Star Wars-Themed Hotel Features Integration With Galaxy’s Edge Park, Promises Westworld-Like Experience

“Boy, have we got a vacation for you!” The forthcoming Star Wars-themed hotel Disney World won’t launch until after its version of the Disneyland park opens, but from the sound of things, they’ll be bringing fans an even more immersive experience exploring the Galaxy Far, Far Away than even the already-engrossing Galaxy’s Edge itself.

 

At a recent presentation at Disney D23 Japan (summarized on the official Star Wars website), Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Bob Chapek explained that guests who attend the currently-untitled Star Wars hotel will get an even more immersive Star Wars experience than the one that Galaxy’s Edge will provide on its own:

“From the moment guests arrive at the hotel, Chapek said, their journey through space will begin as everyone boards a starship and departs together for a multi-day Star Wars adventure. An opening date for the new hotel has not yet been announced. But it can’t come too soon — we’re ready to vacation in a galaxy far, far away.”

 

Galaxy’s Edge will open with two attractions: the first being a ride that puts guests at the controls of the Millennium Falcon, and the second being a dark ride that puts guests in the middle of a battle between the Resistance and the First Order.

 

 

While no explicit reference to Westworld – either the 1973 sci-fi classic from the mind of Michael Crichton or the contemporary and arguably superior television series on HBO – was made at the presentation, it’s the first thing that popped into my mind. Granted, a similar experience already exists at Universal Studios Orlando with the two major Harry Potter-themed lands at the original part and the Islands of Adventure expansion, but if these plans are anywhere near as ambitious as what I’m imagining, Galaxy’s Edge might just blow those out of the water in terms of content integration. In any case, it certainly sounds like we’ll be in for a relentless experience when the park opens next year.

 

 

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Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

34 thoughts on “Star Wars-Themed Hotel Features Integration With Galaxy’s Edge Park, Promises Westworld-Like Experience

  • February 12, 2018 at 7:44 pm
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    I don’t think “a Westworld-like experience” would be a very good marketing angle given the outcomes of both the classic movie and the series.

    • February 12, 2018 at 10:18 pm
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      I thought the same – lol

    • February 13, 2018 at 3:04 am
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      I also thought that, but then realised that demented androids going berserk with plastic lightsabers wouldn’t be quite as frightening a prospect.

  • February 12, 2018 at 7:54 pm
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    I usually prefer to spend my holidays in various Asian countries because the the flights and hotels are cheap so I can afford to spend a couple of weeks there. But damn, as soon as StarWarsland opens you’ll immediately see me fly across the Atlantic ocean I won’t care how much money it costs 😀

  • February 12, 2018 at 8:01 pm
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    Was just at Disney last week. Can’t wait for this!

  • February 12, 2018 at 8:47 pm
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    This is like the ultimate expression of commercialism. Very aesthetic.

    • February 12, 2018 at 9:45 pm
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      Doesn’t look like anything to me.

      – Pomojema

  • February 12, 2018 at 9:31 pm
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    Time to start budgeting for another Disney vacation!

  • February 12, 2018 at 9:48 pm
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    I love the comparison with Westworld! Who wouldn’t want to play in a real-life Star Wars World! 😉

    • February 12, 2018 at 10:26 pm
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      Because the only thing better than a self-aware Host out to kill humans with bullets is a self-aware Host out to kill humans with a lightsaber.

  • February 12, 2018 at 10:24 pm
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    Any chance this would eventually reach Disneyland Paris?

    • February 13, 2018 at 1:27 am
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      I think it’s a matter of time… For the rides, at least. Not sure if they’ll recreate the fully-immersive experience anywhere else, but I don’t think that they’ll rule it out.

      – Pomojema

      • February 14, 2018 at 12:28 pm
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        I guess that’s probably how they would go about it. It’s going to get very expensive to be a European Star Wars fan if you want to have all the fun you could with the franchise until that happens.

  • February 12, 2018 at 11:06 pm
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    Already planning the trip with my family!

    Not sure if we’ll stay in the SW hotel, but we’ll definitely be spending time at Galaxy’s Edge.

    Disney World is probably the most immersive experience I’ve had in terms of theme parks. I’m relatively close to Cedar Point in Ohio, and the rides there are definitely more geared towards thrill seekers, which I enjoy. The ambiance of Disney World is second to none though. So much detail goes into everything they do, from the rides to the decor, down to the freaking trash cans. I’m really confident this will be an experience like none out there.

    • February 13, 2018 at 2:19 pm
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      ” I’m relatively close to Cedar Point in Ohio, and the rides there are definitely more geared towards thrill seekers, which I enjoy.”

      I’m about 45 minutes away from Cedar Point. The place is amazing. But you’re right, there just something about Disney World. Have you read Realityland? It’s a book about the concept, design, and building of Disney World. It’s quite a interesting read.

