Are you a huge Star Wars fan, and have you ever wanted to visit THE galaxy far far away? Then read on, because we just got an exclusive look at Disney’s Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser! If you’re not aware, the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser is a 2-night immersive experience where you and your friends/family can have a “Star Wars” adventure of your own care of Disney World’s imagineers. This is probably the closest, anyone on this planet, will get to experiencing an actual Star War experience.
We’re happy to share that we’ve collaborated with the super talented Cosplayer, and maker, @JPF_Props to share his experience of staying at the totally new Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser! We’re so grateful to collaborate on this post with @JPF_Props, and bring you his exclusive cosplayer’s perspective of staying in Disney’s biggest Star Wars attraction (at the time of this writing).
SPOILER ALERT: Please note that we discuss @JPF_Props Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser experience including sharing photos of his experience, activities and other things that may be considered to be spoilers for the experience itself.
With that said, let’s get into it!
@JPF_Props, can you share a little background about yourself, your Star Wars related interests and how you got into making your own cosplay?
First off thanks for reaching out Skkaw! Excited to share my experience! Well I’ve been a Star Wars fan almost as long as I can remember. My parents got me the original trilogy on VHS as a kid. My dad always told me stories of ILM and how they made the magic. It really fascinated me. Growing up in Marin county we were just down the road from Skywalker Ranch so I always felt that extra connection. I turned my wagon into a speeder bike with cardboard, I was hooked from a young age. Then I was in 8th grade when Episode 1 came out. So I grew up a Star Wars fan. I’ve watched Revenge of the Sith more times than I can count. Like a lot of fans, after the prequels Star Wars fandom was kind of on the back burner, as there wasn’t much content to be excited about. Nothing against the EU/legends books but it wasn’t really my thing. Fast forward to Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars and there was something to be excited for! But the specific thing for me that got me into prop and costume making was the first time I went to galaxy’s edge, specifically Savi’s lightsaber building experience. I was blown away by the detail, immersion and magic they created. There was something really impactful about being able to reach out and touch Star Wars, to hold a piece of it in my hand. I really wanted to get more of those iconic props like Han’s DL44 etc but I quickly realized licensed replicas aren’t cheap! So I decided to look into making some myself. That’s when I was introduced to the prop making and costume community. I was really inspired and found some truly talented and encouraging people who are now friends. Fast forward to now, three 3D printers and a lot of paint later here we are!
What were you most excited about for your stay at the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser? What Star Wars cosplay are going to wear during your stay? Also, they allow that right!?
I think my wife and I were most excited to just be in that immersive space. We really love theming, and no one does that better than Disney. So just being “in Star Wars” and soaking that in was something we were really excited to do!
The experience on the Halcyon is meant to let you have your own story, with that in mind. We wanted to be our own characters. I went for a smuggler from Coruscant with inspiration drawn from Han Solo and Poe Dameron. My wife went for a force sensitive member of the Naboo royal family, with inspiration drawn from Padme’s iconic looks. We figured she would be a fashion icon on Naboo. Our back story was that I was hired to help her get to Rey and the resistance on Batuu.
Yes! they allow and encourage costumes in all their forms! The only two real rules (as far as I know) are that prop weapons aren’t allowed (lightsabers are okay!) and you can’t wear a helmet. Armor is okay, and they don’t have a problem with you throwing on the helmet for photos you just can’t walk around with it on.
What sort of activities did you have planned?
So every passenger on the Halcyon’s voyage is automatically scheduled for a certain activities. Muster, bridge training, lightsaber training. Then you have your excursion to Batuu, where all of the normal Galaxy’s Edge activities are available. We made reservations at Oga’s Cantina. Beyond that we just decided to see where our story path took us!
Did your plans go as expected? Or perhaps you can you share one or more events from your itinerary that you really enjoyed the most about your stay? Was there an event that didn’t go as planned that you think could have been improved from those experiences?
Yes! We loved our experience. We followed both the resistance path and the Jedi path (there are 4 paths). This plays out in both character interactions and through the data pad app on your phone. You are encouraged to interact act the actors and crew members, as well as explore the ship. Doing this will set certain story paths in motion. For example we tried to enter the ships cargo hold while exploring but were denied access. After that we got a message on our data pad from a rogue character that “heard” we were trying to do that and he wanted to meet us. You will then get missions to complete, this usually comes in form of finding and scanning an item or solving a puzzle with your phone. This all extends to your excursion on Batuu. It adds an awesome level of immersion and fun to galaxy’s edge. In our case the captain asked us to help the resistance, and that Oga had information for us. So we showed our bartender a symbol and said a phrase. He gave us a special coaster with a QR code on it that gave us the next steps on our mission. You also get lightening lane passes for Rise of the Resistance and Smugglers Run, and it’s incorporated into your “mission or story”. As a Halcyon guest you’re allowed to be in full costume which isn’t allowed for normal guests, we got noticed by a lot of other guests in the park. We had lots of people ask or compliment us about our costumes, which is fun since we put a lot of work into info them. Your personal story weaves in and out of the story of the voyage of the halcyon. So you can participate as much or as little as you want. I can’t say enough about how great all the actors and crew members are in their interactions. Last but not least the food is AMAZING it’s all themed, and looks/tastes amazing. The dining is an experience of its own! I could spend hours in the sublight lounge!
Do you have any recommendations for people considering to visit the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser for themselves? How did you hear about it and/or arrange your stay?
Yes! Do it! Go! And participate! Get dressed up, embrace the fun. You won’t be alone. Even if you aren’t a outgoing person the actors will get you involved in fun ways.
I cannot emphasize this part enough USE A TRAVEL AGENT. This is absolute must. Travel agents through Disney do not cost you any extra money (it’s baked into the fees, use them or not). At the moment you can only book via phone, our agent was on hold for over 10 hours. And bookings go quickly when the window opens. There are also a lot of things you may want to book (Savi’s, Oga’s, portait experience, captains table etc) so it’s best to have someone who knows the lay of the land guiding you. I couldn’t recommend our agent Sara Maciel (@sarajaymac) more highly. She made the process so easy. She’s definitely the star cruiser expert. She’s also been on a voyage and is a Star Wars fan herself!
Any final thoughts?
Yes! A couple. First thought is that while we were there, we only saw Star Wars fans, people sharing something we all love. We didn’t see any divisiveness. We saw fans playing sabacc and drinking blue milk with other fans of all ages and backgrounds. We sat for dinner with a family whose two little girls were dressed as Rey. The sequel trilogy clearly means the world to them. It’s a good reminder to be kind to all fans regardless of your own opinions. Which kinda leads into my final thought. There were a lot of mixed reactions to the Starcruiser when it was announced. All of it was judging something no one had experienced. Yes, it is expensive, and I understand that it’s not possible for everyone to make it work. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to do it. But now that I have, it’s clear the enormous amount of effort the imagineering team and crew members put into this for us, Star Wars fans. They want us to live out those dreams of an adventure in a galaxy far far away. Their passion and hard work is incredibly evident, and it’s a gift to Star Wars fans. If you can make it happen, you absolutely will not regret it!
Thank you so much @JPF_props! We’re so happy you enjoyed your stay at the Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser! We’re also so grateful for your sharing your experience here.
Everyone be sure to follow @JPF_Props on IG to see his amazing Cosplay builds. We can’t wait to see what @JPF_Props has in store for us next.
Please be sure to keep following us here at SKKAW.BLOG, like, subscribe and do all that good stuff for more geek and pop-culture goodness.
Leave a Reply