Early Guests SHOCKED By ‘Star Wars’ Hotel, World Previously Existed Only “In Movies”

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galactic starcruiser exterior

Credit: Disney

The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser doesn’t officially open until March 2022, but some journalists recently got to preview the immersive experience that Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek has promised will leave Guests “blown away” — and they already can’t get enough.

Galactic Starcruiser concept art
Credit: Disney

Related: NEW ‘Star Wars’ Hotel Details Emerge, Journey Goes “Horribly, Horribly Wrong”

Nerdist’s  Amy Ratcliffe shared details of her experience on board the Corellian luxury starliner known as the Halcyon:

We toured the Halcyon and participated in a playtest, the latter with groups of families. Emphasis on playtest. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser doesn’t open until March 2022, so the ship isn’t finished, nor is its experience or the characters’ costumes. We skipped through a few possible scenarios and situations that could happen during the voyage. The above experience could happen to a guest soon after boarding the ship and gathering in the Halcyon’s atrium. And based on it, I want more.

starcruiser
Credit: Disney

Related: Droid Racing, Rise of the Resistance, and More Revealed For Galactic Starcruiser!

As described in the article, the playtest gave participating media personalities the ability to see how their choices will impact them as passengers in the Star Wars galaxy. The experience is designed for both diehard Star Wars fans and those who have never even seen a Star Wars movie — and who might believe that George Lucas is just an unassuming extra in a random documentary film.

twilek character at galactic starcruiser bar
Credit: Screenshot via Disney

Related: Disney Imagineers Want ‘Star Wars’ Hotel Guests to Dress as Twi’leks

As Walt Disney Company Hotels and Resorts Vice President Elizabeth Mullins told Nerdist, “If you’re playing hard, we will take care of you in that moment. And if you choose to stargaze or just sip a space cocktail, we’ll be there and be able to accommodate that as well.”

galactic starcruiser
Credit: Disney

Related: First Look: ‘Star Wars’ Hotel is Literally in Batuu’s Backyard

Nerdist went on to share details about a discussion that well-known Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Imagineer Scott Trowbridge had with preview Guests at Disney’s first-of-its-kind Star Wars hotel:

Walt Disney Imagineering portfolio creative executive Scott Trowbridge told us, “It is unlike anything that anyone has ever done before, certainly unlike anything we’ve ever done before. I think it is very exciting. It’s actually very much in keeping with Imagineering and Lucasfilm to invent new ways of delivering experiences, new ways of telling stories, and this is absolutely a next step in innovation of how immersive we can be, how we can integrate live performance with amazing placemaking with new technology and high-touch guest experience and service.”

Part live-action roleplay, part video game, part immersive theater, and part luxury service experience, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser incorporates multitudinous facets. In the early days of figuring out the experience, an operations partner suggested treating it as a cruise-style outing with a fixed itinerary. That comment brought things together.

lightsaber experience art, galactic starcruiser
Credit: Disney

Related: Galactic Starcruiser Almost FULLY BOOKED For First Month of Voyages

While we know certain details about the Galactic Starcruiser experience — like the fact that Chewbacca, Rey, and Kylo Ren will all be on board and Guests will take a port excursion to Batuu’s Black Spire Outpost — many details about this completely immersive Walt Disney World Resort hotel remain under wraps.

starcruiser resistance recruit
Credit: Screenshot via Disney

Related: The Galaxy’s Edge Trash Cans Offer a Rare Original Trilogy Tribute

Ratcliffe, who is also “The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” author, shared additional details of her experience on Twitter:

I boarded the Halcyon for a preview of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and some playtesting last week!
Food & merch preview: bit.ly/3oBzePU
Meet some new characters: bit.ly/30wYuyT
My tour and hands-on experience: bit.ly/3HzAzzw

Related: Disney Confirms Its Newest Resort Will Change the Galaxy’s Edge Experience

While this exciting preview has given us a new glimpse inside the Halcyon, there is sure to be nothing like “blasting off” to a galaxy far, far away for yourself and living your truest Star Wars story next year.

As USA Today shared, this is a world that has previously only existed “in movies and on TV.”

Are you boarding the Starcruiser for a luxury voyage in the Star Wars universe?

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!

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