Disney Headlines for February 4th, 2025
The Walt Disney Company just made a hard choice with the Star Wars Hotel.
On the bright side, the company has softened its stance on Disability Access Service.
So, this is a good week of Disney Headlines as far as I’m concerned.
Disney Will Pave Paradise


Photo:visitorlando.com
THE story of the week at Walt Disney World isn’t one involving expansion projects, at least not tangibly.
While some experiences have closed and others will permanently shut down soon, that’s stuff we already knew.


Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The shocking Headline of the week belongs to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where the Star Wars Hotel is officially dead.
While Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser officially closed in 2023, reports have circulated about a big comeback.


Galactic Starcruiser
After all, you can’t keep the Jedi down forever, right? Well, I’m sorry to say that bureaucracy and convenience apparently can.
The same reporter who previously suggested the possibility of a dinner theater show at this building has provided an update.


Galactic Starcruiser
According to information he received, Disney has decided the fate of the former $1,500-a-night hotel. It’s going to be office space.
I’ll level with you that I started an editorial soon after this announcement, but I never finished it.


Galactic Starcruiser
The more I thought about Disney’s decision, the better I understood and ultimately agreed with it.
Disney faced a difficult circumstance here of its own making.


Photo: Disney
Well, it’s of Bob Chapek’s making, but Disney is stuck with it.
Chapek heavily influenced many of the decisions at Galactic Starcruiser, including the price.


Photo: Disney
Ultimately, that hefty cost caused the hotel’s demise, as it was price-prohibitive to many.
While Galactic Starcruiser delivered what park officials described as the highest-rated guest experience ever, it wasn’t affordable.


Photo: Disney
That point became painfully obvious once Disney met the demand during 2022.
As soon as the calendar flipped into 2023, bookings dried up, and the hotel’s fate was sealed.
The Problems with Repurposing


Photo: Disney
Eventually, Disney decided to take a tax write-down for the Star Wars Hotel.
Afterward, park officials debated Star Wars and other experiences that could fill the void at this building.


(Kent Phillips, photographer)
Alas, the problem wasn’t a solvable one. You may recall that Galactic Starcruiser offered shuttle service.
This thematic drive transported guests to and from the hotel to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.


Photo: Disney
Management adopted this approach to hide the fact that the hotel building’s location was otherwise off-limits to park guests.
So, the shuttle’s theming disguised the surroundings, thereby preventing high-paying guests from having their immersion shattered.


Photo: (David Roark, photographer)
Disney could afford to do that with a service that cost guests up to $5,000+ for a two-night stay.
However, the proposed conversion of the Star Wars Hotel into a dinner theater experience couldn’t justify that financially.


(Matt Stroshane, photographer)
According to the report, Disney ran tests, reinforcing that park officials wanted this to happen.
As you might expect, they quickly deduced that there was no way to make money shuttling hundreds of guests to the restaurant each night.


Photo: Disney
The only way to do that would be to charge an excessive amount, a temptation that wouldn’t exactly win the press conference.
“So, let me get this straight. You’re replacing the way overpriced hotel with a way overpriced dinner and a show? Isn’t that a lateral move?”
They Had to Do It


Photo: Disney
Conversely, Disney has a new problem emerging. It lacks home bases for the Imagineers in Orlando.
We’d previously heard that Imagineering offices are planned at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.


Photo: @michael.e.moriarty via Instagram
Along with Hollywood Studios, those are the three parks expanding soon.
So, if they’re getting offices, Hollywood Studios needs them, too. And, as mentioned, this former hotel is ideally located.


(Kent Phillips, photographer)
Since Galactic Starcruiser resides in a place that’s off-limits to tourists, it’s ideal for this purpose.
Then, we have the ever-present matter of the tax write-down, which ties Disney’s hands regarding what it can do with the space.


(Matt Stroshane, photographer)
Now, there are time limits on these corporate write-downs, meaning this doesn’t have to be forever.
Still, Disney looked over the board and realized that it had only one realistic choice.


(David Roark, photographer)
Disney will pave paradise and put up office space. To Star Wars fans, this move is indefensible.
Some people love the Galactic Starcruiser so much that there’s already a convention for its loyalists.


(Kent Phillips, photographer)
To know that this magical experience is going to be office space…well, that’s gonna leave a mark. I get it.
Having considered all of Disney’s options, I suspect I’d do the same thing, though. Right now, Disney needs office space.


(Matt Stroshane, photographer)
As much as I’d love this building to be repurposed as another immaculately themed experience, office space makes more sense.
If the announcement bothers you, I’d encourage you to focus on the bright side.


Credit: Disney
Disney’s creating new, highly immersive experiences at the parks, all of which will build on the genius of Galactic Starcruiser.
Even better, they’ll come free with the price of admission, unlike the Star Wars Hotel.


Image Credit: Disney, Lucasfilm
So, while I realize this news sounds terrible, it’s the smart play.
When Disney is ready to readdress the Star Wars Hotel and/or Star Wars-themed concepts, the technology will be even better.
Disney Loosens DAS Rules


Atlanta Falcons
When Jim Mora Jr. became the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, he spoke about what he’d learned from his father.
Jim Mora Sr. coached in the NFL for many years, and he gave his son one simple piece of advice.


Atlanta Falcons
The gist was, “Be a tough coach at first. Then, you can act more like their buddy later.”
The idea is that if you try to be a player’s coach at the start, you cannot be a disciplinarian later. It’s too late by then.


Disability Access Service
I’ve thought about that a lot in the wake of Disney’s DAS rules changes, which directly impacted my immediate family.
In hopes of reducing DAS fraud, Disney dramatically tightened the rules.


Rider Switch
In the process, Disney made life harder for many people whose lives are already plenty hard enough. And that bothered me.
Honestly, this is about as upset as I’ve ever been with Disney, and I said as much here.


Photo: CollectingClovers.com
The new rules were frankly draconian at the start. That’s not very Disney.
We’re talking about a company that is world-renowned for its customer service.


Photo: Disney
Since then, I’ve tracked the impact of the crackdown on overall wait times and other factors.
I strongly suspect this reduction in DAS abuse explains why Lightning Lane is better than ever. There’s data support for this.


Credit: Disney
Still, I suspect I speak for the majority of Disney fans when I say I’d happily wait longer to make sure others have an easier time.
The New System
Disney apparently agrees, as the company slightly altered the language on its DAS policy page.
In addition, the company has extended the registration window for guests at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World.


Walt Disney World Entrance
Anecdotally, I’ll add that in my family’s experience, qualifying for one is sometimes good enough to qualify for the other.
That’s another sign that Disney has relaxed the rules a bit, at least in some instances.


Cinderella Castle
To those of you potentially impacted by these rules, I’d strongly suggest that you reach out to Disney again.
Now that Disney has started as a disciplinarian, it is working its way back to being a player’s coach like Jim Mora Jr.


Photo: D23
(Please don’t bring up to me the fact Mora isn’t a great coach. As a lifelong Falcons fan, I’m acutely aware of this.)
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