Disney launches new level of immersion in Star Wars experience

Orlando, Feb 27 (U.S.): Walt Disney’s latest theme park offering aims to make fans forget they’re in Florida and instead feel like they’re vacationing in luxury in a galaxy far, far away.

The two-night Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience, which opened Tuesday at Walt Disney World in Orlando, puts guests in a storyline on the Halcyon, an elegant spaceship said to be the place where Princess Leia and Han Solo honeymooned. .

Disney designers hope that visitors will seize the opportunity to play a role in the fictional world created by George Lucas. Guests at Halcyon can interact with space robots, Han’s hairy friend Chewbacca, and meet new characters.

Crew members will provide training on how to handle the lightsaber or fight threats coming from the ship’s bridge. Star Wars costumes are encouraged.

“We try to make it safe and fun to play Star Wars,” said Scott Trowbridge, executive director of creative portfolio at Walt Disney Imagineering, according to Reuters.

Expensive first-person adventure, starting at $4,809 for two guests. This includes two days and two nights in one of the 100 Starcruiser cabins, galactic-inspired food and drink, and a visit to Batuu, the Star Wars planet inside the Disney World theme park.

The designers said the Starcruiser experience takes elements from gaming, theater, storytelling and hospitality. Matt Martin, chief creative officer of Lucasfilm Story Group, called it “immersive theater meets cruise.”

Like traditional cruises, all guests board at the same time. The captain and cruise director greet each other, but things go awry when the Stormtroopers show up. The characters ask for help from the visitors, urging them to decide to side with the Resistance or the evil First Order.

“You can choose to lie to a character, you can help them, you can earn their trust, and you can multiply others,” said Ann Morrow Johnson, executive producer and creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering. “And you can really continue that relationship with them as you want your story to unfold.”

The inviting dining room offers nightly musical entertainment from a singer and an intergalactic band. In the cocktail lounge, visitors can play a round of card games in the world of “Star Wars” Sabbac. Or they can relax in the hallway without any pressure to participate in the story, the creators said.

“If you want to bend over and put on some Hungarian fancy dress and makeup, that’s okay,” Trowbridge said. “But also if you just want to sit back and put on a Star Wars T-shirt and drink a cocktail and watch the planets drift away, that’s okay too.”

The company did not disclose what it spent on building the experiment, which has been under development for more than six years. But the executives said they are sticking with Disney’s famous attention to detail and aiming to create a luxurious, high-tech experience.

The Starcruiser is located next to the Galaxy’s Edge in Walt Disney World, one of two “Star Wars” areas that cost more than a billion dollars to build.

As COVID-19 cases decline and health restrictions ease, crowds are returning to the Disney parks. Parks division revenue exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the last three months of 2021.

With Starcruiser, “There is a significant investment, not only in this particular version that we are launching, but also in the core technology and capabilities that we have developed,” Trowbridge said. “We are optimistic about expanding the ways we can communicate with our guests.”

HF