I'll just put this out there - I don't think Disney is going big enough with this, and that could be this thing's downfall.
With this Starcruiser concept, we have an attempt to do something different. The boutique size, the pricing structure, and the scheduled activities are all very similar to a cruise ship but on land. It's an interesting idea, but I'm certainly in the camp of being underwhelmed thus far. Paying $4-6k for an itinerary that might include card games, model building, and a costumed guest conga line is... not great. Sure, there's the excursion to Batuu, but if you've already been to the land, is that really a huge perk?
And it remains to be seen just how immersive the Halcyon experience will be. It'll be well themed no doubt, but will it feel "big" in terms of scale? Everything seems to radiate around the main atrium at the front, and that's fine, but the models and artwork show a massive vessel, so where is the rest of it and why can't we wander it? Also, sure you can take an excursion to Batuu, but no where else? Where's the greater Star Wars universe, the trip to another planet or guided tour of an outlying star system?
Someone earlier in the thread suggested Disney should have just done a regular hotel with add-on activities for those who wanted the full larping experience, and I absolutely agree. A deluxe level resort themed to Batuu with CMs in character (but not cosplaying), a bar, restaurant, maybe a dinner theater show, and built adjacent to DHS to offer direct access to SWL. Expensive, but still reasonably accessible to more folks and I expect would have also satisfied the vast majority of SW fans.
Now add to that an Adventures by Disney-esque component. This is where the larping would come in, and with this, shoot for the moon. On the non-Batuu side of the hotel, build a massive sound stage that's separated into 2 or 3 areas, and theme each to a different Star Wars planet. Throw everything and the kitchen sink at it and make it a multi-hour, multi-part adventure. For example:
Half-day Dagobah Tour [
capacity limited to 40 people; lunch tours leaving every hour from 11 AM to 3 PM; dinner tours at 5:30 and 7 PM with a more elaborate 3 course dinner seating that lasts 75 minutes]:
- 11:00: Check-in and mingle with the rest of your tour group at a waiting area in the hotel. Your 2 tour guides will be on hand to introduce themselves and welcome you.
- 11:15 - 11:30: Make your way to the hotel's docking bay and board your transport. Travel at light speed to Dagobah while enjoying drinks and light hors d'oeuvres. [Think a more elaborate version of the hydrolators from The Living Seas.]
- 11:30 - 12:15: Enjoy lunch on the planet surface. Walk off the transport onto the planet's swampy forest [Similar to the inside queue of ET, complete with projection mapped sky, creature sounds, squishy rubber floors, and atmospheric fog.] Walk a short distance to a clearing where a picnic lunch area has been set up. During this time, your guides offer background on the planet, the food (sourced locally, of course) and what you'll be seeing on your tour.
- 12:15 - 12:30: Walk a short distance from the lunch area to your ground transport which, in this case, is guest propelled boats to float down river. Float through the planet's swamp while your guides point out fauna, animals, and other facts. [12-15 person boats with guests using paddles. Footprint would be about half the size of IASW.]
- 12:30 - 12:45: Yoda's hut. Exit the boats and walk a short distance to Yoda's hut. You can walk inside as well as explore the area (though stay within eyesight since you never know what's out there!).
- 12:45 - 13:15: Walk from Yoda's hut to the caves where Luke was training and encountered Force-projection Vader. [This section would be a bit more "adventurey" with the tour group getting "lost" while exploring the caves and becoming separated into 2 parties. A short special effects show with things like floating rocks, light effects, and projections help us reunite and make our way out - good thing the Force is strong with us!]
- 13:15 - 13:30: Rest break.
- 13:30 - 13:45: Walk back to the boats, this time along a different path and encountering a indigenous creature. Don't worry, she's an herbivore and, as it turns out, quite gentle and curious about us. Pictures and petting are encouraged. [If Disney wants to be ambitious, there could be a "daytime" creature down one path and a "nighttime" creature down another, to further differentiate the lunch and dinner experiences.]
- 13:45 - 14:00: Paddle back up the river and walk to our transport. [While it would look the same, this would actually be a different landing spot from before, and we'd paddle along a new stretch of river to a different landing spot from lunch. Oh, and the transport would also be a different one.]
- 14:00 - 14:15: Board the transport and prep for departure. [Essentially this would allow for a bathroom break using the transport's lavatories.]
- 14:15 - 14:35: Light speed to the hotel, though not before being intercepted and tractor beamed into a star destroyer and boarded by the First Order, who are not exactly pleased about our touring the planet of a known Jedi Master. They reluctantly let us go with a warning after some smooth talking by our guides and lacking any real reason to hold us longer.
- 14:35: Docking at the hotel and final thank yous and pictures with our guides. All guests receive a small souvenir to take with them. [Is it sad this might be the most unrealistic part of my imagineering?]
And remember, there'd be a whole 'nother planet or two on the other side of the sound stage with experiences tailored to their respective environments, which means you'll just have to come back (or extend your stay) to experience those places and adventures. There could even be one where your transport is intercepted by the First Order and whole experience functions like a multi-part escape room to get back to the hotel.
Would my Star Wars sound stage experience be pricey? Of course! But it would literally be a full fledged immersive Star Wars adventure featuring simulators, physical sets, animatronic creatures, cosplaying CMs, and, most importantly, not a card game or conga line in sight.
