News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[TP2000]

Disneyland also put in a little extra effort to help make the backside of the buildings a little more palatable. There are colored metal panels to break up the large expanses of building wall, and all the rock work extends to the building to help preserve the illusion somewhat. The addition rockwork is not nearly as detailed as the park-facing stuff, but it does a reasonably good job at concealing a backstage view. It’s not perfect by any means, but given how they had to squeeze the land into the park (which, this is one of the many arguments that it’s a poor fit for its location), it seems like a reasonable compromise. Here’s a look at it from during construction, before all the additional rockwork was completed, but the spires on the left show what’s possible with minimal effort:

Now compare that to the blank expanses of warehouses and floating rocks-on-sticks that greet guests on their way to the Starcruiser. Disneyland usually gets a little more leeway for these sorts of things, due to the limited physical space of the resort and the age of the existing infrastructure. WDW, on the other hand, has “the blessing of size,” and this is a new build for a premium experience, yet it still fares worse than the experience for the masses on the other coast.

The outfits are definitely interesting to me, especially considering that the costumes for the Galaxy’s Edge cast members have far more style, texture, and options than anything else they’ve created in decades. Similar to the DL backside views, if the experience for average park-goers sets one standard, why doesn’t this premium experience at least meet that same standard, let alone raise the bar?

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Really great points!

I can't add much to your spot-on observations, except to show this image of what the backside of Galaxie's Edge looks like for thousands of arriving cars going into the Disneyland parking garage every day. From windshield level on Disneyland Drive looking south, with the Disneyland parking structure on the right and the backside of Galaxie's Edge on the left ...

 

[UNCgolf]

Anyone see any teens in the videos? I only saw young kid’s and adults. My own kids 14 & 16 saw the vids, thought it looked cool and said they had no interest in going. And the 16 year old is a huge SW fan.

To be fair, couldn't that partially just be a teenager being a teenager? Like in a, "it wouldn't be cool for me to do that even if I think it looks fun," way.

 

[GimpYancIent]

Anyone see any teens in the videos? I only saw young kid’s and adults. My own kids 14 & 16 saw the vids, thought it looked cool and said they had no interest in going. And the 16 year old is a huge SW fan.

My children and grandchildren have now seen the posted videos. All have been to Batuu several times. All have told me it looks like fun but are not interested in possibly going rather more interested in water parks and riding roller coasters like at Universal.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

They usually need at least 3 of each although they may be training more since there’s no reserves yet

I’m wondering if the main cast will work 3 complete days and then be off the next 2 cruises. It looks like they’ll be there the entire time the guests are for the full voyage.

The number of open cruise dates from March to the end of June has dropped from a high of 27 cruises to 11.

Not surprising, todays reports have looked infinitely better than the limited details that snuck out before. I’m not even a huge Star Wars fan and I want to book.

 

[GimpYancIent]

I’m wondering if the main cast will work 3 complete days and then be off the next 2 cruises. It looks like they’ll be there the entire time the guests are for the full voyage.



Not surprising, todays reports have looked infinitely better than the limited details that snuck out before. I’m not even a huge Star Wars fan and I want to book.

If you do go, please make sure to post a detailed review please.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

If you do go, please make sure to post a detailed review please.

They’ll have to offer a discounted cruise first, it looks fun though. if I had the disposable income I’d be much more likely to book today after seeing the vlogs compared to the pics and videos that Disney released though.

Not sure what Disneys marketing department was thinking because they managed to make it look horrible and the vlogs managed to make it look fun.

 

[durangojim]

To be fair, couldn't that partially just be a teenager being a teenager? Like in a, "it wouldn't be cool for me to do that even if I think it looks fun," way.

For sure. My thought though was that this seems primarily geared to families with younger kids as opposed to all families.

 

[James Alucobond]

I’m wondering if the main cast will work 3 complete days and then be off the next 2 cruises. It looks like they’ll be there the entire time the guests are for the full voyage.

If they have multiple crews, it would be nice if they used them in alternate roles around Galaxy's Edge to bolster entertainment. Like, on for a cruise, off for a bit, on enhanced Galaxy's Edge duties, and then back on a cruise.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

I knew Gaya's background DJ looked familiar.

 

[Lil Copter Cap]

When asked about the operational breakdown of casts at the media junket this week, Disney was hesitant to mention anything related to how the casting and rotation works. They did confirm that cast members, even performers, are not staying aboard the ship. This makes sense in any other work environment, but I cannot imagine the schedule of, say, the mechanic having to be around for 12 hours onboard, drive home to their apartment in Davenport, and then drive back the next day. What if the captain has a real-life emergency and calls out? Does everyone take notice of a new captain the next day?

This is the kind of detail that I'm really interested in seeing and hearing about as this progresses. Spending 6.5 years on development (according to Scott Trowbridge), there has to be answers for all of this. Maybe. Hopefully.

On an entirely separate note, I keep reading about the unparalleled service of these cast members and part of me is a bit tinged with sadness that this level of service doesn't exist at WDW elsewhere, like it used to—or so I am told.

 

[ToTBellHop]

After seeing a bunch of videos it looks great. It looks exactly like a MMLARP looks like. The integration of tech takes a huge burden off of the "gamemasters" (i.e., the CMs) to be giving out missions and checking if they've been done. There are a few things that could be polished up a bit.

