The most notable failed Disney World project in recent years is the failed Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel which had its final voyage in 2023. Since then the immersive Star Wars-themed hotel, complete with restaurant, has sat vacant.
Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was an interactive multi-day experience that was similar to a cruise in terms of pricing and gave guests the chance to immerse themselves in the world of Star Wars. Of course, this experience came with a pretty high price tag which is ultimately one of the likely reasons for its failure.
Fans have been rightfully curious on what Disney might do with the failed project and we finally got that answer today…. although it isn’t exactly what we were hoping for.
Disney Will Transform Star Wars Hotel into Imagineering Offices
READ MORE- Why Did Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Hotel Fail?
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We now know how Disney will use the Star Wars hotel space. There were plenty of different fan ideas on how to redo the area including turning it into a dining experience that “takes off” from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios, converting it into an actual hotel (this would have been difficult because the original property lacked amenities), or relaunching this existing experience. More on this below.
Today we learned that Disney is moving forward with a different decision. They are going to convert the $1 billion dollar hotel into offices for Walt Disney Imagineering, the group of creatives responsible for all design decisions around the Disney theme parks resorts.
According to the original reporting from The Wrap, sources close to Disney reported that Walt Disney Imagineering will be using the building as their main hub for many of the expansion projects coming to Walt Disney World.
This includes the highly anticipated Tropical America area in Animal Kingdom along with the “Monsters, Inc.” land in Hollywood Studios. Both of these projects have already seen progress at Walt Disney World with the closure of DinoLand, U.S.A. and the announcement of Muppet*Vision 3D’s closing date.
This news was first reported by The Wrap.
Future of Star Wars Hotel Offers No Guest Access
This news squashes earlier rumors that had been circulating that the building might eventually be accessible for guests for a dinner experience in the hotel’s restaurant. This might have also just been wishful thinking for many of us.
But the location isn’t exactly easy to get to as part of the previous “hotel experience” included a trip to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge via ” space shuttle” which was essentially just small transport vans. The hotel wasn’t built with close access to Hollywood Studios making it tricky to transform it into an extension of that theme park. Those shuttles only carried small number of guests which doesn’t exactly work well if you want to use this hotel as a dining experience for many guests to visit daily.
This is disappointing news for many that hoped that Disney wouldn’t give up on the hotel and make it an experience that was more accessible for all guests. Kudos to Walt Disney Imagineering though as I can’t even begin to dream of a cooler office space to work in.
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