News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[MoonRakerSCM]

Man, I think I might actually want to visit this now... the intro video is confusing... the moment Kylo Ren attacks the ship, I'm screaming at the top of my lungs and bursting through the fake exit door in my room.

 

[waltography]

Earlier today I was wondering if the little 'scheduled' things are actually a ruse... as in the space bingo, find the porg, guest parade etc. are all items that are bad on purpose because they get interrupted and don't actually exist... but perhaps... it's both.

Nothing better than a game of space bingo being interrupted by a belligerent First Order officer on vacation... what a story moment.

 

[Cesar R M]

You don't need to slander anyone. They'll all stand on their reputation. If @lentesta or @wdwmagic say something, it carries more weight than others, due to their reputation. There are others that I'm not allowed to mention here. But, you know who to trust and who not to. I know that JoJo isn't on that list. There are others that are getting lowered reputations as I type this.

Is there someone posting who got media invites? Would be an interesting list to examine!

Ironically, It seems that Jojo's next video is actually a negative one
Will have to see what Kyle (usually the most positive) ends posting to see if they are true to themselves or told to "pipe down" issues.

 

[flynnibus]

Your individual star wars experience has been reduced to ship wide 'story events' where everyone will muster together and be given a choice in what to do. Make sure you and your 50 closest neighbors don't trip over each other as you agilely make your next move!

 

[waltography]

Forgive me if it's been stated in this thread before, but when exactly does the embargo lift? 9am ET tomorrow? Midnight ET tonight?

 

[Cesar R M]

I mean, I understand the impluse to bring guests to a "Launch Pad" and send them blasting off into space toward the ship. That's a great way to start a Star Wars Adventure.

But, like, they have to do it well. Build a launch pad that hides the showbuilding. Or at least doesn't parade you past it on the way there.

Consider the pains Disney took to hide the showbuilding of The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. It cannot be seen from any guest-facing area, inside or outside of the park. They did that in the 1960's.

All they had to do here was build a berm and plant some trees. Would have loved it if they took it a step further and did some real sleight-of-hand to make you think there's no building around that could house the Starcruiser interiors . . . but berm and trees would have sufficed. And they didn't even do that right?

I'm actually surprised they did not build on top some props like it was a space port. Like some fake ships and a loading area on top.

The more confounding thing is that they could have made an exit from Osceola that would have lead directly to the front of the starcruiser, not ruining the illusion. The clearing of land and grass is literally there because that’s where the imagineering trailers were set up.
Instead they go out of their way almost to have you drive 360 degrees around the full show building AND the entire backside of Batuu, entering through the studios cast parking lot.
None of it makes any sense.

Almost feels like the whole thing was thrown just as quickly they could... and slashed the original project spectacularly using the excuse of declining Disney+ and Covid?

I honestly think this hotel was very similar to the idea of the "in epcot" hotel.
Where the StarCruiser would be linked directly to Batuu but was shelved and turned into a "separate adventure".

 

[Cesar R M]

Wouldn't space based ships have to get out of the atmosphere? If we're going to pretend to compare them to ships that are limited by the size of our oceans, then let's think about the fuel it might take to get out of the atmosphere, or the design choices you'd have to make to reduce friction on reentry.

Now if you were to say that pretend spaceships are not limited by size...

This point is moth if you consider the fact that most larger starships in most franchises do not get planetside or land. They use shuttles.

In the other hand, with the star wars universe which has very space pretend and has BS mechanics compared to Trek. We see huge starships entering and maintaining floating (anti gravity?) with no issue whatsoever up until a point.

And considering the enormous power of Star Trek pretend ships, Id imagine they have plenty with no issues whatsoever.

The Halcyon also seems to have monstrous engines compared to its size.

Id say the limitations are only based on monetary and considering the supposed backstory of the Chandri-la line.. they should have no objects to go "all in" unlike Disney of nowadays.

Actual cruise ships have every passenger participate in a muster drill to know how to react in case of an emergency before sailing. My only complaint is this video would be fine before arrival, but once at the Starcruiser, Disney should be keeping things 100% in-story. Though they probably would need to be blunt about story moments and real emergencies so people would get it.

I still wonder why didn't they do a THEMED space drill, where they explained the different alert levels and what should be EVACUATION and what should be "hang on " for story elements.

 

[fryoj]

The problem with that is . . . no it isn't.

