News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
Aren't we supposed to be on a spaceship? You know, cruising through space.

I wonder what hyperspace will be like? Looking forward to that.

Or are we on a space station? Is it the size of a small moon?
That's no moon -- that's a(n immersive experience in a) resort hotel!
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
It came up a while back when someone suggested that they should ban cell phones because it would ruin the immersion if someone’s phone rang. There were also suggestions that there should be no way to see outside since you are supposed to be in space. There was a long back and forth on whether people can or should disconnect from the outside world. These were one off thoughts and not a group consensus on the actual experience.

I think you are right that they won’t make this a lockdown or rehab type scenario. I picture people coming and going as they please. As usual there will be some who claim they can’t experience full immersion that way, but the vast majority of people will be able to use some imagination and ignore small flaws in favor of a more enjoyable overall experience.
Nobody used the word "ban" -- the question was posed about someone leaving their cell phone in a car. I suggested that CMs would recommend that people not use their cell phones during planned events because it would disrupt the immersion effect. It's exactly why movie theaters ask that people refrain from taking calls or texting during a movie.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Nobody used the word "ban" -- the question was posed about someone leaving their cell phone in a car. I suggested that CMs would recommend that people not use their cell phones during planned events because it would disrupt the immersion effect. It's exactly why movie theaters ask that people refrain from taking calls or texting during a movie.
In this case the planned event lasts several days instead of several hours like a movie ;)
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Why cruise is a good frame of reference:

And... because it's not like a 7 day cruise going from island to island, rather, it's more like a "2 day cruise to nowhere." You don't get off the boat on that type of cruise. Mind you, that type of cruise is mainly for boozing and gambling...


Interesting.

I had heard of more mainstream shorter term things like murder mystery and escape rooms, but not multi-day experiences like this. This is a pretty ambitious project for Disney to try to take something like this and sell it to a mainstream audience.

I've mentioned above I was part of a group that ran a multi-day massive LARP at one of those conventions. It was very successful and fun. And that was just with enthusiasts and volunteers. Put in some trained personnel who get to experience running this many times over and it will be a super fun event. (BTW, not everyone wound up assimilated into the Borg collective.)


One of the keys to a good mystery interactive is that you don't rely entirely on a single fragile series of clues, but rather have fallback revelations that are more obvious the later in the game you go.

I think the analogy to a murder-mystery dinner is more with the immersive environment than with solving a mystery. A good massive LARP will have some mysteries to solve, but will have a lot of group dynamics and 'goals' that have nothing to do with solving anything. This way, even if none of the secrets were revealed (which NPC was the Jedi anyway?), you'll still have fun with the individual and group quests.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
In this case the planned event lasts several days instead of several hours like a movie ;)
Well, even Bowman and Poole got messages from home in their down time.
poole.jpg
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
And... because it's not like a 7 day cruise going from island to island, rather, it's more like a "2 day cruise to nowhere." You don't get off the boat on that type of cruise. Mind you, that type of cruise is mainly for boozing and gambling...




I've mentioned above I was part of a group that ran a multi-day massive LARP at one of those conventions. It was very successful and fun. And that was just with enthusiasts and volunteers. Put in some trained personnel who get to experience running this many times over and it will be a super fun event. (BTW, not everyone wound up assimilated into the Borg collective.)




I think the analogy to a murder-mystery dinner is more with the immersive environment than with solving a mystery. A good massive LARP will have some mysteries to solve, but will have a lot of group dynamics and 'goals' that have nothing to do with solving anything. This way, even if none of the secrets were revealed (which NPC was the Jedi anyway?), you'll still have fun with the individual and group quests.
Since you have some real life experience with this how important will it be for other guests to buy in to the concept? You were obviously with a group that bought in but if you mix in average tourists will things still work as well? Can young kids mix in without lessening the experience for more serious adults. This probably comes back to how Disney advertises the experience. People need to know what they are getting into.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Since you have some real life experience with this how important will it be for other guests to buy in to the concept? You were obviously with a group that bought in but if you mix in average tourists will things still work as well? Can young kids mix in without lessening the experience for more serious adults. This probably comes back to how Disney advertises the experience. People need to know what they are getting into.

