Our Love Letter to Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Cast Members and Imagineers. This is the email I sent to Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Media. They made sure to get it into the hands of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiers Cast Members.
I wanted to share this letter with everyone the day the last voyage of the Halcyon takes place. I held it from publishing for months because it means a lot to my family and it gets into some personal stuff.
I realize there are going to be people who no matter what you say are going to have negative things to say, but for us as a family it was more than a positive experience, it was the epitome of what Disney is to us.
So without further ado, here is Our Love Letter to Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Cast Members and Imagineers! (With Pictures!)
Related: New Star Wars: Ahsoka Must-Have Merchandise Is Now Available at Parks and shopDisney
Disney Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Cast Members and Imagineers,
With the news of the closure of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser fresh on all of our minds, I felt the time was right to email you and tell you a personal story that each one of you helped make positive and special.
Unfortunately, enough time has passed that names may have fallen away from my brain, but at the end of the day, that does not matter because each Cast Member’s interaction is so special that I am sure it could have been any of the Cast Members who work on the Galactic Starcruiser.
Just some quick backstory that is relevant to understand, Our son Collin (17) is neurodivergent. Autism Spectrum, ADHD, and hearing loss. Collin is absolutely the most loving, caring, best big brother, and son you can imagine. Collin loves video games, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Disney.
Collin has always gone to specialty schools that met his needs.
His last school district let him and us down horribly, by mixing in students who have been removed from regular schooling due to behavioral problems with those students who are neurodivergent. Which ended up with Collin being attacked by a bully. He was stabbed and had his mandible broken.
Even though Collin was the much bigger kid, he refused to fight back and tried to run to adults who he thought would help him. Those adults let him down by letting the bully into the same room and Collin was attacked for a second time.
As you can imagine, the trauma and PTSD that have been prevalent caused us to move from GA to the Central Florida area. He lost his trust in adults. Collin is not able to go in crowds, has challenges leaving the house, and even though we enjoy it, he is an attachment to our hips. You ever have a 6’2” 245lb kid attached to your hip? You trip over him a lot.
I am sorry you had to read that, but it sets the stage for what happened during our Starcruiser experience that happened January 19-21, 2023.
Our Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser experience started days prior by pumping Collin up and trying to explain what the Cruise would consist of, teaching him the Data Pad, showing him spoiler-free vlogs, and doing our best to explain what he was about to enjoy.
We joined a few Facebook groups, talked with guests who were going on the same voyage, and basically calmed his nerves about being away from Mom for the first time ever. This was a “guys” trip and Collin was now super excited, but he still got himself sick over worrying about the “What ifs…?”
Mom did everything to make sure Collin would have everything he needed while cruising, gave us our hugs and kisses, and said goodbye to us. Sending us across the Star Wars universe could not have been easy on her. Letting her son leave her side, after protecting him from the world for so many years.
Our group consisted of my brother-in-law, Michael. Marc. Collin, and myself (Greg 47).
I won’t go into every little detail, until the super important parts, let me tell you that our enjoyment started as we arrived at the entrance of the Starcruiser. Greeted by the friendly and amazing Cast Members who helped us with our luggage and checked us in. Bringing us our Data bands, made Collin feel like he was one of the rare people who own the Halcyon version of the bands. The second thing that was awesome was people who we met on Facebook came up to Collin, greeting him with self-made credits, and acceptance. Inviting Collin and our group to sit with them during meals, or at the Sublight Lounge after the day’s activities had ended. Which we ended up accepting, as long as Collin was comfortable in their company, which he was.
Collin was given the option of doing as much or as little as he wanted to. This voyage on the Halcyon was about him. If he wanted to interact with the crews, help with missions, or roleplay, he was free to do so as wanted.
The first night of our trip was very eventful, and very overstimulating in a positive way, and Collin was getting his sea legs. Space Legs? The Cast Members helped us find our room, find food, and meet D3-O9.
I am sure each and every member of the team knows when that spark is lit, that moment when the passengers, like ourselves, fully understand what is about to happen. I saw that spark happen to Collin. Yes, he may have been very tentative, to begin with, but I could see that he wanted to be like the other passengers onboard. Outgoing, vocal, part of the story. But, you could still see the fear in his eyes.
Our group, officially renamed “The Lucky Sevens, all Four of Us” became part of the story while talking with Raithe Kole, Collin was now hooked. He was now a character, he and the rest of us ended up having backstories and were brought into the fold. We all felt special, and that was due to how great we were treated by the Cast.
