ORLANDO, Fla. — Imagineers have shared more details about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, including a slightly more specific time frame for its opening. The immersive experience — casually referred to by outsiders as “Star Wars Hotel” — will be available sometime in the spring 2022. It is under construction near Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The two-day, two-night adventure will be connected literally and figuratively with the Star Wars universe, some of which will be accomplished via Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the theme park.
A video on the official Disney Parks Blog shows creators talking about some Starcruiser aspects, raising possibilities without getting too specific.
Although Disney’s theme parks provide immersive experiences, “this is much more intimate,” Wendy Anderson, executive creative director with Disney Live Entertainment, says in the video.
Starcruiser was announced in 2019, although Imagineers in the 20-minute video say they’ve been working on the project for about six years.
“It might not be obvious to people how we have been able to weave these stories together. The stories that are going to take place on our Galactic Starcruiser were designed to intersect with the stories of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge when both were in development at the same time,” says Scott Trowbridge, portfolio creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering.
“It’s not just that Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and Galaxy’s Edge thread together, but they thread together with the rest of Star Wars storytelling. I’m excited about the ways we’re going to tell those stories not just onboard for the experience but also in all the other mediums in which Star Wars storytelling comes to life.”
Tidbits from the video:
—The first night aboard the Halcyon, starcruiser’s official name, will include a dinner show performed by “aliens,” Anderson says. “Folks you would never see on your home planet.” The food, created by Disney chefs to be “in-story,” also looks otherworldly.
—There will be character interaction, and some actions taken with them (or for them, such as smuggling) will carry on to other scenarios during the Starcruiser stay.
—The experience includes an excursion to Batuu, the setting for Galaxy’s Edge. Visitors’ stories will fit into the plotlines of the existing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run rides. “We’re able to show people things about Galaxy’s Edge, about Black Spire Outpost that they wouldn’t see as a day guest,” says Anisha Deshmane, associate producer for WDI.
—There will be personalized, unexpected character encounters as part of the stories. But familiar characters Kylo Ren and Rey will be involved. “You know there’s going to be action,” Trowbridge says. “These are not characters that talk out their problems.”
—Don’t feel like playing along? Just sit back and watch the dramas unfold. Or go have an intergalactic drink. “You can really choose to be as casual about this as you want or dive as deeply as you want to,” Anderson says.
The complete video is available at disneyparksblog.com.
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