We finished our journey on the 9th and I’m still processing it but wanted to share the highlights and a couple frustrating things to help future passengers or those contemplating a journey.
We’re huge Star Wars fans and created our own characters and backstories and spent way too much time creating custom costumes (but enjoyed every minute of it along the way). We consider ourselves fortunate to have gone and wanted to experience this before it changes.
no spoilers
We most enjoyed getting to meet and know like minded Star Wars and Disney fans. We lucked out with our dinner seating neighbors and met the most intelligent and articulate 8 year old ever who put our Star Wars knowledge to the test! Those who were in character and those just enjoying it were all amazing. You really get to know who your traveling with and the guests were by far the best part of this for us. Quickly followed by the actors. They did a great job. The Captain in particular was amazing. Her knowledge of obscure star wars ships was truly impressive, as was her ad libbing and performance. Gaia was a super star for real. Night 1 dinner was amazing.
The absolute worst part of the experience was the Disney Play app / Datapad. My husband is a QA tester who specializes in user interface and this app drove him insane. The frustration was so intense that by 3:30 on day 1, we had to take a break to reset our expectations and remind ourselves we were there to have fun. It’s hard to explain but there is an immense pressure to “do it all” and in the first afternoon you’re exploring the ship and trying to figure out how the game works and when its not clear or the app doesn’t do what you think it should, you worry you’re missing something. The datapad “training” wasn’t going to help either because it is kept in context of the story and doesn’t go into (or even acknowledge) you’re essentially playing a game. I think what they really need for those that want it is an out of context overview of the game experience from start to finish. Not one that spoils the journey, but one that teaches you how the game play mechanics work related to the app. We were not the only ones struggling with it and in fact we were able to help a 14 year old passenger with what little knowledge we had get over his frustrations as well. we saw many people and families in the same boat. It’s one thing to know you can’t do it all, but it’s another thing when you’re there and the meter is running. You forget that. The pressure is real. I think it comes down to the bad interface, the glitchy nature of the app, the lack of clear instruction on how the game actually works and the pressure to try to do it all. SO MY ADVICE TO ANYONE WHO STRUGGLES WITH THE “GAME” - just relax and enjoy it. You can’t possibly do everything, you can’t ”win” the game. relax and go with the flow.
The other thing that annoyed me was the inexperienced and under prepared non-actor members of the crew (excluding the food staff and servers). I realized on day 2 they were all college program students and suddenly understood why they couldn’t correctly answer simple questions, or why they were giving out incorrect or conflicting information. Example— when heading to Batuu they give you a pin so you can be identified easily. We didn’t want to loose our pins so we asked if they had the buttons or stickers we could use and store our pins. The CM handing out the pins said “sure! Just ask the passenger services crew on Batuu, they can give you a sticker”. We got to Batuu and the passenger services CM said “no, we don’t have those anymore”. there were other examples, and in some cases I felt really bad for CMs who were being berated by irate passengers. In one instance schedule conflicts (related to the app) prevented an entire family from getting into the light saber training. It quickly escalated because the CM hadn’t been trained how to handle demanding (and in this case ”entitled”) guests. There is a way to tell someone no without causing them to pull out the “I paid $5000 and you can’t let me in” card. But these CMs just don’t have that training or experience. I don’t know if this is a recent change, or this crew was just new, but the logistics of simply running the experience need white glove service, and this wasn’t that. Another silly example, the CM who runs the pod service on departure day clearly memorized his spiel for departing and enjoyed giving that to each group of departing passengers, but when he asked me before boarding “did you talk to a crew member?” I replied “about what?“ his response was “checking out”. This just hit a nerve for some reason with me because we had a letter in our cabin the night before that clearly said ”you do not need to check out”. So I replied, we were told we didn’t need to check out. He asked me to wait, walked me over to the desk where they said “you don’t need to check out, but do you need a transfer?” I replied that we were told the valet would call us a taxi for Wilderness Lodge. The reply was “no, you need to call and reserve one, CM name on the bridge can help you.” At which point we went to the bridge. Long story short, the taxi driver (who knew more than the onboard CMs) told us they changed their process that day and were now calling taxis to be dispatched only when requested, taxis were no longer allowed to queue up nearby. Again, not the level of Disney service I would expect. I know these sound nit-picky but you don’t see college students running the Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge (both of which we experienced this trip) so why is the staff running Starcruiser not of the same caliber?
We did enjoy ourselves, but would be hard pressed to do it again unless there was something new to experience. It was a great “once in a lifetime“ experience that I would recommend to anyone who can afford it and likes Star Wars and immersion in unique experiences. Happy to answer any questions, but YMMV because it seems they are already changing things and I imagine when the Minnie Vans return full force, the transfer process to other resorts will change again.
Edit to add: If you do go, as D309 (the droid in your room panel) to tell you a bedtime story. It’s Epic and in multiple parts so you can ask for more. She was actually one of the highlights of the trip, right behind the actors. i wanted to take her home to replace Alexa but sadly I don’t think that’s possible….yet
