Farewell Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Experience
A lot has been said lately about the decision to close the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser immersive experience… It seems to be the right time for me to share my thoughts about my journey in this intergalactic cruise and provide a strategic design point of view on how it was planned, designed and executed.
Although Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman, Josh D’amaro, stated that the experience did not reach the predicted revenue (it has only been a year and a half…), I believe there is more to this story. Disney has been going through a major budget cut since Bob Iger’s return (post-covid), constant legal battles with the Governor of Florida resulting in the closure of where it was going to be Imagineering HQ in Lake Nona and a decrease in Parks and Operations revenue. This all contributes to budget cuts in the organization in areas that are not considered “essential to the operations”.
Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser was, in fact, an innovation experiment that was short-lived in the magical land of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and… I was lucky enough to experience it.
Because of the pandemic, the initial voyages were delayed to early 2022 but the reservations started early October 2021, and I was there to book one of the first ones.
On October 8th, 2021 I received my confirmation ticket saying that I was going to “embark on an unforgettable journey into a galaxy far, far away.”
And it was unforgettable…for so many reasons!
I’m going to describe the ones that impressed me the most from a service design lens.
01
Passengers were invited to be part of an interconnected system of activities. These activities were designed based on a mix of digital reality orchestrated with physical objects and key moments — most of them were rooted in the element of surprise.
02
Set design was built by enough elements to spark the imagination, even though it was not actually space or a place in the galaxy. This eliminated the need to build a whole (size) ship.
"As you drive in, you do see a building that resembles structurally to a hotel…"
…You know that is not real but you accept it once you get inside. Your attention is captured by the details and elements that make the experience identifiable to Star Wars fans (key words, body languages, light fixtures, smell, music).
03
Highly controlled but “chaotically” designed adventure. Using a mix of gaming design with storytelling, voyagers choose their own adventure during their time on the ship. The story unfolds. You get acclimated by the actors and the mission as the time goes by.
The sense of immersion is an adoption curve — first, you realize that you can do individual things and then you start to interact with actors that give you clues and tasks to accomplish.
04
Improv Actors are trained to be full on character for the entirety of the trip. The same dedication from cast members. The ratio of cast members was one for every two/four people. Passengers also get assigned to the same table and waiters for main course meals establishing connections with those traveling.
05
Seamless transaction points. There is no “hotel lobby” or “hotel operations”. Bags go straight to your cabin and show up in your car when you leave. You don’t see cleaning staff, everything that would resemble a regular hotel experience gets removed from highsight. In addition, all money transactions are removed, everything is set up through the Mband (magic band with a fancy intergalactic name).
Stepping out of the immersive experience for a bit, from a backstage perspective, this set up takes place in building that has 100 cabins/rooms, with a total of 4 floors and three main entertainment areas – main entrance floor with the bridge aka control center- the dining room floor – that contains secret passages to the engine room – and a third area with bigger rooms for the jedi training and a simulation garden.
As far as the duration of intergalactic trip, it takes place through the course of three days — you arrive in the afternoon, spend the next day in full activity mode and the third day is a farewell brunch. This voyage can take up to 367 passengers at a time.
Additional thoughts and considerations
This experience was built with a target audience in mind, it is not for everyone. You are required to speak and read fluent English to be able to participate in some of the live activities. Once you went through this experience, the idea of coming back to do it all over again would work if passengers were able to choose a different mission, otherwise you already know what is going to happen at the end.
With all things considered, it became highly evident to me the effort and creativity that was required to keep this experience going. From the staff perspective, actors to cast members, being available throughout the trip becomes more than a 9–5 job, it takes commitment and passion to keep performing to different groups of people every two days. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that their training materials are 100+ pages long and filled with detailed instructions on how to interact with the audience that close and for that long.
When September 30th comes, this experiment will be over but I’m sure we are going to see some other attempts to bring other intergalactic adventures to life since the Star Wars universe keeps evolving and there are new movies coming out in 2026.
I end with a “bright suns” salutation to our Batuu population and all Chandrila passengers that shared for a brief moment this immersive adventure in a galaxy far far away! May the force be with you!
This post is based on my personal opinion and experience, it does not reflect my previous or current company’s point of view.
