When Disney opened up Galaxy’s edge one of the most exciting experiences the new Outpost offered was the opportunity to build your very own Lightsaber. The experience offers the chance to take part in a traditional Light saber ceremony where you construct and activate your very own custom lightsaber that you get to take him.
However, the experience is not a cheap one and is infact one of the most costly experiences you will find at Disneyland. Sure, you get to keep the lightsaber, which is pretty high quality, but it’s still a very hefty lump to add on to your Disney trip. ao is Is Savi’s Workshop Worth It? Should you really spend this considerable sum on an overpriced toy? Or is the Experience everything you imagine and more? Find out in our Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers Review to learn everything you need to know about this unique Disneyland Attraction.
What is Savi’s Workshop
Savi’s Workshop is Dinsey’s flagship paid experience at Galaxy’s Edge. Giving you the chance to custom build your very own lightsaber and partake in the now legendary light-saber ceremony.
Every Builder, who pays the $219.99 entry fee gets to partake in the ceremony and build their very own high-quality custom Lightsaber, which they can take home with them to keep. It has fast become one of the most popular must-do activities for anyone visiting Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland. Here is everything you need to know about building your very own lightsaber.
How Much Is Savi’s Workshop?
$219.99 plus tax
This is not a cheap experience, and even when you factor in the lightsaber itself it’s still a very expensive addition, especially if you have multiple kids all wanting to build one!
For the $219.99 you get the experience, a force allegiance badge/pin, the finished lightsaber, and a carry case. The Builder can be accompanied by up to 2 guests who will not get to build a lightsaber but can take part in the “Ceremony”. Builders should be 4+ and at least one member of the party 14+
You will need a park reservation and a valid park ticket, for Disneyland Park California (or Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Florida). Reservations are available from 60 days out, and apart from at really busy times quite easy to get. Don’t hang around, but there is often availability, even if you leave it till the day of your visit, don’t even rule out walk-up availability, but don’t count on it either. The experience is certainly not as popular as it was on day 1.
There is a fairly tough One Day Cancellation policy. Essentially if you need to cancel you must do this one day before other wise you will be charged full price, $219.99 + Tax, and receive nothing! A credit card is needed to reserve the experience, however, it is not charged until you are at check-in choosing your style. They are pretty flexible with the times, so if something goes wrong and you are stuck in a queue and late, make sure you still head on over as they will usually accommodate you, but if you are a No-Show they will just charge the Credit Card.
Disneyland California
While we are focusing mainly on the Disneyland California version of the experience, it is largely the same as Disney’s Hollywood Studios version, so most of this information is interchangeable.
Savi’s Workshop Experience
Warning Spoilers! – There are some surprises in the ceremony and we would hate o spoil them for you. So if you want to keep the surprise, don’t watch the below video, if you read our description below there is a lot that is useful before we get to the Surprises, we will warn you again before any more spoilers so you can skip past.
The first step is to check in, and you need to be there 10 mins before your slot. This is quite simple, but also not. This is where you need to choose your Design. So if you know what you want, then it’s easy, for us this was a bit frantic, as we just didn’t know what we really wanted. In the end, we went basic and went for Peace and Justice. Payment is also taken at check-in, rather than when you book.
You are then given a Badge/Pin corresponding to the Theme you have chosen, which you keep, and a card/token confirming you have paid, which you don’t keep. You then head to a holding area where you wait while the previous group finishes up and the cast members reset the room. You then File into the ceremony room and stand behind a Build Station. One Builder can have up to two observers.
The Pin is the essential element here and is how the Cast Members know who is the builder and what theme they have chosen. After a short intro by the master builder/gatherer, where he sets the scene and raises the tension with excellent use of music, you will be asked to choose your crystal from a choice of 4, Blue, Red, Green, or Purple. Full details on the implications of this choice are below.
The next part is the Hilt construction. You will be presented with a tray of parts from your chosen theme along with a body. You have a number of choices here and this is what defines your Light Samber as Custom.
