One of the coolest new attractions coming to Walt Disney World isn't a ride or a show at all, it's actually a hotel. While Disney has always built nice hotels, this one, themed for Star Wars, is going to be something truly unique. During a recent presentation at the D23 Expo in Japan, Disney's head of the theme park division revealed some new details about the new hotel, including the fact that it will connect to the upcoming Star Wars Galaxy's Edge theme park land at Disney's Hollywood Studios "seamlessly."
It had been previously announced that the upcoming Star Wars resort wouldn't simply be a place to sleep between theme park visits, but would, itself, be an experience for guests to have. It had already been revealed that the hotel would be designed to tell guests a story over several days, as, within the story being told, the hotel was actually a spacecraft traveling through space. It now appears, based on what was announced at D23 (via Disney Parks Blog) that Star Wars Galaxy's Edge won't just be the closest theme park spot to the hotel, but it will also be a seamless part of the story. It sounds like Batuu, the planet that Galaxy's Edge is designed to be, will actually be a port of call for the spacecraft, with guests disembarking to the planet at some point during their "trip."
This all fits with what I learned when recently visiting Disney's Hollywood Studios. One of the most interesting things about Star Wars Galaxy's Edge is that, while there will be plenty of opportunities for guests to spend money, this is a Disney theme park after all, traditional items, like t-shirts with the Star Wars logo on them, won't be available in the shops. Instead, visitors will only find merchandise that looks like what you might expect to find being sold in the marketplace on an alien planet. This level of immersion of the land looks to be designed to match that of the hotel, making the entire thing one massive Star Wars adventure. While Galaxy's Edge is being built on both coasts, this hotel is only coming to Walt Disney World.
Guests in the hotel won't even be able to see the outside world, as every window, including those in each hotel room, will actually give a view of outer space. The image released by Disney Parks below is actually animated to show a space battle going on outside, while the hotel guests watch it take place around them.
You'll also notice from the image that everybody is dressed in clothing related to Star Wars, this will apparently be provided to guests so that everybody can feel more like they're part of the galaxy far, far away. Everything new I learn about this resort makes it sound like it's going to be as much fun as any theme park. If you've ever wanted to truly feel like you were in the world of Star Wars, the resort may be the best place to actually do that.
