$4,809 for 2 nights on Star Wars' Galactic Starcruiser, or a week at Disney World for half the price
A short adventure in the Star Wars universe is more expensive than almost any other Disney vacation you could possibly imagine.
For Star Wars fans who always dreamed about escaping to a galaxy far, far away, Disney's Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser experience looks almost perfect. It's a two-night role-playing theater experience built into an exquisitely themed hotel designed to make guests feel like they're taking a luxury cruise through deep space. Along the way, Disney promises, guests will take part in an epic adventure, dine on fine foods, wield a lightsaber and visit Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios.
It sounds amazing, and it had better be: For two people, the experience will cost at least $4,809, or about $1,200 per guest, per night. That's wildly expensive, even by Disney World standards.
Though it's true that the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser promises a completely unique, fully immersive experience that can't be found anywhere else, it's important to consider just how much farther that kind of cash can go at other Disney theme parks and on Disney cruises.
Two days in the Star Wars universe versus a week at Disney World (for half the cost)
Before you book your spaceflight to Batuu, consider a more affordable way to see the planet featured in Disney's Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Hollywood Studios: a regular Disney World vacation. The Walt Disney World website offers hotel and ticket packages at a wide variety of price points -- and though the cost might be daunting under normal circumstances, it seems downright affordable compared with a weekend on the Galactic Starcruiser.
If two guests wanted to visit Walt Disney World the same week the new $5,000 Star Wars experience launches, they could pay as little as $1,087 for two nights and three days at the All Star Movies hotel on Disney Property, according to the resort's website -- with theme park tickets included. If they wanted to stay for a full week, it would come to just $2,218.
Fancy a more upscale hotel experience? Your vacation will still be comparatively affordable: At the time of writing, a two-night August 2022 stay for two at Walt Disney World's midtier Port Orleans Resort Riverside can be had for $1,352 or $3,211 for a full week. A weekend at the classier Polynesian Village Resort costs $2,626 for two nights -- and that's with the more expensive "theme park view" room. You can get four nights for $4,739, roughly the same price as two with Galactic Starcruiser, again with park tickets included.
More than Disney World for less than the galaxy
Even an international Disney vacation might cost you less than Florida's new Star Wars experience. A two-night, three-day stay for two guests in Disneyland Paris can be had for between $921 and $1,700, depending on which hotel you choose. Airfare will drive up that price a bit, but that's a compelling alternative, especially if you consider tacking on more travel days in the City of Light.
You might argue that this isn't a fair comparison: The Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser is a unique, all-inclusive experience, unlike the common visit to a Disney resort. That's a fair point, but so is this: Right now you could pay $1,571 for a fully inclusive three-day Bahamian Disney Cruise for two. That's less than half the cost of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser for a premium, all-inclusive Disney vacation experience. It may not have an interwoven, interactive themed story built into the vacation, but aren't the Bahamas their own adventure?
According to archived travel blog posts, a similar three-day cruise would've set you back about $1,900 back in 2018, so it's likely that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought some of these prices down. Hopefully, that'll be less of an influence on your vacation plans when Disney's Galactic Starcruiser experience launches in late 2022 -- but as of today, the immersive Star Wars experience is among one of the most expensive Disney vacations you could take.
It's no surprise that a unique experience falls into one of Disney's more premium vacation options, and while it sounds like a blast, it's probably not the best value. That might be disappointing for Star Wars fans who were looking forward to immersing themselves in their favorite fictional world, but it's also comforting that there are more-affordable options. You might even get more Star Wars out of the bargain than you expected: A normal Disney vacation might not come with a curated narrative, but passengers on the Galactic Starcruiser spend only a few hours in Galaxy's Edge. If you visit Disney Parks in the traditional way, you have the option to stay there all day.
Disney World might be for everyone, but being a space adventurer is a luxury. At least for now. And maybe that's OK.