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The failure of Disney's “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser,” a spaceship-themed hotel marketed as an immersive role-playing experience, is under the spotlight thanks to a viral YouTube video.
The long awaited War of the galaxies hotel opened its doors in 2022, only to close a year later. Following the unexpected shutdown, the Washington Post concluded that the Starcruiser was too niche and too expensive to attract a steady stream of guests.
YouTuber Jenny Nicholson took a deeper dive and posted a four-hour video essay titled “The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel,” arguing that Disney oversold and under-delivered.
Nicholson relayed his own bewildering stay at the hotel and concluded that his disappointing experience reflected the decadence of Disney's theme parks, riddled with inconveniences and paywalls.
Despite its intimidating length, the video essay has been viewed more than 5 million times, thrusting the failed Starcruiser back into the discourse.
Who is Jenny Nicholson?
Nicholson has over 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube and is known to cover fan culture and media. Nicholson seemed prepared for this topic, as she has posted several discussion videos War of the galaxies and reviewing theme parks in great detail, such as Disney's “Pandora: The World of Avatar.”
Nicholson's sincere enthusiasm for the role-playing game and fandom makes his criticism seem all the more devastating: one gets the impression that he really wanted to enjoy his time on the Starcruiser.
A commentator described Nicholson as an enthusiast who “apparently adores Disney parks/products, but remains logical rather than fanatical.”
After her release War of the galaxies video, film critic David Ehrlich joked described Nicholson as “America's greatest filmmaker.”
What did Jenny Nicholson say about the “Star Wars” hotel?
Nicholson says he paid more than $6,000 for a two-night stay at the hotel, which he estimates worked out to $2 a minute, and spends a lot of time explaining why the War of the galaxies the hotel was not worth it.
The Starcruiser was marketed as a deeply immersive RPG experience (like an elaborate escape room or a real-life video game), with interactive stories, missions, and meaningful choices.
The costumed staff members acted as War of the galaxies characters, intended to react appropriately to guests' choices with the help of an AI-based application designed to organize activities and events.
In order for the games to run smoothly, guests were expected to follow a tightly scheduled itinerary, even with meal times planned in advance.
Despite following his itinerary, Nicholson explains how his experience fell comically short of what Disney promised him. While Nicholson acknowledges there were guests who didn't have issues, he says the app consistently malfunctioned for his group, making their choices irrelevant and staff unaware of their actions.
The role-playing element was not the only failure: Nicholson testifies that the interior of the hotel was cramped, disorienting and surprisingly bland. These criticisms have been made before; the Starcruiser has even been compared in the prison that appears Andor).
As a running joke throughout the video, Nicholson repeatedly mentions that she was sitting behind a pillar during a scheduled mealtime performance, blocking her view.
The video wasn't all negative: Nicholson also made suggestions on how the experience could have been improved, making sure to mention the highlights of the trip and praising the efforts of the staff, who seemed to be doing everything possible despite not having the necessary resources. .
Overall, Nicholson described the Starcruiser as “Disney's boldest experiment with exorbitant surcharges”.
How did the internet react to Jenny Nicholson's video?
On social media, many commenters expressed surprise that such a long video about a random topic could be so entertaining, and the video soon sparked memesskits and more Disney reviews.
This is not the first time that the War of the galaxies The hotel has been condemned by disappointed guests, but Nicholson's detailed coverage, along with his pictures and videos of the event, was particularly damning; the video makes the Starcruiser look like Disney's Fyre Festival.
Days after Nicholson's video went viral, an article passionately defended it War of the galaxies hotel was posted on Screenrant, written by a former employee who claimed that his experience with the Starcruiser had been nothing but positive, describing the job as a life-changing experience.
Although Nicholson's video was not mentioned by name, the article argues that there was nothing to be gained by posting negative reviews of the Starcruiser and that this comment only hurts the feelings of former staff (commentators noted (that Nicholson did not criticize the staff, only the Disney executives who oversaw the project).
The success of Nicholson's video reflects the growing popularity of long-form content on YouTube and the power of trusted influencers. Content creators who have cultivated a reputation for honest and thoughtful criticism, such as Marques Brownlee and Keith Lee, are capable of changing the discourse.
For Disney, the “spectacular” failure of the Starcruiser is the latest in a long line War of the galaxies controversy, as many fans believe that the entertainment giant has mishandled the franchise by releasing too much content, too soon, and relying too heavily on nostalgia and fan service.
In his review of the conclusion criticized in the War of the galaxies sequel trilogy, The Rise of SkywalkerNicholson made a point that seemed to reflect his Starcruiser experience, stating:
“The worst thing a franchise ending can do is make you feel a little stupid and embarrassed for being so excited about it in the first place.”
