Disney is struggling to attract bookings for new Star Wars hotel which sees guests pay up to $20,000

Disney’s all-inclusive Star Wars hotel is trying to attract guests Starting in October, the hotel is only taking reservations for three nights a week Prices for a two-night stay at the Orlando hotel range from $5,000 to $20,000.

Disney is rearranging the hours of its billion-dollar Star Wars-themed hotel due to low demand.

The hotel, which opened in March 2022 in the Orlando area to much fanfare and sold “trips,” charges guests anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000 for an all-inclusive two-night experience in which they step into a story set in a galaxy. very very far.

The booking portal for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser shows reduced dates during October, November and December.

Starting in the fall, the hotel is open for reservations only three or four times a week. Many Disney and Star Wars fans have long been critical of the resort’s exorbitant prices and the fact that it is windowless.

Among the price gouging going on inside the hotel include $13 beers and $23 cocktails, as well as $99 for an official Star Wars-themed photo, The New York Times reported at the time the park opened.

Windowless Hotel Exterior $20,000 Disney Star Wars-Themed Orlando Stay On ‘The Bridge’, pictured, guests have the opportunity to experience what it would be like to operate the ship’s navigation and defense systems under the direction of the Bridge crew of the ship ‘. “We’re trying to make it safe and fun to play Star Wars,” said a representative from Walt Disney Imagineering The Glitzy Crown of Corellia Dining Room, pictured, features nightly musical entertainment from an intergalactic diva and the band In the Sublight Lounge, In photo. visitors can play a round of sabbac, a card game set in the Star Wars universe.

In January, it was reported by various Disney blogs that the company was offering discounted hotel rates for $700 to Disney Vacation Club members who also stayed at another Disney hotel for two nights.

The cut dates for the Galactic Starcruiser were first reported by Theme Park Tourist. The website said travel agents were informed of the changes in an email from Disney.

‘When the journey calendar is live, you may notice that the timetable has been modified to offer two journeys per week, with the exception of holiday weeks where we may have three journeys. We have learned a lot during our first year of operation and have adjusted our travel dates to meet the needs of our guests,” the email said.

The two-night rate includes a trip to Disney’s Star Wars theme park Galaxy’s Edge.

In May 2022, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek told Forbes that customer interest in the hotel was “phenomenal” and that ratings were “extraordinarily high.” He referred to keeping the Starcruiser at ‘100 per cent utilization until 2022.’

At the end of 2022, Disney was offering discounts between 30 and 50 percent. This came after the company canceled several Starcruiser ‘trips’ last summer.

In December, Disney deleted a promotional video featuring the hotel from its official YouTube channel and Twitter page due to negative reviews from guests.

“‘Light saber training’ seems about as exciting as a road sobriety test,” one tourist said, according to the New York Post.

Another said: ‘It’s too expensive.’

Official reviews have varied, a CNBC review described it as worth the price as it requires ‘immersion into a new meaning’. While a San Francisco Chronicle reviewer complained about the rooms calling them like a ‘suburban high school built in the mid-1970s’.

At the time of writing, customers can book virtually every night on Starcruiser until September 2023.

Walt Disney recently opened its Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience in Florida, which places guests in a story set on the spaceship Halcyon. Above is one of 100 Starcruiser cabins that guests can stay in A Starcruiser cabin with bunk beds. The first-of-its-kind adventure is pricey, starting at $4,809 for two guests A space droid greets guests in the Starcruiser’s atrium. Disney designers hope visitors will embrace the opportunity to play a role in the fictional world created by George Lucas. Guests at Halcyon can interact with Han Solo’s furry sidekick Chewbacca (pictured second from left) and meet new characters. Guests can shop clothing in a galaxy of fashions at the Chandrila Collection boutique, pictured above Rey (left) battles Kylo Ren (right) during a performance that is part of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience

The designers said the Starcruiser experience takes elements from gaming, theater, storytelling and hospitality. Matt Martin, senior creative executive at Lucasfilm Story Group, called it “immersive theater meets a cruise.”

Just like a traditional cruise, all guests board at the same time. A captain and cruise director offer a welcome, but things go awry when Stormtroopers show up. The characters ask visitors for help, prompting them to decide to join the Resistance or the evil First Order.

“You can choose to lie to a character, you can help them, you can gain their trust, you can double-cross people,” said Ann Morrow Johnson, executive producer and creative director for Walt Disney Imagineering. “And you can really continue that relationship with them as you want your story to unfold.”

