The Simpsons Is Parodying the Star Wars Hotel, With Jenny Nicholson

The Simpsons is taking a shot at Disney's most famous flop. The show's November 8 episode, The Kosmic Kruiser, sends Bart and Lisa into Krustyland's "most notorious and failed attraction," and it looks a whole lot like Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (Fiction Horizon).

The best part is the guest list, since Jenny Nicholson, the YouTuber whose four-hour video about the Starcruiser went viral in 2024, voices a character named KIT-10. Westworld's Jimmi Simpson also guest stars as Don Jeffries (Simpsons Wiki).

What happens in The Kosmic Kruiser?

According to the official episode description, Bart and Lisa break into the abandoned attraction and discover that it "hasn't been completely abandoned." Brian Kelley wrote the episode, which is the sixth of Season 38 and the 815th episode of the show overall. Early images show a spaceship-shaped building with "The Kosmic Kruiser Hotel" written across the hull in big block letters (Jedi News).

Nicholson confirmed the news herself on X, where she wrote, "It's true I got to record for this! I had fun and everybody was really nice to me. They let me keep the fish!" (X).

What was the Galactic Starcruiser?

It was a two-night Star Wars experience at Walt Disney World, where guests boarded a "starship" called the Halcyon and played a part in a live story. It opened on March 1, 2022, and the price started at about $4,800 for two people. Critics pointed to that price and the single storyline that discouraged repeat visits, and Disney closed it for good on September 30, 2023 (Wikipedia).

Nicholson's video, The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel, turned the hotel into a pop culture punchline. It's a long and very funny breakdown of her own stay on the ship, and it has pulled in millions of views since it went up.

Why is this casting so perfect?

My read is that this is the most self-aware casting The Simpsons has done in years. The show has been roasting theme parks since Itchy and Scratchy Land in 1994, and Krustyland gives the writers the perfect place to poke fun at Disney's pricey Star Wars hotel.

Bringing in the person who basically wrote the book on the Starcruiser's failure is a great move for the joke. It also shows how much YouTube critics now shape the way fans talk about Star Wars, even inside Disney's own house (The Simpsons is a Disney show now, after all).

The Kosmic Kruiser airs Sunday, November 8, on FOX, and we already know where we'll be that night.

More Star Wars coverage is right here.

Header photo shows the Galactic Starcruiser's atrium, by Steven Miller, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.