Star Wars: Galactic Starship (resort experience) News

[CampbellzSoup]

Then, just in case Disney is "listening", I wouldn't pay a dime more than $500 per person for this experience!

yeah make other plans then it’a going to be way out of that price range

 

[Searc]

$7200 for a family of four seems about right considering what people are willing to pay for a private guide...

..and DCL.

 

[clarker99]

Look at what couples spend for other all-inclusive weekend getaways. $5,000 might be pushing it, but $3-4,000 and I bet they stay booked years in advance.

Based on DCL comparables and higher end resort prices around WDW, I am gonna guess $4k-ish for a family of 4 for this experience.
It takes some high-end taste to get to $500/day per person.

 

[Runnsally]

..and DCL.

Based on DCL comparables and higher end resort prices around WDW, I am gonna guess $4k-ish for a family of 4 for this experience.
It takes some high-end taste to get to $500/day per person.

Given the size of the hotel, I would expect a price point of DCL concierge level or slightly above
$4,000 sounds low

 

[Searc]

$4,000 sounds low

DCL is about $1000 per person per day. I expect this to be at least twice that, if not more.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

(Puts on Johnny Carson turban) Can I join in the guessing game? Priced like a cruise, 1K PP per night for the first 2 guests in a room, then $500 PP per night for the second 2 guests in a room. So a couple would pay 4K for the experience and a family of 4 would pay 6K. To prevent groups of 4 adults from going in dorm-style for a discount, the 3rd and 4th guests will have to be under 18. There will be some kind of exclusive gift, one per room that people will hawk on eBay for crazy amounts, especially the gift for the 1st "cruise." Obnoxious social media people like the Bucket List family will fill up the first few cruises (comped, of course).

 

[clarker99]

$4,000 sounds low

Ha. I agree.

$1000 x 2 hotel per night
$230 x 4 Savi’s
$150 x 4 Droid Depot
$75 x 4 Galaxys Edge access
$100 x Oga’s 45min (1-2 drinks non specialty)
$225 x 2 Food/drink/snack per day (family)

= ~$4400
all just guesses ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[clarker99]

DCL is about $1000 per person per day. I expect this to be at least twice that, if not more.

I got a family of 4 on a 4day bahama cruise with 1 stop at Castaway cay in an oceanview deluxe stateroom at $6-6500k... that is just over $400 per person per day at the top end. Obv there are bigger rooms and pkgs but the rooms in the hotel look cool but not that big or luxurious? Pure guess from me on some quick math.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Have you been on DCL? I won't argue that it is more expensive than some cruise lines, but it isn't super-expensive by any means. And it offers a greater variety of things for families to do than other cruise lines. If you want to get on the ship and gamble or drink, there are definitely cheaper options. But if you want to enjoy things with your family, you would be hard pressed to have a better experience than DCL, and I might argue that you can't do it for much less.

We've been on several different lines over the last 15 years, and most of them charge extra per meal if you want anything other than the buffet, not so with DCL. We had amazing food (with great entertainment during hte meals) for nothing more than we paid to be on the boat. On NCL and Princess, we had to pay $15-25 per person per meal for anyhting other than the buffet. That added up quick, and cost more than our DCL in the end. And, DCL catered to all age groups of our kids, whereas our kids were bored quite often on the other ships. We travel with 3 families with 7 kids spreading across 10 years, so we have a decent sense of what the groups are going to enjoy. For families, DCL ended up being the cheapest once all costs were taken into account.

Just because the initial price is higher, doesn't mean the cost is higher. Bringing this back to the Star Wars resort, if you are including everything, you have a huge variation of possibilities. Are you going to staff it and boutique it like GF? Than I would expect $1,000 per night, but if they are going the next step and including everything, then I would guess $2,000 per person is the ballpark. Look at what couples spend for other all-inclusive weekend getaways. $5,000 might be pushing it, but $3-4,000 and I bet they stay booked years in advance.

I’m sorry, but I”m a gold status cruiser on NCL and what you’ve posted about them just simply isn’t correct. Every ship in the NCL fleet includes both a buffet and a main dining room table-service restaurant. The bigger ships have several. Most additionally include a pool level outside food place, and a pub food restaurant. Those are all included in the cost of your cruise fare. They all also have kids clubs and the bigger and newer ships have outdoor water parks, ropes courses, go-karts, etc. I certainly agree that DCL is nicer than NCL because DCL is closer to “luxury” while NCL is “mass-market,” but having cruised both, NCL is not the way you are describing it, and most of the activities and kids activities are included in your cruise fare, just like on DCL.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I got a family of 4 on a 4day bahama cruise with 1 stop at Castaway cay in an oceanview deluxe stateroom at $6-6500k... that is just over $400 per person per day at the top end. Obv there are bigger rooms and pkgs but the rooms in the hotel look cool but not that big or luxurious? Pure guess from me on some quick math.

Yeah, stating that DCL charges 1k per person per day is very much on the high side. I took a family of four on a 5 day canada/New England cruise out of New York 2 years ago on the Disney Magic in a VGT Balcony for like $3,500 total. It’s more like 1k per night for a family of four, not 1k per person per night, unless you’re talking about the concierge level.

 

[George4]

I’m sorry, but I”m a gold status cruiser on NCL and what you’ve posted about them just simply isn’t correct. Every ship in the NCL fleet includes both a buffet and a main dining room table-service restaurant. The bigger ships have several. Most additionally include a pool level outside food place, and a pub food restaurant. Those are all included in the cost of your cruise fare. They all also have kids clubs and the bigger and newer ships have outdoor water parks, ropes courses, go-karts, etc. I certainly agree that DCL is nicer than NCL because DCL is closer to “luxury” while NCL is “mass-market,” but having cruised both, NCL is not the way you are describing it, and most of the activities and kids activities are included in your cruise fare, just like on DCL.