If anyone was truly scared away by "poor and cringey" marketing, the videos posted here should allay any fears.

The big fault, tho, and the one keeping me away: the price.

The price really is outrageous, but I just can’t fathom them being able to maintain these prices for years.

 

[MrPromey]

Fair point, guess it depends if they’d actually build it without it being an up charge, free is definitely better than paid, but paid is better than nothing.

So now we’re saying what you get in the theme parks thst isn’t an up charge is free?

 

[TP2000]

Anyone see any teens in the videos? I only saw young kid’s and adults. My own kids 14 & 16 saw the vids, thought it looked cool and said they had no interest in going. And the 16 year old is a huge SW fan.

No teens. But then the invited legacy media likely didn't bring their family. And the Orlando blogger crowd is mostly made up of childless, single men and a few boyfriend/girlfriend couples that seem to be extending their adolesence beyond their 30th birthday.

The teens will show up. The upper-middle class family demographic this is aimed at have teen children.

 

[GimpYancIent]

The price really is outrageous, but I just can’t fathom them being able to maintain these prices for years.

From all the posted videos it looks like it would be a fun experience particularly for SW fans. That said, it does not come off as 6K worth of fun. If I was to get one of those (no cost to you) invites, I would go and savor every moment but 6K NO WAY!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There was a crowd cheering them on... so... it wasn't like it landed like a dud with the guests. I think the folks there knew that it was merely stage fighting and they know what they were getting.

None of the videos or reviews posted in this thread have thus far panned the battle.

The more-realistic light-saber reveal was cool tech (despite the switch-off being clunky). And the conveyor belt for a Force pull were great uses of tech. And the crowd appreciated it.

I think it shows promise…but there are things that will determine whether it’s successful tbd.

1. Nobody has paid a dime
2. Will Disney maintain standards (aka pay what’s necessary)
3. They’re gonna have to refresh and reinvest in this to keep it viable. This isn’t fools lining up for mine train after reading birnbaums or a blog. This is truly one and done and huge high cost if they don’t refresh it a lot.
4. Their instincts will be Jack it (cause slap-o is a Wall Street bank robber at this point and his underlings suck more than usual)…don’t. Even if you book it solid for a year…this has a chance of going off a Cliff. Something Disney never believes.
5. I hope it’s successful enough for more theming…cause the trend away from it - specifically in hotels - sucks. So here’s to the power of theming.

And here’s to hogwarts up the street. Just better potential than Star Wars where the company actually seems to loathe what’s good about Star Wars.

 

[natatomic]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed as this thread has become overwhelmingly long, but... Space Bingo?

WARNING: I will be critiquing the CM's training and management, not the actual perky undergrad at Valencia Junior College working part-time at WDW.

And yet again, the tone from these CM's is just... off. It's too casual, too chirpy and contemporary, too 2020's Carnival Cruise lounge activity on a rainy day. Was there any training whatsoever given to these CM's about playing a role that involved a luxury cruise ship in a Star Wars galaxy? Any training involving vocabulary and tone and phrasing? And are the managers supervising this thinking "Space Bingo! Yup, we really nailed it on this immersive adventure!"

I think the real reason for this is that only the main characters in the DRAMATIC STORY EVENTS are specifically in “entertainment” roles, and the rest are your regular front-like CMs who didn’t have to audition, but instead just had to interview, and probably have little to no acting experience. Sure, there may have been some basic storyline training for them, but at the end of the day, they’re still just playing their usual selves in a Star Wars story.

Probably the only way to have better acting during these experiences would be if every single guest-facing CM on the ship (at least those that spend most of the shift interacting with guests) were actual actors. But then those people would be getting paid Equity rates, and Disney would probably “have” to charge guests $9k for the trip.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No teens. But then the invited legacy media likely didn't bring their family. And the Orlando blogger crowd is mostly made up of childless, single men and a few boyfriend/girlfriend couples that seem to be extending their adolesence beyond their 30th birthday.

The teens will show up. The upper-middle class family demographic this is aimed at have teen children.

Boy ain’t that the truth…and an intense, visible fear on YouTube of the concept of having to work at ruby tuesadys on 192 or move back to Ohio

 

[GimpYancIent]

No teens. But then the invited legacy media likely didn't bring their family. And the Orlando blogger crowd is mostly made up of childless, single men and a few boyfriend/girlfriend couples that seem to be extending their adolesence beyond their 30th birthday.

The teens will show up. The upper-middle class family demographic this is aimed at have teen children.

Hey! What about the 60+ young at heart people? I see no representation and it's a crowd that has money.

 

[durangojim]

March 31 has opened up if anyone wants to go.

 

[waltography]

Not sure what Disneys marketing department was thinking because they managed to make it look horrible and the vlogs managed to make it look fun.

One of my key takeaways from this experience too; it's incredible how awful Disney has marketed this up until its maiden voyage. The blueprint was right there too; when The Hunger Games movie series did its promotions, it did so through a Capitol TV metastory, so all marketing was as it would be in the lore. Why isn't Chandrila Star Line not the promoting company here? Sell us the fantasy!