In a galaxy not so far away, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is a brand new two-day, two-night experience at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. While it may be a hotel in the most basic sense, in reality, it’s much more than that. Think part immersive live theater, part video game, and part escape room, where everyone on board has a story—including the guests.
As with any good Disney experience, the food is fantastic, but Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser takes things to another level. There are more than 50 different Star Wars-themed dishes to try, each with its own elaborate backstory that ties into the Star Wars universe. It’s truly a feast for the taste buds and mind.
But before we get to that, some brass tacks: Guests to the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser come aboard the Halcyon—the ship where the entire experience takes place—via a “transport pod” that virtually whisks guests into deep space. Once onboard, almost all food and drinks are included in the overall cost of your simulated voyage, which starts at just over $4,800 for two guests per cabin. Want spiked green milk or other space cocktails? Those boozy treats will cost you a few extra galactic credits.
The Halcyon is filled with characters new to the Star Wars universe, with whom guests can interact just like they would Mickey Mouse back on Earth. There’s Gaya, a galactic pop star with a dazzling voice that spans pop to soul. She’s immediately recognizable as a Twi’lek, a humanoid species with two large, prehensile tentacles that grow from the base of her skull. As for Gaya’s green reptilian backup singer? That’s Ouannii, Gaya’s hype girl, who sports iconic purple dreadlocks. (Pro tip: You can also hear Gaya’s powerhouse vocals at Oga’s Cantina inside another Disney attraction area, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.)
Keep a lookout for Gaya and Ouannii at night one’s dinner, “An Evening With Gaya,” which is set in the immersive multi-level Crown of Corellia Dining Room. The room itself is an experience, decked out with glossy black tables and plush blue velvet chairs, each accented with striking gold hardware. Overhead, soaring lights arranged in concentric circles bathe the room in otherworldly purple and blue light. Gaya and Ouanni take up residence on a small stage, periodically jumping off to mingle with guests around the dining room.
The meal begins with a shareable appetizer of three different-hued, bao-like dumplings, which are first steamed then pan-fried to crispy perfection. The orange dumplings come stuffed with succulent sweet-and-sour tip yip (which is Star Wars speak for chicken), while purple dumplings are filled with tender teriyaki-marinated beef (or as Star Wars folk call it, bantha). A final green dumpling bursts with flora (a.k.a. vegetables), which in this case is a zesty curried potato mash.
Different dips include a medium-heat, gochujang-laced sauce and a fiery Batuu spice dip. Star Wars fans will be quick to note that “spice” can be slang for mind-altering drugs in movie canon, but in this case, it’s just a flavorful concoction of ginger, white vinegar, jalapeño, onions, garlic, and paprika.
With the second course come individual entrees. Choose from delicacies like the bourbon-glazed, fried tip yip (that’s chicken, remember?) sprinkled with black and white sesame seeds; lemongrass-scented stewed shrimp topped with lobster cream and coconut-lime foam; and a perfectly-cooked bantha steak (beef tenderloin!) served alongside a silky purple potato mash. Dessert is a light and fluffy mousse of caramel whip and sweet, purple-colored jogan, a popular fruit in the Star Wars universe. (It’s actually made with a colorful blend of raspberry, mango, lychee, passionfruit, black currant, hibiscus, and dragon fruit).
Dinner on night two is “Taste Around the Galaxy,” a chef-guided meal featuring dishes hailing from different planets across the Star Wars galaxy. The opening bread service is inspired by the volcanic planet of Mustafar: Jet black-colored flatbread infused with charcoal shares space with vibrant purple ube rolls. Both are served alongside a variety of dips and spreads, including whipped pimento cheese, quenelles of breadfruit chutney, and apricot relish.
The next course is the mind-bending, blue-hued Iced Felucian shrimp cocktail, which took Disney’s culinary director and chef Brian Piasecki almost six months to perfect.
“When we put this in front of [the Walt Disney Imagineering team] for the first time, [one team member] got up out of his seat and started clapping,” said Piasecki. “I knew we nailed it.” It’s much the same in the Crown of Corellia Dining Room when these platters arrive.
Here’s the dish’s Star Wars backstory: The shrimp are blue because the swampy jungle planet of Felucia is populated with blue algae, which is the favorite food of the world’s resident shrimp. In reality, however, the crustaceans are steeped in a sky blue-colored mixture of butterfly pea flower tea, herbs, lemons, and other spices. Bowlfuls arrive at tables dramatically overflowing with dry ice smoke and accompanied by a piquant cocktail sauce and seaweed salad.
Two entrees are then served family-style. First up, tender beef short ribs (or in Star Wars parlance, bantha short ribs) swathed in a rich fig demi-glace, served alongside roasted carrots, seared turnips, pink pickled radish, and a golden, turmeric-infused potato mash.
Second is a dish based on the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk. The star of the plate is a flaky seared grouper, anchored by a bright green pea puree and draped in a creamy lemon beurre blanc sauce. It’s served alongside black beluga lentils and a relish of sweet corn, peas, salty bacon, and peppers.
Dessert is an airy, ring-shaped dark chocolate cake topped with salted caramel ganache. It’s joined by what at first glance looks like a marble—it’s actually a jogan fruit-flavored sphere of half-jelly, half-mousse. The dish is plated in such a way that it resembles the logo of the Halcyon’s in-story operator, the Chandrila Star Line.
But dinner isn’t the Halcyon’s only culinary high point. At breakfast, opt for the compressed fruit plate with watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and dragonfruit. Or go for the pastry spread complete with muffins, croissants, sweet buns, and Star Wars-themed blue milk butter. For something heartier, dig into the Meteor Egg, which is basically a giant deep-fried Scotch egg made with sweet cake-like batter and served alongside a savory turmeric dip. Of course, this is Disney World, so there’s naturally a Chandrila Star Line version of Disney’s famous Mickey-shaped waffles.
At lunchtime, there’s the fire-melted Cheese with red fruit dipper, which is basically a fancy grilled cheese that looks like a bubble waffle, served alongside a creamy tomato soup. The succulent tikka tip yip chicken with paneer cheese flatbread is also a win, and kids will love the green sunflower butter and jelly, which are a space-ified version of a classic PB&J.
Of course there’s a cantina on board, because what’s a good Star Wars story without a bar? On the Halcyon, guests will find the Sublight Lounge just off the atrium. Here, you can socialize with characters that roam the ship daily like Lenka Mok, Halcyon’s Cruise Director, plus Gaya, Ouannii, or the crooning musician Sandro Alimander.
Between rounds of the Star Wars card game sabacc, sip on space cocktails like the Hoth Icebreaker. The icy blue drink is the Halcyon version of a lemon drop, but much cooler because, well, it’s Star Wars-themed. The sweet vodka-based drink is topped with a lemon foam and a hard sugar disc reminiscent of the ice on Hoth. Looking for something a little stronger? Try the Pod Chaser cocktail, which is the ship’s rendition of an old fashioned. As the Star Wars lore goes, it’s the drink of choice for those participating in pod races before big challenges in the arena on the planet Tatooine.
No matter how you choose to chow down during your voyage on the Halcyon, one thing is for sure: For superfans, this journey deep into the Star Wars universe is truly unmissable. And it may be the closest you may ever get to booking dinner in a galaxy far, far away.
