Gearing up for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser: Immersion 9 years in the making

Well, in just a few days, I will step aboard the Halcyon Starcruiser as part of Disney’s latest immersive interactive offering, that clearly has to to tell you it doesn’t go to space - which sits beside a theme park. Yet, the goal of the experience isn’t really to take you to that theme park, or go on a fake space cruise - it’s designed to be the next generation of storytelling - and represents the final vision of 9 years of experiments with WDI R&D.

Living in Southern California, and being a huge fan of theme parks, rides, haunts, and immersive entertainment - I feel like I’ve been playing in these spaces for almost my whole life - so I want to give you a leadup of my experiences before I cover the Galactic Starcruiser next week.

My Interactive Legacy

In addition to Disney stuff, I’ve also played and explored in Alternate Realities outside theme parks, here’s just a few of them:

Myst Online: Uru Live (2003)

I consider Uru Live to be my first real ARG (Alternate Reality Game). A failed concept by Cyan Worlds (of MYST fame), the idea behind Uru was that You Are You, and that you were playing in a massive online world, attempting to bring back to live a hidden city beneath the surface:

As part of the launch of this game, clues were hidden around the real world, including in the New Mexico desert. A kid without a car at the time begging my parents to drive out to the middle of the desert didn’t sit well with them - it was the first time I was exposed to what an ARG was - and how storytelling in the real world would captivate me.

Explore ages and solve puzzles with friends, Myst Online was a virtual “ARG”.

The online game itself would have many ARG like components. Specific meetups with characters in the virtual space, stories and puzzles you must solve with friends. I became a seasoned explorer also enough to join the Guild of Greeters - a specific group of people to welcome new visitors to the cavern.

The whole thing was a massive failure, and after being rebooted two times in 2004, and 2007 - it was never a failure in my eyes. That experience of exploring caves, talking to characters, and living out that fantasy in my life would be a common theme I would explore again and again. You can still play Myst Online for free - if you want to check it out.

Harry Potter NYC VR Experiences - What The?, Thoughts, & Review

 First and foremost, before you read this, please check out The Trevor Project. Read their site, learn some new stuff, share their materials, and if you can, donate to them. This project helps LGBTQ youth through hard times and helping fight back against anti-trans hatred, like the stuff JKR spews, is very important. We highly suggest reading Daniel Radcliffe's response to Jo on their site.

Your life matters no matter your racial, gender, or sexual identity.

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Concept art for Harry Potter NYC store.

Harry Potter NYC is a two-story shopping destination located south of the Flat Iron in Flat Iron District.  The store features all sorts of merchandise you'd expect if you have visited the Universal parks in the past 20 years plus higher-priced items like Le Creuset cookware, jewelry, and Vera Bradley bags. This is New York, after all. Potter fans will also appreciate the exclusive MACUSA merch (hahah sorry I couldn't type that without laughing) and HP NYC branded items (which are very very cool). I personally bought some exclusive candles for myself and my sister. In addition to the merchandise is a small cafe selling Butterbeer at $10 a pop, Butterbeer soft serve, and other pastries.

The real unique factor are two virtual reality (VR) experiences offered at the store. One, Wizards Take Flight, is a simulated broom ride around Hogwarts and through London. The second, Chaos at Hogwarts, takes you from Platform 9 3/4 into Hogwarts as you help Doby deliver a suitcase to Dumbledore. Both experiences are booked online prior to visit and cost $34 plus tax per person.