Disney’s Star Wars Hotel, aka the Galactic Starcruiser, was a fully immersive, 2-day, 2-night adventure that brought guests into the Star Wars world.
Guests could be as involved in the story as they’d like, or sit back and watch it all unfold — but after only 18 months of operation, the Star Wars hotel closed. Executives cited operating costs as a primary reason for the closure. The Galactic Starcruiser has officially been closed for one year — and yet we can’t help but still be surprised by this one thing.
September 30th, 2024 marks exactly one year since Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel closed for good. The immersive hotel experience was only in operation for 18 months before closing its doors.
After the Star Wars hotel closed, Disney Parks and Experiences chairperson Josh D’Amaro chalked the Star Wars hotel’s main fault up to the high ticket price per voyage but said that it was still a learning opportunity for the company.
He said, “Those learnings are being employed on the next experiences, which we haven’t even announced yet.” This could mean more immersive hotel experiences are on the way for Disney, but ultimately we aren’t privy to exactly what Josh means.
This brings us to today and why we’re still surprised by the hotel’s closure. Well, ultimately, we’re shocked that Disney has yet to announce plans for this space. As of now, the former Star Wars hotel is just sitting empty — waiting for something new. What that “something new” might be remains to be seen.
Disney could be making adjustments to address the cost issues that led to its closure, or they could scrap the area altogether and build something new. The most cost-effective option would likely be to retrofit the space with something still Star Wars-related, but we have no indication of what Disney really plans on doing.
If you ask us, we think it would be awesome if Disney kept the hotel the way it was and continued the immersive, escape room-like experience in the Star Wars universe — there is just so much to explore there! But, unfortunately, it’s not up to us, so we’ll have to wait and see.
If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!
In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for any announcements from Disney about what might potentially be in store for the former Star Wars hotel. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars so you don’t miss the latest news.
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Did you ever stay at the Star Wars hotel? Tell us in the comments.
When the two years are up and Disney has written off all $800 million in deprecation, it will open again.
Need proof? Nothing has been touched inside the hotel, and the signs on the road are still up.
It’s coming back. Not the same way, but it will be back.
One down, one to go.