News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[LovePop]

Hm. The hallway looks like this:

But I thought it was going to look like this:

Or at the least, look like this:

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Hm. The hallway looks like this:

View attachment 603826

But I thought it was going to look like this:

View attachment 603827

Not defending it, but that concept art was supposed to be showing the inside of the transport vehicle, not a hallway.

 

[kingdead]

This looks like a lot of fun for ages 8 to maybe 16, but I can't imagine anyone going without a kid in tow (ok, I can, but I can't imagine them not having a huge midlife crisis about wasting their life and money afterwards).

 

[sedati]

Hm. The hallway looks like this:

View attachment 603826

I think that may be the area by the lifts.
From BlogMickey, the hallway to guest rooms should look like this, which, like the bridge, heavily evokes the Tantive IV:

 

[sedati]

This looks like a lot of fun for ages 8 to maybe 16, but I can't imagine anyone going without a kid in tow (ok, I can, but I can't imagine them not having a huge midlife crisis about wasting their life and money afterwards).

Many feel that way about WDW.

 

[MrPromey]

This is embarrassing. THIS is Disney’s primary focus in Florida right now?

Meanwhile their biggest competitor down the road is building a completely new park. Tides are turning.

I think I'm pretty much done having an opinion to share on anything about this. Nothing they've shown makes this look even remotely appealing to me. When I say that, I don't mean, this is overpriced - I mean like, if these activities were offered in the parks and included in admission, I'd actively skip all of it.

I'm clearly not the target audience for this.

None of that's meant as an insult to anyone still excited. I think experiences like escape rooms seem silly, too but I know plenty of people out there love them. I hope this meets or exceeds the expectations of everyone going, once there.

I just see no point in continuing to register my disappointment about what they're showing when it comes to this project or following the discussion because there is no price point that would not make me feel embarrassed to be doing this based on what they're now revealing it to be.*

I know that says as much about me as it does about Disney and again, I mean nothing disrespectful or insulting to anyone who is doing it. I'm just glad my son isn't into Star Wars enough to put me in the awkward position of having to consider this.

It's shaping up to be nothing like I imagined when they first announced it but it was probably foolish to think that it would live up to the expectations of my mind when they only vaguely spoke about how amazing and first-of-its-kind it was going to be.

Again, for those going, I hope you have a wonderful time. For the rest on the other side of the fence, maybe like me, it's time to move on.

Personally, I like too many of you to risk more heated debates and misunderstandings over this.

After all, there's still plenty of other stuff on property we can argue and turn on each other over.


*of course, as Steve keeps adding articles to the front page, I reserve the right to get sucked back into the debate...

 

[kingdead]

Many feel that way about WDW.

Ha, true! I just thought that there would be more for the older nerd crowd here--the equivalent of the people who used to show up to the Star Trek Experience--but there really isn't. Probably better for the kids and families as they won't have to deal with surly comic book men, but it does come across as the world's longest, most expensive trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

 

[durangojim]

Ha, true! I just thought that there would be more for the older nerd crowd here--the equivalent of the people who used to show up to the Star Trek Experience--but there really isn't. Probably better for the kids and families as they won't have to deal with surly comic book men, but it does come across as the world's longest, most expensive trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

I think that's what I'm bummed about as well. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and am willing to spend big bucks on unique experiences. I love Galaxy's Edge, but this just doesn't look that interesting to me, and what I have seen looks seriously underwhelming. My kids who are 13 and 16 and also SW fans have no interest in it whatsoever. I'm not sure what I was expecting and was very excited for when they originally announced this years ago, but it wasn't this.

 

[Cesar R M]

Here's Fort Lauderdale, that you've been to. The red is the industrial landscape you missed...

View attachment 603825

Oh lord, Def missed that area (the only thing I remember was the tankers near the carnival cruise dock section.

Remind me again who has driven along this route at ground level and documented the perspective at ground level?

Yep, I do not remember seeing anything of that except maybe some walls.
The tankers near the Carnival section in the other hand.. def visible.

 

[Patcheslee]

So hallway splits left and right behind them, before he entered a door offscreen to the right. Where the heck would this even be?

 

[sedati]

So hallway splits left and right behind them, before he entered a door offscreen to the right. Where the heck would this even be?

I think this may be by the elevators.

 

[Supreme Leader]

So hallway splits left and right behind them, before he entered a door offscreen to the right. Where the heck would this even be?

It's more than likely not near where they shot this footage.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Ha, true! I just thought that there would be more for the older nerd crowd here--the equivalent of the people who used to show up to the Star Trek Experience--but there really isn't. Probably better for the kids and families as they won't have to deal with surly comic book men, but it does come across as the world's longest, most expensive trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

Oh, the comic book nerds will be there, and they’ll be even surlier then usual.

The level at which they are aiming this does neatly highlight what they think of theme park guests.

 

[britain]

My 2 cents as posted elsewhere:

They are trying to depict luxury in Star Wars, something you NEVER see in the OT, and only quickly glimpse in the other films. The HEROES of Star Wars are never seeking luxury. You don't want to be one of the rich villains, do you? They need to wear-and-tear the whole ship down. Grunge it up.

Or have the place be fancy, but treat guests like they're 3rd class passengers on the Titanic. You can see a poster for the nightclub, but you can't go to it because you're too poor! (ie. You don't have to be subjected to it any longer than you would in one of the SW movies.)

But darn it, that won't work, because you can only afford this experience if you are wealthy. I guess that makes you a Star Wars villain, then. Enjoy your twi'lek entertainment.

