In Its quarterly earnings call last week, Disney announced that it had lost $250 million when it was forced to scrap its Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel. Given the hotel had only 100 guest rooms, the loss would work out to about $2.5 million per room for the project.
Billed as a one-of-a-kind “Star Wars” fan experience, a Galactic Starcruiser booking was designed to simulate the experience of boarding a cruise ship in outer space. Guest would even be given a “mission” which would involve characters from the most recent “Star Wars” trilogy. The project gambled there would be a relatively rich clientele willing to spend money on such a niche experience.
However when it opened, the least expensive booking cost $4800 for a dual-occupancy “cabin,” leaving fans complaining that the price was too high to justify the expense for just two days. Disney was forced to abandon the project in May, barely one year after opening, due to lack of interest.
Now the company is writing off the expensive failure. On the earnings call Wednesday, Disney said the decline in the theme park division was due “to a decrease at Walt Disney World, primarily due to higher costs (inflation and accelerated depreciation related to the planned closure of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser) and lower volumes.”
In line with earlier estimates made by Disney Parks Chair Josh D’Amaro; in May, who forecast there would be $100 million to $150 million in depreciation in each of the two last quarters of 2023, Interim Chief Financial Officer Kevin Lansberry said Disney was considering an “accelerated” depreciation of $250 million for the Galactic Starcruiser project.
The Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division is still seeing higher revenues. The division posted $8.3 billion in revenue for the third quarter, ending July 1st.
The warehouse-like structure where the Starcruiser is housed faces an uncertain future for the time being, however. In an interview with SFGATE in May, a Disney spokesperson said the company had no plans for repurposing the building or integrating any of the project into the “Star Wars” themed project in Hollywood Studios.
