by Disney Magic Diva
If you’re thinking about taking a voyage on the Halcyon, you may be wondering whether you need to dress the part. (If you’re wondering what your experience may be like, read about our days on the inaugural voyage here and here.) For many people, planning what to wear on your vacation is part of the fun. But for others, the need to have costumes (which you many never use again) may be an added stress. So, what should you do if your destination is Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser?
The short answer is do whatever you want! It’s YOUR vacation, YOUR story, YOUR adventure, so YOU decide. That’s certainly what we found on our voyage. Some passengers had elaborate costumes and looked like they walked right off a movie set. Others looked like they walked right off Buena Vista Drive. Most passengers fell somewhere in-between. If you’re undecided what attire you’d like to wear, it may be helpful to think about the pros and cons of dressing the part.
YES! Go All Out!
For those who enjoy live action role playing, developing a character (complete with an intriguing backstory) and designing costumes is a huge part of the fun. It’s a way to get excited about the voyage and helps pass the weeks waiting for your trip to begin.
Even if you aren’t interested in developing an elaborate character, you may want to dress in generic “Star Wars-y” clothing for your trip. It doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. Just find some neutral colors in your closet, maybe a vest or boots, and you’re good to go.
Dinner attire
On our trip, we fell into this category. We’d never participated in any cosplay or live action role playing, so we felt a little intimidated to pursue the idea of a detailed character with a full backstory. But we did want to dip our toes into the immersive experience. We wanted clothing that had a Star Wars feel but wasn’t too over-the-top.
I spent quite a bit of time researching clothing. Most of what we ended up with came from Amazon. I ordered and returned dozens of items though, before deciding on our final look. Basically, we tried to use what we already had and fill in with generic pieces.
Diva Tip: If you need help finding inspiration, there are Facebook groups dedicated to Star Warscostuming. Thrift stores and Amazon (search “Star Wars cosplay” to get started) are great choices for shopping. As a Halcyon guest, you will also be able to buy galactic clothing from Disney. Tunics, capes, lekku, gloves, and more can all be found on shopDisney.com as well as onboard the ship.
How many outfits to bring is another question to address. We had one outfit for arrival day, one for our day on Batuu, and one for dinner. By using different accessories, we were able to change our look for dinner even though it was the same outfit each night. It was a way to help the budget, save on luggage space, and keep our life a little simpler. On departure day we were headed to the parks, so we chose to wear our normal park attire.
There are distinct advantages to wearing “Star Wars clothing.” Dressing up will signal to other passengers and the crew that you are ready to engage in all aspects of the voyage. People will be more likely to strike up conversations with you. You will have awesome photo opportunities. And you will probably feel more like you are actually IN the story.
Another reason you may want to bring at least one costume is to participate in the Outer Rim Regalia. This is essentially a fashion show. Guests can literally walk a red carpet and have a PhotoPass photographer capture the moment. There were many amazing costumes, but also several that were less extravagant. It was heartening to see ALL participants (adults and children) cheered and applauded.
One final consideration in designing your costume is the weather. The Halcyon is fairly temperate. I’m fussy when it comes to the temperature, and I never noticed it being too hot or too cold onboard. I wore long sleeves, short sleeves, and sleeveless attire and never felt uncomfortable. But remember, you will be traveling to Galaxy’s Edge, and the climate on Batuu can be quite warm, especially in the summer months. Plan accordingly.
Costume? No Thanks.
Clearly some people will feel uneasy dressing up. If that includes you, don’t let it stop you from considering a vacation aboard Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. It is perfectly acceptable to wear whatever you’d wear to Disney onboard the Halcyon!
Passengers arrived at the Starcruiser terminal in all types of attire
Our entire trip – from arrival, to Batuu, to dinners – some guests chose to wear their “regular” clothes, and it didn’t make one bit of difference to anyone. And there are certainly advantages to sticking with your Earthly apparel.
First, there’s no need to stress about what to wear. Even though we ended up choosing fairly simple outfits, I spent hours and hours researching and even agonizing over what was the right choice. If you just stick with what you have, all that stress is eliminated.
Not dressing up saves money. Costumes can eat into a budget pretty quickly, and the Starcruiser is already taking a BIG bite from your wallet. Vests, scarves, jewelry, dinner attire, and a couple belts added a few hundred dollars to our trip.
You can eliminate packing and/or storage issues if you don’t use costumes. The closet space in the Halcyoncabins isn’t exactly spacious, so fewer items to store makes life easier. It’s also likely costumes will require more luggage space than your normal attire, so you may save on baggage fees.
Even if you don’t dress up, you can still participate in missions and be very engaged in the experience. Crew members will be happy to bring you into the story if you engage them. And if you’re a bit of an introvert and not comfortable with initiating conversation, the communications link on your datapad is an excellent substitute. Just respond to messages sent by the crew, and you’ll be completing missions in no time. You can have a wonderful time without ever talking face to face with anyone outside of your traveling party.
So, the choice is yours. Dress as whatever character you’d like to portray, or dress as yourself. A voyage on Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser really is a chance to live YOUR Star Wars story, so wear whatever you like! May the stars light your path.
Have questions about booking a voyage? Be sure to contact Patricia at All for Dreams Travel for a free quote on your next vacation.
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