Kick ALL the Starters, Part III: Fund ALL the Crowds!

[Mamorien]

Not such a long time ago at all, at a resort only somewhat far away...

Halcyon Daze is a feature-length documentary that traces the ambitious launch, spectacular run, and crushing closure of Disney World's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. From the fan's eye view of director Carrie Coaplen's own journey aboard the "luxury space liner", viewers will experience the unique attraction, meet its intensely passionate fan community, and the incredible artists, cast and crew that brought it to life.

Humans need fantasy to be human.

The Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser was a high-profile, immersive theme park attraction at Walt Disney World Florida. The all-inclusive experience provoked strong reactions from both fans and critics and ultimately shuttered after less than two years—a shockingly brief lifecycle for a project that cost an alleged $400 million USD to develop and build. Combining elements of live-action role playing games, escape rooms, immersive theater, virtual travel, and themed entertainment, Galactic Starcruiser invited participants to board the Halcyon, a passenger spaceship in the fleet of Chandrila Starlines, where they would spend two nights aboard a luxury ship voyaging across the galaxy and participating in events in the Star Wars timeline. Viewed from the outside, the Starcruiser was a brick of a hotel plunked near the back lot for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but from the inside, it was something else entirely.



Through such audacious acts of make-believe, the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser contributed to the now centuries long effort to achieve fully immersive narrative experiences. Further, while short lived, the Starcruiser amassed a fervent and dedicated fanbase among guests, many of whom were repeat voyagers.

But the appeal was far from universal, and critics found aspects of the project off putting. The price tag of up to $7,000 for a standard package for 2 nights proved steep. At least one preview video intended to spark interest had such an icy reception that the company later removed it from official channels. But attendees at a beta test in November 2021 were relatively enthusiastic despite experiencing what was an only mostly finished product. For example, Joshua Yehl, Senior Editor at IGN said, “Walking into the main room at the heart of the Halcyon, the atrium, feels like walking onto a genuine starship right out of the movies." Ultimately, despite the mixed reception, initial bookings for the experience showed promise, selling out for the first four months well before the March 2022 launch date.

Bro this isn't Star Wars, this is Space Conflicts.

When the attraction finally opened, it presented guests with a carefully orchestrated experience facilitated both by the physical environments of the ship and Galaxy’s Edge and the efforts of hundreds of staff, including a number of actors who portrayed characters like the ship’s captain and cruise director, all of whom strove to maintain immersion. If passengers asked a member of waitstaff where they were from, they’d answer with Naboo or another planet from the Star Wars universe. The dining room had blue and green milk on tap. Rooms didn’t have windows, but portals that showed views from space. Aliens and droids mingled with passengers in the atrium.

It's the place where I found my true self.

But bookings dropped off over time, and on May 18, 2023, Disney announced that the Starcruiser would be shuttered in September, just 19 months after its opening. After a pause in bookings to reschedule or refund those who had reserved dates after the impending closure, the remaining voyages sold out within a few hours in a mad scramble that seasoned Disney travel agents called unprecedented. Those who had missed a booking before the sell out called hourly for days or even weeks, hoping to get back on board; passengers offered up empty spaces in their cabins to share with strangers from online Facebook groups and Discord channels hastily organized to let Starcruiser fans find "crewmates" for their voyages.

We're all canon Star Wars characters now.

We began documenting the closure during this period, and four members of our team managed to find spots on the third-to-last "voyage," collecting hours of professional footage of the experience. Since then, we have interviewed numerous former passengers and current fans, experts in areas from game design to role-playing to business, and cast and crew from the experience; attended fan meetups and conventions; and captured more than 100 hours of original footage.

There is a stark contrast between the Starcruiser as a ridiculous and ridiculously expensive failure and the Starcruiser as a beloved and transformative community. Halcyon Daze is an effort to document and understand that tension.

The finished film, on digital and physical media, and associated swag pack drop in October of next year, but if you back at the $1,000+ levels, you get a seat at the Director Dinner happening this October in Orlando at GSC fan meet-up HalcyCon.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/car...tarcruiser