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The Star Wars franchise loves synergy. Lucasfilm loves it so much that they’ve mastered the art of making synergy feel like continuity. Launching lines of tie-in novels set in the same time period as every new movie? Using The Mandalorian to not only shine a spotlight on old Star Wars: The Clone Wars stories, but to launch a new Boba Fett TV series? Bringing Hayden Christensen back as Anakin Skywalker in Obi-Wan Kenobi almost exactly 20 years after his debut in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones? All of these are examples of Star Wars’ airtight continuity… and they just so happen to promote other projects within the galaxy. Your mileage may vary on whether or not you see all of that as solid storytelling or expert marketing or a bit of both. No matter what, though, you’re gonna be thinking about it when you stream LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation on Disney+.
The latest animated LEGO Star Wars special is exactly what you think it is: a fun, all-ages romp with some A+ puns and lots of deep cut references. Even though Star Wars characters spend the majority of their time in the sun and sand, this is the first time we’ve ever seen any of them go on a vacation. And where do heroes of the Resistance Finn, Rey, Poe, Rose, BB-8, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 go on vacation? Why, to the starship Halcyon, of course!
If that name sounds familiar, that’s because Halcyon is the in-universe moniker of the setting of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, the immersive hotel experience located in California at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Yep, the latest kid-friendly Star Wars special is set at a hotel that would cost two adults and one child a minimum of $5,299 for a 2-night stay. If your kids don’t know that the Halcyon is a real place, maybe keep that part quiet if they end up watching this special.
The Summer Vacation special shows off a few of the Halcyon’s locations, like the bar and also the Climate Simulator (although I don’t think the real one can simulate a beach like the one Rey visits, unfortunately). It definitely looks like a cool place to visit, which I say as someone who absolutely empty out his 401K in order to stay in a tiny, windowless cabin “aboard” the Halcyon for two nights. I recognize I’m a maniac who probably should had over control of his finances to his husband.
It’s shady to call LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation a commercial for Galactic Starcruiser, and also not entirely accurate. To the special’s credit, the majority of the special is set in flashbacks that span the trilogies and the galaxy. The special’s creators could have really leaned into the synergy and had Poe slam back a few of the Kaiburr Crystal cocktails only to then realize they cost 5,000 credits a pop. So, good for them — although this is definitely seeing the camtono half full.
What’s more surprising about the LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation special is that it’s actually way, way more than a commercial for the Galactic Starcruiser. Seriously — by the end of the special, it really feels like — SPOILER ALERT for a kids’ special — this is the franchise saying goodbye to all of the sequel trilogy characters. The special’s premise is that Finn organized a group vacation since he knows everyone’s about to go their separate ways, follow their destinies, etc. The end of the special makes good on this promise as Finn says goodbye to Poe, Rey, and Rose, thanking them for changing his life for the better. There are even LEGO-ized flashbacks to scenes from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Adding to the finality of the whole thing, the goodbyes are overseen by the Force ghosts of Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker, Kylo Ren, and Leia Organa. Then hologram Lando says:
That feels bizarrely final for a non-canonical LEGO special set at a Disney hotel. We’ll have to wait and see where the sequel characters pop up next. One thing’s for sure: you can see some of them IRL at Walt Disney World if you can afford it.
