An official new Star Wars book will retcon Walt Disney World's new Star Wars hotel as the site of Leia and Han's honeymoon.
No, this isn't some "The Onion"-style spoof or an especially crazy attempt at fan fiction. Beth Revis' "Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel" drops this August, and the official press release on StarWars.com today included this nugget about the book's plot:
"Set just after the events of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the story begins on the forest moon of Endor, where Han proposes in the elation of the rebel victory against the Empire. After a ceremony at the site of the victory celebration at the end of the film, the newlyweds depart for a honeymoon aboard the Halcyon starcruiser, the luxury vessel at the heart of the new Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience at [Walt] Disney World Resort."
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is a two-night interactive adventure at the Walt Disney World Resort that opens next month. Each two-night stay will replicate a cruise on a Star Wars spaceship - the Halcyon starcruiser of the Chandrila Star Line. "Windows" in room cabins and common areas will be virtual portholes animated to make it look like you are traveling in space.
Activities aboard the ship will include lightsaber training, a tour of the ship's bridge which might just happen to coincide with a space battle, and a port excursion to the Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu - also known as the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge land at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Special transport vehicles will carry visitors between the Halcyon and Galaxy's Edge, as not to spoil the illusion of being in space.
Rates for the two-night experience start at around $4,800 for a couple and $6,000 for a family of four, which had fueled quite a bit of backlash within the Disney and Star Wars fan communities. So perhaps Disney is feeling the need to bolster the authenticity of the Halcyon by writing it into Star Wars canon.
Does this mean we now will see an even higher-priced "Han and Leia Honeymoon Suite" on the Starcruiser?
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You know Leia 100% paid for it.
The book goes on to explain how Solo got so ticked off at the mobile ordering system for food that he and Leia left the Halycon and went into Orlando to eat at an Outback Steakhouse.
Pete, he used the credits that he didn’t have to pay Jabba the Hutt!
In all seriousness (and I am serious in what I am about to say), this seems like another uncharge opportunity where couples can stay in the “same” honeymoon suite that Han and Leia stayed in!
It is absolutely an "uncharge opportunity"!
And now imagining a batch of pirates attacking so it turns into a Star Wars version of Die Hard and holy cow, I would watch the HELL out of that.
Meh…
I hope there's a part in the story where Han is losing his mind, driving around in circles going "I'm sure its in the Epcot Resort area! Why can't I find it?"
The Galactic Startcruiser only currently has a total of 100 rooms with 3 classes of cabins (standard cabins, 1 bedroom "galaxy class" suites, and 2 bedroom "grand captain" suites). It's unclear how many 2-bedroom suites there are, but there's probably only so much Disney could do to dress up one (or more) of those suites into "Han and Leia's Honeymoon" suite. Disney's room descriptions note that both types of suites have "extra Star Wars surprises", so maybe this link to Han and Leia is what they're referencing.
I will be representing Theme Park Insider next week for a media voyage on the Starcruiser, so I've been following a lot of the publicity and buzz for this project. The expectations and anticipation for this seem to be all over the place in both the Disney and Star Wars community. However, many guests who have booked trips on the Halcyon appear to be going all out, and would gladly pay for whatever upcharges Disney could tack on to the once-in-a-lifetime type of experience to make it even more special and unique. Right now, the only on-board upcharge available is a $35/person upgrade to sit at the Captain's Table for one of the two dinners during your stay, but because of that limited availability (assumed to be @8 guests per seating), the upcharge sells out quickly.
C3PO is fluent in six million forms of communication. I hope he has "Conversational Genie+".
Actually, Han probably banned him from the honeymoon. But I could see R2 hacking the system and snagging some sweet reservations.
In other news, I'm fascinated by this whole endeavor and am looking forward to reading Russel Meyer's reportage! Keep up the good work.
I say, look for a pair of small metal dice hanging from a mirror in your room on Halycon. That would be the tell that "Han stayed here."
You absolutely could buy your own ship for that. You would have to be real world royalty to stay there. I still think the cost is obscene, but a fool and their money…
The death of creativity and triumph of shoehorning crap into an ip for capitalism.
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How could Solo afford $4,800 on a nerf herder's salary? And a half-witted, scruffy-looking one at that? Leia probably paid for it.