The reality is that this building is the Starcruiser, but that's not what the guests are meant to believe. So you need to provide them with a plausible alternative - like that there is no building there in which the Starcruiser experience could be taking place. Or that if there is, at least you're not seeing any evidence of it.

I bet you zero out of 1,000 people will see the Starcruiser warehouse and go "that must be where they house the supplies for the little Shuttle that takes us to space". No, it's obvious what's really going on there, and it ruins that part of the illusion. Of course most guests know they aren't actually going to space, but the entire point of this sort of enterprise is to remove all evidence to the contrary. A real cruise is one thing, because the lame buildings at a cruise port are 1) necessary, and 2) not the actual site of the event. Your cruise ship is plenty more appealing, and I bet most people focus their attention on that. But the Starcruiser doesn't have an actual, compelling, on-earth focal point for guests to be distracted by on arrival, so you've instead got to whittle down what they see to only things that support the idea they're about to start an intergalactic voyage. Big white boxy building doesn't do that. It's clear what the truth is.

As is true of any attraction, you have to make it easier to believe that you're on a great adventure than it is to believe you're ping-ponging around a warehouse. The easiest, and most basic way to do this is . . . to hide the warehouse. Otherwise the guests' immediate impulse will be "that must be were this thing actually takes place". Way to spoil the fun before you even get inside.

The same is basically true of taking guests past the backside of Galaxy's Edge on their approach to the Star Cruiser. You're paying 6 Grand for the most mega-Star Wars adventure on earth, and you're making us see how fake it all is before we even start?? Couldn't you take us the long-way 'round through some trees or something? Goodness.

Have SOME sense of Showmanship about this, Disney.

Lol, no

The whole point is you walk into the building and take a shuttle into outer space to get on the starcruiser. Yes, we know that isn't really happening. If you need your suspension of belief to extend to the entire drive to the place, that's a you problem, not a problem with this. Once you are "on set" you can't see the warehouse. There's tons of examples in both Disney and Universal parks where you can see warehouses from on set. This isn't one of them. "omg I can see the warehouse from the road in my car" is not a legit complaint about anything in the theme park world. You are just looking for things to be mad about.

 

[ChrisFL]

So am I to assume this early concept art of a room is not an option at all? (thought it might be a premium option still)

 

[Cesar R M]

Wasn't that great?! I had to pause the video to make sure I was reading that correctly.

Obviously, much of this is something that had to be done to please the lawyers. But the fact that there's alarms going off all over this hotel warehouse telling you there's a "DRAMATIC STORY EVENT!" about to happen is just so ridiculous.

I think this is the most entertaining thread and Disney concept to come along in many years. I just love watching this all play out (safely 3,000 miles away with a cocktail in hand and some jazz playing)!

But will it surpass the most infamous thread of them all? Aka Katiebug's complaint about how SAM DID NOTHING? XD
That thread is still giving gold.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

Lol, no

The whole point is you walk into the building and take a shuttle into outer space to get on the starcruiser. Yes, we know that isn't really happening. If you need your suspension of belief to extend to the entire drive to the place, that's a you problem, not a problem with this. Once you are "on set" you can't see the warehouse. There's tons of examples in both Disney and Universal parks where you can see warehouses from on set. This isn't one of them. "omg I can see the warehouse from the road in my car" is not a legit complaint about anything in the theme park world. You are just looking for things to be mad about.

"I can see the warehouse from the path I have to take to get to the destination, and it's clearly visible immediately before I get there" is totally a legitimate concern. One that could have been alleviated, again, by going to the great great lengths of . . . planting trees.

It's a concern by which Disney abided for nearly 5 decades with generally pretty intense scrutiny before finally just giving up and saying "who cares if it's 7+ stories tall if we just paint it blue?".

The only people who are even gonna be taking this route are people who have booked a room on the Starcruiser. If in driving up to the Starcruiser Port it's revealed to everyone who booked that there is no Starcruiser and you're actually just gonna be hanging out in a warehouse around back, and you could have fixed that terrible first impression with some basic landscaping . . . yeah, that's a real downer.

I don't know who gave this idea that the show only starts the second you cross the threshold, but it certainly wasn't the same company that designed Walt Disney World. That show started the moment you stepped off the tram from the Parking Lot and didn't end until you got back on the tram at the end of the day. The TTC, the Seven Seas Lagoon, the Resort Hotels, and then, yes, the Magic Kingdom, were all in on the show. And anyone who lived to see it knows how much better that was than the current idea that a 140' IKEA looming over the EPCOT parking lot is totally fine.

