Will Disney’s Star Wars Hotel Open in 2021? Here’s What We Know.

There are a TON of construction projects going on all of Disney World

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Concept Art ©Disney

We’re talking new restaurants, rides, and even parts of EPCOT’s HUGE nighttime spectacular that are all being worked on. With all of these new things being constructed, we can’t help but wonder what exactly is going on with the Star Wars hotel. The hotel is still slated to open during 2021, but it seems like there’s still a long ways to go before it opens up. Will we be able to go on an intergalactic adventure at the hotel this year? Here’s what we know. 

What Is It?

Before we dive into our updates, we should briefly mention WHAT exactly the Star Wars hotel (Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser) is. Although we call it a “hotel,” it’s not really your ordinary hotelYou should probably think of Galactic Starcruiser as more of a cruise-type experience. During this adventure, guests will get a fully immersive, 2-night experience where they’ll be able to live out their own Star Wars story!

Launch Pod

The project was announced at the D23 Expo in 2019, and with more details revealed over time, it’s become clear that the Star Wars hotel will be unlike anything we have ever seen before.

Model of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon — see the size relative to the Millennium Falcon!

When guests board the “ship” — named the Halcyon — they will be able to step into the Star Wars universe. Activities onboard will include training with a lightsaber

Star Wars Lightsaber Experience

…interacting with Star Wars characters…

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser

…and even operating some of the ship’s defense and navigation systems.

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Atmosphere ©Disney

Secret meetings will also take place around the ship as you dive deeper into your personalized journey.

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser

There will also be opportunities to dine and enjoy some activities at The Silver C Lounge.

Star Wars Galactic Starcrusier Dining

Want to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge during your stay at the Halcyon? You might get the chance to do that too. Guests will have the ability to take an “excursion” to Batuu for a day. The Halcyon is located near Disney’s Hollywood Studios and guests will travel between the two through special transport vehicles.

Transport Vehicle ©Disney

All in all, the experience is set to be like no other in Disney World. But, how close are we to actually experiencing it? Let’s break it down.

Reservations

Reservations for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser were originally supposed to open in late 2020 to guests. Reservations were not released in 2020, however, and we haven’t heard any updates regarding when reservations will open up.

Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser

Website

At the moment, the Disney website for Galactic Starcruiser still notes that it will be coming to Disney World in 2021. When Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resort got delayed, the website was eventually changed to say “coming soon” rather than list the opening year. That change has NOT been made to the Galactic Starcruiser website. But, we are still on the lookout for more updates.

Screenshot from the Disney World Website

Construction

We’ve been keeping a close eye on all of the construction going on at the Star Wars hotel and things do seem to be progressing. Over the past year, we’ve seen the building take shape, some permits filed that appear to have been in relation to the hotel, and we’ve even seen windows take their form on the hotel buildings.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Construction

We’ve seen peeks at the building from above, gotten a look at where the travel shuttles between Batuu and the hotel will dock, and checked out the Terminal — where guests will enter for their stay.

Galactic Starcruiser Construction

Progress is definitely being made, but some areas of the site where the hotel is being built are more developed than others.

Star Wars Construction

The building itself that will house the hotel appears to be generally structurally complete from the outside.

Galactic Starcruiser

Inside, we really don’t have a full picture of how construction is going. All we really know is what Disney has shared with us. We previously got a look at a mocked-up guest cabin. But, recently, some Imagineers shared a sneak peek at the inside of a REAL guest room at the hotel that travelers will have the opportunity to visit. This room features some tinyyyy looking bunk beds which you can see in the photo below.

©Disney (Posted by Jeff Vahle via Instagram @jeffvahle)

The Imagineers also gave us a look at those awesome “windows” that will be located in the rooms, which will give you a view at the depths of space.

©Disney (Posted by Jeff Vahle via Instagram @jeffvahle)

For reference, here’s the mocked-up version of the room that was shared previously. You can see that main bed, the view out into space, the screen on the left side, and what appears to be a table some sort that will pull out from underneath the window.

©Disney via IAAPA Expo 2020 Presentation

And here’s a peek at the mocked-up version of the room on the other side. You can see those bunk beds, a door (which appears to be to the remainder of the ship), a countertop, and potentially a door to a restroom.

©Disney via IAAPA Expo 2020 Presentation

The Imagineer who shared these photos (Jeff Vahle) also said that he and Josh D’Amaro (the Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products) got a look at The Atrium and looked out The Bridge windows to what will be a galaxy far, far away. The Atrium is described as the “heart of the Halcyon” (the Halcyon being the name of the “ship” you board during this Star Wars hotel adventure).

Model of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon — see the size relative to the Millennium Falcon!

The Atrium is a place where crew and passengers will all gather. The Bridge, on the other hand, is where guests will have the chance to operate the ship’s navigation and defense systems. Vahle didn’t describe HOW complete these areas were however, only that they were able to get a look at them.

So, while we’ve gotten some peeks at the inside of the hotel, it’s really difficult to tell how far along construction is in that regard.

Priority

Although other projects have been postponed in Disney World, Disney has listed Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser listed as a priority project. So, from what we understand and from what we’ve seen, the project is continuing to move forward and make progress despite some delays.

Star Wars Hotel concept art ©Disney

Will it be ready for 2021 though? It’s difficult to know. Reservations have yet to become available, we can’t really tell how close to complete the inside of this ship is, and some parts of the outside are not quite as developed as others. But, we have gotten a peek at one of the guest rooms, the building itself does appear to be nearing completion on the outside, and the project is on Disney’s list of priorities.

It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Disney could be ramping things up a LOT behind the scenes to make a 2021 opening happen. But, it’s also possible that delays due to the pandemic and other factors will cause us to wait a little bit longer before we hop to a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser Cabin

We are on the lookout for any detail at all about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and you know we’ll be sharing everything we find with you. So, be sure to check back with us here at DFB to get all the latest intergalactic updates!

Find out everything you need to know about the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser here!

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Will you be staying at the Star Wars hotel when it opens? Let us know in the comments below!

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