iheartglaciers
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 1, 2014
For what it’s worth, we did the Starcruiser earlier this week and had a fabulous time. We’re glad we went before any changes are made. I think the magic would have been lost if it was “just” a hotel or “just” a dinner show.
Agree, I was a little skeptical going in because of the high price tag, but we were blown away by the whole experience. It was really well done. Everyone in my party (two families with young kids and two adults with no kids) really want to go back and do it again. We've been hoping for a return guest discount though I'm not sure how much they can significantly reduce the price without reducing the experience.
I hope Disney finds a way to make it work becuase the Imagineers did an incredible job making this interactive story. It'll be a shame if this discourages Disney and other companies from taking a chance on these unique immersive experiences.
Funny story. We went to Universal Studios Hollywood yesterday. My husband, the massive Star Wars nerd, who has never "seen a Harry Potter" (as he says) LOVED Hogsmeade. His mouth dropped open when we rounded the corner and he saw Hogwarts. He was mightily impressed. He finds Batuu so lame, as a comparison. It made him pretty sad that Disney "wasted the opportunity they had with Star Wars land."
While we were in the Hogs Head pub, he began talking to the guy in front of him in line and mentioned "I don't understand anything in this land, but it's pretty cool. I'm more of a Star Wars guy." Guy in line perks up and tells him he is the same way, and his family JUST got back from doing the Starcruiser. I asked him "so, was it worth it?" He literally said "Weeeeeellll, that was kind of the running joke...we could have probably gone to actual space for less."
But in the end, he said they really enjoyed it and would do it again, but that it was "a lot" and at the end of it, they were all mentally exhausted and felt their "cruise" had been a week long.
I'm a really big SW fan and a moderate HP fan and I feel exactly this way about Galaxy's Edge v. Wizarding World of HP. Part of it for me is that it feels obvious that Batuu is deisgned to handle crowds and I think that takes away from the immersion (e.g., the wide walkway that bypasses the market). WWOHP has all these nooks and crannies with things to discover that makes it really fun to walk around and feel like you're really in the world.
Similarly with Oga's--it's really well designed, but it's too small. Feeling like you're being crammed in takes away from the experience.