This is like setting out to build an Indiana Jones Resort, and having it all look like ritzy Club Obi Wan from Temple of Doom. I mean, yeah, it's canon, but I was expecting a lot more caves, jeeps and skeletons, and less art deco & dancing girls.

 

[flynnibus]

My 2 cents as posted elsewhere:

They are trying to depict luxury in Star Wars, something you NEVER see in the OT, and only quickly glimpse in the other films. The HEROES of Star Wars are never seeking luxury. You don't want to be one of the rich villains, do you? They need to wear-and-tear the whole ship down. Grunge it up.

I don't agree with you. There is plenty of 'average' level people depicted over the canon material from Lucas... they aren't living in squalor. Yes when you look at the outer rim, people are doing more scavenging and repurposing, but that doesn't mean the whole galaxy is that way.

Tantive IV didn't look grungy
None of the cities really were grungy
Bespin was not grungy

And remember, this is a star cruiser - you aren't hiding in the cargo hold of an ore miner or something.

 

[britain]

I don't agree with you. There is plenty of 'average' level people depicted over the canon material from Lucas... they aren't living in squalor. Yes when you look at the outer rim, people are doing more scavenging and repurposing, but that doesn't mean the whole galaxy is that way.

Tantive IV didn't look grungy
None of the cities really were grungy
Bespin was not grungy

And remember, this is a star cruiser - you aren't hiding in the cargo hold of an ore miner or something.

Yeah, I know. I'm saying they should change the story from star cruiser to ore miner and it would feel more Star Warsy.

 

[Magic Feather]

My 2 cents as posted elsewhere:

They are trying to depict luxury in Star Wars, something you NEVER see in the OT, and only quickly glimpse in the other films. The HEROES of Star Wars are never seeking luxury. You don't want to be one of the rich villains, do you? They need to wear-and-tear the whole ship down. Grunge it up.

Or have the place be fancy, but treat guests like they're 3rd class passengers on the Titanic. You can see a poster for the nightclub, but you can't go to it because you're too poor! (ie. You don't have to be subjected to it any longer than you would in one of the SW movies.)

But darn it, that won't work, because you can only afford this experience if you are wealthy. I guess that makes you a Star Wars villain, then. Enjoy your twi'lek entertainment.

This is like setting out to build an Indiana Jones Resort, and having it all look like ritzy Club Obi Wan from Temple of Doom. I mean, yeah, it's canon, but I was expecting a lot more caves, jeeps and skeletons, and less art deco & dancing girls.

That's really the catch-22 of up charge Star Wars concepts. For the level of cost that you are paying, you want it to be immersive *and* upscale. You need it to be appealing to people of any level of Star Wars fandom. While it would be cool to be staying in a Rebel Base, you really can't be providing top level service in story. The common spaces would appear dirty and grungy which would be unappealing to those not initiated in the fandom (spouses or parents dragged along). When you are in a theme park, you can get away with a grungier rebel base (see Rise), but when people are staying overnight, if you are going to keep things "in story" you have to sacrifice a lot of amenities. If they were heck-bent on this hotel being "in canon" then I feel like they took the best approach they could get away with all things considered. That said, if they were instead to just make a sprawling hotel that *looked* like a Star Wars environment but was really just a hotel with that skin it would likely be much better received.

That said, I've always felt that their best approach for a Star Wars Hotel would be to emulate the Moderate Format they have. Imagine a Ranchos esque area, except done up with Star Wars aesthetics and rockwork. Not that WDW has any underperforming hotels at the moment, but if they did, I feel like a re-skin in that regard would be one of their best uses of a Star Wars property in a hotel. They could easily up the rates of a clearly moderate hotel to Deluxe rates simply by virtue of the hotel being Star Wars, but, alas, this is the path they've chosen.

 

[Incomudro]

I'm going to be honest. That video they just released is the worst thing I have ever seen in regards to an actually constructed theme park concept. I am truly speechless.

It certainly didn't help dispel the reservations I have with this attraction.

 

[Incomudro]

I do think they could have put some theming on the outside of the hotel so it doesn't look like a modern jail, or paint it all "go away green" so it's not really noticeable from the outside.

It's not the outside of a "hotel."
It's the outside of a check in terminal for a space shuttle that takes you to the Halcyon.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

My 2 cents as posted elsewhere:

They are trying to depict luxury in Star Wars, something you NEVER see in the OT, and only quickly glimpse in the other films. The HEROES of Star Wars are never seeking luxury. You don't want to be one of the rich villains, do you? They need to wear-and-tear the whole ship down. Grunge it up.

Or have the place be fancy, but treat guests like they're 3rd class passengers on the Titanic. You can see a poster for the nightclub, but you can't go to it because you're too poor! (ie. You don't have to be subjected to it any longer than you would in one of the SW movies.)

But darn it, that won't work, because you can only afford this experience if you are wealthy. I guess that makes you a Star Wars villain, then. Enjoy your twi'lek entertainment.

This is like setting out to build an Indiana Jones Resort, and having it all look like ritzy Club Obi Wan from Temple of Doom. I mean, yeah, it's canon, but I was expecting a lot more caves, jeeps and skeletons, and less art deco & dancing girls.

There could be ways to include both aesthetics, depending on space restrictions.

Maybe the inner most areas look like an old rust bucket but some areas are spruced up to trick the First Order into thinking it's a luxury cruise ship, hiding its' true status as a scrappy Resistance ship. Guests discover these parts of the ship as the story unfolds.

That could be more interesting from a storytelling standpoint as well. My worry is that the story they appear to be telling is a bit by the numbers.

It also lets guests choose their role. They can just be a regular cruise guest who gets caught up and watches the story more passively, or go full role play as a Resistance member.