`Star Wars' hotel isn't the force it once was

A reduction in booking dates is the latest response to cratering demand

Walt Disney World's highly hyped “Star Wars” hotel, which debuted to months of sold-out “voyages,” has seen demand cool so dramatically that the Florida theme park giant has been forced to reduce dates during the busy Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Disney's Hollywood Studios has dropped most midweek “voyages” in October, November and December. The hotel is designed as an immersive storytelling experience aboard a “Star Wars” starship.

Disney announced the hotel will reduce the number of weekly experiences by 25% to 50% starting in October, according to a release to travel agents.

“When the voyage calendar is live, you may notice the schedule has been modified to provide two voyages per week, except for holiday weeks where we may have three voyages,” according to the travel agent release obtained by WDW News Today. “We've been learning a lot during our first year of operation and have adjusted voyage dates to meet the needs of our guests.”

Disney World just released the new dates for October through December — meaning no booked Starcruiser “voyages” were canceled. The Galactic Starcruiser will be dark most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with 10-12 dates per month removed from the calendar.

The three to four weekly “departures” will be reduced to two in most weeks starting in October.

Most of the cruise ship-style hotel stays will “depart” Fridays or Sundays starting in October, with one “voyage” per month beginning Tuesdays. Halloween night and Thanksgiving day are dark as well as dates before and after Christmas.

Walt Disney World officials say Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of the most ambitious and immersive experiences ever created and continues to receive outstanding feedback from guests.

The “galactic cruise” invites costumed passengers to hatch plots against the First Order, fall in with a band of underworld smugglers and sip space cocktails for as long as they can suspend disbelief and buy into the interstellar cosplay theater of what's been billed as the “most immersive `Star Wars' experience ever created.”

The “Star Wars” hotel that debuted to much fanfare in March 2022 initially opened with three months of sold-out dates.

Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek said interest in the Galactic Starcruiser was “phenomenal” and customer ratings were “incredibly high” a few months after the hotel opened, according to Forbes. At the time, Chapek said strong demand would keep the Galactic Starcruiser at “100% utilization” during the summer, Forbes reported.

The initial buzz that helped fill Disney coffers with galactic credits has turned into a concerning quiet in the halls of the Halcyon — the starship created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm.

The hotel has been offering 30%-50% discounts to some customers on three-day, two-night stays that cost $5,000-$20,000.

You can reserve a stay this weekend and virtually any night through December, now that the once solidly booked calendar is wide open.

The hotel has about 100 rooms, with a capacity of about 500 people — with the footprint kept intentionally small to allow for intimate storytelling moments throughout the 45-hour galactic journey.

The hotel began offering 30% discounts to loyal Disney Vacation Club members in November when capacity dropped to as low as 25% on some dates, according to WDW News Today. The low turnout forced the Starcruiser to cut the second dinner seatings on some evenings, WDW News Today reported.

In January, Disney canceled dates for Starcruiser stays in July, August and September and offered to rebook impacted guests on other voyages at 50% discounts, according to WDW Magic.

At the same time, Disney World rolled out discounts as steep as $700 on hotel stays at the Florida theme park resort before or after a Starcruiser booking, according to WDW News Today.

In February, Disney began offering 50% discounts to current and retired employees on some dates from March through June, according to AllEars.

Disney World has opted to not renew the entertainment contracts of many hotel employees, according to WDW News Today.

Disney World is offering the huge discounts in hopes of reversing the tide for the “struggling” hotel, according to Inside the Magic.

“As the one-year anniversary of the hotel approaches, things seem to be faltering already,” according to Inside the Magic. “The cracks are starting to show and fans hope that something happens soon to make the experience more accessible.”