There is a choice of 4 main grip pieces, you pick 2 one upper and one lower, although they are interchangeable afterward. You make a choice from 2 switch plates, two end caps, and two emitters. At every stage we got a little phased by the choice, we never really knew which path we wanted to go down, but this was the hardest choice really as the impact of your choice would really affect the finished blade, but we felt there was very little time to think through the implications and it was really a gut feeling. Or maybe the force guiding us?
You are then guided through the pretty simple process of putting your saber together. There is guidance from the master gatherer, and individual assistants going around making sure you are ok.
Once everyone has completed the build, the assistant inserts your hilts into the activation tubes, where secretly the Blades are attached ready for the Light Saber Ceremony.
SPOILER WARNING! – If you want to avoid spoilers in the ceremony we would advise skipping ahead at this point.
After the assistants go around and secure all Sabers in the activation tubes (and sneakily check they are all working) A surprise visitor arrives in the chamber. Not in body but in spirit. The lights dim, and then the chamber suddenly glows an eerie green, signifying the presence of somebody special. The most Iconic voice in all of Star Wars now speaks to you from beyond the grave. We are not going to mention the character, if you can’t guess then you probably should not be spending $219 on a lightsaber!
After the rousing speech, the Master Gatherer invites you all to activate your light sabers simultaneously as the tube covers roll back and reveal the iconic glow of the blades. This is done at random with an epic score and as an entire room lifts up their blades it’s a little bit emotional.
We have read plenty of times about this moment and we have to be honest most people oversell it a little, almost claiming it as a religious experience. Reality is it’s a nice little moment, that gives you a warm feeling in your core, but we didn’t get teary or anything!
After a few seconds of waving around your new Saber, you get a final message from the special one and then file out of the room. Receiving your VERY handy carry case along the way. It’s all over in 15-20 mins, and the entire experience is around 30-40 mins from check-in.
Outside you get to play with your new saber and when done you can head over to the Droid Depot and have them store it for you while you explore the rest of the park. You can then head back at the end of the day and retrieve your Saber before leaving the park. Just remember to get your nighttime saber shots in the Outpost!
Are the Light Sabers Any Good?
Essentially you are paying $219.99 for a lightsaber. While the ceremony is fun, experiences like this are usually included with your Park Ticket so really the majority of the price has to be considered as purchasing the actual product. So at $219.99 they better be good! A cheap lightsaber is pretty awful and they usually break, but good replicas are really quite impressive.
We love the interchangeable nature of the blade, we look at this below, but swapping out the crystal, changes the color. The Blades are really good and are lightweight and look great when illuminated, but they are also really tough and do not break if you accidentally strike it while whirling it around. We wouldn’t advise having a Light Saber Duel, but there are pretty tough.
The Hilts are really sturdy build. The outer shells are all made from metal or a really sturdy resin and feel super strong and study. The designs are nice and we love the fact you can customize them a little.
On the negative side, we find the designs a little cartoonish. They feel quite oversized, a faithful replica would be considerably smaller. Most of the edges are also quite rounded. Even on edges that would be quite sharp, they have been machined in a way that they are smooth and rounded, hence feeling a little cartoony.
So overall while the quality is really good, it’s just the designs that leave a little to be improved on.
$219.99 is really at the very high end of what you would expect to pay for a replica of this quality. They are definitely overpriced, but not by too much. Replicas of a comparable Quality would sell for $170-190 on Amazon or eBay, but these would usually be faithful replicas of a particular Lightsaber from the franchise.
You can get Sabers of MUCH better quality, but you would pay a lot more too. $350-500 for the better replicas.
In Dok-Ondars Den of Antiquities, you can purchase Premium legends Lightsabers, these are of similar quality and build but overall superior in design and you will get a real design from the films. These start at $159 up to $179, but this is for the Hilt Only, you need to pay $45+ extra if you want a Blade!
Overall if you JUST want a Lightsaber, then you would be better off just buying one from a retailer, but if you want one from Galaxy’s edge, but are not fussed with the Ceremony, then buying one from Dok-Ondar is the way to go. However, for the full experience, Savi’s Workshop is really satisfying. While we don’t love the oversized cartoonishness of the Saber, we don’t hate it either. It’s a well-built sturdy piece of merchandise, and we imagine it will last years.
