Halcyon days and nights -- Trip report, July 2023
Jul 11, 2023 23:36:53 GMT -5
jedimom3, rigby, and 1 more like this
Post by oldhalfelf on Jul 11, 2023 23:36:53 GMT -5
I have never offered a detailed trip report before, but I do so now because (a) Galactic Starcruiser Halcyon trip reports are fairly scarce, and (b) Halcyon voyages are unfortunately scheduled to go extinct in late September. In case readers are fortunate enough to voyage before Halcyon’s demise, or – better – after the decision to end it might miraculously be rescinded, this report is drafted in an attempt to avoid spoilers. (In the polite circumlocution traditionally employed by the Supreme Court when it repents of one of its certiorari grants, the decision to end the Halcyon experience might very charitably be described as “improvidently granted” by Disney management.)
DW expressed interest in my obtaining a Halcyon reservation in celebration of a major milestone birthday. As I also wished to go, I undertook the task gladly. It rapidly became clear that the Disney calendar grid at
disneyworld.disney.go.com/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser/planning/
showed vacancies “almost never” in the mathematical sense. Disney cast members offered the candid advice to keep calling them, because vacancies tended to open (and often close) 20+ minutes prior to an accomplished update to the web grid. I complied, and after 60-some calls ultimately secured a 7/2-7/4 Standard Cabin reservation about ten days beforehand, due to a late cancellation by other guests.
I want to state that the Disney cast members who took my many calls were gracious and professional. Most were sympathetic, and several were forthcoming with advice, charming, or both – especially including the woman who finally booked our reservation. She successfully up-sold the professional photography option by encouraging us to invite up to six “new friends” from the voyage to join the photo shoot. (DW ultimately implemented that advice successfully.) If I have any complaint with the calling quest for reservations, it is that a wait-list option was not provided – not even with a credit card deposit or guarantee.
Due to the short time between reservation and Halcyon voyage, I had to use points at both Saratoga Springs and Old Key West to book 1+3 = 4 “decompression” nights, after the 2-night voyage. Those nights were our first visit to both resorts. They proved relaxing, and we liked OKW a lot, despite the absence of underground parking, hallway art, and giraffes…. (Our home resort, AKV, was full, and given the short lead-time for the trip, wait-listing seemed impractical.)
DW was interested in an item of costume clothing for each of us. These were also a rushed proposition, although the (corrected) sizes arrived from Disney before we departed on 6/30. Finally, despite short notice and the Independence Day weekend, we were able to board our cat!
We set off by car on Friday, 6/30, and arrived at WDW the morning of Halcyon check-in on 7/2. The most stressful part of the trip was the near-absence of Galactic Starcruiser signage on Disney’s highway system. While I can understand one possible reason for that, we found ourselves concerned about check-in tardiness – unnecessarily, but by only fifteen minutes.
Halcyon travelers follow one (or sometimes more) of four paths through onboard missions: Resistance, Force, Smuggler, or First Order. In order to experience as much of Halcyon as possible, DW and I agreed in advance to follow different paths: she took Force and I took Resistance. Unsurprisingly, those paths overlapped. The two paths were sufficiently rich in detail to prevent us from exhausting them completely. Despite our active participation, and not counting missed in-character conversations and Sabacc, I estimate we together experienced only one-third of everything Halcyon had to offer: whether in-person while on board, online, or on the side trip to Batuu. The latter ran like clockwork, along with virtually everything else. Overall, the adaptively improvised and multi-threaded story-line, leading cast and general crew, ship and cabin design, plentiful food, side trip to Batuu, and in-room logistics droid (with bedtime stories!) were uniformly excellent.
Because lightsaber training is featured on the Galactic Starcruiser website, I am assuming that limited commentary about it does not constitute a spoiler on my part. First, the website states, “…face off against a remote training device in this exclusive interactive activity that is far beyond anything you’ve experienced before.” I rate that statement as “true.” Second, the Saja (teacher of the ways of the Force) who led my training session was one of my two favorite leading characters, both in and out of the training. (Identifying the other would be a spoiler. Both were superb.)
The bridge is a marvel; it makes the Space 220 display seem two generations obsolescent. Unfortunately, it was not available for our optional photo shoot, as we were scheduled at a time when it was in use for storyline purposes.
It is a noteworthy feature of Halcyon that the leading characters are seen as pre-existing on board or entering via docking, they persist in public or semi-public (hidden) areas even when not the center of attention, and they post-exist the voyage on board or depart via undocking throughout the voyage. In other words, they do not magically appear and disappear -- despite the Starcruiser being in the depths of space -- like the unconnected acts of a vaudeville review. I feel the Imagineers really earned their pay with this, and the improvisational conversations conducted by the cast members (i.e., while not currently in the limelight) cemented both the imagined reality and the passengers’ immersive experience.
With the traditional YMMV caveat, I would observe that the guests on our voyage were great: largely costumed, willing to role-play without scenery-chewing or sarcastic snark, and committed to the success of the experience both before and after the voyage through conversations in a Facebook group with more than fifty members. Passengers’ in-Universe back-stories were plentiful and interesting, business cards and identity-related gifts were prepared in advance and exchanged, and there were enough First Order adherents among the passengers to help the plot along.
The passengers staged a 100+ person, unofficial group photo (think “flash mob”) before disembarkation. I had the feeling that a couple of junior crew members who were checking people off as they took the “planetary shuttle” were a bit startled that the guests were being assertive, but a senior crew member appeared and took the photos so that all passengers who wished could be in them. This was classic Disney pixie dust.
