They didn't add the Borg Encounter until years after we went. I didn't realize the quality dropped off that much towards the end, that's a shame. Does this have the full immersive storyline, because that was the thing I really loved about The Experience. I thought it was cool the way they basically made you a part a never before seen episode of TNG.
Ah, no thanks. I don't mind watching someone else's experiences on You Tube. But considering the cost and other issues, I don't think I would ever have the desire to cough up money for the experience myself.
Disney is very upset that the galactic cruise isn't doing great. The problem is it's a concrete bunker with no windows and not a very good hotel. It's also a heavily roleplaying focused "experience" that not many people are going to be wanting to do. I mean, it doesn't even have a pool and you will miss a lot if you take any time to rest. Sort of like a flying car, it's a terrible plane and a terrible car versus a great either
During the life of it's ride, the cost of Star Trek: The Experience ranged from $12 to $25 dollars. Lunch at Quark's was extra.
No, they're not. The Starcruiser is doing fine. There was exactly ONE clickbait article that was utterly unsourced that simply assumed it wasn't doing well based on nothing and had a typically misleading bullshit headline. The starcruiser is supposed to be inside. Not sure what the "bunker" complaint is all about. And the reviews by actual people who have gone (as opposed to idiot youtubers with their knives out) are overwhelming positive. It's not supposed to have a pool. It's not a hotel, it's a live interactive theater/game. Don't go if you don't want to play, period. But don't complain that it's something that it's not.
Cruise ships have pools. They could have built indoor pools and hot tubs. It easily could have incorporated landing on a planet as part of the experience and have a big dome painted with an artificial sky and projections of suns, moons, moving clouds, flying creatures, storms, fireworks, distant stars at night, ships and fighters, etc. and an exotic beach, artificial rocks and hills, tropical plants, and a giant wave pool for guests to relax in and not feel so cooped up. You can simulate rain with sprinklers and wind with fans if you want to develop a story around an event in a storm. Like this but not as large and with the artificial backdrop covering the whole dome. Think Truman Show but on a smaller scale.
If I was pretending to be on a spaceship I'd expect to be staying in a bunker-like environment. Surely that's part of the experience? Also, $3000 a night. Fuck them. When did Star Wars become the province of the super rich?
Yes, if I'm staying in a Corellian Corvette. But if I'm staying in a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, I expect better.
Disney has multiple hotels right there. It's not like you can't stay in one that has all those things. Its just not going to be the one that's suppose to be based on a fictional star liner that's suppose to cater to multiple different galactic species. The fictional ship is only suppose to be 300 meters long (a Corellian design). Its also over 200 years old, so if Disney wants to revamp it for a High Republic setting, they can. But it would not be nearly as opulent as a Mon Calamari designed star liner that is over 1,000 meters long and rather humid inside.
The point of the starcruiser is not to chill out in a friggin' pool. It's to play an immersive, all-encompassing game. There's a million places you can go to go to a pool. Landing on a planet IS part of the game. Landing in Galaxy's Edge. Which is a star wars planet. It's not actually supposed to be "live a luxurious cruise that happens to be in SW." It's "be on a star wars ship when adventure and intrigue happen and you're a part of it." Why the hell would you want to relax in a pool when you can be living an adventure story? Yes, they "could have" made it something else entirely. That wasn't the point. Are you pissed off that there isn't a hot tub when you go to the movies?
I'm not "pissed off" about anything, but you certainly seem to be for inexplicable reasons. Relax. Even if I was medically capable of going on it, which I'm not, I couldn't afford it, and even if I could, I wouldn't shell out such an obscene amount of money for it, no matter how enjoyable it may be. I can go through the whole experience vicariously through YouTube videos anyway. So I'm not coming at this from the angle that it's something I was planning on visiting and demanding more, I was just making an observation about how they could have offered some other amenities for the guests without breaking the immersive environment. What if you get there and realize by day two that you're not feeling up to playing the game today and just want to chill out while the rest of the family goes to play? You can stay in your windowless, TV-less room, or you can relax by the wave pool on a lounge chair on an alien beach. I'm well aware that the ship "lands" at Galaxy's Edge, which has nothing to do with my point that they could also have "landed" at a planet with a beautiful tropical resort. Most cruise liners visit multiple ports of call along the way. It's not a big deal for me, but I like working out how you could make a cooler Star Wars amusement park and immersive adventure like the starcruiser.
Again, the point of the starcruiser is not to "relax in the pool" on day two. If you're not up for the game, you really shouldn't go, full stop. You certainly CAN choose not to participate, but what would be the point of spending all that money to not engage? It's dumb to try to turn it into something it's not. And you can always leave and spend the entire second day in the parks if you're really that offended by it. One of the closest analogies to the experience would be something like baseball fantasy camp. But if you're not a baseball fan, why the hell would you spend thousands of dollars to do it? And would you be upset that you couldn't go water skiing for half of the length of the camp? No. Because it's not about water skiing, it's about playing baseball. The starcruiser isn't about relaxing in a pool. It's not "missing" anything because it doesn't have a feature that has no purpose. If that's what you want, literally every single resort in disneyworld has a pool. Have at it.
