Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser resort might be the best addition to the Disney theme parks in the last several years.

Galactic Starcruiser has faced some backlash from fans over recent months. In fact, the resort’s first trailer was so bad, Disney ended up removing it from YouTube. This weekend was the media preview at the Galactic Starcruiser resort, though, and Star Wars fans were finally able to see what the controversial experience is like.

The truth? Galactic Starcruiser is amazing… if you want it to be.

This is Not a Hotel

One of the first takeaways from the media preview this weekend was that the Galactic Starcruiser is not a hotel. It’s extremely different from any of Disney’s hotels. For the two days of the Starcruiser’s “voyage”, guests are supposed to stay aboard the ship, much like the experience of being on a cruise.

The “resort” is designed so there’s plenty to do and see for those 48 hours. Even when it is time to check out, Disney made sure to integrate the storyline of the resort into their larger Walt Disney World environment, specifically Galaxy’s Edge. The destination for the Halcyon (the name of the Starcruiser) is Batuu, an Outer Rim world that is also the setting of Galaxy’s Edge.

So, the Galactic Starcruiser resort is more than a themed hotel. It’s not a lazy land-bound cruise, either, though. The Starcruiser is something entirely new and largely untested. It’s basically a giant two-day Star Wars LARP… and Disney stuck the landing. But they need guests to get on board for their strategy to work.

To read the full version of this article, check it out here on the Game Nexus site!