Well, the time has come. The Star Wars Hotel is officially closed. Throughout its short run, we saw a lot of discourse about the price, value, and concept of this experience, and since the closure announcement, we’ve heard a LOT of speculation about what could replace the hotel.

Pretty much everyone we ask has their own ideas about what Disney should do with the space. Could Imagineers go BIG and gut the entire building? Could they try to save some money and make a few small changes? We still don’t know! But there’s one thing we do know: Disney has a big, empty building and a team of some of the most creative people out there, so the transformation possibilities are endless. While we wait for an official announcement about the fate of the Star Wars Hotel building, let’s talk about what we think Disney could do with the space. 

One thing to note is that we’re just speculating here. But given what we know about Disney’s $60 billion plans for the future and the $250 million loss they incurred from the Galactic Starcruiser, it’s safe to say the company will need to be strategic with its plans. While Disney previously admitted that the Galactic Starcruiser taught some important lessons, we have a feeling that we won’t be seeing any more “hotel experiences” in the near future. So, what might we see instead?

1. A Good Old-fashioned Hotel

This one seems obvious, no? They’ve got the rooms. They’ve got the beds. Why not drop the price tag, lose all the “experience” elements (like the Star Wars missions, roaming characters, and dinner theater), and just make it a regular hotel?

Disney could let guests come and go from the hotel as they please, rework some of those common spaces, and open up the hotel restaurants to ALL Disney World guests. We can think of a few people who would love to grab a Star Wars-themed drink at a new lounge area! (It’s us. We want a new Star Wars lounge.)

All those Star Wars fans who didn’t have the budget for the Galactic Starcruiser may be more inclined to splurge on a Deluxe-level hotel stay instead. After all, no one can deny that those “windows” out to space were pretty cool!

2. New Star Wars Ride

Star Tours 2.0, anyone? Here’s the thing. The Galactic Starcruiser is VERY close to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (that was kind of the point back when the hotel was first created). So, it doesn’t make much sense to introduce a completely new theme to the rather small area.

The hotel is big enough to house a substantial amount of people, but would it really make sense to have a building with some random IP that is totally unrelated to Star Wars right outside of Galaxy’s Edge? With such a large building to work with, we’re picturing a new space-themed roller coaster, a new simulation-style ride, or, hey, what about a new Tower of Terror-style drop ride? Come on, Disney! We know you can get creative here!

3. A Star Wars Restaurant

This point ties into our last two points. They’ve got the space, they’re potentially limited by location, and they’ve still got an eager fanbase. Last we checked, people like to eat! We love visiting new restaurants — especially when they’re super interesting and immersive.

If Disney opened up those existing dining rooms to everyone, people would happily make the trek to the old Star Wars Hotel for a unique space-themed meal. Of course, we’re not entirely sure what Disney would do with the REST of the space if they decided to lean into the dining aspect here, but this option may be one of the more economical ones.

4. A Star Wars Experience

Picture this: Star Wars-themed laser tag. Imagine a huge multi-level, indoor space filled with fog, space blasters, and Star Wars details at every turn. Disney could make the most epic indoor game we’ve ever seen with all that space! To be fair, this is Disney, so maybe we forget the idea of shooting other people, and we shoot targets instead — like Toy Story Midway Mania, but on foot! Do you see the vision?

Who knows? Maybe Disney could expand its old lightsaber training, too! People already pay hundreds of dollars for those Legacy Lightsabers, so it doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch to imagine they’d be willing to pay for real lightsaber training.

5. Toy Story Land Expansion 

What’s right next to Galaxy’s Edge? Toy Story Land! Maybe guests travel on a giant toy train from the old Star Wars Hotel building to Toy Story Land (Pixar Place seems like it would make a GREAT entrance, right?). Maybe the Star Wars Hotel will become a Pixar-themed hotel. Maybe we get a new Toy Story ride! Hey, if we want to keep the space theme, we can lean into Buzz Lightyear’s spinoff movie Lightyear and meet some of the characters from the 2022 film.

We’re branching out from the Star Wars theme here, yet Toy Story still fits in the general area, so it still makes sense. What would you like to see in this space?

6. A Guardians of the Galaxy Addition

This may seem like it’s coming out of left field, but stick with us for a second. Star Wars takes place in space, the Guardians of the Galaxy hang out in space…space is space, right?

OK, this probably won’t happen — especially since Disney already brought the Guardians over to EPCOT. But we’re just saying that the possibility of introducing some random other franchise still exists here. Disney doesn’t HAVE to work with what’s around the hotel. They could go rogue and create something totally new and different! 

The possibilities are truly endless! It’s kind of exciting to think about all the ways Disney could use this space, right? What would you like to see? In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.

Disney Is Losing $250 MILLION on Its Newest Hotel — Was It Worth It?

 

What would you like to see Disney do here? Let us know in the comments!