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Credit: DisneyThe Galactic Starcruiser is no more. Sure, it still has some more cruises, but later this year, Disney is letting go of their expensive Star Wars experience, and here’s how it could help Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Related: Disney Finally Responds To Massive Galactic Starcruiser Cancellations
The price of the Galactic Starcruiser isn’t an understatement. Families paying thousands just for a two-day immersion trip through the Star Wars galaxy might seem fun, but it’s not a price most can afford or justify spending.
Even the drinks for the Starcruiser can be a couple of thousand, causing fans to second guess why Disney charges so much for a luxury cruise meant for children. It’s not an easy answer, but it’s clear that The Walt Disney Company missed the mark on creating an experience for all Star Wars fans, which can still be done.
What Happened With the Galactic Starcruiser?
$5,000 visits aren’t cheap, and with reports that the cruiser had terrible technology and customer service, Guests who could afford the trip decided it was best to spend their money elsewhere. This led Walt Disney Resort to send discounts to selected Guests, like Annual Passholders and Disney Visa cardmembers, which might seem like a good enough deal to go.
Sadly, the number of Guests for the Galactic Starcruiser plummeted, and the cruise was forced to significantly reduce the number of voyages. Over time, things started to look better after Disney promised big things for the cruise, but the number of Guests and reception to Disney’s big Star Wars experience was lackluster, and now the cruise will have its last trip in September.
If Disney had invested this money and resources into Galaxy’s Edge, their main destination in the Parks for Star Wars, the company could’ve made Star Wars one of the selling points for why Guests should visit the Parks. Instead, Star Wars has become an exhausting expense when it could easily benefit Guests and the company.
Galaxy’s Edge Is So Close to Being Peak Star Wars
Related: Disney Wanted To Build More ‘Star Wars’ Hotels Before Its Permanent Closure
Batuu is amazing. It’s a destination full of fun shops and rides and provides Guests with the perfect experience for fans wanting a taste of Star Wars. Hondo Ohnaka takes you for a joyride in the Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction, and Rise of the Resistance is a must for any fan wanting to take on the First Order.
The problem is that Batuu is integrated into so many eras and stories inside Star Wars; it’s hard to believe that Disney could limit the land to only the sequel trilogy. Batuu has a distinct advantage over other attractions as several novels/comics tell stories set in other eras. Thrawn and Vader fought in Batuu while Anakin traveled through the planet at the end of the Clone Wars. The Empire has visited the planet here or there, and several iconic characters have passed the area, leaving the planet with plenty of fun cameos.
If Galaxy’s Edge only stays with one era, it hurts Disney. Any new Star Wars series released on Disney+ not set in the sequel era means one less opportunity to use the Parks to help promote what is happening. Somehow, the Mandalorian, Fennec Shand, and Boba Fett are the exception, but these visits don’t make sense. The characters don’t fit the sequel trilogy theme, but there’s one easy fix.
Every season, Disney decides to change the era. One season you have the First Order patrolling, while another season has the Empire. This allows other characters to walk around and give life to the planet in a fun way. While it might be tough for fans to believe that X-Wings and A-Wings were around during the Clone Wars era, it would help Disney include more promotion with their Star Wars projects and make more fans interested in visiting Galaxy’s Edge at different times of the year to experience a new era.
Exploring Other Destination With Rides at Galaxy’s Edge
Another thing Galaxy’s Edge needs to do is bring more rides to the land but not require each one to be set in the sequel trilogy. Having more flexibility can help diversify experiences and doesn’t have to ruin fans’ immersion. While Batuu is themed around a certain era, fans don’t expect every ride to continue a certain level of immersion.
There are still lines and corridors of conveniently placed easter eggs helping tell a story, but fans might be more eager to revisit if Disney could tell Star Wars stories set in any era. Having more rides set in different eras would help Guests have more reasons to visit the Parks and return to Galaxy’s Edge.
Galaxy’s Edge has potential with only two rides but fails to attract Guests for more adventures in Batuu because of the limited number of attractions. If the rides broke immersion and be set in different eras, like The Mandalorian and another one about the prequel trilogy, fans would be eager to have those different experiences, and it would help promote other Star Wars projects.
All In on New Star Wars at Galaxy’s Edge
Related: Future ‘Mandalorian’ Attraction Could Cut Disney’s Crowd Problem
The biggest thing about the Galactic Starcruiser and Galaxy’s Edge is that Disney needs to take time and promote all of Star Wars, not just one trilogy. One trilogy can’t save the franchise when fans watch content set in other eras. Suppose Disney wants to learn from the Galactic Starcruiser. In that case, it makes sense to have more diversification in Star Wars stories told in the rides and have select eras for different seasons to make Galaxy’s Edge feel more unique and special.
Doing this helps Guests experience more Star Wars while it keeps Disney from going all in on just one Star Wars era. Fans love different eras and will try to go when their favorite era is in rotation and even check out what is different if the Empire patrolled Batuu instead of the First Order. These interactions don’t have to be drastically different, but it could be enough for Guests to want to return just to experience each different one.
This proposed idea would require some serious resources. While it might not bring Disney thousands of dollars right off the bat like the Galactic Starcruiser, it will help fans be excited to enter Galaxy’s Edge, which in the long run would make the Star Wars-themed area one of the most valuable lands for Disney.
Do you want Disney to focus more on different eras for Galaxy’s Edge? Let Inside the Magic know what you think!