It’s been almost two years to the day since the Galactic Starcruiser had its final voyage and closed its doors.
The final excursion for guests took place on September 28th-30th, 2024, and the building has remained closed ever since, leaving many guests wondering what would happen to it. Would it become a modified hotel experience, allowing guests to explore the epic areas without the same live entertainment factor that made the “cruise” so unique, but also as expensive as it was? Unfortunately, no — back in January 2025, Disney announced that the incredible space would be converted into offices for Disney Imagineering, and a permit for that construction was filed in late August. Now, construction is officially beginning, but what does that look like so far?
A recent photo from @bioreconstruct on X (formerly Twitter) shows an aerial view of what the building looks like currently.
While we can see what appears to be some building materials outside, it seems that any work so far is taking place inside, which makes sense, as much of the conversion may occur on the inside — we’re not sure how much outdoor construction we’ll see at this time.
The permit for this construction/transformation was filed back on August 27th, and lists the project as Project H. The permit comes with a one-year expiration and is assigned to Balfour Beatty Construction, which is a major contractor that Disney often works with on large-scale projects.
When Disney announced to the public why this particular offering didn’t work out, Chairman Josh D’Amaro noted that while the Starcruiser “represented a creative leap forward,” it“didn’t work commercially.” We also learned previously that “Walt Disney Imagineering will be using the building as a hub for several expansion projects coming to Disney World.” Sources also said that “several playtests were conducted in that part of the old Starcruiser building, with Cast Members filling in for paying guests. But the tests would be for a potential dining experience in the theme park, not in the Starcruiser building itself.”
So it’s possible we could see SOME resemblance to the Starcruiser return someday, but it would be on a much smaller scale, and very likely wouldn’t be the hotel/cruise type of offering that we saw not work out here. As Disney has said, this will work as a hub for Imagineers working on Disney’s upcoming projects. We can only imagine that many discussions about the Villains Land and Piston Peak lands coming to Magic Kingdom, as well as the new Tropical Americas/Pueblo Esperanza land in Animal Kingdom, and the Monsters, Inc. Land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, will be held in these offices.
More Recent Disney Construction News
- UPDATE: This Abandoned Disney World Spot Looks Totally Different
- NEW LOOK at Monsters, Inc. Land Construction at Hollywood Studios
- Universal Orlando Announces ANOTHER Lengthy Attraction Closure
- Disney Just Filed 2 NEW Permits For Hollywood Studios CHANGES
- Disney World Is Spending HOW Much On Their Newest Park Expansion??
Be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney Parks news and developments!
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How do you feel about this change coming to what used to be the Galactic Starcruiser? Tell us in the comments!
I’ll never understand Disney management on the ‘Star Wars’ hotel. Too expensive, too limited in experience, IE: difficult to keep the story line changing for repeat guests (one and done experience) not a large enough consumer base. Too bad it wasn’t converted into a Star Wars themed hotel. With a character dinner, perhaps.