The former Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser building is being converted into offices for Walt Disney Imagineering.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Building Becoming Offices
Several sources, including an individual close to The Walt Disney Company, told The Wrap that the Starcruiser would become offices. It will be Imagineering’s hub for Walt Disney World expansion projects, including the Tropical Americas area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the “Cars” and Disney Villains expansions to Magic Kingdom, and the “Monsters, Inc.” land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
There were rumors that Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser would be resurrected, maybe as a dinner theater experience. A source told The Wrap that there were playtests conducted with Cast Members for a dining experience in the building, but that these were for something in the park, not at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. The Wrap “has now been told, quite firmly, that the building will not be accessible to guests at all.”
Previously, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro was quoted saying that “Something will happen” with the Galactic Starcruiser. CEO Bob Iger reportedly rejected ideas to retheme the venue to something like “The Mandalorian,” or offer tours for day guests. A permit was filed for “general construction” on the property back in January 2024, contracted with Sunstate Awning & Graphic Design, Inc.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was an immersive “Star Wars” hotel experience, with guests assisting the Resistance or the First Order, visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, dining on themed food, and more. It featured show scenes and incorporated the Play Disney Parks app. In 2022, the experience won the TEA Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in Brand Experience.
Despite being beloved by fans of both themed entertainment and “Star Wars” alike who were able to experience it for themselves, the hotel was troubled from the start — from budget cuts to prohibitively high prices at nearly $5,000 per cabin, mass cancellations from guests, and cancelled “cruises” due to low occupancy — all despite reported “high demand.” At one point, operations reached a lull where there were only enough passengers to fill just one dinner service. Three individuals close to the project previously reported that the experience “never made money” and had a lower occupancy on average than initially thought.
Ann Morrow Johnson, the lead creative behind the project, is no longer with Walt Disney Imagineering. She left to join former WDI president Bob Weis at Gensler, an architecture and design firm, in 2024.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser opened on March 1, 2022, and closed permanently on September 30, 2023. With the closure, Disney was able to claim a tax write-off of approximately $300 million.
Watch through our full playlist for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser below:
Do you miss this unique Disney experience? Are you sad to finally learn of the building’s fate? Share your thoughts and stories with us in the comments and on social media.
For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.