Some of the ten year olds were the best role-players! Just think how Disney kids get the idea that they're a princess or pirate or padawan. Put a robe, tiara, or bucaneer hat on them and they'll do just fine. They know how to play pretend. It's the adults you need to worry about.

Our event was structured so that people could play as much or as little as they want. The convention gave us a nice big space with several rooms (curtained off areas). Many players dropped in for a few hours and then went off to play in other events and came back and forth. Others spent the whole weekend playing out whatever we offered.

Being a role-playing convention, the vast majority understood the norms and conventions of role-playing and could handle a 'character sheet' and character conflict resolution (did your character get the infectious disease or not, roll a die!). Some needed some hand-holding, but that's what game-masters do (all the NPCs were also part of the game-master crew running the event).

Nothing was structured such that someone who was merely watching and not interacting would interfere with those who were 'playing.'

Think about meeting a face character at a M&G. If you want to, you can interact with them in character and ask Snow White which Dwarf was the most helpful and get in a conversation with her totally in character as if the person you're talking to was the real deal. Or, if you stand there like a dumb lug, she'll just start a conversation, tell a story, and ask if you want to pose for a 'portrait' and get you on your way.

If people are asked to pay $2000 for a room for two days, I would hope they would inquire as to why these rooms are that special. Also, I'm sure WDW would send them lot of information well in advance. I don't see someone finding a reservation the day before.
 

mmascari

Well-Known Member
How did the idea of "no contact with the outside world" come up? In particular, did someone in the thread turn the idea of "try not to break immersion in public areas" into a "stay at a rehab facility" level of curfew and proscription. :) I mean, they're not going to actively control private activity in your stateroom, right? And the hotel will not be a SCIF either.
There's a very broad spectrum between "facility lock down" and "theme the entire resort area with walking paths, outdoor pools, and theme continued to the outside of all structures".

A full lock down is an exaggeration to an extreme. However, I also wouldn't expect them to have all that outdoor theme and structure either. Rather, a single entry point that guests are funneled through and the rest is back stage area. Just like you don't normally walk past the loading dock at other hotels. I expect in addition to the guest parking lot, there will be a bus loop for transport to other parks too. I'm not even sure how you would theme the outside of a starship in a way that makes sense for the guest that wants to walk around the grounds. I'm assuming there will be hotel gyms and pools all inside the structure somewhere. All perfectly fine and inviting.


Why cruise is a good frame of reference:

The idea that pricing isn’t just a room rate... but likely tied to rooms AND guests in the room
The idea of set durations - not necessarily ‘just pick how many nights’
The idea of waves of guests that may be synchronized in their schedule
The idea of packaging where your stay package includes not just room, but entertainment and dining onsite
The idea of a bounded space that has dining, entertainment, berthing all self contained
The idea of entertainment offerings intended to be consumed onsite with self scheduling
The idea of dinner shows onsite
The idea of a continuous stay experience instead of just accommodations

And the most obvious... the story the whole thing is spun around.... STAR CRUISER and the idea you are on a transport on a journey

All of those make perfect sense. It does sound just like a cruise. Including that I wouldn't expect that package entertainment to be fully scheduled, but allow for downtime and for not attending all of it, but skipping some. If that's to take day trips to SWGE, or wander out to the rest of DHS, or take a bus one of the other parks or DS, or whatever. All exactly the same as a cruise where there is scheduled activity that people can participate in or do their own thing.

It's a very broad spectrum between "classic hotel where you mostly sleep" and "full on LARP you can't do anything else". I'm sure this will be somewhere in the middle. With guests having the ability to ignore as much as they want driving it towards "hotel where you sleep" (wasting their money then) or "never leaving the building or SWGE and doing every single entertainment options available". My guess is that Disney will be able to deal with both scenarios just fine, all at the same time. With the sweet spot somewhere in the middle for most guests.