Finally, if your little ones have their hearts set on a lightsaber but the thought of spending $219.99 each on one that is not really suitable as a toy, feels a little frivolous, then Dok-Ondars does sell more budget-friendly toy light sabers (around $39), these will probably satisfy your kids and are probably more durable if they start hacking lumps out of each other!
And Finally, Disney does allow you to bring your own lightsabers into the park so there is no requirement to buy from Disney at all.
Savi’s Workshop Lightsaber Options
- Peace and Justice
This is essentially the Jedi’s Light Saber, The various options are reminiscent of Luke’s second-night saber, Obi Wans Saber, and many of the Jedi Order’s chosen armament.
- Power and Control
The Power and control is the Sith choice. These are more angular with dark detailing and perfect for those looking to join the Dark Side
- Elemental Nature
The Elemental Nature Saber is best for those looking for a more unique-looking weapon. The ornate metal pieces are actuated by (synthetic) natural materials such as Bantha Skin, Raptar Teeth, Bylark wood, and Cartesian whalebone. These unique designs are seldom seen in the Star Wars Universe, infact the only reference we can find is Gungi, and Wookie Jedi, featured in the Clone Wars who used a Brylark tree, Saber.
- Protection and Defense
The final category is Protection and Defense. These Sabers are accentuated with gold trims and regal insignias. These are the royalty of Lightsabers most similar to that wielded by Mace Windu and the high council of the Jedi Order. Those with delusions of grandeur will appreciate these. As will those who just like pretty things.
While we have you here, we think it’s really important to have a good think about which style you are going to choose. We didn’t really and suddenly we were faced with the decision and honestly had no idea what to do. Do you want to go Classic, Evil, Unique or fancy.
It’s a really important decision and we are not sure if we chose wisely, as we were pushed quite quickly into making a choice. If you work out what you want before you go, you are more likely to make a better choice. Like scanning a menu before arriving at a restaurant. The other big choice you have is the Crystal!
Additional Purchases – Dok-Ondars
Kyber Crystals
Inside every Light, Saer is a Kyber Crystal. As you assemble your Light Saber you place your chosen crystal into the heart of the weapon, and this charges the light beam and powers the blade…it’s definitely not the AAA batteries. The crystals come in a variety of colors and these are what define the color of your lightsaber. You get one crystal included, from a choice of main 4 colors, Blue, Red, Green, and Violet.
While most people will have their favorites and obviously anyone building a Sith Saber will want a Red Crystal, any crystal will actually go into any hilt and create the corresponding color. Each crystal is also related to a character, but you will now know which (potluck) and this has no impact on the Saber. More on this in the Holocron Section.
After you have built your Saber, you can buy additional crystals from Dok-Ondrs Den Of Antiquities. Priced at $17.99. You can then change the crystal in the heart of your saber and subsequently change its color.
The additional colors are White, Yellow, and Black. However, Black Crystals are not directly for sale and instead are found at random.
- Blue – Jedi – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker
- Red – Sith – Darth Vader, Count Dooku, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, Vader 8-Ball
- Green – Jedi – Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda 8-Ball
- Violet – Jedi – Mace Windu, Mace Windu 2
- White – Jedi – Purchase Separately – Ashoka, Chirutt
- Yellow – Jedi – Purchase Separately – Maz, Temple Guard
- Black – Sith – Purchase Separately – Ultra Rare – Snoke
How to find a Black Kyber Crystal
To get the Ultra-Rare black Kyber Crystal, you need to buy a Red Crystal Capsule from Dok-Ondors Den Of Antiquities. However, even then 99 out of every 100 are just red Crystals. You need to get really lucky to bag the sort-after black crystal.
There are two kinds of Red Crystal Capsules and only the Silver Topped ones have the chance of bagging a Balck Crystel.
Flash-light – Early on, Dinsey rather naively assumed everyone would play fair on this, but people didn’t and many used a flashlight to scan through the Tubes and pick out the Black Crystals. Disney has put a stop to this and inserted an opaque Back card around the inside of each tube so there is no way of knowing the color inside. It is a total potluck.
You could always hunt one out on the black market, or consider getting into RF-Tag reprogramming.
