Disney World’s new Star Wars Hotel: Here’s what we now know

If you’ve ever dreamed of taking a space cruise to a galaxy far, far away, then this is the experience you’re looking for. At the 2019 D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, Disney dropped a whole lot of epic news about the company’s parks and resorts across the globe, but by far the most unconventional and intriguing project in the works is the new Star Wars-themed hotel being built just outside Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Here’s what we know so far.

Just Don’t Call It A Hotel …

Disney is billing this as an “experience” rather than a traditional resort stay, and they’re calling it (drumroll…) Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. At the expo, Walt Disney Imagineer Ann Morrow Johnson painted a picture of what the intergalactic itinerary will be like, and it sounds incredible.

Just like on a traditional cruise, all guests will arrive to the terminal together on departure day for their two-day, two-night “sailing.” The story they’re spinning is that the Halcyon (that’s the name of the actual “ship”) is far too large to land on any one planet. This means guests will have to leave the terminal in a launch pod to meet the ship in a galaxy far, far away, where it will await passengers.

Guest will blast off in their launch pod and see the stars whizzing by before connecting to the starcruiser and entering the Halcyon’s atrium via those whooshing Star Wars doors.

Live Your Own Star Wars Story

On board, every guest gets to play a role in their own Star Wars story, interacting with beloved as well as new Star Wars characters, the Halcyon crew and other guests.

Every stateroom, or “pod,” will feature a window looking out on “space,” and kids will love the super-cool bunk beds.

Kids and grown-ups alike will participate in once-in-a-lifetime experiences like facing off against a training remote while wielding a lightsaber (good, because we’ve always been jealous that Disney’s Jedi Training Academy is just for kids), discovering the inner workings of the ship during top-secret meetings held deep below deck, and visiting the bridge to see where the massive ship is controlled.

Morrow Johnson warned that these are complicated times and travelers might run into some dangerous characters on the ship, so we’re thinking it’s pretty safe to assume Kylo Ren and his First Order stormtroopers will be in the mix.

As on a regular cruise, there’s even a port day, when a special transport will “fly” guests from the Halcyon to the planet of Batuu for a visit to Black Spire Outpost, aka Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests will never leave the story, nor will they see the outside world during their visit, and everything that happens to them on Batuu will have consequences when they’re back on the ship.

Disney has yet to announce pricing, but speculation has put the cost at at least $1,000 per person, per night. Disney also hasn’t yet confirmed when the booking window opens, but Morrow Johnson suggested bookings may begin soon.