Report: Former Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser to Become Walt Disney Imagineering Offices

1 day ago in "Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser"

Posted: Thursday January 30, 2025 1:!6pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

According to The Wrap, multiple sources, including one close to the company, report that the former Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser building near Disney's Hollywood Studios is being converted into office space for Walt Disney Imagineering. The facility, once home to Disney's most ambitious themed entertainment experience, will now serve as a base for the creative division behind theme park attractions, retail locations, and cruise ships.

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser overview

This report follows comments made by Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D'Amaro in a 2023 interview with The Points Guy. When asked about the future of the Galactic Starcruiser building, D'Amaro said, "No hints yet, but something will happen." He acknowledged that while the project pushed creativity and storytelling to new heights, "It didn't work commercially. And so, when we realized that, you just make a call and move on." It appeared at that point that D'Amaro was suggesting a guest-facing use of the building, but that plan appears to have now changed.

The Rise and Fall of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser

The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser opened on March 1, 2022, as a two-day, two-night immersive experience priced at approximately $5,200 per voyage. The experience initially saw strong sales, but bookings quickly slowed, prompting Disney to adjust operations to cut costs and boost occupancy. In May 2023, Disney announced the closure of the hotel, with the final voyage taking place from September 28-30, 2023.

As soon as Disney resumed bookings for the final trips, demand surged, and the remaining voyages sold out within hours. At the time, Disney assured booked guests that the company would work to accommodate those affected by canceled reservations. Cast Members working at the Starcruiser were also given the opportunity to transition to new roles at Walt Disney World.

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser overview

WDI Expands as Disney Begins Major New Projects

The move to convert the Galactic Starcruiser into Imagineering office space comes as Walt Disney World is preparing to launch several major projects, including:

A Monsters, Inc.-themed expansion at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
A Cars-themed area replacing Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom
The Tropical Americas expansion at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, replacing DinoLand U.S.A.

With these large-scale projects on the horizon, Imagineering’s presence in Central Florida is expanding. WDI currently operates offices inside EPCOT and at the former STOLport (Short Takeoff and Landing Airport) site near Magic Kingdom.

A Shift in Purpose

With the building now expected to become Imagineering office space, it appears Disney has no immediate plans to repurpose the facility for another guest experience.

Disney has not officially confirmed The Wrap's report, but the decision to convert the Starcruiser building into office space suggests that any hopes of a new guest-facing experience in the facility, which included day excursions from Batuu, have been put to rest—at least for now.

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ToTBellHop13 minutes ago

Current exterior gives prison vibes.

Purduevian15 minutes ago

It would be the justification to drive to price up (like characters at meals). few would pay $70 per person for an hour long experience on the start cruiser... but throw in a 1.5 hour long dinner show with space food and you could probably change $120+ The point is mute though, they clearly didn't think it was the best use of the space

Rockishcoco27 minutes ago

Honestly, the most exciting part of this news is that in the original Wrap report, the author says they're looking to utilize the plot behind Oga's for a real sit-down restaurant. At least them killing any potential dinner show here means we might get an actual Galaxy's Edge expansion.

flynnibus1 hour ago

blame the forum's horrible way of presenting your link... unless you click on it, you don't see your comments, just the tweet and what was before it.

flynnibus1 hour ago

Remember there was a whole second building for back of house activities.. that building is probably more suitable for what they need.

flynnibus1 hour ago

But why? the dining room was one of the weakest things about the entire venue. It's probably cheaper to build out the expansion space they do have than to try to run supplemental services like transportation for a simple dining room.

lazyboy97o1 hour ago

There is nothing that requires an office building have curtain walls. Go look at the pre-engineered metal buildings and trailers that make up the other Walt Disney Imagineering offices at Walt Disney World. There are also plenty of concrete buildings with pinched windows being used as offices around Central Florida.

FiestaFunKid2 hours ago

Definitely cheaper...and I could take a shower while D3-O9 does my work! I wonder if they'll clean them though. Looks like there are some skinny windows... now they only need about 500 more to meet the standards for a current day office building, like Disney's own NY corporate office -

Bocabear2 hours ago

the openings for the windows appear to be there, just filled in...So I imagine they could be returned to actual windows if they wanted....and all that refurbishment would still be cheaper than building an entire new office structure. They should leave the bathrooms... I would love to have a private bathroom iin my office....

FiestaFunKid2 hours ago

if you've ever had the opportunity to gaze upon an office building, you'd see they probably need about 500 more large size windows - maybe just use the screens

lazyboy97o2 hours ago

It’s not windowless. Every guest room had a window. Even if it were, you can add windows to a wall.

FiestaFunKid3 hours ago

A windowless office building? I hope they keep the screens on.

FettFan4 hours ago

lol. You know they would never intentionally expose themselves to such customer scrutiny! “Are you seriously adding another *spinner* in that concept art?!”