There was a lot I wanted to see and do on our recent visit to Walt Disney World and much of it had to do with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Super cool rides, character interactions, amazing details (Disney Imagineers, you all are totally incredible!), fun shops, and interesting (and delicious) food and drinks – all of this can be found at the Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu (which is the actual name of the Galaxy’s Edge area). But along with all of this, there are two truly interactive experiences there that, while not free, are really cool experiences. In one of them, Guests can create their own lightsaber. While that sounded interesting, it was the other one that really caught my eye, and was the one that I signed up to do. And as it turned out, it was literally one of the most fun things I’ve done at Walt Disney World in all the years I’ve gone. And that’s saying a lot.
Welcome, Disney Friends, to the Droid Depot, where you too can create your very own droid. Not only can you create it, you can then bring it with you to interact in a variety of ways within Galaxy’s Edge. And you can then bring him (her? it?) home with you.
When you arrive for your reservation to create your droid, the first thing you’ll need to decide is if you are going to create an R model or a BB model. Star Wars fans will note that there are differences, including in how they move. While I love the “classic” Star Wars movies, having a BB series droid rolling around seemed the most fun to me, so that is what I chose. After that difficult decision, it was time to think about design. What color? Did I want the top to match the bottom? And did I want to add a “personality chip” to my droid? Who knew building a droid was so complicated?
Once all of that was decided, it was time to head to the conveyor belt with my list of droid parts to select. Thankfully, a helpful droid builder made sure I got all of the right parts.
Once I had my basket of parts, it was time to head to assembly!
I literally felt like a kid at Christmas! Happily there were a number of helpful droid builders there to guide us in how to put all those pieces together to make a droid that could move and make sounds and before I knew it, my very own droid was ready to go!
My little “BB-10” is now home with me and has spent some time rolling around our home, and appears to be quite comfortable here on the planet of Pennsylvania. I haven’t figured out how to make him clean the house quite yet, but can’t wait for him to meet our daughter’s little dog the next time he comes to visit.
A few things to note if you want to make your own droid. While reservations aren’t required, they are strongly recommended and open up 6 months in advance, just like dining and other experiences. I will say that there was a “standby” line for this experience when I was there, but I am not certain how long of a wait it was.
The cost to build a droid is $99.99 and while not inexpensive, for me that experience was so worth the money. There are other things that can be added to your droid such as personality chips, and a carrying bag, which I did not get. (They give you a sturdy box to put your droid in, and that worked just fine for me.) The extras, needless to say, will increase the cost.
Your droid once finished, can interact with other astromech droids and various Bluetooth-enabled elements and devices as you carry it throughout the area. Plus you can download Star Wars: Datapad on the Play Disney Parks mobile app for even more interactive adventures. As we had to head off to Oga’s Cantina next, my interactive experiences were limited on this trip – but it was clear from the many visitors that day, that droid fun was to be had all around Black Spire Outpost when we were there!
All in all, this was a special experience that I would highly recommend to any Star Wars fan, no matter the age. Enjoy your visit to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!
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