News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[EOD K9]

The whole setup could be designed so you never even see the outside of the bus.

You could run it similar to Star Tours with a mock jetway that the bus pulls up to. You'd see the exterior of a transport and then the interior is themed. Same for the exit.

 

[Incomudro]

The whole setup could be designed so you never even see the outside of the bus.

Yes, but I'm referring to the underpinnings of a bus - the sounds and smells of diesel for instance being hard to mask.
If it was electrically powered, you could mask it easily.

 

[Lensman]

Yes, but I'm referring to the underpinnings of a bus - the sounds and smells of diesel for instance being hard to mask.
If it was electrically powered, you could mask it easily.

Maybe it would be easier to mask it with louder sounds - like maybe of a deuterium reactor?

I wonder if they could simulate an ATAT trip? The movement would seem to require an actual simulator. Hard to simulate with a wheeled vehicle like a bus. Maybe they could do like the Mythbusters did and use square tires?

 

[larryz]

Take the Bantha coat off the elephants and throw it on the bus.

Poo-doo!

 

[drizgirl]

They'd have to bury that bus in some pretty heavy theming.
It's hard to hide the bus that lies beneath.
I suppose if they themed a bus as a banged up and weathered conveyance as Star Wars depicts some of its modes of transportation it might work.

As long as it has plenty of room for strollers, I'd be good with that.

 

[Thelazer]

Someone else already mentioned this, but a themed bus is very doable. Have themed entrances that hide the bus. Hide the driver. Interior loosely themed as a transport. Use Potter-like screenz and sound effects in the bus.

Remember that "GALAXY CLASS" bus test video posted about a year or so ago.. the one with all the pointless flashing LED lights and sound effects.... yea...... U know the one...

 

[twilight mitsuk]

Someone else already mentioned this, but a themed bus is very doable. Have themed entrances that hide the bus. Hide the driver. Interior loosely themed as a transport. Use Potter-like screenz and sound effects in the bus.

Or a wedway like system

 

[Flalex72]

Yes, but I'm referring to the underpinnings of a bus - the sounds and smells of diesel for instance being hard to mask.
If it was electrically powered, you could mask it easily.

Since they would be restricted to the one route, quick charging electric buses would be more than doable.

 

[larryz]

Don't even need a bus. A simulator ride to get you down to the planet, then a themed corridor you walk through to get you into the park through the back "secret" entrance just for guests in the Star Wars resort.

 

[PorterRedkey]

I think they should use a stretch landspeeder!

 

[Movielover]

I think they should use a stretch landspeeder!

Better make that a super stretch landspeeder...

 

[mhaftman7]

Why not a tram similar to the ones at MCO that get you from the terminal to the baggage claim? Just make it so you cannot see the outside. Shouldn’t be that complicated to pull off. Have a special elevator that goes to this area and have magic windows that simulate the ship landing when going down and taking off on return.

 

[GoofGoof]

Don't even need a bus. A simulator ride to get you down to the planet, then a themed corridor you walk through to get you into the park through the back "secret" entrance just for guests in the Star Wars resort.

Why not a tram similar to the ones at MCO that get you from the terminal to the baggage claim? Just make it so you cannot see the outside. Shouldn’t be that complicated to pull off. Have a special elevator that goes to this area and have magic windows that simulate the ship landing when going down and taking off on return.

I don’t think they would spend that kind of money. It would also have recurring maintenance and operations expenses.

The easiest and cheapest way to achieve the desired effect is to have an elevated, enclosed hallway with no windows. You enter from the 2nd floor of SW resort and it crosses over roads/parking lots and then you exit in SW Land. A simple effect like the old hydrolator from the living seas at the exit could provide the illusion of going down to the surface from space. Maybe even a real elevator that takes you up/down the one floor but has some screens which make it feel like you are rising/dropping much further and faster. You just need a CM to man the elevator.

Something like this but without windows:

 

[larryz]

I don’t think they would spend that kind of money. It would also have recurring maintenance and operations expenses.

The easiest and cheapest way to achieve the desired effect is to have an elevated, enclosed hallway with no windows. You enter from the 2nd floor of SW resort and it crosses over roads/parking lots and then you exit in SW Land. A simple effect like the old hydrolator from the living seas at the exit could provide the illusion of going down to the surface from space. Maybe even a real elevator that takes you up/down the one floor but has some screens which make it feel like you are rising/dropping much further and faster. You just need a CM to man the elevator.

Something like this but without windows:
View attachment 322081
View attachment 322082

I think we've done this before...

 

[GoofGoof]

I think we've done this before...

About 25 pages back.

I still think the most likely outcome is a shuttle bus hopefully at least to a back gate and not the main entrance.

 

[larryz]

About 25 pages back.

I still think the most likely outcome is a shuttle bus hopefully at least to a back gate and not the main entrance.

It will have to be a direct, back-end entrance to avoid spoiling the show. This, of course, assumes there are people still working at TDO who understand what "show" is.

 

[Lensman]

I'll be the business guy and say that they should start off with... nothing.

The resort isn't going to make or break on the basis of their being seamless access to SW:GE, it is going to make or break depending on whether people will pay big money for the immersive experiences offered at the resort. As such, I think the best business decision is to skip spending big money on the connector until the jury comes in on whether their investment will pay off. If the place is printing money after the first year they can build a whole immersive transport adventure as an upgrade. If not, well, at least they've saved the money in not building a tunnel or developing repulsor-lift technology.

I wouldn't be personally happy with this, but I think it's likely.

 

[larryz]

I'll be the business guy and say that they should start off with... nothing.

The resort isn't going to make or break on the basis of their being seamless access to SW:GE, it is going to make or break depending on whether people will pay big money for the immersive experiences offered at the resort. As such, I think the best business decision is to skip spending big money on the connector until the jury comes in on whether their investment will pay off. If the place is printing money after the first year they can build a whole immersive transport adventure as an upgrade. If not, well, at least they've saved the money in not building a tunnel or developing repulsor-lift technology.

Catch-22 -- if it isn't immersive from the start, it will never, so to speak, "take off."

 

[Lensman]

Catch-22 -- if it isn't immersive from the start, it will never, so to speak, "take off."

I've gave a lot of thought to that and I'm in the camp where there's always going to be some compromise for your actual experience in SW:GE. It's going to be difficult to arrange and cost justify having exclusive time in the land itself for hotel guests, so immersion is bound to be broken by the presence of regular guests once you enter SW:GE, so the deep theming of the transport might not have the payoff.

You could be right, though!

 

[GoofGoof]

It will have to be a direct, back-end entrance to avoid spoiling the show. This, of course, assumes there are people still working at TDO who understand what "show" is.

I think there’s still a good chance for that. It’s all about how they load/unload the shuttle bus. The other methods would IMHO be more seamless, but that’s the most practical way to make it cost effective and still be justified as seamless.

I'll be the business guy and say that they should start off with... nothing.

The resort isn't going to make or break on the basis of their being seamless access to SW:GE, it is going to make or break depending on whether people will pay big money for the immersive experiences offered at the resort. As such, I think the best business decision is to skip spending big money on the connector until the jury comes in on whether their investment will pay off. If the place is printing money after the first year they can build a whole immersive transport adventure as an upgrade. If not, well, at least they've saved the money in not building a tunnel or developing repulsor-lift technology.

I wouldn't be personally happy with this, but I think it's likely.

But they are selling it as having “seamless access to SW:GE”. I agree that it won’t make or break the experience but they shouldn’t sell it as that without actual seamless access.