What will the Star Wars Hotel be like?

Awesome. Yes, that’s it. Just plain awesome (and let’s go.)

An immersive experience.

That is what Disney has told us, and if the promos teach us anything it’ll be incredible.

“What do you think it’s going to be like?” I asked my dad as I adjust my glasses.

“Do you think it’ll look just like the movies?”

“If it’s anything close to the reviews then it’s going to be exactly like the movies.”

The glasses are remarkably low-tech in appearance — nothing like the virtual reality headsets I’d seen online. They are a simple pair of glasses, perhaps slightly heavier than sunglasses with a smallish box on the side that holds its electronics, including the Bluetooth. The small watch on my wrist, connected to my glasses, contains our tickets and photos, and in my Dad’s case, the credit cards, which we will use for snacks and merchandise. I’ve been dying for my own lightsaber.

The glasses are clear and I notice a small blinking light in the upper right corner of my view. Underneath a cursor is blinking.

Suddenly — almost as if it’s being typed — words flash under the blinking light.

“Welcome Commander Madison Kelley.”

Cool, I think to myself. I’m a Commander. Wonder what my dad is…

Before I can ask him, the elevator door opens and we walk through the lobby of our spaceship. The small text in the corner of my view reads: “Proceed to the Escape Pods.”

Once we’re in our pod the pilot takes off and kicks into hyperdrive. Blue and white lights fly by the window like paint pouring out of a can onto a blank canvas, until the pilot begins to slow the shuttle. We can see the planet Naboo. It’s covered in green trees and sparkling lakes. My eyes widen with awe and wonder. As our craft begins to circle and descend on the landing strip, I can already see C-3PO rushing to greet us. The wall in front of us lowers into a ramp for us to walk down.

“Good morning sir! How are you today?” He asks my Dad.

Okay now I’m really freaking out.

“Excellent C3, and yourself?

“Oh just wonderful, sir thank you for asking. Do you have everything you need for your journey today?”

“I believe so!”

“Remember if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask, my main function is human-cyborg relations, but you should be able to access everything through your glasses.”

“Thanks C3!” I respond.

“You’re most welcome Commander Maddie — may I call you Maddie or would you prefer your given name of Madison? Oh, and Happy Birthday!”

“Maddie is fine, and thank you C3! See you later!”

“Most certainly Commander.”

As we start to walk toward the exit of the pad and also the security and ticket check center, I look up to see other space crafts zooming above me. Aliens of all shapes and sizes are busily bustling about the air strip. The mollusk looking creature in front of me leaves the grossest slime trail behind him. I have to stay five feet back just to avoid stepping in the goo.

Squish…

“Oh no…” my dad says as he checks the bottom of his shoe. Yup, he stepped in the slime. As he turns over his foot in his hand, we can both see the green goo dripping from his shoe.

Gross.

The slime? Not real.

Using augmented reality technology coupled with some potential tricks like slight vibrations in the floor could completely trick the human mind and make it appear real to both of us.

C-3PO? Also a product of the glasses and a small speaker embedded into the glasses to make it sound as if he was speaking directly to me — or us. Using techniques like sound echoing, you can make sounds appear to be hundreds of feet or just a few feet away. The camera of the glasses captures the user’s depth in relation to her or his environment. This information is then sent through a digital 3D engine that translates the sound within the digital space. The sound is then sent back into the real world using the speaker on your glasses.

The other aliens or even the other crafts in the air?

All projected using augmented reality technology.

And while this scenario is a product of my imagination — not much reality in this one (yet) — this fantasy will become a reality (or at least a projected image into our reality)…

Luckily for the sci fi and theme park fans, it is already becoming very real very soon.

And please do buy the book at Amazon.com and if you’d like a signed copy, simply message me at mkelley2@wellesley.edu and I’d be happy to sign and mail the first fifty people who ask a signed copy.