In what has been one of the most anticipated and advertised moments for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, we’ve just experienced Lightsaber Training. The following review will give a complete account of our experience, including spoilers.

The Lightsaber Training Pod is located on Deck 4 of the Halcyon, and guests receive a pre-assigned time slot to participate. That time can be found on the itinerary in the Datapad.

Your guide for your training are the Saja, descendants of the Guardians of the Whills. The Guardians used to protect Jedi Temples, but since most have been destroyed, the Saja have made sanctuary on the Halcyon. They use the training pod built by the ship’s designer, Shug Drabor, after a pair of Jedi saved the Halcyon from invaders.

The Saja are not Jedi, but they are Force-sensitive and are on a mission to teach others how to wield the sacred weapon.

These training remotes extend from the wall and will be the main focus of the training experience.

In four columns of three guests each, trainees will line up in front of the remotes to complete the exercise. The guest in the first position is given a lightsaber. When the first phase begins, the remotes shine a tracer beam showing where the blast will hit, and guests move their lightsaber into the beam to deflect it.

The first phase lasts 30 seconds and, in that time, has six laser blasts.

Phase two speeds things up a bit, with 36 blasts in 55 seconds. With the higher speed, the likelihood of missing a laser blast goes up, so to protect the other guests, they are given hard light shields which may catch stray laser fire.

These shields detach from the wall and are given to guests in positions 2 and 3. If a laser blast is missed by the lightsaber and hits the shield, the shield vibrates with the impact.

After each guest is finished with their turn, the lightsaber or shield is handed off to another guest in line so that each guest may experience all positions.

After phase 2, Master Yoda speaks to the gathered trainees. He appears as these sparkling lights that roam about the room as he speaks through the Force. He says the trainees are too reliant on the tracer beam and that they must reach out with their feelings and connect with the Force. So just like Luke Skywalker lowering the blast shield on his pilot’s helmet, guests will now act solely on intuition, with a little help from Master Yoda.

One student is selected to try it alone and without tracer beams. The whole room is encouraged to aid them through the Force. Master Yoda’s sparkles appear in a general direction around the remote, suggesting where the next blast may come from. This phase for one player consists of six blasts in 40 seconds.

After the first student succeeds, all the students are invited to try the experience without the tracer beams. In a final phase of 55 seconds with 22 blasts, each guests cycles through to feel the Force flow through them.

At the end of the experience, all are congratulated by Master Yoda as well as their Saja guide.

You can watch our full experience on our YouTube channel, or by clicking on the video below:

Overall

We all enjoyed this. While initial marketing looked lackluster, this experience was perfect for those who have dreamed of training with a lightsaber. Be forewarned: it is a bit of a workout, but our group had guests of all ages and abilities who were able to fully enjoy it. Our one complaint is that, unlike the Bridge Ops Training, there wasn’t enough variety. The three phases change up the training a little, but in the end, it’s still deflecting lasers from the same target.

For a full guide to the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, click here.

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Katie Francis