When Florida's Walt Disney World announced plans to open a Star Wars-themed hotel, there was a huge amount of excitement among fans of the franchise.
Unfortunately, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was met with mixed reviews from the start. With trips starting at $4809 for two guests in a standard cabin and going upwards of $6000 for a family, it was out of reach for many visitors.
Its offerings were also hit-and-miss with the supposed immersive experiences boiling down to games primarily aimed at children and roleplay interactions that would only really appeal to the most hardcore of Star Wars fans.
Now, Disney has confirmed (via SFFGazette.com) that the Galactic Starcruiser will close permanently on September 28.
"Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our Guests and recognized for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment," the company said in a statement. "This premium experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and we will take what we’ve learned to create future experiences that can reach more of our Guests and fans."
"We are so proud of all of the Cast Members and Imagineers who brought Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to life and look forward to delivering an excellent experience for Guests during the remaining voyages over the coming months."
Occupancy has plummeted in recent months, with Disney struggling to fill even a single dinner service. Looking at recent YouTube reviews, the hotel looks near-deserted, thereby making the experience guests are paying for more than a little underwhelming.
It was a clever idea that used a lot of groundbreaking technology, so it's a shame this didn't pan out. What Disney will do with the property remains to be seen, but it doesn't sound as if it has a serious future.