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Disney: Reach for the stars
Dreamed up by fans and conceived by Disney imagineers, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will offer visitors the chance to live out their own Star Wars fantasies. Magali Robathan takes a look at what to expect
Due to open in 2022, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel will see guests become the heroes of their own Star Wars adventures during an immersive, two-night experience.
Their adventure will begin with a check-in at a dedicated terminal at Walt Disney World, where they’ll enter a ‘Launch Pod’ which blasts them off into space. They’ll watch the Earth getting smaller and smaller as they enter hyperspace and approach the Halcyon starcruiser. When the Launch Pod docks and the airlock opens, they’ll enter the ship’s main deck and begin their journey.
During their time on the Starcruiser, guests will take part in a multi-day, interactive story that will see them interacting with crew members, other passengers and Star Wars characters, including the starcruiser’s charismatic captain, the ship’s mechanic and heroes of the Resistance.
Activities will include visiting the Starcruiser’s Bridge to learn about how to navigate its systems, learning the “ancient ways of the lightsaber” and “facing off against a training remote.”
They’ll be served meals in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room, which will offer “a lavish multi-course menu of otherworldly and familiar origins.”
The experience will also feature a live performance “from a galactic superstar” and an excursion to the planet Batuu, “where guests can explore the winding pathways of Black Spire Outpost and seek out a hidden Resistance base.” They’ll also get the chance to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
As for the sleeping quarters, images released by Disney show a cabin with a queen-sized bed and two bunk beds, a spaceship airlock-style door and screen displays that show the Halycon spacecruiser’s journey through space (and possibly double up as televisions).
• Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser guests will be the first to see characters such as Rey wield a brand-new, more realistic lightsaber designed by Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development to create dramatic in-person moments previously only seen in films or shows.
• Every window in the Halcyon starcruiser – including those in each cabin – has a view of the galaxy beyond, with ever-changing vistas as the ship progresses from destination to destination.
• Guests will be able to explore the starcruiser and perhaps discover hidden spaces deep in the mechanics of the ship – perfect for uncovering secrets or holding clandestine meetings.
• The Crown of Corellia Dining Room is named for Corellia, the planet known galaxy-wide for the shipyards that created not only the Halcyon starcruiser, but also the famed Millennium Falcon.
• For a limited time, guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios can now see a model of the Halcyon starcruiser on display inside ‘Walt Disney Presents’.
