Since I first posted about our experience on social media, I have had so many questions about it so I decided to answer some of them in this blog post.
Galactic Starcruiser – Is it worth it?
10,000% yes!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Star Wars movie. I may have, back in the 80’s, but I really don’t have a clue about the storyline or characters. However, it was by far one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.
What’s it like? It’s kind of hard to explain without giving away too much. The best way to describe it is part dinner theater and part name-your-own adventure. It’s an immersive experience that you can be involved with as much or as little as you’d like. In many regards, it’s like an ocean cruise (in space). Your accommodations and meals are provided. You get to meet some of the crew, and you decide how to spend your time – at leisure or fully immersed in the classes and planned events.
You don’t need to know much about Star Wars to ‘get’ it. The Cast Members are incredible. They draw you in and you become part of the story. The basic premise is you board the Halcyon for a cruise to Batuu. Things don’t quite go as planned. You communicate with the captain and other officials from the ship with an app (Disney Play) that gets activated when you board. Your adventure is dictated by how you respond. My husband, son and I each had different storylines and missions.
How is the food?
The food was fabulous! A lot of it looked different and kind of funny (hello blue shrimp ????). One of our table mates was a 7-year-old boy. He asked for “normal” food and was brought standard kid food without an issue.
All of your food and non-alcoholic beverages are included. The dining room is set up with a buffet for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, it becomes a regular dining room with a plated meal.
My son (who is 8) tried almost everything. Just like at home, there were things he liked and things he didn’t like. Our server was great and brought us more of the things he loved. I don’t eat gluten, and my husband and son can’t have shellfish. They accommodated us beautifully and without issue.
Do you have to dress up?
The short answer is no. I would guess that 60% or more were dressed up. There were more on the first night than the second. I had heard (and I agree) that costumes make you more memorable to the Cast Members. However, if you don’t want to dress up, no one cares. We saw everything from costumes to no costumes to Star Wars t-shirts. There were people dressed up as specific characters but most were like us – looking like we were from somewhere in the galaxy. We had fun with it. We wore the same outfits both nights and wore our “street” clothes on our excursion to Batuu. When you’re trying to decide on costumes, just do what feels right for you.
Do you get to pick which parks to visit?
Technically, I guess you could, but your voyage only includes admission to Hollywood Studios. It’s important to remember that this is an immersive experience. You are part of the story, so you are given missions to complete. Many of them are on Batuu (aka Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios)
You can begin to board your transport to Batuu as early as 8am on day 2, and you must return by 4pm. We headed over at 8:15. The transport is themed in typical Disney fashion, but I’m pretty sure we were in the back of a box truck. ????
Since we didn’t have another Hollywood Studios day planned for this trip, we quickly rode Slinky Dog, Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, all by 10:20. Then we headed to our reservation at Oga’s Cantina, which was part of our story.
After completing our missions at Oga’s Cantina, we used our Lightning Lane entrances for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance.
We then did a few more quick missions (scanning QR codes around Batuu to collect supplies) and headed back to the ship a little before 1pm. They have activities onboard all day, and my son wanted to participate in the Droid racing. (He came in second behind the only adult participant) ????????
After that we headed back to Batuu for a few more missions. Activities onboard really kicked into full swing at 4pm.
So to answer the question, you really wouldn’t want to visit other parks during your stay as you’d miss out on the experience. After talking to others on our voyage, we learned that we were the minority in leaving Batuu to ride other rides, but it worked for us.
Would you do it again?
Absolutely! Our story would be different so we’d probably have a totally different experience. It was so much fun and unlike anything we have ever done before.
If you’d like to take a voyage on the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, contact me today!