Star Wars costumes are encouraged. To dress for the occasion, guests can step into the Chandrila Collection, a boutique on the ship that sells clothing in a galactic fashion.

Above is the bento box lunch served on the Halycon – one of the ship’s galaxy-inspired food and drink offerings One of the treats guests can look forward to trying during the immersive experience

Guests can then wander through the ‘Engineering Room’ before heading to the ‘Bridge’ where they will have the opportunity to experience what it would be like to operate the ship’s navigation and defense systems under the direction of the crew.

Additionally, crew members are on hand to provide training on how to handle a lightsaber.

When evening falls, the exquisite crown of the Corellia dining room offers nightly musical entertainment from a diva and intergalactic band.

At the Sublight Lounge cocktail bar – which is suitable for all ages – visitors can play a round of sabbac, a card game set in the Star Wars universe. Or they can relax in the atrium without any pressure to participate in the story, the creators said.

A selection of drinks served in the Sublight Lounge cocktail lounge

And once guests retire to their bedrooms, they can gaze out at the “window into space” that’s built into the walls of each cabin, offering views of “spectacular spaceships and galactic vistas.”

“We’re trying to make it safe and fun to play Star Wars,” said Scott Trowbridge, portfolio creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering.

“If you want to lean back and wear some galactic finery and cosplay, that’s totally fine,” Trowbridge said. “But also if you want to sit back, put on your Star Wars t-shirt, have a cocktail and watch the planets go by, that’s fine too.”

The company did not disclose what it spent to build the experience, which was in development for more than six years. But executives said they adhered to Disney’s famous attention to detail and aimed to create a high-tech luxury experience.

With Starcruiser, “there’s a significant investment, not just in this particular version that we’re launching, but also in the underlying technology and capabilities that we’ve developed,” Trowbridge said. “We’re good at expanding the ways in which we can engage with our guests.”

Chapek was fired after company executives lost confidence in his leadership skills

In January, reinstated Disney CEO Bob Iger began offering lower ticket prices and more benefits as he tries to win back loyal fans who accused the company’s theme parks of being a “money grab.”

At Disneyland in Anaheim, park-goers will now have more days throughout the year, where one-day passes will cost $104 — a special ticket price that was usually limited to a few school days in the winter and spring. A regular ticket on other days will set people back $179.

Park-goers will also receive complimentary ride photos and park jumping rules have been relaxed – allowing guests to explore from 11am as opposed to 1pm.

At Disney World in Orlando, parkers will receive attraction photos with the purchase of Genie+, and hotel guests will have free overnight parking — which can cost up to $25 per day. Annual holders arriving after 2pm will also no longer be required to book Monday to Friday.

When Iger, who had served 15 years as CEO and retired in February 2020, returned to the job in November, he promised to work on the company’s creativity and profitability and return to its “core values.”

Fans have spent the last two years complaining about problems at the parks, including two price increases in 2022 alone.

“Disney sends out surveys all the time, and they really pay attention to those surveys,” said Don Munsil, president of the travel website MouseSavers.com. “These are all things that fans have complained about,” said Munsil.

In January, reinstated Disney CEO Bob Iger began offering lower ticket prices and more benefits as he tries to win back loyal fans who accused the company’s theme parks of being a ‘money grab’ Chapek was criticized for not condemned the bill and tried to quell the backlash. with an arrears statement for staff

Iger’s predecessor, Chapek, was fired after company executives lost confidence in his leadership. And anger against him became so common among the guests that they often wore shirts that read “Chapek killed magic” and other slogans against him. Some Disney visitors even started referring to broken or crashed rides as ‘Chapek’d’.

Disney also raised ticket prices twice as of October 2021, with one-day tickets as high as $244 for a one-day park pass.

In January, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reignited the battle to remove Disney World’s self-governing power in the latest blow as part of an ongoing battle between the company and the state.

The overhaul began with the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill – it would also have forced the company to pay off $700 million in unsecured debt that could otherwise have been paid by taxpayers.

Since 1967, Disney has been responsible for governing an area known as Reedy Creek, which is partially within Orange and Osceola counties.

Critics say the deal gives the firm special legal and tax privileges.

Last week, a notice posted on the Osceola County website said legislation would be introduced to create a state-controlled board for Reedy Creek.