
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