First impressions have hit for Disney World’s newest hotel experience, Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, from a variety of different press outlets and influencers. Galactic Starcruiser officially opens on March 1, 2022.
Galactic Starcruiser is an immersive experience that puts guests onboard the Halcyon, a luxury liner with a long history in the universe, dating all the way back to Disney’s new High Republic era. It should be noted that the press had a condensed four-hour preview, whereas normally the experience would be spread out over two whole days.
The hotel is painstakingly designed to look like an in-universe location, and a host of actors are present to add some unique storylines and activities. According to Polygon’s preview “There are about a dozen main characters in all, including First Order members and Chewbacca. The staff remains firmly in character the entire time, offering up threads of storylines that guests can interrogate and explore over the course of their stay.” Of course, you also have all of Disney World and Galaxy’s Edge out your doorstep as well, so guests don’t have to spend the full time inside the hotel.
Most of the previews paint the role-playing element as the absolute highlight of the experience, as the cast of actors really do a great job of making guests feel like they’re in the Star Wars universe. It seems like the actual facility, however, might be slightly smaller than people were expecting. As The Verge notes in its preview,
“The main dining cabin is about the size of a medium-sized restaurant, while the atrium’s neon-soaked bar offers seating for a couple dozen people at most. (And only a single sabacc table!) There are ‘restricted’ spaces that open up for story elements, like the cargo hold, brig, and engineering bay, but there are really only two or three main ‘public’ spaces to spend time in outside of those plot moments.”
Disney told the press that storylines are meant to evolve organically over two days, based on who guests interact with. There are also multiple branching storylines, meaning one set of guests might see something that another totally missed. The food and drink at Galactic Starcruiser are also designed to look like it’s ripped right out of Star Wars, much like the food at Galaxy’s Edge.
One of the bigger sticking points with Galactic Starcruiser, unfortunately, is the cost. Prospective guests will need to spend a pretty penny as the cheapest option for two guests per cabin clocks in at $1209 per guest per night. This means you’re looking at least around $4800 for the hotel alone, and that price scales as you add more guests. The hotel price does include free food and drink as well as a one-day entry ticket to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Clayton Sandell from Newsy asked the creative execs of the experience for their thoughts on the price, which you can see below.
The high price point means that a lot of families may be excluded, but it can’t be debated that Galactic Starcruiser is an experience unlike anything else out there. Head to the official website for more information on Galactic Starcruiser, as well as details on how to book.