I was thinking the other day Disney could have made something a many times cooler and more affordable with the money and space it's squandered on this nonsense: namely, the opportunity to star in a 15-20 minute Star Wars short film. Consider the Star Trek Adventure, which ran at Universal Studios Florida from '91 to '96, and which, using only a blue screen and some rudimentary props and costumes, let people star in a short flick featuring the TOS cast: Now imagine doing something like that with today's technology. Instead of a fuzzy VHS with primitive and obvious compositing, you'd get a razor-sharp HD image, a personalized Blu-ray and case, and a code that lets you and your friends stream your story from the Disney+ app worldwide. Imagine how easily digital doubles, paired with deepfakery, could insert you into action sequences, augmented with a few minutes' worth of reaction shots filmed in person. Picture how smaller versions of the LED sets used in The Mandalorian could produce cinema-quality lighting effects for that scene on the alien planet. You could read your lines off strategically placed Teleprompters, or be a badass and memorize them beforehand in order to give your best possible performance. AI-powered rotoscoping would let you wield lightsabers that look nearly as good as those ones in the movies, and immersive game engine technology in the studio would give you tangible visual cues that make you a natural action performer during the battle sequences. (When you drove the flight stick portside, the starfield moved in perfect unison.) Large parts of the filming process (reaction shots, expressions, voice-over, etc.) would be automated, thereby reducing costs, but some bits (the more dialogue-heavy stuff) would be overseen by in-person guides. For, say, $300 or so, you could spend 4-5 hours shooting a handful of scenes, and customize the story: do you escape by the skin of your teeth? Go down in flames as a heroic martyr, as your comrades vow to never forget you? Sell out your cause, and live in shameful luxury? Or perhaps discover a conscience, and suddenly throw your lot in with what's right, as your peers become enemies? Over time, if the attraction is a hit, digital sets featuring fresh environments would make for an ever-improving and diversifiable experience. New locations and storylines would be introduced, and older ones would be phased out. Across multiple visits, you could reprise your role for a sequel or prequel. Spend a few minutes filming extra material, and you might cameo in a friend's movie, even if they film their story at a park continents away and years later, either reprising your own character, or as a whole new one. Maybe you brought a significant other to the park? Include them, too. (Due to war-themed content, however, all performers must be 21 and over, with exceptions for service members.) For those with physical/health limitations, moreover, as much action stuff as necessary could be deepfaked. Once you've done your time in the studio and are back at the hotel, if you so choose (no pressure), you can review and choose your own best line deliveries in the comfort of your room. (Alternatively, the guides can do this for you.) Customize your character's starship's design (or maybe you did that days ago), and let the rendering/assembly complete overnight. For a truly memorable finish to your time in the spotlight, book a time to screen your movie for family and friends at the hotel, or even in a corner of Galaxy's Edge itself, in a specially built theater with cinema-quality projection and sound. (And if you ever go on a Disney cruise, your adventure is automatically brought along, for similar screenings at sea.) Of course, before turning in after that hard day's work, you took a nice, hot bath... but you couldn't help wondering just what that "hair-raising mishap on Razell" your character mentioned was about. So, you make a quick selection on the datapad before bed, and the next morning, an astromech droid delivers a freshly printed paperback telling the whole thrilling story, with your character's unique name, physical description, etc, for the trip home. Did your character make a sudden change of side in the movie? Or maybe another character noted how your character is particularly known for their recklessness or caution? Well, with this novella, it all makes sense. ---------------------------- Now, tell me that those few hours of admittedly pricey but still affordable activity wouldn't be far more memorable and enjoyable than an awkward 2+ days of LARPing that, rather than being as cinematic as the movies and shows, was heavily sanitized (because Galactic Starcruise is a family-friendly war experience, after all), and didn't let you take a nice swim and explore the rest of the parks the day after, as this one does. Go on, try.
Neither sounds enjoyable. Both involve spending money and interacting with strangers. If I'm going to do it then absolutely it better be family friendly!
Because that's literally impossible.....? But, sure, if we're just skyhighing absurd notions untethered to reality, why not? Sounds fun.
^ "Untethered to reality"? It's an imagined attraction, obviously, but the technology is very real, and, given enough users, I think costs could be contained to a sustainable level.
That just sounds way for complicated for places like the Disney Parks, and I can't see a lot of younger kids, who are really the target audience for this kind of thing, having the patience to go through all of that. That sounds more like the kind of thing that would work better as it's own completely separate, adult oriented expierence. Someone mentioned baseball fantasy camp up thread, this would probably work better as an adult oriented Star Wars movie production fantasy camp. The appeal of Galactic Starcruiser is that you are basically spending 2 days living in the Star War universe, and I really can't see anyone who is a big enough fan to spend $6,000 on that not being willing to go through the whole experience. They've been very open about what this and what you're doing when you go there, so if anybody goes into it not knowing exactly what they're getting into to, that's their own fault, not Disney. And yes, if I had enough money to spend $6,000 on something like this, I would be there in an instant, ready to side the Resistance, and help them fight The First Order.