Disney Takes US$250M Loss For Closing Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Hotel

In 2022, Disney launched the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Hotel. And just over a year later, the company announced the hotel’s closure.

Now, Disney did not reveal the reason for the hotel’s closure, but it did reveal the sheer scale of its failure.

The company reported earnings yesterday and while a lot of attention was paid to Disney+’s price hike and password sharing, the situation at Disney Parks is particularly interesting. Disney’s parks, experiences and products revenue went up 13% to US$8.3 billion, but the closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel meant that the company will be taking a US$250 million hit in accelerated depreciation. That’s nearly half a billion dollars.

Unfortunately, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was likely doomed from the start. The immersive experience and stay take visitors to a galaxy far, far, away, but its exorbitant rates are likely what caused visitors to go far, far away. A stay in a standard cabin for two costs US$4,809. On top of that, there are two other room types: Galaxy Class Suite and Grand Captain Suite. The bigger (and posher) the room, the more expensive it is.

A stay at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is just too expensive for the vast majority of fans. The reality is that most families will want to spend an entire week at a Disney Park and Resort, so US$5,000 for a weekend for two isn’t the most wallet-friendly.

Whether Disney will re-create another Star Wars-themed hotel following the failure of Galactic Starcruiser remains to be seen, but this is a good lesson for Disney to learn from moving forward. Hopefully, Star Wars fans will get the opportunity to experience a unique stay at Disney sometime in the future and it will, fingers crossed, be much more affordable.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will make its final voyage from 28 to 30 September 2023.