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Walt Disney World: Non-Theme Park Discussion

pluk said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Florida's Ron DeSantis threatens Disney with tolls and taxes

The threat comes days after Disney CEO called the governor's actions anti-business and anti-Florida.
www.bbc.co.uk

American politics is absolutely toxic, isn't it?
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The guy has painted himself into a corner, he can’t be seen to lose face and lose this ‘battle’ with Disney if he has sights on the White House, as that will make him look weak.

The irony of all this of course is he is a republican, who are meant to believe in freedom of speech, small government and deregulation - can’t see much of that going on here.
 
www.bbc.com

Disney sues Florida governor Ron DeSantis

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Disney alleges it has been the target of "government retaliation".
www.bbc.com

Disney has accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of organising a campaign of "government retaliation" in a lawsuit.
The new legal action sharply escalates the battle between the entertainment giant and the Republican politician.
The two sides have been fighting since Disney criticised a state law banning discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary schools.
The lawsuit came after state officials voided a development deal involving the firm's Florida theme park.
Disney said Mr DeSantis' steps to assert control over its operations threatened its business and violated its constitutional rights.
 
Disney have also cancelled their well advanced plans to move Imagineering from California to Florida. The plan was not particularly popular amongst affected cast members when it was announced, let alone since the recent issues between Disney and the Florida governor.

It’s a loss of $800m in investment for Florida.

Disney scraps $867m Florida plan amid Ron DeSantis feud https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65639132
 
Matt N said:
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is closing permanently on 28th September: https://wdwnt.com/2023/05/breaking-star-wars-galactic-starcruiser-closing-permanently-in-september/

I must admit, that surprises me; it feels like hardly any time since that hotel opened!
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Episode 2 Whatever GIF

Then again given how flawed the idea was in which you can't visit the parks if you stayed at it with a huge price tag to stay there, it was just doomed from the very start and given how damaged the Star Wars brand has been handled by Disney, you could argue the writing was on the wall for a long time.

Ironic, as Sub Terra reopens, Galactic Starcruiser closes! :p
 
Seemed such an odd idea, a massive live action roleplay priced to the point were almost no one who'd be into that sort of thing could possibly afford it.
Or worse you do save up to do it and go all in and end up surrounded by people who've done it because they've been told its the thing to be done and they don't understand what it is.

Feels like it seemed destined to end up this way but you worry now if Disney get cold feet about doing anything different like this ever again.
 
I think it was unfortunately priced so high because it was an incredibly expensive 'experience' to run.

Firstly the sheer number of cast members required - around 15 characters and then operational cast members too (admin, transport, F&B/dining, housekeeping). There were also a 'B' round of cast members in case of sickness and to cover rotations (remember each cast member had to work for the full 3 day experience too!).

Plus then most of the character positions were 'highly skilled' performers who commanded higher wages, and took a long time to train and upskill. They lost a few of the main characters after the first couple of months as cast members realised it wasn't for them too.

And then the fact there was only 100 rooms which if they wanted to expand would either massively dilute the experience or require more cast members... Disney just couldn't make it profitable, cheap and successfull at all.

I've thought for some time that it was inevitable it was going to be wildly changed or maybe even closed. I expected them to tweak and play with the format a lot more to try and see if there was a winning combination, but I can see why they have not too, as I think anything would be a massive compromise to the experience which Disney just won't do for fear of tarnishing the brand - even Disney admitted that the experience had the absolute highest guest feedback ratings and scores across the whole of the WDW resort!

However, with declining numbers at the Starcruiser hotel recently (even cancelling some dates due to lack of bookings!), and people cutting back on spending and businesses generally suffering as a result, as well as an absolute collapse in guest numbers booking for WDW since the 50th anniversary ended (yeah I have no idea why people have stopped going since the 50th ended either!), I think Disney are trying to shore up and stem their losses quickly, and no doubt even drum up a bit of final demand for it with people knowing its going away for good.

It does feel like the whole thing has been a giant (and expensive) experiment however, from how much people would pay to the whole immersive 'storyline in a stay' concept, and all of the operational requirements too - I suspect they have gathered a lot of data about it and whilst they might not build something as the same concept again, it will likely lead to other greater experiences.