 

[Cesar R M]

For $6000 I want storm troopers to come into my room while I'm on the crapper, shoot my whole family, and then drag me out into the hallway, rough me up a bit and demand I tell them where Gaya is.

The further I went into your post.. the weirder it got XD

 

[Cesar R M]

"I can see the warehouse from the path I have to take to get to the destination, and it's clearly visible immediately before I get there" is totally a legitimate concern. One that could have been alleviated, again, by going to the great great lengths of . . . planting trees.

It's a concern by which Disney abided for nearly 5 decades with generally pretty intense scrutiny before finally just giving up and saying "who cares if it's 7+ stories tall if we just paint it blue?".

The only people who are even gonna be taking this route are people who have booked a room on the Starcruiser. If in driving up to the Starcruiser Port it's revealed to everyone who booked that there is no Starcruiser and you're actually just gonna be hanging out in a warehouse around back, and you could have fixed that terrible first impression with some basic landscaping . . . yeah, that's a real downer.

I think being able to see the areas behind Batuu and the fake scenery with its metal frames is a bigger issue imho.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

I think being able to see the areas behind Batuu and the fake scenery with its metal frames is a bigger issue imho.

I think they're both bad - and, hideously, they're both on display as you follow the path to make your way to the Starcruiser. You literally have to pass both of them.

Didn't this resort used to have a Master Planning Department?

 

[waltography]

Another video from the same person, thistle talking with an Imagineer and a Lucasfilm rep on the architecture and interior design of the Starcruiser:




All of what they say is nice and dandy, if only the final product could back it up.

Interesting thing brought up here is a character called D3O9, who from what I can tell based on the context of the conversation is a character found in your sleeping quarters. Maybe a voice assistant-like character or character powered by AI who we receive messages/tasks from.

Towards the end of this video they also talk a bit about the technology powering the windows and how we fly by places like Coruscant and Naboo. How disappointing it must be then that our port planet is Batuu, then.

 

[celluloid]

I'll admit, this idiotic STORY MOMENT ALARM is something I had just not considered... honestly I was thinking that the 'story' on the ship was going to happen during dinner... and events at dinner (where everyone is present by default) would lead into events out on the bridge or atrium...

Also I've been under the impression that the 'fireworks' finale will be where everyone is present by default and the fireworks suddenly turn into an attack by the first order... and people would experience it from there.

Will the entire hotel start flashing red with this announcement??? This literally is a car wreck I can't help but watch, it keeps on getting MORE and MORE ridiculous!

I doubt it as it would be really stupid if the entire ship has alarms going off.
Someone is going to be sick and want to sleep and will still be confused.

Alarms should only go off in common areas where the guests are clearly down for the immersion.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Just showed a friend the safety video video.

Their only comment was the ugly concrete room upon arriving to their $6000 Disney experience would be... troubling upon their arrival and the complete opposite of what they'd expect upon arriving to the high end experience.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Alarms should only go off in common areas where the guests are clearly down for the immersion.

I do wonder though, fathoming any reasoning behind this alarm leads me to think this is how they make sure people who have payed for the experience receive full word that something is going to happen soon... I'm thinking something must happen in the rooms...

If someone retired to their room to rest for a few minutes or go to the bathroom and then found out they missed part of the story of their $6000 experience... there'd be complaints big time.

 

[celluloid]

I do wonder though, fathoming any reasoning behind this alarm leads me to think this is how they make sure people who have payed for the experience receive full word that something is going to happen soon... I'm thinking something must happen in the rooms...

If someone retired to their room to rest for a few minutes or go to the bathroom and then found out they missed part of the story of their $6000 experience... there'd be complaints big time.

If an alarm wakes a sleeping tot, adult or special needs situation, they could get complaints as well. If there are only enough story moments that you could easily miss them from going to the bathroom...than this is a bigger failure than many thought.
Disney loves apps and tech on guests' phones. The app could alert you with those times.



Interactivty works best when you don't know it is happening (paraphrasing Tony Baxter)

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

If an alarm wakes a sleeping tot, adult or special needs situation, they could get complaints as well. If there are only enough story moments that you could easily miss them from going to the bathroom...than this is a bigger failure than many thought.
Disney loves apps and tech on guests' phones. The app could alert you with those times.



Interactivty works best when you don't know it is happening (paraphrasing Tony Baxter)

I am fascinated to see how this whole thing works... will it have alerts? Will it not? Will people miss events? I can't wait to see how this thing works....