Disney blogger who gushed about ‘Star Wars’ hotel ‘would not have paid’ to stay there
A travel blogger who gushed about Disney’s “Star Wars”-themed hotel when it opened admitted that she “would not have paid” out of her own pocket to stay there — and told The Post she isn’t surprised that it’s closing.
Benét Wilson was a senior editor at travel blog The Points Guy when she was invited to stay at the “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser” hotel for a press preview — free of charge — ahead of its March 1, 2022 opening.
The result was a glowing review from the self-proclaimed “Star Wars geek” of the doomed hotel — which Disney revealed last week it plans to close for good at summer’s end.
In an article that called the doomed hotel “the travel experience I waited 45 years to enjoy,” Wilson gushed over the lightsaber training, in-room tech and staff’s ability to stay in character.
Nevertheless, the 59-year-old Wilson told The Post in an exclusive interview this week that the Galactic Starcruiser failed to deliver bang for the buck.
“I would not have paid to do that,” said Wilson, who now works as a freelance journalist and runs a journalism fellowship program. “With the money that it costs, I could have gone to Europe. I could have gone to South America,” she added — and she doesn’t mean in Epcot.
A two-night stay at the Orlando, Fla.-based hotel ran a couple $4,800 or a family of four about $6,000.
For those with deeper pockets, a “tricked out suite” was on offer for an eye-popping $20,000 for just two nights.
“I’ve always been a budget traveler,” Wilson said. “I love to travel, but I refuse to pay ridiculous prices. And, you know, it wasn’t just me. Other people were saying this was a lot of money for a 2.5-day experience, where you could have gone to the Four Seasons on Disney property and it would have been cheaper.”
An average night at Disney’s Four Seasons Resort Orlando will run guests an average of $400 per night, while the average nightly cost at the ‘Star Wars’ hotel is a whopping $1,209.
That’s why Wilson said she wasn’t surprised when she heard of the hotel’s closing.
While Disney tersely referred to the Galactic Starcruiser’s demise a “a business decision,” Wilson pointed to the out-of-this-world rates.
At the Galactic Starcruiser, guests got windowless lodging, meals and entry into Disney World’s “Star Wars: Galaxy Edge” park using a MagicBand that doubled as a Lightning Lane pass to avoid lofty wait times.
Beer, wine and other specialty drinks are on offer at additional costs — anywhere from $11-$23.
If guests want a photo memento to remember their stay, a photographer is on-site for a $99 minimum.
There were no employees on board to meet guests upon check-in. Instead, Wilson was given an iPhone 5 “to keep up with things, to schedule the time you were going to lightsaber training and to manage your reservations.”
“There was nobody saying, ‘Oh, welcome,'” she said. “Your room is on your phone and you go about your business.”
Nevertheless, visitors met a host of characters along their journey, including the Starcruiser’s captain, mechanic and director, not to mention the iconic Chewbacca, Rey and Kylo Ren.
“They were really good about staying in character. Ask them any type of personal question, it would always come back to ‘Star Wars,'” Wilson said.
Inside one of the hotel’s 100 rooms, instead of standard windows that looked out to the hotel’s surroundings — like the nearby Hollywood Studios — screens made guests feel as if they were in starships cruising through outer space.
“You could look out the window and you would see spaceships going by. Randomly, we would jump into lightspeed, and you could see that in the window. It was really cool,” Wilson recalled.
When starships in the multibillion franchise traveled at lightspeed through hyperspace, they could cross galaxies in a matter of days, as shown on-screen by lights whooshing by. The same effect was used in the hotel’s so-called “windows” as part of the advertised “immersive adventure.”
“I thought I was going to be claustrophobic, but I was just do wrapped up in the story,” Wilson said of the screens for windows.
Come nighttime, Starcruiser guests are offered an early or late seating for dinner, where foods are cut, colored and plated in a nod to ‘Star Wars.’ Wilson pointed to a memorable shrimp appetizer she had “where the shrimp was blue, it didn’t affect the taste of the food.”
It “all looked familiar, but also looked different,” Wilson added of the themed food. “The attention to detail was just amazing.”
Guests staying multiple nights will also reportedly be seated at the same table for dinner.
If they want to upgrade to the head of the captain’s table in the Starcruiser’s Crown of Corellia dining room, that would be an extra 30 bucks.
However, it’s still “the closest that most people will ever get to being inside a ‘Star Wars’ movie,” Wilson said of the experience.
The hotel, which has been blasted for being overpriced since its first voyage, will take its final one Sept. 28-30.
