4 hour video about Disneys failed Star Wars hotel

Wow. I could only make it about 10 minutes in. But enjoy if you like deep dives I guess.

That thing has over a half million views in 18 hours and, as a commenter pointed out, took longer for her to publish than the hotel was actually open. I made it as far her saying that Pandora wasn't any more immersive than Adventureland because, and I'm paraphrasing, the cast members aren't speaking to her in Navi no matter how loud she yells it at them.

I bet the average view time is 20 minutes. No well adjusted adult is gonna spend four hours of their life watching a young woman cosplay in her bedroom among plushies for that long. (Ugh, when I say it out loud, of course some people will, and not the kind you invite to your teenage daughter's birthday party.)

There's a whole subculture of people who can't let go of that things demise, and many went multiple times. They can't move on.

That said, I still think that a shorter "itinerary" would mean less time to fill, and thus fewer actors and such, which might have brought the cost down and helped with margin. And obviously the marketing had to sell what it really was: Immersive, interactive dinner theater.

Jeff:

That said, I still think that a shorter "itinerary" would mean less time to fill, and thus fewer actors and such, which might have brought the cost down and helped with margin. And obviously the marketing had to sell what it really was: Immersive, interactive dinner theater.

Do you think Disney would ever try it with a modified version again? Maybe with a a different IP? A Marvel hotel? A Toy Story hotel? Etc….

I don't know. It seems to me they put too much energy into this to not figure out how to use the goods for something.

Wow. This is a lot.

I've spent about 20 minutes just jumping around and watching a few moments and then jumping to another random spot and...

Wow. This is a lot.

I made it to a minute 47. That sums up the extent of my interest in this hotel from the start, yet I still can't imagine sitting through 4 hours of stuff on YouTube that I'm even absolutely fanatical about.

I randomly clicked around as well but I only spent 3 minutes. Skipped to the end. I think she sums it up nicely by saying "...[money] is the dirty secret".

Gonch - is she your daughter?

Shades:

Gonch - is she your daughter?

If she was, I would smack her.

Never gave it a shot, and I hate to be critical of something I never tried. That said, if an immersive Star Wars themed hotel didn't make it, I don't know what other IP would. Star Wars has to have some of the most ardent, loyal and "irrationally passionate" fans in the world. If they couldn't sustain the concept, I don't know what IP could.

Yeah, but I think they spend all their money on conventions and costumes. Nothing left for the "cruise."

Extralongform video is Jenny's thing.

She did a 4 hour video on Evermore Park, which is her second most-watched video (behind a 2.5-hour video about The Vampire Diaries).

I'm part of a number of online communities, and at least two of them are deeply interested in every video she puts out, with server-wide Discord alerts when they appear.

Jeff:

Yeah, but I think they spend all their money on conventions and costumes. Nothing left for the "cruise."

I’m a big Star Wars fan. Not obsessed with it, but a fan for sure. Even the hotel was pricey for me and I could afford it if I really wanted to go. Sounds like they couldn’t get the price point to a sweet spot without hurting the overall experience.

My big problem with it wasn't just the price point (which was pretty high). It was that if I'm going to be on Disney property for a few days, I can spend a few hundred dollars to have a magical vacation in the parks with my family or I can spend a few thousand dollars to have a magical vacation in the Star Cruiser with most of my family. It just never made sense.

I totally regret not doing it. I thought I'd have more time. I have a friend (that I met on a Disney cruise, unsurprisingly), she loved it, did it I think three times. Her and her friends went all out, cosplay and all. While I wouldn't go that far, I did find it super interesting how deep you could go into stories if you wanted to.

She made it to CNN

Yikes. The analysis though about demand is interesting. That long-form video is in any way "popular" I think is positive, given the disposable and ephemeral nature of TikTok. What I'm not crazy about is that it's still all of this personality driven stuff.

It's not without precedent, but it's also not the same. In the 70's they called it gonzo journalism, with Hunter S. Thompson as its poster boy. He was after truth, not necessarily fact, and he made himself part of the story. With drugs. But generally, he was still reporting on something, even as a participant.

I don't think that's what this is. Well, there might be drugs. But mostly it's the amateur version of cable news: People offering opinions about things with no expertise or deep experience. Coming to you live from the bedroom. Thompson at least spoke to people who were part of the story. And there's a lot of work in that. You have to find people who are experts, who were there, who actually know things.

This might all be fine if people, in a general sense, engaged in critical thinking, but they don't. They don't separate fact from opinion, consider the credibility of sources, attempt to validate things presented as fact... they just let themselves be spoonfed whatever.

Here's the perspective of someone who worked in guest services on the "ship:"

https://screenrant.com/star...ets-wrong/

I wonder if this would have been more successful as a "wing" on a Disney cruise ship.

Probably not, since the ships go to actual ports on earth. Granted, those at-sea days on long itineraries might be interesting.

Hyperspace Lounge on the Wish is kind of a neat spot, but their drink menu in meh, and they don't stock all the liquor because of special bottles for theme. But it's fun to hang out in there for an hour or two.