If you like Star Wars, you’ll love Walt Disney World. But it’s not the only Florida attraction for space cowboys
Ed Grenby - 26 November 2024
I’ve just been ridiculed, shoved and had a deadly weapon pointed at me by an employee of Walt Disney World. Normally that would be good grounds for a lawsuit here in Florida, but given he’s playing a Star Wars stormtrooper, I suppose I’m going to have to chalk it up to excellent character work. And, to be fair, I am carrying a lightsaber I’ve just made myself in half-hidden rock-walled Savi’s Workshop, en route to Oga’s Cantina for a (vodka-based) Jedi Mind Trick or two while a droid DJ spins the discs.
In short, if I was any further immersed in the world of Star Wars, I’d be able to smell Jabba the Hutt’s breath.
With the arrival of Skeleton Crew on screens this week, Disney is attempting to surround us all still further in the Star Wars universe. But no matter how many spin-off shows, board games, Lego characters or even strictly adult-oriented Princess Leia outfits are available, there’s really only one place you can go if you want to live the Luke Skywalker experience for a few hours. And that’s the joint where I’ve just been called “Rebel scum”: the corner of Orlando’s Walt Disney World called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Opened in 2019, it features a set of barn storming rides that this child of the 1970s enjoyed just as much as his Ewok-sized offspring (in fact it was my 11-year-old who had to drag me away from some of the more ridiculous “merch” concessions – did I mention that that custom lightsaber costs £200-odd?). Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run puts you at the controls of Han Solo’s starship; while Rise of the Resistance whizzes you around a Star Destroyer crewed with whole battalions of terrifyingly real stormtroopers. But best of all is the attention to detail: everything from the Coke bottles to the rubbish bins is fastidiously designed to look like it belongs in a galaxy far, far away.
Sadly, guests can no longer sleep over in George Lucas’s head. Galactic Starcruiser, a cross between a hotel and a massive role-playing game, closed after just 19 months last year. But that’s not to say there are no interesting places to stay. Disney itself runs multiple themed hotels, though grown-ups may want to get away from the primary colours and perma-smiles at night. I stayed at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, which has all the theme-park perks kids will want – shuttle buses and exclusive early entry to the Parks, breakfasts with Goofy and pals, its own onsite water-park and lazy river – but also peace, quiet, Michelin-star Spanish restaurant Capa and a 17th-floor terrace where you can enjoy Disney’s nightly fireworks without the crowds.
Staying three nights meant we had time to knock off Walt Disney World’s other big attractions, which are spread across several discrete Parks. Rides themed around the Guardians of the Galaxy, Tron and Avatar movie franchises are all a riot, and smaller kids love the Toy Story, Frozen and Ratatouille ’coasters, too. You’ll need to suspend a certain amount of cynicism and keep a close eye on your cash among so many wallet-emptying opportunities (Galaxy’s Edge, for instance, boasts two rides but five food outlets and nine retail shops). A good time is guaranteed, but at some point you’ll want to escape – which I did, in the direction of Florida’s actual Space Coast.
Here, only an hour’s drive from Orlando, a lovely holidayish enclave has grown up around Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center and a string of excellent and underused beaches. The scale is much more mom ’n’ pop’s motel or diner than Mickey’s castle, but Kennedy is like a theme park for middle-aged men such as myself, with childhood Space Age enthusiasms still not quite extinguished.
Here, you can touch an actual bit of Moon rock, dwarf yourself beside the 111m Saturn V rocket, peruse the instruction manuals for the Space Shuttle and, if you’re lucky with timing, watch a real-life rocket launch. There are even Nasa astronauts wandering around and on hand to answer questions. I’m almost too star(ship)-struck to ask any, but once I do – and am congratulated on its interestingness – it’s an out-of-this-galaxy moment for me. Hell, it’s almost up there with being called scum.
In short, if I was any further immersed in the world of Star Wars, I’d be able to smell Jabba the Hutt’s breath.
Request a holiday brochure from one of our partners
With the arrival of Skeleton Crew on screens this week, Disney is attempting to surround us all still further in the Star Wars universe. But no matter how many spin-off shows, board games, Lego characters or even strictly adult-oriented Princess Leia outfits are available, there’s really only one place you can go if you want to live the Luke Skywalker experience for a few hours. And that’s the joint where I’ve just been called “Rebel scum”: the corner of Orlando’s Walt Disney World called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Opened in 2019, it features a set of barn storming rides that this child of the 1970s enjoyed just as much as his Ewok-sized offspring (in fact it was my 11-year-old who had to drag me away from some of the more ridiculous “merch” concessions – did I mention that that custom lightsaber costs £200-odd?). Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run puts you at the controls of Han Solo’s starship; while Rise of the Resistance whizzes you around a Star Destroyer crewed with whole battalions of terrifyingly real stormtroopers. But best of all is the attention to detail: everything from the Coke bottles to the rubbish bins is fastidiously designed to look like it belongs in a galaxy far, far away.
Sadly, guests can no longer sleep over in George Lucas’s head. Galactic Starcruiser, a cross between a hotel and a massive role-playing game, closed after just 19 months last year. But that’s not to say there are no interesting places to stay. Disney itself runs multiple themed hotels, though grown-ups may want to get away from the primary colours and perma-smiles at night. I stayed at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, which has all the theme-park perks kids will want – shuttle buses and exclusive early entry to the Parks, breakfasts with Goofy and pals, its own onsite water-park and lazy river – but also peace, quiet, Michelin-star Spanish restaurant Capa and a 17th-floor terrace where you can enjoy Disney’s nightly fireworks without the crowds.
Staying three nights meant we had time to knock off Walt Disney World’s other big attractions, which are spread across several discrete Parks. Rides themed around the Guardians of the Galaxy, Tron and Avatar movie franchises are all a riot, and smaller kids love the Toy Story, Frozen and Ratatouille ’coasters, too. You’ll need to suspend a certain amount of cynicism and keep a close eye on your cash among so many wallet-emptying opportunities (Galaxy’s Edge, for instance, boasts two rides but five food outlets and nine retail shops). A good time is guaranteed, but at some point you’ll want to escape – which I did, in the direction of Florida’s actual Space Coast.
Here, only an hour’s drive from Orlando, a lovely holidayish enclave has grown up around Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center and a string of excellent and underused beaches. The scale is much more mom ’n’ pop’s motel or diner than Mickey’s castle, but Kennedy is like a theme park for middle-aged men such as myself, with childhood Space Age enthusiasms still not quite extinguished.
Here, you can touch an actual bit of Moon rock, dwarf yourself beside the 111m Saturn V rocket, peruse the instruction manuals for the Space Shuttle and, if you’re lucky with timing, watch a real-life rocket launch. There are even Nasa astronauts wandering around and on hand to answer questions. I’m almost too star(ship)-struck to ask any, but once I do – and am congratulated on its interestingness – it’s an out-of-this-galaxy moment for me. Hell, it’s almost up there with being called scum.
Request a holiday brochure from one of our partners