REVIEW: Savi’s Workshop

Disney Merchandise, Disney Reviews 14

Several D-COTters have been curious lately about the custom lightsaber building experience at Savi’s Workshop on Batuu. My husband and I recently took part in this adventure on our visit to Black Spire Outpost in October so I thought I would share my recent experience with you all. I’ll go over the whole experience but I’ll be careful not to give too much away so it’s still special for you.

We booked in advance which is highly recommended. We made our reservation two months out, which was the earliest reservations became available at that time (you can now book 180 days out). When we made our reservation, times were already limited with no availability on the day we initially wanted so we chose another day. When it came down to the experience, there were 18 builders in our group with only one walk up accommodated. Keep in mind this was October and there are many months of the year that have much higher crowd levels.

We presented ourselves at the Workshop at our allocated time and got checked in. We were given a “menu” of all the different custom options available and were asked to choose our style and head back to the counter when we had chosen. I did not research anything ahead of time because I wanted to be surprised and I was a little overwhelmed with all the choices! I’m terrible at making decisions!

I decided on Protection and Defense and we went to the counter where they gave us a pin to wear reflecting our style choice and gave us a “building group” card. One non-builder may accompany each builder into the workshop so if you want to watch someone else build a lightsaber you can. Parents can also accompany their child without having to build a lightsaber themselves.

We waited maybe 10 minutes for everyone in the group to arrive and make their choices before heading in to the workshop. Inside we were directed to our building station before our Kembe arrived. He told us about the workshop and the history of the lightsaber. He explained the different meanings behind each style as well as the meaning and history of each colored Kyber crystal.

The Kembe’s assistants walked around the room with a box of Kyber crystals for us to pick from. The colors available are: red, blue, green and purple, but there are more colors available for purchase outside of the workshop if you desire. I’ll come back to that later. I chose the purple crystal because that’s my favorite color. We were then presented with a tray of building options to choose from for making our hilt.

Assistants were on hand to demonstrate and help with the assembly of the hilt. I had a lot of fun choosing the parts for mine! When everyone had finished their hilts, the assistants came to each station to help with the blades. There was kind of a show that took place as the lightsabers were finished and I won’t go into detail about that to leave it as a surprise for future builders. All I’ll say is I really enjoyed it!

The whole experience took around 30 minutes but allow 45 minutes for the experience in your schedule to get checked in and choose your lightsaber style before you enter the workshop. For those who can’t decide on a crystal color, the Kyber crystals can easily be switched out of the lightsaber and you can purchase additional colors for $14.99 each from Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities on Batuu. The same colors offered at the workshop are available as well as yellow and white. You can also purchase a Holocron ($49.99) to store your Kyber crystals – either Jedi or Sith. The Holocrons light up, make noises and even speak depending on which color crystal is placed inside.

So is it worth it? That’s a very subjective question. Obviously the $199 isn’t beer money but equally there are other Disney experiences that cost a lot more. If you’re a big Star Wars fan who always grew up wishing you had a lightsaber, I think you will love this experience! It’s more than just picking up a couple parts, it’s an actual experience, with a show, that you control, and it fully immerses you in the world and culture of Star Wars. You are able to make your very own, unique saber that didn’t come off a shelf. The product is incredibly high quality and you can tell them apart from their mass produced counterparts. However if you’re a more casual Star Wars fan who doesn’t know their Sith from their Jedi, this experience may be a little lost on you.

Some other things to note: you can ship the lightsabers home from the park or from your resort for a minimal charge (that’s what we did). You can also take your lightsaber home as a carry on item in the padded sheath included in your building experience (we saw other guests do this). Finally, be aware that you will not be permitted on certain rides with your lightsaber so you may want to send them back to your resort room, leave them with a non-rider, or reserve your experience for later in the day when you’re done riding.

I am really glad I visited Savi’s Workshop to build a lightsaber and I highly recommend it!

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14 Comments

  1. That’s so awesome! Personally, this isn’t something I would do so I’ll never do the experience so I really appreciate the break down you gave!

    • You’re welcome! If you don’t plan on doing it you should definitely watch some YouTube videos to see what the show is like

  2. Thanks for the full review! Update…the Kyber Crystal is now up to about $15.00…but that obviously comes down if you have a merch discount (DVC, AP, etc.). I booked an evening build appointment with a friend in July (evening because of your advice @starbee )! I already purchased a white Kyber Crystal to swap out in that saber. I plan to build from the Peace and Justice parts and get a Green Crystal in the experience! :)

    • I had heard that but I forgot to check when we were there this month! :( thanks for mentioning that! Good point on the discounts, I also forgot to add in this article that “frequent traveler discounts” are accepted at Dok Ondar’s but NOT on your lightsaber building experience.

  3. Excellent review! Thank you for posting this!

  4. Awesome Review! I couldn’t bring myself to drop the $200 when we were there in September and am really sorry I didn’t. Definitely going to do it this year though. Thanks for posting!

    • Thank you so much! :) We weren’t sure at the time when we’d be back so we jumped on it then. They were our birthday gifts to each other since hubby’s birthday was the week before and mine 2 weeks before his. I’m sorry you regret not doing it in September but I’m glad you’ll get the chance this year! :rey:

  5. That’s a great gift! I might have to tell the Wife that. Hehehe. I can’t wait! :chewy:

    • We plan on getting some form of casing/rack to display them like Howard Wolowitz does in The Big Bang Theory but we haven’t done that yet

  6. Super excited for my Star Wars nut to try this! :)

    • Your daughter’s building right? Is hubby watching or will you?

      • hubby is watching…I just get to go get a PBJ shake and maybe ride slinky dog in the dark if i’m lucky

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