New Disney Area To Immerse Park Goers In A Star Wars Story

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The world of Star Wars is coming from a galaxy far, far away to become the largest single-themed land created in a Disney park.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is an adventure through the grungy planet Batuu where guests can build their own droids and lightsabers, interact with aliens and climb into the cockpit of the massive Millennium Falcon, where you will discover your mission and engage in a dogfight with Tie Fighters.

The sprawling 14-acre land is set on a remote world in the newest “Star Wars” trilogy — so don’t expect appearances by Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. But some familiar faces including Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren and fan-favorite Chewbacca will be a part of the adventure as visitors explore the immersive world.

Galaxy’s Edge is set to open this summer at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, then in the fall at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. The lands at both parks are nearly identical and offer a mix of trading outposts, a cantina and even a wooded area where Resistance fighters have set up camp. Entry is included with a park ticket, but it’ll cost more for guests who want to create their own lightsaber or purchase their own droid modeled on R2-D2 or BB-8.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Bob Chapek said guests inside Galaxy’s Edge will have persistent interaction with Star Wars elements, whether it’s Stormtroopers barking orders or the up-tempo, swinging music of a grimy cantina that yes, serves Star Wars-themed alcohol.

“You will not think you’re in a theme park,” he said. “Every cast member will be in character, the food and beverage and language will be in story. The merchandise inside the shops won’t be in boxes that say Disney on them. Everything is very, very immersive.”

In a behind-the-scenes look, park officials took The Associated Press on a tour of Batuu, an uncharted region of lush trees and spires. The land is also filled with smugglers and traders hoping to avoid the First Order, the successor of the evil Galactic Empire.

Galaxy’s Edge is still under construction, but its buildings, shops and main attractions are in place. Right now the focus is on “cosmetics and making sure the equipment is working properly,” said John Larena, executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering.

A rendering of the Black Spire Outpost. (Disney Parks/Lucasfilm via AP)

Here are some of the land’s key features:

MILLENNIUM FALCON: SMUGGLERS RUN

Selfie opportunities will be abundant inside and out of the “the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.” The spaceship is the exact replica of the ship from the films, measuring more than 100 feet long.

Inside the cockpit, a team of six people operate the spacecraft during an interactive experience that, just like the movies, that will get a little bumpy. An encounter with First Order fighters put guests in the role of pilots, gunners or flight engineers to ensure their mission is completed.

While others wait their turn, they will walk the halls of the Falcon or hangout in the area where R2-D2 played a round of the holographic chess-like game called Dejarik against Chewbacca in the original film.

RISE OF THE RESISTANCE

This is where it gets real. On a full-size starship, guests play as new Resistance recruits and go on a journey. A hologram image of Rey will appear with a message before guests board their ship and take off from Batuu and head into the orbit.

But the starship runs into some trouble: It’s intercepted by a nearby Star Destroyer. This sets up a climactic battle against military members of the First Order, who will probably give you a piece of their mind.

“They’ll bark at you,” Larena said. “They might say ’Move along, move along. You’re going into detention.”

Resistance guests will be thrown into a detention cell where they could run up against Kylo Ren.

“You have to figure your way out of the ship,” Larena said. “There’s always a way out.”

(Disney Parks/Lucasfilm via AP)

SAVI’S WORKSHOP

Even though Skywalker, Vader and Yoda won’t show up in “Galaxy’s Edge,” their lightsabers will. Guests will be able to purchase their popular weapon or hand-build their own. Bring plenty of credits: the price for the hilt is around $109 and the blade costs $49 depending on the type.

Park officials say they understand guests want to enjoy their new lightsabers, but they ask that they remain stowed when on attractions and around crowds for the safety of others.

DROID DEPOT

Who doesn’t want their own personal R2 unit?

Guests — for an undisclosed cost — can either purchase a pre-built droid or build one in the colors of their choosing by picking pieces off a conveyor belt.

They’re not just pretty to look at. Park official says the droids will be controllable by guests.

TASTE OF STAR WARS

There’s no such thing as chicken in “Galaxy’s Edge.” That’s Tip Yip, and the cornbread that you might eat with it is blue, gravy is green and cauliflower is orange.

Much of the food is plant based with dairy-free mash potatoes and vegan meatballs.

OGA’S CANTINA

While talkative DJ R-3X spins music, bartenders pour beverages.

The cantina will be the first location to serve alcohol to the general public in Disneyland’s 60-plus year history. It’s the place to come and unwind, but officials say it’s also known to have some of the most disreputable characters in the galaxy.

And yes, droids are allowed.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS MOBILE APP

Galaxy’s Edge is the first land within a Disney park designed to integrate with the app. It can help translate Star Wars languages and scan crates to discover contents within them. The app can also be used to interact with droids, media screens, door panels and drinking fountains.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jonathan Landrum Jr. on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MrLandrum31

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From Canada to the Caribbean, Madrid to the Mediterranean, cruise travel is experiencing a boom. With millennials taking notice and baby boomers opting for convenience-based vacations, cruise travel has seen a more than 20 percent increase in passenger numbers since 2012. According to The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, an estimated 27.2 million people worldwide took a cruise in 2018, and with interest consistently growing each year, more vacationers than ever are expected to set sail in 2019.

