When Walt Disney (dis) – Get the Walt Disney Company report Released plans for a Star Wars hotel, fans were euphoric at what this might entail. Expectation and expectations are so incredibly high that it is almost impossible for actual reality to live up to what people had hoped the experience would be. That, combined with a price tag of around $5,000, led to an inevitable backlash when Disney began showing footage of the actual hotel/immersive experience.
Once Disney started showing what Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser would look like at Walt Disney World in Florida, they got frustrated and many early reservations were canceled. It would likely happen if the company showed anything less than its ability to make guests force-sensitive while giving them their Wookie best friend.
The theme park giant faced the same kind of backlash when Star Wars: Galaxy Edge opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland. The first groups of guests had their own ideas about what the park grounds should look like. This made anything other than what was in their imagination disappointing.
Over time, negative reviews reset expectations and consumers entered Galaxy’s Edge with a more realistic outlook. This is likely to happen with the Galactic Starcruiser’s two-night trial, which went live in early March.
Disney probably has a big winner
Over the past few months, the media has been paying a lot of attention to people who canceled their Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser trial. This is framed as having to do with people who don’t like what Disney came up with, but the truth is that the price plus the pandemic is likely to make a lot of people feel cold.
Now that the first people got to experience the immersive two-day Star Wars experience, Twitter comments are looking positive, including from some popular Disney bloggers.
And while there was plenty of skepticism before anyone actually experienced Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, the world of Disney vloggers, some of whom paid for the experience, seems to be very impressed with it.
The praise, as you might imagine, wasn’t general (because when is it always, especially when Star Wars is involved).
Disney really rarely fails
Disney’s latest biggest stumble may be “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” a movie that “bombed” at the box office compared to expectations. The truth is, “Solo” made nearly $400 million worldwide from its theatrical release. This is a financial loser for sure, but it’s hardly a no-brainer compared to the major failures of other studios.
Yes, “Solo” lost money in theaters, but it may have made a profit from secondary markets, live broadcasts, and commercial bonding. Star Wars is arguably too big to fail, and recent history – including a whole host of new attractions in the theme parks – suggests that the reality of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser may not live up to what people imagined, but it likely will make for an experience very strong.
Is that worth $5,000? Are theme park tickets worth over $100 a day? Is the $6 churro a good value? How about a $16 adult drink?
For Star Wars fans, the answer will likely be yes and that’s predictably good news for Disney contributors.
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