One Big Disney World Promise That DIDN'T Happen in 2020

A LOT happened at Walt Disney World in 2020!

Cinderella Castle

The biggie was obviously the parks shut down due to the pandemic and then reopened with several new health and safety measures in place. Besides these big changes, we also had several things going on in the parks that were already planned. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened up, we went through four EPCOT festivals, and several major projects continued construction. Oh yeah, we got a PINK Cinderella Castle, too! One of Disney’s most ambitious projects was supposed to hit a BIG milestone last year and it didn’t, which leaves us with the question — what’s going on?

Back in 2017, we found out about the new “Star Wars hotel” at the D23 expo. In the following year, we got more details about the project, including the proposed location and some concept art.

©Disney

In 2019, the name of the hotel, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, as well as the name of the ship itself, the Halcyon, were revealed. Disney gave us some more insight into what guests would experience aboard the Halcyon, sharing details on the dining options and transportation. During this time, we learned that Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is going to be like no other Disney resort — instead, it’s more of an immersive experience similar to that of a cruise ship.

©Disney

As our anticipation grew, we FINALLY received an opening timeframe for the hotel, which is supposed to be this year, in 2021. We’ve been monitoring the construction progress ever since, but there was one big promise about this resort last year that never came to fruition!

©Disney via IAAPA Expo 2020 Presentation

Since the hotel is scheduled to open this year, the reservations for the experience were supposed to open up in 2020…but they never did. There was that whole MASSIVE closure of the parks due to the pandemic that threw a wrench into… well, everyone’s plans. We expect that the pandemic may have put Disney behind on construction progress, but will we still get the chance to stay in this immersive resort before the end of the year?

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Room Concept Art ©Disney

Last September, Disney shared that this experience in particular is being prioritized by the company. They’re proceeding with construction and Disney’s website still states that the hotel is “Coming to Walt Disney World Resort in 2021.” Besides the year, no real timeline for opening has been mentioned, so it’s possible that guests could be boarding the Halcyon any time in 2021.

Lightsaber Experience Aboard the Halcyon ©Disney

One thing that makes us think that Disney isn’t too far off track with their progress on this hotel is the fact that we’ve been receiving a lot of new details about it recently! Earlier last month, we got our first glimpse INSIDE the Halcyon as Jeff Vahle, the President of Walt Disney World Resort, shared photos from the cabins.

©Disney (Posted by Jeff Vahle via Instagram @jeffvahle)

It seems as though Disney is trying to drum up excitement for this project, so we hope that means that the construction progress is moving along at a steady pace. We’ve been waiting not-so-patiently for more information, and we know that many of our readers are eagerly anticipating this experience as well.

If you’re eager to hear more about the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel and you want to be the first to know the updates, then we’ve got good news! Disney has a way for you to sign up to be notified through email when more information goes live — just click here. Also, make sure to sign up for our DFB newsletter, because we’ll be giving you all the important news as soon as it comes out!

We don’t know about you, but we’re READY to book our stay at this new hotel, and we’re hoping to get more information (like an opening date) soon. Stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates on this project and the many others that Disney is currently working on. We hope to see you in-person when we all “blast off” on this galactic adventure!

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