And the main dining room has standard cruise fare. They call it freestyle and signature dining. Yes, the main dining room (which is fine, but nothing amazing) and the buffet are included. But, do you want the nice steak dinner restaurant? That's extra. Nice seafood dinner? Extra.

The kids clubs on DCL kept our kids so busy when they went in, that they didn't even want to leave due to the plethora of different and fun activities. On NCL, they were bored after the first day.

My point is valid, it just doesn't jive with what you are looking for in a cruise. Since DCL caters to a higher level expectation, similar to the Star Wars hotel, I would expect it to be in the price line. Just my thoughts.

 

[squirk]

So many variables on a DCL (or any carrier's) cruise when it comes to pricing. Booking date. Category of stateroom. Subcategory of stateroom. OBB. Castaway Club advance booking. The itinerary itself. Etc.

$1,000 per person per day is pretty high unless you're doing Concierge. But $500 per person per day is in-line with what I've experienced on my DCL 7-night verandah-cabin Caribbean cruises.

The fact remains, though, that I can usually book the same stateroom and same itinerary on one of the newer RCCL ships and pay anywhere between 25%-40% less. I recognize the "RCCL is cheaper on the base fares but nickles-and-dimes you along the way" perspective as a very valid argument, but I don't think factoring in the nickle-and-dime-ing fully closes the gap between RCCL and DCL pricing. You're still paying more for DCL, and the question for any cruiser is "Do you value the Disney brand enough to account for the price differential?" No right or wrong answer, of course. For my family, the answer is "yes".

All that being said, and back to the issue at hand, after factoring in all the experiences, like the LARPing characters, the missions, the bridge, the lightsaber training, etc. - SWGS sounds like it's going to be an equivalent-or-higher tier of experience than a DCL cruise. I would, in turn, expect an equivalent-or-higher tier of pricing than a DCL cruise.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I think I’d like to try this Experience and would likely pay the alleged going rates being bantered about.
But...I think it’d likely be a once and done kind of experience. I mean if they’re offering only a 2 day/night experience I think that’s all there is to the “ immersion”. So, unlike returning to ones favorite resort .. I think the charge will be High because most if not all, will do it once and go back to their favs!
Honestly, it made me feel claustrophobic just listening to the video, lol.

 

[Fangorn]

I think I’d like to try this Experience and would likely pay the alleged going rates being bantered about.
But...I think it’d likely be a once and done kind of experience. I mean if they’re offering only a 2 day/night experience I think that’s all there is to the “ immersion”. So, unlike returning to ones favorite resort .. I think the charge will be High because most if not all, will do it once and go back to their favs!
Honestly, it made me feel claustrophobic just listening to the video, lol.

Understand the sentiment. But assuming this whole concept is a success (however Disney will define that), there WILL eventually be multiple scenarios, special limited-time adventures, new characters and new technology to interact with. It will NOT be static. I will be very surprised if the storyline on opening day is still around on the first anniversary.

Steve

Steve

 

[gatour]

And the main dining room has standard cruise fare. They call it freestyle and signature dining. Yes, the main dining room (which is fine, but nothing amazing) and the buffet are included. But, do you want the nice steak dinner restaurant? That's extra. Nice seafood dinner? Extra.

The kids clubs on DCL kept our kids so busy when they went in, that they didn't even want to leave due to the plethora of different and fun activities. On NCL, they were bored after the first day.

My point is valid, it just doesn't jive with what you are looking for in a cruise. Since DCL caters to a higher level expectation, similar to the Star Wars hotel, I would expect it to be in the price line. Just my thoughts.

And if you want a nice Italian restaurant (Palo) that's extra. If you want a nice French restaurant that's extra.

However the idea of using DCL as a baseline for what they will be charging for the hotel is a good one.

 

[GabetrixDisney]

Does anyone want to take a guess and say when they think the actual price will be released?

 

[rteetz]

Does anyone want to take a guess and say when they think the actual price will be released?

Likely not until they announce the opening date/start booking.

 

[Runnsally]

And if you want a nice Italian restaurant (Palo) that's extra. If you want a nice French restaurant that's extra.

However the idea of using DCL as a baseline for what they will be charging for the hotel is a good one.

DCL concierge is the baseline. Order of magnitude more people on a cruise ship than this hotel.

 

[siren0119]

DCL concierge is the baseline. Order of magnitude more people on a cruise ship than this hotel.

Well, and factor in the idea of 24-hour entertainment. The crew members of the Halcyon will basically be putting on an improv show every minute guests are on board. Other than the "docking" at Batuu, what they will have to do is way more involved than activities coordinators on ship - IF it ends up being everything they've proposed it will be. And to get actors on board to perform to that level in rotating shifts around the clock for a few days, they'd have to pay pretty well.

 

[Fangorn]

... And to get actors on board to perform to that level in rotating shifts around the clock for a few days, they'd have to pay pretty well.
[/QUOTE

This, to me is the most likely point of failure for the entire concept.

DS#2 was an Entertainment CM for about 7 years before the low pay and poor personnel management practices drove him away (despite loving his work). This concept will require actors who can truly become a character for 48 hours and are highly talented at improv. Disney is not likely to get (and more importantly, keep) the quality actors they'll need to pull this off if they aren't willing to compensate the cast adequately. And that will take some significant internal changes at Disney, methinks.

It will also be a very large factor in the final cost of the experience.

Steve