Bit gutted I never got to try it given it was such a unique experience, but equally it was well out of my price range too 😂
 
I can't help but wonder if Covid hadn't happened and the cruiser had opened shortly after Galaxy's Edge (when the world was in a better place) if this would have changed the outcome.

It's very sad to hear it's closing so soon as I do think what they were trying could have (and maybe still will) shape Theme Park experiences to come. It is the closest we can get to a Westworld experience, without building an army of unkillable robots that could doom us all...

I got to meet an Imagineer who worked on this project, and what they were trying to achieve (and in the most part sueded) really was next level.

Personally I'm not a Star Wars fan and likley would have never payed the full price for this experience. But I really wish I'd had the chance to experience it.
 
QTXAdsy said:
Then again given how flawed the idea was in which you can't visit the parks if you stayed at it with a huge price tag to stay there,
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The fact you couldn’t visit the parks while there comes up a lot but it’s irrelevant. The point was you followed the itinerary of the star cruiser and visited the Star Wars locations and entertainment. The price was that high as Joel said because it’s a fully themed weekend away and once there you are on the starcruiser, not at WDW.

Now maybe they will redesign it as a themed hotel like the other ones at WDW where it’s just a hotel without the additional entertainment, but the current product is not a hotel to use as a base for visiting other parks, it’s a full weekend of special entertainment.
 
A shame to hear it is closing, it did sound like a very unique and special experience. I quite like Star Wars but would not describe myself as a fan, but it is something I would have liked to give a go if money was out of the equation. It will be interesting to see what they do, or don't do, with the hotel going forward.

Also very pleased to hear that Imagineering are staying in their California home. Moving them over to Florida always seemed like a bad move.
 
The Starcruiser was such a niche experience. They were aiming it at people who were fans to the point of wanting to role play with characters for two days and dress up etc, who had $6000 to spend (before factoring in travel costs).

I guess it was more niche in terms of a market for that experience at that price point than Disney expected.
 
I think the price point was too expensive, even for Star Wars fans. Unless you’re a hardcore fan with lots of money to spare, or rich, the market for it was limited from the start.

The majority of paying customers likely treated it as a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience also, which will have further limited the lifespan of this experience.

Saying all that, it’s a great achievement by Disney, it’s a shame they haven’t tried experimenting with pricing/the structure of the experience (lowering it to a 2 day or even just 1 night experiences), although I guess they didn’t want to diminish the product. Probably a good decision to let it keep its legacy and close it now.
 
I don't think legacy plays into it for the company that made Cinderella 3.

The economics of the thing obviously didn't stack up. I wonder if they would have done pre-pandemic when they planned the thing in the first place.

Presumably it makes more sense to 'reimagine' it into something less captive under a new name / brand, rather than try and adapt what they already have under the same guise.

Hats off to them for trying something new, you do have the roll the dice sometimes in this industry.
 
It looked pretty interesting, but like many people it was so far out of my price range for a two night vacation that it might as well have actually been in outer space. It seems like that type of experience is probably dead for the foreseeable future, because if Disney can't make it work with Star Wars then the numbers probably don't work out under any circumstances.

I do wonder what the future of that building holds... without the immersive roleplaying it seems like a pretty bad deal, as if they turn it into a normal hotel then it's a normal hotel with no windows. If I'm at Disney World for a week then likely I'll pick a hotel with windows to the outside and just head to the reimagined Starcruiser to visit whatever interesting bars or restaurants they might have there.
 
I don’t think anything will happen with the building, other than mothballed, or perhaps used for storage or even possibly demolished or dismantled as it was built in modular form. The structure is far too niche to simply repurpose for another use like a hotel or accommodation.

I suspect this will also be because they would be able to write it off as tax relief and other business reliefs as a “failed” business, and all of the investment and costs of setting it up.

Hell it’s even rumoured that every attraction runs as a separate business entity for the same purposes of being able to limit damages and obtain reliefs, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all 😂
 
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