5 Essential Tactics for the Best Galactic Starcruiser Experience

By Becky Brizendine, travel advisor

Odds are, you’ve heard about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser – the new Star Wars themed hotel at Walt Disney World. And you might have also heard it’s a bit of a splurge. If you’re a diehard Star Wars fan, this should be on your bucket list. My family and I started planning our visit as soon as the concept was announced, and I couldn’t wait to return and share my experience with my clients and fellow Star Wars nerds.

Since it’s such a once-in-a-lifetime type of vacation, you’ll want to do a little prep work to really get the most out of your “cruise”. I’m going to share my top 5 strategies to maximize your time and enjoyment on your journey – but don’t worry, no spoilers!

Make your costume fit your own personal style. You need to be comfortable. You will be moving around on the ship and will be up late as the events go until 11 pm each night.

Not sure where to start? Dark clothes fit the universe. Common colors are browns and greens, but feel free to branch out to your preferred colors. Asymmetrical clothing is also the style. Boots are typical fashion, but again, wear shoes that you can walk around in. I saw some guests struggling to wear their shoes of choice.

Wear similar clothing on Day 1 and Day 2. You want to be remembered by the crew and having similar clothing will help. One guest had an identical outfit and everyone remembered him. I recommend no more than 3 -4 outfits as you will not have time to change into them. There is no formal dress code on the Halcyon nor do you have to dress up for the 2nd night’s dinner.

Have a Backstory

Creating a simple backstory is not a requirement at all, and you can interact with characters without one. However, I was invited to my first secret meeting by having a simple backstory and others were turned away from the meeting. So how should you create your backstory?

• Keep your backstory simple. Do not plan for anything too elaborate, as you want your interactions with the characters to be focused on moving your story forward. If you’re struggling to come up with a backstory, try to keep it related to what you do in real life. This will make it easier to remember so that you can repeat it with ease.

• Have a home planet. Also make sure that it is one that you remember. Struggling to have one in mind? Corellia is easy as that is the name of the dining hall, where Sammy the Mechanic is from, and Han Solo. But that might send you down a certain path. So research planets and their affiliation prior to choosing your home planet.

Get to Know the Halycon

The Halcyon is a luxury Starcruiser. There are only 100 rooms and 2 main levels outside of guest rooms that you will spend the majority of your time in space. While this may not appear to be a lot of room, you should take time to familiarize yourself with your surroundings.

Take the ship tour the first afternoon. You will have the opportunity to do this after you arrive and prior to ship muster. There will be several interesting ship facts that are important to your journey. The tour also allows you to walk the levels and learn which rooms you can access, as well as certain rooms you might need to gain access to in the future.

Touch buttons on the ship. You will not break anything. It is important to your journey to explore and be willing to see what happens. The earlier that you do this exploration, the faster you will receive communications in your datapad.

Ask questions of the crew. Remember what you say to the crew because they will remember! And if you receive an invitation to a meeting, attend them if you can!

Batuu Missions are Essential for Day 2

I was torn on my trip on the Halcyon…why go to Batuu? I had been there many times before. But I had not been there as a guest of the Starcruiser. Make sure you visit Batuu AND complete your missions!

Enjoy your time on Batuu as a guest of the luxury Halcyon. You will wear a special pin that will show the Galaxy’s Edge Cast Member’s that you are part of the Starcruiser. Enjoy access to areas to complete your missions. These missions are essential to the rest of your journey.

You will have a single Individual Lightning Lane for Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance. The two rides feel different when you are completing them for your mission and receiving information on your datapad. I highly recommend you wait until your datapad suggests you ride the two rides.

Take advantage of your Halcyon status! Enjoy complimentary bottles of water that are on the planet at Docking Bay 3 (pick up and drop off location). On a hot day on Batuu – it has three suns after all! – you may also find cooling towels at Docking Bay 3. Complimentary fuel rods for charging your phones are at this location (and at passenger services on the ship), and you can drop off purchases from Batuu to be delivered to your room.

Get Friendly with the Crew and other Guests

As previously mentioned, the Halcyon only has 100 rooms. This is a fun and interesting experience. My kids, aged 8 and 11 at the time, had a fantastic time getting to know other kids on the ship. We also had fun meeting other adults on board, and the crew somehow always remembered us.

Be careful what you say as you are being friendly! There are spies on board for both the Resistance and the First Order! And no, I am not talking about cast members…I am talking about your fellow passengers!

Interact with the droids! They add to your journey. Make sure to talk to D-309 in your room whenever the light is blinking, and be polite to SK. Droids have feelings too! Don’t forget each night to ask D-309 for either a lullaby or a bedtime story. You only get each one once, so make sure to select one each night.

Some of our fondest memories were talking to the crew. They will not break character. Enjoy learning new vocabulary like taking a holo scan (picture) using your datapad (phone) or taking the hololift (elevator). And do not speak about the GPS (that might be your droid). There is no Disney or Mickey Mouse or even Star Wars. Enjoy that interaction!

Get in touch with Becky to plan your next out of this world vacation!