Collin, like the rest of us, enjoyed Bridge Training. His biggest compliment he could give was, this feels like I am playing a video game but in real life. Meeting the characters during the Captain’s Reception, and the Lightsaber Experience all in the first night.
We made sure to do everything we could. Be a part of every story, and let Collin dictate things. While he was the quiet kid in the back of the group, he was warming up by talking with others whether it was other guests, Cast Members, or Actors, Collin was enjoying himself.
At the Sublight Lounge, we got to try Sabacc, which we all enjoyed. Collin figured the game out instantly and was running the table for a little while. Which, BTW, we had to buy a set of cards on the Halcyon so we could enjoy the game at home.
After enjoying our room, with very little sleep happening. Four guys in a room acted like they were school kids having a sleepover, and reliving all the events we had witnessed that day, was an experience that I personally thought I would never have again. This may be a letter about Collin, but just know that this experience affected all of us in the “Lucky Sevens, all Four of Us” in different ways.
The second day was enjoyable, with food, the trip to Batuu, eating on Batuu, coming back to the ship and eating, and did I mention the food? All of it was delicious!
During our Second day onboard the Halcyon, I had my first “Oh My Gosh” moment that will go down in my household as The Day I Met Chewbacca and he asked me to help him.
We were coming out of the jail, stocks, brigade, whichever you call it. As we walked out the door, there was the Wookie himself! He was beckoning us into the Engine Room. Imagine growing up seeing Star Wars your whole life, you have seen every TV show and movie, played in the grass as a 7-year-old, on the front lawn, using the model of the Millennium Falcon, thinking you are one of the crew, always wishing to be flying around with Han and Chewie, and next thing you know 40 years later and Chewbacca is motioning you into an Engine Room! To me, this was what I wanted out of the trip. I still get teary-eyed thinking of my childhood flooding out of me at that moment. And this wasn’t even the most special moment. Core memory made!
I digress about myself, as each member of “The Lucky Sevens, All Four of Us” had that moment.
The moment that will be burned into my memory banks for as long as I am on this earth, comes during the Saja meeting in the Climate Simulator. This was a surreal moment in life where our group was all together after adventuring separately for a bit, Collin and Myself met the two others and one of our group was chosen to feel the Force.
This is a very heavy moment, especially if you are fully into the story.
I am mentally into the storyline, trying to be One With The Force, and Collin looks at his Data Pad, turns to me, and says “Gotta go, Dad, Raithe needs me!” and for the first time ever, he left me! He independently left me! Collin took off and left the room.
I did not know how to react, but I knew he was safe. Heck, if he just left me, he must have felt safe himself.
The moment with the Saja was heavy, but Collin leaving my side for the first time ever just added to the heaviness of the moment. I lost it, I literally, cried. Nothing like seeing a grown man crying over Star Wars I know. It was a culmination of 40-some years of being a fan, knowing what Collin has been through, the first time your child becomes a person themselves, knowing I just shared a moment with my son that will forever be that “Moment” when life must feel like to parents watching the kids go off to live lives of their own.
About an hour or so later, I see Collin dancing across Halcyon’s Atrium area trying to protect Gaya. Who is this kid? What is going on? I called Collin’s mother and my wife, Holly shared this moment with her, she may have not been on the cruise but she could tell how meaningful this was, to both Collin and myself.
Collin became part of the story, he was in character, independent, and loving life. I watched for a few moments from the side, just being a proud father. Then I joined in wanting to be part of his story now. This was no longer My story, it became OUR story.
What may seem like such a small moment in most people’s lives, was one of the biggest milestones we have ever had. We do not have this Core memory without the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser.
Each Cast Member, Actor, and Imagineer played a role in our family having this moment. This time stand still, grateful, wondrous journey we had, as individuals and as a group, and as a family.
I, along with Holly, want to thank each and every one of you for giving us this time and memory. Collin wants to thank you for accepting him and making him feel safe.
I am not an expert with kids on the Spectrum, but I do know my own child well enough to say this. The Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser is/was a safe space where everyone felt special and accepted. A kid who can leave his parent’s side can become independent and feel safe. A place where the “real” world can disappear for a few minutes and we all are living our childhood dreams. A space where we all can live our best Star Wars Life. If each Cast Member did not do their own special job and treat each one of us like we meant something, this would not have been half the trip it was.
Thank you! From the bottom of my heart, Thank you all.
Collin, Greg, and Holly Gately