Lots of post keep assuming an extreme one way or the other. From person with their cell phone out every second of the day to phones confiscated and locked up for the entire duration of stay. I'm sure this is a spectrum too. Where you'll see phone in typical public spaces where there isn't a active entertainment option going on, but that you'll be asked to not have them out (perhaps no photos or video) during specific entertainment events. People will be free to push their own experience towards whichever end of the spectrum makes the most sense for them. As long as they're not being actively disruptive, it will all be fine. Just like any other show in the parks.
 

Fizban257

Member
If the experience really is 2 days, as I think the survey and/or insiders have intimated, I could see this being a more restricted experience. Checking in, taking in the hotel/starship areas, participating in (some) LARP activities and an expected visit of some duration at GE during the voyage really would make for a very full 2 days.

I personally don't believe access to electronic devices will be limited, but I also do not think there will be buses to other parks during your brief stay, nor any outside facilities at the hotel.

You are buying a voyage on a spaceship from Orlando to Batuu and back, with all that a journey on a spaceship would entail. I certainly don't expect a starship to have an outdoor pool to enjoy during my trip!

Given the expected high price and the posited short duration of the stay/voyage, I am not sure why anyone would want to leave for another of the parks in the first place. As much as $2,000 per person for a 2-night stay and you want to leave in the middle to park hop to the Magic Kingdom?

As for the worry about whether a boutique park can survive long term, Sea World has been operating Discovery Cove for 18 years now. The park has a high price point and limits access to 1,200 guests per day. You are paying extra for the exclusivity at an all-inclusive, but slide-less water park with a 30-minute dolphin encounter. I have taken my family twice and loved every minute of both days.
 
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MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
You know, if someone is paying $2000 for two nights and they want to ignore the themed entertainment they're paying for to hop to MK to wait on lines... let them go! They obviously don't get what they were paying for and would probably ruin everyone else's experience.

Then on the morning everyone's leaving and there's a big gathering and the announcing of prizes, and which guild made the most money, and whether the Jedi's team or the Sith's team acquired the kyber crystals, and people are cheering and hooting over who solved the mystery of the missing jewels of the royal family of Klatuu, and who got the best score on the Millennium Falcon ride, and which group found and released the leader of the droid uprising who was entrapped in Batuu's droid shop, and who got the Rebellion's leader safely off the cruise ship out from under the noses of Imperial agents... then that person who skipped out to the MK will realize just how much they missed and how much money they wasted.
 

Fizban257

Member
Then on the morning everyone's leaving and there's a big gathering and the announcing of prizes, and which guild made the most money, and whether the Jedi's team or the Sith's team acquired the kyber crystals, and people are cheering and hooting over who solved the mystery of the missing jewels of the royal family of Klatuu, and who got the best score on the Millennium Falcon ride, and which group found and released the leader of the droid uprising who was entrapped in Batuu's droid shop, and who got the Rebellion's leader safely off the cruise ship out from under the noses of Imperial agents... then that person who skipped out to the MK will realize just how much they missed and how much money they wasted.
I want to go on ALL of those quests. Now, please.
 

TJJohn12

Well-Known Member
You know, if someone is paying $2000 for two nights and they want to ignore the themed entertainment they're paying for to hop to MK to wait on lines... let them go! They obviously don't get what they were paying for and would probably ruin everyone else's experience.

This makes a ton of sense - their money, their loss. But I also fully expect (at least at opening - not necessarily after guest complaints pile up) that heading to MK will more likely require hoping into SW:GE, walking to the front of MGM, and hopping a general bus to MK. Disney Transportation has shown themselves very willing to shape guest experience through their route offerings (or lack thereof - resort ADRs come to mind) and volume of busses on particular runs.

Also, totally seconding Fizban! All the things!
 

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