Disney's Fatal Mistake with the Galactic Starcruiser

The Walt Disney World Resort opened one of its newest hotels, the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser earlier this year.

Fans of the franchise were more than thrilled with this fully immersive experience. A two-night excursion that took Guests far, far away, partaking in missions, and meeting some of their favorite characters.

However, the $5,000 dollar price tag that came along with this has left some fans a bit upset.

Disney has been seeing a decline in bookings and a rather constant criticism of the whole experience.

Related: Disney World’s Costly Galactic Starcruiser Now More Like a Prison Than a Hotel

Breaking everything down, the Galactic Starcruiser is basically a two-day immersive larp with some escape room elements.

Was this supposed to be something new to compete with Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter?

Is so, why is the Wizarding World such a success where Disney is struggling?

One answer that seems obvious, is the price.

But is that really the answer? If it cost $5,000 dollars to have a fully immersive two-day experience at Hogwarts, Universal would constantly be sold out. Why is that?

Related: Things Not Going Well for Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser

Both Harry Potter and Star Wars have huge fan bases, nostalgia galore, and pop culture cache.

It’s a matter of who the biggest fans are of each genre.

The problem Disney is having is that their biggest fanbase for Star Wars is Gen X men. Guys who are now in their late 40s to mid 60s.

That demographic would drop $5,000 in a heartbeat (and a decent chunk of them have the disposable income to do so) to step into their favorite childhood franchise.

So, where did Disney make their mistake?

They set Galaxy’s Edge and the Galactic Starcruiser in the wrong Star Wars Era. They set it in the new trilogy instead of the original.

Guests don’t get to meet Darth Vader, or Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, or Han Solo. Instead, you’re meeting characters like Rey.

If Guests got to meet some of the original characters and have experiences with them instead, Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser would constantly be sold out.

What do you think? Which experience would you enjoy more?