Disney already owns a cruise line, a small empire of hotels, and a series of scaled-up Star Wars attractions. The Galactic Starcruiser experience, set to debut at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, in 2021, is attempting to combine all three.
Announced at last year’s D23 Expo, the hotly-anticipated installation aims to provide an immersive experience in which guests become active participants in the interstellar story unfolding around them.
The itinerary consists of two days and nights aboard the Halcyon, a luxury ‘starship’ isolated from the outside world, and the voyage will follow different plotlines depending on the choices passengers make.
After arriving at a designated ‘terminal’ within the park, guests will be ushered into a launch pod that will simulate blasting into space. Watch the Halcyon grow ever nearer through a porthole in the pod ceiling, and from the moment you cross the first airlock, every window comes with an ever-changing view of the galaxy.
On board activities include real-time lightsaber training, touring the bridge to learn about intergalactic navigation, and hanging out in the atrium with a cast of beloved (and not so beloved) characters. Cabins will fit a family of five, and include futuristic pod-style bunk beds. All meals will be taken on board.
Only once during the journey will passengers leave the immersion of the cruiser – for a planet-side excursion to Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, more commonly known as new Disney World exhibit, Galaxy’s Edge.
It’s an ambitious project, but Disney execs have now confirmed via a blogpost that the Halcyon will be arriving on time, and that reservations open later this year.
“Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is a completely new type of experience,” says Ann Morrow Johnson, executive producer for Walt Disney Imagineering, for the first time we’re going to invite guests to become the hero of their own Star Wars adventure, and you can do it in whatever way you like.”
