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Imagineering Files Permit for Former Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

Joshua
Written by Joshua Posted
Imagineering Files Permit for Former Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) has filed a notice of commencement permit for work on the former Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel. Balfour Beatty, one of Disney’s key construction partners, will undertake the work. The Starcruiser, now listed as Project H, is being converted into WDI offices.

Imagineering will need those offices. With Magic Kingdom’s Piston Peak and a villains-themed land expansion, Hollywood Studios’ Monstropolis, and Animal Kingdom’s Tropical Americas, WDI is going to be very busy for the next few years.

Imagineers will have a short commute when checking in on the Monsters, Inc. coaster going in the Cast Member park lot across the creek from the former hotel. As always, we appreciate @bioreconstruct sharing his stunning aerial photography with us.

The Galactic Starcruiser next to Hollywood Studios. Photo courtesy of Bioreconstruct.
The former Galactic Starcruiser sits very close to Hollywood Studios. Photo courtesy of Bioreconstruct.
Monsters Inc. coaster construction in the Hollywood Studios Cast Member parking lot.
Crews have begun work on the Monsters, Inc. coaster coming to Hollywood Studios. Photo courtesy of Bioreconstruct.

The new offices come at a cost. Star Wars fans, especially those who love deep immersion, raved about the Starcruiser. But there weren’t enough of them to make the one-of-a-kind hotel a success. Despite having only 100 rooms, an unusually small number for a Disney World resort, Disney struggled to fill them. The price tag didn’t help. Two-night voyages cost up to $6,000 for two guests, with families paying even more. In the end, the high cost limited the experience to a very narrow audience.

After a 19-month run, Disney shuttered the Starcruiser on September 30, 2023. At the time, Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro said, “We took creative and storytelling to a completely new level. It didn’t work commercially. And so, when we realized that, you just make a call and move on.”