The Walt Disney World Resort confirmed today that it will build its previously announced Star Wars-themed hotel adjacent to the upcoming Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge land at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.
While many fans assumed that would be the location of the new hotel, and visitors have seen construction preparation on the assumed hotel site just south of the theme park, Disney hadn't actually confirmed that location until today.
Disney's Star Wars hotel still doesn't have a name or an opening date, but Disney promises an interactive experience unlike anything else we've seen in the hotel business before. Disney is positioning the hotel more of a live action role-playing experience than a mere place to spend the night: "Families visiting this destination will board a starship that comes alive with characters and stories that unfold all around them during their voyage through the galaxy – and every cabin window has views of space!"
If you're looking for clues as to how Disney will create those "cabin windows," just remember those virtual portholes that Disney has in its interior cabins on the Disney Cruise Line. Same principle, one expects.
Visitors also will be encouraged to cosplay in Star Wars attire during their stay. The location, across from (what for now is) Studio Drive and the site of Galaxy's Edge, has led to speculation that guests at the hotel will have some form of special access to the Star Wars land, as well.
So what will it cost to stay at Disney World's Star Wars hotel? This might be the laziest punchline in Theme Park Insider's long and sad history of lazy punchlines, but we expect the cost of one night in the Star Wars hotel to be... out of this world.
(I am so sorry.)
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Bummer, I had such a witty comment.
I'll post again... I'm intrigued by a really well themed hotel having a dedicated park entrance and with a matching theme! I wonder how this will effect Extra Magic Hours and special events. Maybe even try an all night event?
It looks like that Google image is not what I initially had, so I'll try again here...
Google recently updated their aerial imagery of WDW, and the new views really show off the progress at DHS. The images look to be from no more than 3 months ago. You can clearly see the new entrance as well as construction in the park. Across the the park from the Studio Drive entrance, you can clearly see the site prep work for the hotel. Guests will probably go across a bridge or through a tunnel to get from the hotel into the park.
I think more than the price, how the expierience will be sold is a big unknown. Rumors have Disney limiting guests to 2 nights in the hotel at a time, and that it will be almost complete immersion from start to finish. The experience will be more like a cruise ship (where guests follow specific itineraries) than a typical WDW resort experience. Will guests be limited to DHS during their stay? Will food be included in the package? Will you be able to rent costumes if you don't have your own? All big questions beyond the inevitable one as to how much it will cost - answer, more than the average guest can probably afford (granted a WDW vacation has already crossed that threshold for most middle class Americans).
..(granted a WDW vacation has already crossed that threshold for most middle class Americans) >
.... But high spending on a limited period of time (3-6 days) in a kind of all-in resort vacation (whether it be WDW or a complete different venue, including short cruise vacations) is more typical to the USA then to any other country in the world. The WDW vacation model does not work in other countries in the world (for instance NOT in Disney's Paris, Tokyo, ... nor Shanghai)
The reason is that the (NO) 'paid days off' labour situation in the USA is the total legal opposite from ... the rest of the world.
See this grapf :
https://slopeofhope.com/socialtrade/item/9884
Numurous studies explain the effect.
ONLY in the USA, people tend to spend a lot of vacation money, in a very short time span, then return to stressfull job conditions.
Vacation budget, for instance in Europe, is (must be !!!...) spread over some 30 days per year period. This means, nobody (unless rich) would ever spend it all on a one week luxury resort experience.
(It was one of the fatal mistakes Disney made, in planning Eurodisney, as they did not study the vacation time social reality beforehand and just believed everything would sell like it does in Florida. >> NOT SO , it never will !
Cheers
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Some comments got lost in a server transition today, but I wanted to post a Google Maps link that Russell Meyer submitted earlier of the site in question: Google Maps