      • February 13, 2018 at 6:38 pm
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        Nice man! I’m about a 3 and a half drive from Cedar Point. Some friends and I try to go there at least once a year. It’s definitely a fun place.

        I’ve actually never even heard of Realityland. Definitely sounds like the kind of book I would enjoy though. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion!

    • February 13, 2018 at 8:14 pm
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      How much would it cost for two adults to stay a 3 or 4 days in a hotel close to or inside of Disneyworld?

      • February 13, 2018 at 8:59 pm
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        That depends on where you’re staying and if you get the dining plan as well.

        If you would want to stay in Disney World, they’ve got 3 different tiers of resorts; value, moderate, and deluxe. The value start at somewhere in the range of $120/night, while the moderate is a bit more expensive, and the deluxe can be at least double the price of the value. If you’re looking for the most wallet friendly option, the value hotels are the way to go. They may not be as “cool” as the other two tiers of resorts, but they serve their purpose and are still nice and maintained well. Staying Outside of DW is also an option, and you can do it a little cheaper as well, I’m sure. If you stay within a DW resort, you do get some added perks like free shuttle buses to all the parks, along with early admittance and after hours to the parks.

        Tickets are a bit pricey. The longer you stay the cheaper they are per day. I’d say for 3 days you’d probably pay around $320 per person total, give or take a little bit. They also give you the option of adding a “park hopper” which allows you to jump from park to park as often as you want in a given day. So lets say you where to start out in Epcot, with the park hopper you could spend half the day there and then spend the rest of the day in Animal Kingdom or wherever else you would want to go. Last time I went I believe that option was an additional $125 per person.

        The dining plan is also broken up into 3 tiers. Quick dining, Disney dining, and deluxe dining. The quick dining is 2 meals at Disney’s equivalent to a fast food place per day, plus 2 snacks. The Disney dining is 1 quick meal, 1 sit down meal, and 2 snacks per day.
        The deluxe is 3 sit down meals, and two snacks per day. They all come with a Disney mug that you can carry around and refill for free, which comes in handy when it’s a hot Florida day. I typically do just the Disney dining plan. For 3 days it would probably cost you an additional $450 total. It can actually be a good deal though, a lot of the sit down places can be AT LEAST $50 a person for a decent meal, while the fast food options tend to be around $20, if you do it without the dining plan. Not going to lie, the food there is amazing haha.

        So my best guess would be around $1700 for 3 days with everything included. If you take out the park hopper option and just do the quick dining plan you can shave off probably $400. Going around holidays and in the summer raises the cost a decent amount. The best time to go is when the kids are back in school. September and late January through most of February is usually when it’s cheaper, I’ve found out.

        Sorry about writing a novel in response to your question lol but I hope I was of some help!

        • February 14, 2018 at 5:25 pm
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          First of all thank you for your detailed explaination. I would prefer to stay at Disney world for a longer period of time because the flight alone costs about 1000€ and takes about 12 hours at least so I really want to make it count once I’m there. While I would probably prefer a cheaper hotel (I’m not going to spend much time in my hotelroom anyway) I definitely don’t want to save money on dining if they do have authentic American food at Disneyworld. As a foreigner good food is part of the travel experience too 🙂 Last but not least I would like to ask you how many days it would roughly take to see the most interesting areas of Disney world. Long flights are pretty uncomfortable for me so I’d prefer to see as much as I can in one go. Thanks again for the detailed information, it’s been very helpful 🙂

          • February 14, 2018 at 6:29 pm
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            As someone the U.K. I’m in a similar boat/starship to you.
            Have been to Orlando twice both were for 2 weeks (Though that included trips outside Orlando) on a side note if you get to Kennedy Space Center then GO.
            But I basically did one park a day as afterall it is a holiday & I wanted to make the most off my experience.

          • February 14, 2018 at 8:47 pm
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            No problem man! Glad I can be of some help.

            Agree with you on the hotel. I’ve stayed at some of the more expensive hotels once or twice, and while they were pretty awesome, it just felt like a waste of money because we didn’t spend much time there.

            The food really is fantastic. They have so many options, I believe I read somewhere once that they have over 140 places to choose from. As someone who enjoys good food, one of the hardest decisions when I go to DW is where to eat because there are just so many places I’d like to try, but you simply can’t fit them all in on one trip.

            As far as how long you should stay, I’m in agreement with Addi Ras. One day per park is typically what I would do. Disney World also has 2 water parks; Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. I wouldn’t take any time away from the 4 parks to go to them, but they are really cool and if you really wanted to explore those as well, I think you’d probably want to stay for 5 days.

