We’re going to infinity and beyo…oh wait wrong space movie. Let’s try that again — for the first time EVER, guests visiting Disney World can travel to a galaxy far, far away for a 2-night immersive experience onboard the fanciest starcruiser there is!

That’s right, we’re talking about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser! This first-of-its-kind hotel plops guests directly into the middle of a conflict between the First Order and the Resistance where they get to choose their allegiance in the 2-night part escape game, part murder mystery-style experience. But, if you’re not in the camp that LOVES Star Wars, will you find yourself regretting every single cent that you spent to stay there? Probably no, but maybe yes. Let’s explain.

What the Star Wars hotel is and is not.

First up, let’s do a quick overview of what exactly the Star Wars hotel is like. While the Galactic Starcruiser is known as a hotel, really the only thing that makes it a hotel is that there are beds and a big ‘ol building. But, that building is much more than just a Star Wars-themed concrete box, it’s actually a Starcruiser and the only views you’ll be getting out your window are those in space.

Is it more like a cruise ship? Kind of! All guests arrive and depart in the same time block, stay at the hotel throughout the entire 2-night, 3-day experience (aside from a “planet” excursion), and have their meals and drinks included in the cost (among other things). But, the comparison to a cruise ship doesn’t go much further than that. And, of course, none of this comes without a hefty price tag. This experience can cost upwards of $5,000.

So, it’s not a regular Disney Resort and it’s not a cruise ship — instead, Disney has described it as “part live immersive theater, part themed environment, part culinary extravaganza, part real-life role-playing game—and yet so much more.”

The entire experience revolves around guests creating their very own Star Wars story by encountering and interacting with characters, completing missions, and buying into the greater storyline going on throughout the ship. But, will you be out of place if donning your Jedi best sounds like an absolute NIGHTMARE? And, what if you’ve literally know nothing about Star Wars? Or worse, what if you HATE Star Wars?

Do you NEED to have seen all the Star Wars movies to participate?

While you’re certainly going to be immersed in the Star Wars galaxy while you’re onboard, full knowledge of the movies, series, and comics is NOT necessary. In fact, one of our reporters who visited the Starcruiser for a media event admitted that she hadn’t seen all the movies and didn’t really care about any of the characters beforehand but still loved the experience.

This is exactly what Disney was hoping would happen when they first started working on the hotel!

We had the chance to speak with the Imagineers and representatives from Lucasfilm who worked on the hotel and they stressed that they made the Galactic Starcruiser experience both for people who love Star Wars AND for the people who love the people that love Star Wars. 

So, how does Disney get even those who hate or just don’t really care about Star Wars involved in their own story within the franchise? Well, it all lies in the characters! Almost all of the people that you’ll meet onboard and the story are completely brand new to the Star Wars universe. This makes it so that everyone who visits is on a level playing field as far as the interactions go — while we DO know what happens to Rey and Chewie (because their stories exist in the movies) we DON’T know what happens to, say, Sammie the mechanic.

By introducing a brand new story and characters, Disney has made it so that no one knows what’s going to happen next, making it even easier to immerse yourself into the experience.

What exactly DO you need to know about Star Wars before heading into the galaxy? Disney’s Imagineers and Lucasfilm reps boil it all down to a space battle between good and evil — that’s it.

That being said, if you DO love Star Wars then this could be even better for you! The Galactic Starcruiser was built by people who LOVE the franchise themselves so there are a TON of easter eggs onboard to discover and you’ll literally come face to face with Chewbacca and Rey. But, the BIGGEST key to enjoying your stay is your willingness to participate in the interactive experience, NOT your knowledge of the movies.

Overall

All in all, you’re going to get out of the experience what you put into it at the Star Wars hotel. Even if you really HATE or just don’t really care at all about Star Wars but you love role-playing or other immersive games, you could still end up loving your stay at the Starcruiser. Of course, being a Star Wars fan can enhance your enjoyment (after all, you are LIVING out your very own Star Wars story and can full-on USE a lightsaber), but it’s not a requirement.

And, on the flip side, even the biggest Star Wars fan could walk away hating their experience if they’re not fully bought into the immersive aspects.

So, if you’re trying to decide whether you’ll give into the Star Wars fan in your life even though you can’t stand Jar Jar Binks, don’t fear! You could walk away enjoying the experience even more than you think!

And, we’re not done talking about the Galactic Starcruiser just yet! Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for all of the latest coverage and answers to your biggest questions!

Check out our COMPLETE guide with absolutely EVERYTHING you need to know about the Star Wars Hotel HERE!

Are you considering staying at Disney World’s Star Wars hotel but not sure if you’ll like it? Let us know your fears in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Recently, we were invited by Disney World to attend their media preview of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Today, we are here on our own accord, but some of the photos in the post above are from said media event. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink.You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

The post Is Disney’s Star Wars Hotel JUST for Fans of the Series? The Answer May Surprise You. first appeared on the disney food blog.