Cruise travel can pose unique financial and medical risks that not all travel protection plans can cover, so VisitorsCoverage, in partnership with International Medical Group (IMG), handpicked benefits such as emergency medical evacuation, accident and sickness medical expense and trip interruption coverages to maximize meaningful coverage for cruise-goers.

Additionally, the plan can offer valuable "cancel for any reason" coverage, which can reimburse up to 75 percent of non-refundable trip costs if the insured needs to cancel for a non-covered reason. This benefit allows for more flexibility and simplifies the decision-making process for travelers.

"The SafeCruiseSM plan is filling a gap in the travel insurance industry to meet the demands from an increase in cruise travel being seen worldwide," said VisitorsCoverage CEO Rajeev Shrivastava. "With the creation of this exclusive travel protection plan, we are continuing our commitment to simplifying travel protection for travelers on a global scale."

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Hidden City Ticketing: The Travel Hack Airlines Don't Want You To Use

Katia Hetter and Jeff Simon, CNN

(CNN) — Nobody who sold you that instant oatmeal, jar of multivitamins, bar of soap, perfume-free laundry detergent, latest best-seller, NASCAR tickets or whatever Gwyneth Paltrow sells on her website will come after you to make sure you used your purchases.

But the world's biggest airlines might.

They require that you fly all the flights you've booked or pay the price. They might take away your frequent flier miles, ban you from the airline or even sue you.

"So, if I don't eat all my steak at Peter Luger's, are they going to sue me now?" Delta Air Lines frequent flier Billy Stocklin says. "It's my ticket and seat. I bought it. If I use it or not is none of your business."

The airlines beg to differ.

What is hidden city ticketing?

"Hidden city ticketing" is a longtime, under-the-radar practice of the most astute, rule-breaking fliers. It's now taking center stage in a lawsuit filed by Lufthansa, one of the world's largest airlines.

Lufthansa is suing a passenger who skipped out on the last leg of his ticketed purchase, demanding the money he would have paid for his actual journey. (The case was dismissed, but the airline has appealed.)

It can get complicated. Let's say you need to fly from New York City to Los Angeles, and the cheapest ticket you can find is selling for $500. There's another flight from New York to Reno, Nevada -- with a layover in Los Angeles -- that only costs $350.

If you get off the plane in Los Angeles -- throwing away the second flight from Los Angeles to Reno -- you'll get to La La Land at a "discount."

Airlines generally prohibit it in the fine print most passengers don't read, because they'd rather you pay $500 than $350 for your flight.

Hidden city ticketing may have remained hidden but for a 20-something named Aktarer Zaman. Zaman launched Skiplagged, a website designed to take advantage of the complicated ways airlines price their tickets.

United Airlines promptly sued him, but the case was dismissed in 2015, and the site is still operational.

Airlines charge more when they can

It's an issue because of the way airlines price their flights, says aviation expert Benét J. Wilson, owner and editor of Aviation Queen.

"Fares tend to be higher in general for more popular cities or ones where airlines don't have a lot of competition," she says. "For example, fortress hubs such as Frankfurt for Lufthansa, Atlanta for Delta, Dallas/Fort Worth for American and Newark for United fares have higher fares because more passengers fly through them to get where they need to go."

"Flights that don't have as many passengers are priced lower, and flights where the airline is just relocating the plane and trying to make some money to offset the costs will typically be priced lower," says Jeffrey C. Price, owner of Leading Edge Strategies and an aviation professor at Metropolitan State University Denver.

"Cities where there isn't a high demand can actually be priced higher due to the limited amount of flights in and out," says Price. "When there's only one or two flights a day out of some of these small airports, the airlines will charge what the market will bear."

It's not about the specific fare

Lufthansa, which made $41.5 billion last fiscal year, is suing the unnamed passenger for $2,392 for using the technique. While he's fighting back, others may not be able to finance a defense against a major airline.

Lufthansa spokesman Tal Muscal declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.

The airline alleges that their customer booked a roundtrip from Oslo to Seattle with a layover in Frankfurt. On the return trip, the customer got off in Frankfurt, didn't fly to Oslo and instead booked a separate Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Berlin. (He did show his hand by booking the second flight on the same airline as his first flight.)

It's against the airline's contract of carriage (PDF), which is often hard to find on an airline's website.

"If carriage is not used on all individual legs or not used in the sequence anticipated on the ticket with otherwise unchanged travel data, we will recalculate the fare according to your altered routing," reads the Lufthansa contract.

"The fare will thereby be determined which you would have had to pay for your actual routing in your price group on the day of your reservation. This fare may be higher or lower than the fare you originally paid."