Holocron
- Cost – $50
We mentioned before that every crystal has a different character attached to it. This has no bearing on the light sabers but does if you buy a Holocron. These are $50 and come in two flavors, the Jedi and the Sith.
The Holocron is a Digital Cube or pyramid that lights up and delivers quotes from the movies in various Character voices. The units come with a default voice, Obi-Wan for the Jedi, and Darth Bane for the Sith Pyramid. The Holocrons interact with inserted Kyber Crystals, glowing the corresponding color, and delivering quotes from whatever character the crystal is associated with.
Each color crystal can have several characters and there is no way of knowing which character you will get when you are buying separate crystals. We have provided a list above of the possible color and character options.
Each Holocron reacts differently to Jedi or Sith Crystals too, putting sith crystals in the Jedi Cube will just result in Yoda warning you of the Dark side. Putting Jedi Crystals in the Sith Cube results in Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) trying to lure you to the Dark Side.
You can also connect the Holocrons and they interact with each other in a really interesting way.
It turns into an expensive hobby if you start to collect the Units. $100 for both Holocrons and then a minimum of 17 crystals to get the collection, but as you are buying character potluck you will have to buy some colors multiple times, and getting a black is very rare.
In the end, all you get is a light-up cube that says a few quotes…
Can I take my Lightsaber on a Plane? – How do I get it home?
The Light Sabers come with a handy carry case so getting them home is no issue unless you have to take the item on a plane. Here it is a little more complicated. We have heard so many mixed reports about whether or not they are allowed as carry-on items. And really, it’s down to the airline, and even the Crew that are operating it that day.
Our own experience was fine. We flew Virgin Atlantic and the Check-in Assistant did not know if it was ok or not but called over the head Ground Handler, who gave us the ok. At security, they were fine with it but did require us to go through the unusual items scanner. On the flight, it fitted easily in the overhead storage bins and got home with us with no problem.
We considered just putting it in our checked bags, but this was a no-no, simply due to size. The Saber Breaks down, but the blade is still too large for our bags. It’s a 36-inch blade and even horizontally it’s nowhere near, and unless it fitted easily so we could pad it out, it would probably not have survived anyway.
Other Airlines have more strict policies, especially the more budget-orientated ones. Some will allow them in the cabin, but only in the Cabin Crews storage area, others will check it at the gate for free, and others will require you to check it as a separate charged piece of luggage. Unfortunately, there is very little clarity on this and we have even seen discrepancies between the SAME airline!
You are going to have to check with your airline and even then hope the crew on that day abides by the Standard Operating Procedures. We have even seen Agents flat-out lie and claim it is illegal to take them on board which is pure nonsense.
Overall – Is Savi’s Workshop Experience Worth It?
What a question this really is. In all honesty, no. Not in the strictest of terms anyway. But some things are not really meant to be worth it in a real way. They are an obvious luxury, a frivolity, and something to just say you have done. We definitely put Savi’s Workshop in this category, It’s a paid experience that you just have to try at least once.
It’s also nice you get a lasting reminder of the experience. Unlike many, such as dining experiences, once they are over, that experience just fades into memory. Here you get your custom-made Lightsaber to take home and cherish. Ours is nicely mounted on the wall in the office and it’s something we really look fondly on.
For us the acid test is always, do we regret it? Not at all. Even though we have come to the conclusion that both the experience and the end product are both overpriced, we are still more than happy to have ponied up and taken our turn. Would we do it again, probably not? For us, it’s a once-and-done thing, but some might like the idea of collecting the set…and thinking about it, a Power and Control Saber would look pretty nice next to our Peace and Justice one.
For kids, it’s a tougher choice, especially if you have several all wanting to build. The Lightsabers should not be considered toys, more collectible items and if your kid is old enough to understand that, then they would probably enjoy the experience, if they just want a Lightsaber as a toy, it’s not really for them and they would be better suited buying a toy version.
Have Your Say
Let us know your experiences with Savi’s Workshop. Which design did you go for and what color crystal did you pick? Did you get any extra crystals? Or did you just stick with the one? How did you find the ceremony and how did you find the overall value of the experience? We would love to hear your thoughts. Just fire away in the comments. And if you have any questions, again just hit us up in the comments.