To conclude, and while still striving for a spoiler-free report, I would say that the two days aboard Halcyon were a welcome vacation from endless polarization and incitement via click-bait triggers. The Halcyon experience explicitly affirms tolerance for the honest opinions of others, even when aggressive actions have to be forestalled or opposed.
Bravo Zulu all hands, Halcyon.
DW expressed interest in my obtaining a Halcyon reservation in celebration of a major milestone birthday. As I also wished to go, I undertook the task gladly. It rapidly became clear that the Disney calendar grid at
disneyworld.disney.go.com/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser/planning/
showed vacancies “almost never” in the mathematical sense. Disney cast members offered the candid advice to keep calling them, because vacancies tended to open (and often close) 20+ minutes prior to an accomplished update to the web grid. I complied, and after 60-some calls ultimately secured a 7/2-7/4 Standard Cabin reservation about ten days beforehand, due to a late cancellation by other guests.
I want to state that the Disney cast members who took my many calls were gracious and professional. Most were sympathetic, and several were forthcoming with advice, charming, or both – especially including the woman who finally booked our reservation. She successfully up-sold the professional photography option by encouraging us to invite up to six “new friends” from the voyage to join the photo shoot. (DW ultimately implemented that advice successfully.) If I have any complaint with the calling quest for reservations, it is that a wait-list option was not provided – not even with a credit card deposit or guarantee.
Due to the short time between reservation and Halcyon voyage, I had to use points at both Saratoga Springs and Old Key West to book 1+3 = 4 “decompression” nights, after the 2-night voyage. Those nights were our first visit to both resorts. They proved relaxing, and we liked OKW a lot, despite the absence of underground parking, hallway art, and giraffes…. (Our home resort, AKV, was full, and given the short lead-time for the trip, wait-listing seemed impractical.)
DW was interested in an item of costume clothing for each of us. These were also a rushed proposition, although the (corrected) sizes arrived from Disney before we departed on 6/30. Finally, despite short notice and the Independence Day weekend, we were able to board our cat!
We set off by car on Friday, 6/30, and arrived at WDW the morning of Halcyon check-in on 7/2. The most stressful part of the trip was the near-absence of Galactic Starcruiser signage on Disney’s highway system. While I can understand one possible reason for that, we found ourselves concerned about check-in tardiness – unnecessarily, but by only fifteen minutes.
Halcyon travelers follow one (or sometimes more) of four paths through onboard missions: Resistance, Force, Smuggler, or First Order. In order to experience as much of Halcyon as possible, DW and I agreed in advance to follow different paths: she took Force and I took Resistance. Unsurprisingly, those paths overlapped. The two paths were sufficiently rich in detail to prevent us from exhausting them completely. Despite our active participation, and not counting missed in-character conversations and Sabacc, I estimate we together experienced only one-third of everything Halcyon had to offer: whether in-person while on board, online, or on the side trip to Batuu. The latter ran like clockwork, along with virtually everything else. Overall, the adaptively improvised and multi-threaded story-line, leading cast and general crew, ship and cabin design, plentiful food, side trip to Batuu, and in-room logistics droid (with bedtime stories!) were uniformly excellent.
Because lightsaber training is featured on the Galactic Starcruiser website, I am assuming that limited commentary about it does not constitute a spoiler on my part. First, the website states, “…face off against a remote training device in this exclusive interactive activity that is far beyond anything you’ve experienced before.” I rate that statement as “true.” Second, the Saja (teacher of the ways of the Force) who led my training session was one of my two favorite leading characters, both in and out of the training. (Identifying the other would be a spoiler. Both were superb.)
The bridge is a marvel; it makes the Space 220 display seem two generations obsolescent. Unfortunately, it was not available for our optional photo shoot, as we were scheduled at a time when it was in use for storyline purposes.
It is a noteworthy feature of Halcyon that the leading characters are seen as pre-existing on board or entering via docking, they persist in public or semi-public (hidden) areas even when not the center of attention, and they post-exist the voyage on board or depart via undocking throughout the voyage. In other words, they do not magically appear and disappear -- despite the Starcruiser being in the depths of space -- like the unconnected acts of a vaudeville review. I feel the Imagineers really earned their pay with this, and the improvisational conversations conducted by the cast members (i.e., while not currently in the limelight) cemented both the imagined reality and the passengers’ immersive experience.
With the traditional YMMV caveat, I would observe that the guests on our voyage were great: largely costumed, willing to role-play without scenery-chewing or sarcastic snark, and committed to the success of the experience both before and after the voyage through conversations in a Facebook group with more than fifty members. Passengers’ in-Universe back-stories were plentiful and interesting, business cards and identity-related gifts were prepared in advance and exchanged, and there were enough First Order adherents among the passengers to help the plot along.
The passengers staged a 100+ person, unofficial group photo (think “flash mob”) before disembarkation. I had the feeling that a couple of junior crew members who were checking people off as they took the “planetary shuttle” were a bit startled that the guests were being assertive, but a senior crew member appeared and took the photos so that all passengers who wished could be in them. This was classic Disney pixie dust.
To conclude, and while still striving for a spoiler-free report, I would say that the two days aboard Halcyon were a welcome vacation from endless polarization and incitement via click-bait triggers. The Halcyon experience explicitly affirms tolerance for the honest opinions of others, even when aggressive actions have to be forestalled or opposed.
Bravo Zulu all hands, Halcyon.
