Why you need to take a voyage on the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. Disney describes it very well “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is like nothing else you’ve ever experienced: part live immersive theater, part themed environment, part culinary extravaganza, part real-life role-playing game—and yet so much more.”
Let us get a few things straight about the Galactic Starcruiser and what it is and is not. It is an active vacation, it is expensive, and it is unlike anything we have ever experienced in our lives. SWGS is exhausting, fun, interactive, and highly immersive. You have to live it to understand.
Words you should not use to describe the Starcruiser, it is not relaxing, it is not a cruise in the technical sense, and it is not a Walt Disney World Resorts trip with pools and parks, even if Star Wars Galaxies Edge Batuu excursion is included with the price. It is not cheap in any sense of the word.
Related: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Characters Reportedly Appearing in The Mandalorian Season 3
We will get to the major question of whether The Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser is worth the money at the end of the article. Because it starts at $4800 Dollars and only goes up from there, which is a ton of money to spend on a two-day adventure. Even if the trip is all-inclusive, does it live up to the price?
Let’s start at the beginning, and we will do our best to keep this spoiler free. Back in February of 2022, we got to experience the Starcruiser during the media event. We did not get the full two-day stay, we did a five-hour preview where Disney and the Cast members took us through a sample of everything on board from the dining and food experience, to the partial story where we operated the ship and interacted with the Characters. it was just enough to get a small understanding of what this new type of Disney storytelling and immersion would be like. It was just enough to pique our interest and we personally wanted to now spend our own money and go.
Fast Foward almost a year later and we finally got to experience the full experience. Now, this is the hard part, how to actually explain what this is, because your initial impressions are probably just like ours, not fully understanding what this is.
It was unlike anything out there in the world, this was a brand new fully immersive, living and breathing our best Star Wars life, role-playing, live-action theater, mystery quest, murder mystery-like, fully interactive, non-stop eating, friendly, exhausting, dinner theater. We absolutely LOVED the whole thing.
We started at our check-in and enjoyed buffet-style lunch after we got to our room at 1:00 PM. After eating our way around the galaxy, it was time to check out the ship. By 3:00 PM of day 1 our adventure truly started, and it did not stop until 11:00 pm the next night. We ran up and down stairs, A LOT! We got to be smugglers helping characters trying to save their planet, we got to be part of the Resistance and help Rey (lightsaber-wielding Hero, from the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy). We worked on the ship, we helped out in the engine room, and we even got to wield Lightsabers (not the best part of the experience). We ran up and down more stairs until we decided the elevator would be just fine. We had the best time ever. We spent a lot of time in the Sublight Lounge enjoying free non-alcoholic drinks.
Where this immersive experience comes to life in the other passengers you travel with. We truly had an amazing group of passengers who were on the cruise with us. Every one of them smiling and wanted to tell their own Star Wars Story. Galactic Starcruiser comes to life because of the passengers, the costumes, the role-playing, and the interaction with them. We made a great connection with some and made friends for life with some.
Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser
Our interaction and our own storytelling came to life when characters would ask us questions about who we were, where we came from, and how and why we are on the Starcruiser. Our story developed over a few minutes of the group playing Yes, And. Where you start off telling a tale, turn to the other person, and if lucky that person will agree and then continue adding to the story, and you go back and forth hoping to build a story together. Improve 101 basically.
Speaking of Theater and Improve, the actors and actresses working on the Halcyon are top-notch. Some of the best acting we have witnessed. Quick on their feet, and engaging each passenger. Remembering names and stories. The other Cast members who work on the ship are called Passenger Service, they live and breathe the story and are quick to help you with any questions you may have, tell a story, get you engaged, and basically help you enjoy yourself to the fullest.
Okay, we hope we did not spoil anything yet. Writing about the experience is hard to do. We could spend thousands of words retelling our own adventure, which included another Chip and Company writer, a Brother-in-Law, and a 17-year-old son of mine who happens to be autistic. Our story was both combined and separate from each other. At points, we all had separate things to do during our stay on board.
Quick two paragraphs about Autism, or family members who may be Neurodivergent. This was the perfect outlet for our son who has never left our side, hates going outside, hates talking with other people, and has panic attacks if we are not in sight.
First let me say I was such a proud father watching him come out of his shell a little and interact with the Cast members, then at one point while I was on my own quest, he looked at his phone, say a quest, then turned to me and said “Dad, I have a quest to do, cya” and he left my side and went off and did this quest by himself. He obviously felt safe, he was so immersed in the story. It was one of the proudest moments of my life and I felt tears of joy and Sadness all at once. Parents who have kids like mine will fully understand the reaction and emotion of this moment of life.
The Star Wars galactic Starcruiser is a closed environment, meaning you can’t just walk right out the door, you don’t actually see the doors. Trust us when we say if there was ever an emergency, the doors are right there and you are safe, it just has the appearance of being a closed space with no outlet.
So, this brings us to a few things that need to be discussed. Is it worth it, who should do it, and who is this for?
Yes, it is worth every single penny you will spend with a but. The price is worth it, but only if you put in the work to experience this as it should be. This is for those people who may love theater and always have wanted to act. This is for those who have some expendable income to do something that is unlike anything you can experience. This is made for those that are outgoing, between the ages of 30 and up, middle-class lifestyle, having watched Star Wars will help, but truly is not needed. This is an exclusive experience.
The hate will come in the comment section from people who do not understand what Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser is trying to be. You will see, “It costs too much” or some variable of that, along with “It is a failure, they already closed and stopped selling a few trips in the summer” and yes they did, but that is because private companies came in and rented the whole thing out for voyages. The Starcruiser is always over 50% capacity and most sailings are around 70-90% full.
So if you have the money, or can save up and do it in the future, it is truly a must-do. There is nothing in the world like this and hopefully, you will immerse yourself in the story, and enjoy an amazing experience.
Related: Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Wins 2022 TEA Thea Award
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