            When you book a stay at DW, they’ll send you a “welcome” package of sorts in the mail. In it will be what they call a Magic Band. It’s essentially your ticket into all of the parks. I’d say the design is comparable to Fitbit almost. The Magic Bands are really handy because they’re linked with your admission, your dining plan, and you can even link them to a debit/credit card. This comes in handy for me because I can go out to the parks all day and leave my wallet locked in the safe back in the hotel room. I had heard that Disney did away with the “park hopper” option as Princess Leia said above, but when pricing out my own vacation on the Disney website this morning, the option to purchase it was available, so it appears they have brought that feature back.

            Word of caution; While I would say 4 days is a good amount of time to be there and visit all of the parks, you’re probably not going to be able to do everything you want. I’ve spent probably a month at DW collectively, and there are still things I haven’t seen or done lol the place is just huge. Glad I can be of any sort of help to a fellow SW fan though!

            On a side note, I believe I read that you and Addi Ras are from the UK? I’ve been looking into taking a trip to Great Britain with my girlfriend recently. I actually finished reading a series of historical fiction novels based on King Arthur. The series really interested me in visiting some places I’ve always wanted to visit, along with some I had never heard of. Ideally, I’d like to see Tintagel, Glastonbury, Bathe, Edinburgh, and London. My questions are, how long would be needed to see all of those places, are all of those places worth going to, and is there anywhere else you guys would recommend?

          • February 15, 2018 at 8:54 pm
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            Okay so 5 or 6 days at Disneyland which means that I would have to stay one or two weeks longer in the US to make the long and expensive flight worth wile. Maybe a New Mexico Alien tour or visiting some national parks would be a fun thing to do. So far I have only seen the North of the US and Canada as well as Arkansas (which wasn’t that interesting to be honest) but there’s so much more I want to see 🙂 Btw Yaddle if you ever need help to plan a holiday in Europe I’ll be happy to help you out. I’ve been in pretty much every European country except for the UK and spent a lot of time in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. So if you are into skiing I can probably give you some pretty good advice 🙂

      • February 14, 2018 at 1:20 pm
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        your best bet is to get something inside the park, with a mini kitchen, just a fridge and microwave. Get your food from Walmart or something outside the park and just have your meals in the room. You will understand once you see that a burger costs about 40 bucks.
        Then you can take advantage of the free transport shuttles,
        One more thing, no more park hoppers, once you pick a park (epcot, magic kingdom, hollywood, ect) you can only go to that park, that day. So choose wisely

        • February 14, 2018 at 5:27 pm
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          How many parks are there and how many days would it take me to see the most interesting of them? I’ve never been to Disneyland before so I have no idea what to expect 🙂

  • February 13, 2018 at 12:24 am
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    Well, gratz to all the rich people who will be able to afford such a wonderful experience. Us poor people will just have to live with our dreams and imagination of what it would be like to go. Please don’t throw rocks at me while I peek through the fence.

    • February 13, 2018 at 3:03 am
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      I don’t think they’ll price it so that most star wars fans will not be able to stay there, it’ll probably just be priced so that they’ll have to save up all year to do so. Disney and lego park hotels are already ridiculously priced but people stay there. A friend of mine takes his kid to legoland about 3-4 times a year- but it’s the only place they ever go on vacation.

      • February 13, 2018 at 10:09 pm
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        Re: “takes his kid to legoland about 3-4 times a year- but it’s the only place they ever go on vacation”

        3-4x times year/only place –
        They really should branch out then.

    • February 14, 2018 at 1:14 pm
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      Disney just upped the daily entrance fee to 129.00
      no motel, no parking, no food,
      So this resort will prob top the Swan at being the most expensive. They should just complete the effect and make it look like Canto Bight, then we can understand what the real 1% looks like

  • February 13, 2018 at 2:53 am
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    Welcome to Jurassic wars park…

  • February 13, 2018 at 1:46 pm
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    Like WestWorld would be sopperrrrrrr funnn!
    Can’t wait for it!
    Vignesh Star Wars 8 Review

  • February 13, 2018 at 1:50 pm
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    Seeing that concept art… man imagine if the hotel had an entire floor fitted with special screens on the window that depicted some epic space battle in 3D all around you. I’m not saying it’s an open floor mind you. You’d have to walk to halls and look out each window to enjoy the crazy battle. Heck even just the illusion of peaceful space like you’re on a station.

    • February 13, 2018 at 4:47 pm
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      From what I gather the whole hotel will be window-less and all “windows” will be screens to look out into space. Which, if they do it right, could be pretty freaking cool.

    • February 14, 2018 at 3:13 am
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      The Sci-Fi Museum in Seattle used to have a giant display that showed starships from dozens of shows come to dock at a space station. It was designed as if you were looking out the viewport. Disney could knock that out of the park. Here’s a not-terribly-great video of it – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycfQrLtWv3o

  • February 13, 2018 at 10:47 pm
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    Well it looks like I’m going to have to start saving though being from the UK i will be booking one of those all inclusive packages & as this looks like a once in lifetime holidays I might as well go all out for the best package available.

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