Disney has learned the hard way that milking Star Wars for everything it is worth is not a good strategy. They've blamed the wrong people for movie failures and generally missed the mark with the launch of the Galactic Starcruiser. Natalie Sim at Theme Park Tourist now reveals that Disney is cutting back "sailings" for the Starcruiser.
The first sign that the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was in trouble was at the end of 2022 when the first discount was offered of 30% off original Points Chart values on select 2-night Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser adventures for Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members.
In January, Disney canceled a number of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser voyages for select dates in July, August and September due to low-occupancy. Those guests affected have been contacted and offered another date with a 50% reduction.
At the end of February we saw that Disney had made the decision to only offer one time for guests to sit down for dinner on the March 6 - 8 voyage rather than the usual two. Dinner has always been offered in two sittings as the dining room is not big enough to accommodate all guests in one go.
Occupancy has certainly dwindled in recent months for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and with this decision it again suggests that it is running at about 50% for certain voyages. We expect to see further voyages being offered with only one dining sitting each evening as we head through 2023.
Theme Park Tourist
Gee, I wonder why they're cutting back on Starcruiser dates and condensing dinners to a single session. Could it be the five THOUSAND dollar price tag? The writing was beginning to show on the wall about this time last year.
Disney will never admit it, but they absolutely flubbed the price of this experience. Star Wars fans probably number in the tens of millions. To expect people to shell out such a high amount of money for a two-night vacation is absurd. One of my earliest pieces on TimeMachiner contained this closer:
I can't foresee many people blowing this amount of money on a two-night experience. You can fly to nearly anywhere in the world WITH food & lodging for a longer period of time at that price tag.
TimeMachiner
Any reports I've read from people who've "sailed" have been positive and it's a top-notch experience. For five grand it better be. But how many times can you expect someone to repeat the sailing? Even further, how many times can Disney expect someone to repeat the sailing for another five grand?
Based on the schedule changes, the answer seems to be "not many".