Star Wars Resort: Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon Update

A one-of-a-kind Star Wars resort experience is coming soon to Walt Disney World. Inside the Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon, the artists and Imagineers at Lucasfilm and Disney promise to immerse guests in the Star Wars galaxy inviting guests to become the hero of their own Star Wars story.

What you need to know:

• Guests will board the Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon for a two-day, two-night all-immersive experience.
• Cabins in the ship can sleep up to five people. each room will have a starport with a live view into space.
• In addition to ‘on-board’ activities, guests will go on an excursion to the planet Batuu where they will experience Black Spire Outpost and the two main rides there Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
• Cruises are expected to begin departing later in 2021.

The all-immersive adventure will be similar to a Disney Cruise where the only stop is Castaway Cay, Disney’s private resort island. The difference is instead of being at sea, you’ll be onboard the starcruiser, inside the four walls of Disney and Lucasfilm created magic, and your port of call will be special hours inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in the nearby Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Guests will be welcomed on the surface and ride a simulator style launch pod up to the ship.

Once there, they will enter the atrium on the main deck of the Halcyon and get acclimated to the ship.

There will be activities and various role playing activities throughout the day. You might be asked to accept a mission from the Resistance and join in the action. You may be pressed into service to defend the ship from the forces of the First Order.

We’re not sure how they’re going to handle the idea of the force. The timeline of Galaxy’s Edge is set between Episode VIII – The Last Jedi and Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. Disney has said there will be lightsaber training available.

Jedi were pretty scarce during that time in the Skywalker saga. The chance one would be hanging out on the Halcyon seems pretty slim. That said, this is all about Disney giving Star Wars fans the immersive experience they want. If guests want to encounter a Jedi, Disney will make that a part of the show.

Disney also intends this to be a family experience. Rooms are designed with beds for adults and bunk beds for kids. The engineering room is designed as an interactive play area for kids.

How far along is construction?

Due to the nature of the physical location of the Star Wars hotel, getting up close for photos is difficult. However, one of the roads on property comes within a couple hundred feet of the property.

That’s how we’ve been tracking progress on construction. Work has been progressing during the pandemic since around June. The shape of the starcruiser puts the rooms roughly in the back of the ship, the area that looks like a typical hotel. The common ship spaces including the bridge, training, and dining facilities are all up front.

We can see one new piece of construction, which we’ve highlighted in this video, it’s the area where guests will board a shuttle and descend to the planet Batuu for their visit to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Right now on the outside Disney has laid all the roads leading up to the hotel and the main entrance. They’ve also started to add in some of the massive amount of landscaping that will hide the hotel behind a dirt berm and a forest of trees and shrubs.

What we don’t know is how much work remains on the show scenes being constructed inside. Nor do we know about cast member hiring and training. When we start to hear about cast members getting moved to the new Star Wars hotel, that’s a good sign that the opening is not too far away.

When can we stay at the Star Wars Hotel?

Of course, the two big questions everyone wants to know are 1) when will it open and 2) when can I make a reservation. We don’t have the answers to those questions yet. Disney has said the hotel will open sometime in 2021.

We do have one more question. How immersive an experience will it be? Will Star Wars Galactic Cruiser guests be allowed to leave the ship and, say, go to dinner at the California Grill? or will the hotel operate like it is in the middle of the sea, such as a cruise ship.

Okay. One more question. How much is this all going to cost. We expect it will be similar in cost to a concierge level Disney Cruise Line experience, but no prices have been published yet.

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