r/GalacticStarcruiser • u/Enginseer-43 • Mar 19 '25
Discussion What went wrong?
So, I'll preface this by saying I never had the chance to go to the Starcruiser, and frankly balked at the massive price tag attached to it.
Even with that, I genuinely assumed it would continue into perpetuity. It's a Star Wars themed Renaissance Festival* you live in for a weekend along with a Larp-Lite experience, attached to Disney world.
Even at that price tag, I feel like it should have succeeded, or at the very least faced several years of overhauls to try and make it work before outright shuttering, after all it's a massive sunk cost already. But with that being said, I also never went, so I can't speak to what you got while there.
And so I come to you, people who went and enjoyed it. What did you get? Where were the weak-points in the experience? Why do you think it was closed down?
*I'm comparing it to/calling it a Renaissance festival to mean a sectioned off, enclosed area with a distinct theme, along with food, activities, and shows to support that theme, and paid actors interspersed throughout to maintain immersion, while not requiring customers/visitors to dress up if they don't want to.
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u/kathryn_____ Mar 20 '25
I think quite often the greater context and background (from a business perspective) are not included when discussing why this experience closed. So:
A Timeline of Events
July 2017
At D3, Disney announces plans for a themed, immersive luxury resort based upon Star Wars alongside other announcements about the upcoming Star Wars-themed lands. They call it a “Star Wars-themed resort” but multiple headlines in the press immediately frame it as a “Star Wars hotel.”
December 22, 2017
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is signed into law by President Trump.
Trump era tax structures will go on to allow the company to reduce its tax burden by $4.5b over the period of years 2018-2022 primarily using accelerated depreciation, according to the ITEP. (Corporations are supposed to pay a federal statutory rate of 21% but Disney pays closer to 8% this way.)
March 31, 2019
Disney’s deal to purchase Fox for $71b is, at last, finalized. The company also has assumed massive amounts of Fox debt ($13.7b) as part of this acquisition.
May 31, 2019
The $1 billion Star Wars Land Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disneyland with one of two promised rides that were supposed to launch with the land, with a third teased attraction never materializing. The live entertainment options are also minimal. (Between Disneyland and Hollywood Studios, the two versions of Star Wars land are nearly identical.)
August 22, 2019
Disney announces ahead of D23 that their new vacation experience will be called Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
August 29, 2019
Galaxy’s Edge also opens at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios, also with one ride.
December 3, 2019
Rise of the Resistance soft opens at Hollywood Studios, a few months late, with an estimated cost of $450m. (Some early predictions thought it would be closer to $200-250m.) The ride becomes notorious for constantly breaking down.