Hettema noted that the theme park space has been trying to solve the challenge of mixing immersive theater and role-playing for a couple of decades. At the time of the Galactic Starcruiser’s launch, I interviewed Phil Hettema of the Hettema Group, a luminary of the industry who over his decades in themed entertainment has worked with Disney, Universal and others. Filled with puppets and not-so-hidden rooms and goofy songs, the Adventurers Club was more or less immersive theater with tropical drinks, all dedicated to a love of exploration.īut while audiences crave such immersive experiences - even without actors, Galaxy’s Edge is an all-compassing theme park land that takes after Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter - the ability to create them on a somewhat large scale now remains a problem that hasn’t been solved. There were old-fashioned radio shows, cabaret-like routines and plenty of seemingly drunken songs. The goal was to be on the team with the most land.Īnd throughout the 1990s, Walt Disney World had the Adventurers Club, a beloved nightclub dedicated to fictional exploits where stones could come alive, artifacts were haunted and guests were treated like prospective members. Guests tried to accrue little wooden tokens known as “bits,” which were used to buy land or bribe others. The game of Legends of Frontierland was relatively vague. It was one of a number of playtests that pulled on Disney’s large SoCal consumer base, with the goal of seeing how far Walt Disney Imagineering - the company’s arm devoted to theme park experiences - could push guests into game-inspired endeavors. Legends of Frontierland attempted to transform the original Disney “land” into a game board of its own. Disneyland has experimented with live-action role-playing games, namely the short-lived Legends of Frontierland, which ran in the summer of 2014. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the theme park land at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, was itself pitched as a sort of live-in game, but has never fully realized that potential as there are limited actors to provide a game-inspired narrative. It is also now the latest theme park casualty that has attempted to rely on actors and immersive, play like experiences. A family of four would need to spend about $6,000 for the two nights. Two-night stays for two people started at around $5,000, with prices increasing from there based on the number of guests or amenities added. If it worked, we wrote that it had the potential to revolutionize how we vacation, but the Galactic Starcruiser faced a hefty hurdle from the start: cost. The Galactic Starcruiser opened early last year, and in our review of the experience we praised it for its focus on creating a world and inviting guests to play. “This premium, boutique experience gave us the opportunity to try new things on a smaller scale of 100 rooms, and as we prepare for its final voyage, we will take what we’ve learned to create future experiences that can reach more of our guests and fans.” “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our guests and recognized for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment,” read an official statement provided by a Walt Disney World spokesperson. Its last day of operation is set for Sept. Colloquially known as the “Star Wars hotel,” the Galactic Starcruiser is a two-night, live-in theme park that doubles as a live-action role-playing game. is axing one of its most adventurous, risk-taking endeavors, announcing today that it is closing Walt Disney World’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
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