There is a price to pay

Even if the airline loses on appeal, it's sending a message to fliers willing to game the system that there may be a cost.

At the same time, the suit highlights how airlines can charge customers more to fly less.

"It's easy to understand why some travelers are tempted to risk it, especially if you live in a city where you don't have a lot of airline choices," Wilson says.

But she warns that you could be penalized if you're caught. "That can range from forcing you to pay the full fare you tried to avoid or even taking away your frequent flier miles."

A New Luxury Cruise Will Take Guests Around The World To 6 Continents In 117 days — Here's A Look Inside The Ship, Where Suites Cost Up To $165,999 Per Person

The Seven Seas Mariner will take guests on a world tour in 2021.

 Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas
By Hillary Hoffower , www.businessinsider.com

• Regent Seven Seas will take guests around the world in four months on a luxury cruise that kicks off on January 5, 2021.
• Passengers will venture to six continents and 56 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
• The 117-night cruise ranges in price from $61,999 to $165,999.

The time is now for luxury cruises: Many luxury cruise lines are catering to the 1% with 100-plus day cruises around the world.

The latest to launch? Regent Seven Seas' World Cruise, set to begin its journey on January 5, 2021. Over the course of 117 nights, the cruise will navigate the globe, checking 56 UNESCO World Heritage sites off its bucket list and hitting every continent, save for Antarctica.

Its four-month journey from Miami to Barcelona doesn't come cheap — the prices currently range from $61,999 to $165,999. It takes place on the Seven Seas Mariner, a recently refurbished ship that's as luxe in details as the journey it promises is adventurous.

Take a look at what the Regent Seven Seas' 2021 World Cruise has to offer — on shore and on board.

The Regent Seven Seas World Cruise aboard the Seven Seas Mariner will kick off on January 5, 2021.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Passengers will spend four months and 117 nights nearly circling the globe.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Over the course of 38,551 miles, the ship will visit 30 countries across six continents.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

It begins its journey in Miami, before heading to the Caribbean, South America, and the South Pacific.

pisaphotography/Shutterstock

Source: Regent Seven Seas

The cruise will then make its way to Indonesia, southern Asia, and the Mediterranean before hitting its final destination in Barcelona, Spain.

Boule/Shutterstock

Source: Regent Seven Seas

It'll stop at 61 ports, across which there are 324 free shore excursions available.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

During that journey, it will also hit 56 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as the Great Barrier Reef, marking the most UNESCO sites a Regent Seven Seas cruise has ever visited.

David Gray/Reuters

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Other sites on the itinerary include the Old City of Acre near Jerusalem and Jordan's Wadi Rum Protected Area.

A.Pushkin/Shutterstock

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Passengers also have the option to take 10 side trips from ports, called overland programs — like visiting the Great Pyramids in Cairo, a flight away from the port call of Safaga.

David Stanley/Flickr

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Guests can take a flight to Delhi from a port call in Cochin to see the Taj Mahal...

Iuliia Khabibullina/Shutterstock

Source: Regent Seven Seas

... or a three-day trip to Machu Picchu near a port call in Salaverry, Peru.

Shutterstock / Anton_Ivanov

Source: Regent Seven Seas

But the fun isn't limited to off-shore activities. While passengers are at sea, there's plenty to do on board the Mariner.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Refurbished in 2018, the Mariner's interior is full of luxe details ...

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

... and luxe amenities. For wellness junkies, there's a jogging track, fitness center complete with exercise classes, and a Canyon Ranch spa, one of America's top luxury wellness resorts.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Passengers can also enjoy a good book by the pool or in the library.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

There's also a card room ...

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

... and a casino, both of which have warm, rich details.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

There are more than seven restaurants to dine at, plus several bars, lounges, and nightclubs for cocktails.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Guests can enjoy foie gras sliders amid lavish settings and a sparkling chandelier.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

When it comes to resting their heads, guests have 350 suites to choose from, complete with balconies for panoramic views of the sea.

The Penthouse suite.

 Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Prices start at $61,999 for a deluxe veranda suite that's 252 square feet ...

The deluxe veranda suite.

 Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

... and get as high as $165,999 for a master suite, which is more than 1,200 square feet.

The master suite.

 Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

The master suite includes added amenities like in-suite caviar service.

The master suite.

 Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

But they're not the only suites to enjoy perks: Penthouse suites and higher have a personal butler.

The Penthouse suite.

 Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

The suites are basically like floating apartments — there's more room than your average cruise ship.

The horizon view suite.

 Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

But no matter which suite guests choose, the price is all-inclusive, including free business-class air to and from the ship, alcohol, Wi-Fi, and laundry service as well as all gratuities paid.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

Passengers also get an $800 credit to spend on the ship.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas

There's currently a waitlist for the six most expensive suites, but some of the penthouse suites, the concierge suites, and deluxe veranda suites are still available.

Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas

Source: Regent Seven Seas