10 June 2019

Savi's Workshop Experience - What it was like to build my own lightsaber.

by jensen

I recently visited Disneyland on a family vacation and we were able to check out their new Star Wars themed area, Galaxy’s Edge. I have lots to say and share about the trip, but the lightsaber workshop was one of the highlights. We spent three days at Disneyland and our reservation to visit Galaxy’s Edge was Thursday - our final day. I spent the time leading in waffling on whether to do the lightsaber build. It sounded cool based on articles I’d read, but it was also 200$. I love Star Wars, a few years ago that price tag wouldn’t have made me bat an eye. But, moving a bunch and having to box and unbox collectable after collectable has worn my love of statues, figures, and replicas significantly. That was all forgotten when Thursday arrived. Standing in line at the cusp of Galaxy’s Edge I told Mara, “I’m building a lightsaber.” When the countdown ended and the crowd moved, we hurried to Savi’s Workshop, luckily we were very near the front of the line and soon had a ticket in hand.

Shortly after I received my ticket, a kind woman in full Star Wars townsfolk garb came over with a series of tablets illustrating different hilt styles. You could choose “Peace and Justice” (Luke style hilt), “Power and Control” (Vader/Sith style hilt), “Elemental Nature” (wood grains, bones, teeth), and “Protection and Defense” (mysterious runes, golds and silvers). I rather liked the look of the “Elemental Nature” option and chose that.

I've got a golden ticket

Once I chose my hilt style the line moved up to the register and we shelled out our 200 “credits” (they’re very in character, of course). I was given a color coded card and a time to come back for my build session. They also gave me a pin indicating the hilt style I had chosen. The wait time wasn’t long for my time slot, so we wandered around and killed some time at the Milk Stand, treating ourselves to try Disney’s take on blue and green milk.

Blue milk and a lightsaber date

When our 2:55 time slot came, me and the other 14 builders (along with their +1s) were herded into a gaited waiting area. After about 25 minutes, the doors opened and a man hurried us inside. He looked around frantically as he all but pushed us through the doors, encouraging us to move quickly and take our places at the building table. He apologized for the rush, explaining that the First Order was always watching and he preferred to avoid notice. I have to give the guy kudos, he role played the part pretty well and it created a fun and immersive environment from the start. From there, he told the group that he and his counterparts were Gatherers. They salvaged interesting parts from around the Galaxy and while it may look like junk to some, they things they collected would allow us to build our lightsabers. Trays were laid before each builder containing a handful of options related to our chosen hilt theme. I was already pretty excited by all this and feeling like I’d made a great decision when they brought on another full dose of awesome. The head Gatherer started talking about Kyber Crystals. Now, I figured this part would be more or less choosing a crystal color, but the extent of it would be that they gave you a blade that lit to match that color. Suddenly, though, a guy is walking around with a carrying case filled with red, green, blue, and purple crystals and we were each told take one. I was floored. We were actually installing a crystal in our sabers.

Holy shit a kyber crystal

I later found out you can actually purchase additional crystals and installing them will change the light and sound from your saber. HOW FRIGGIN’ COOL IS THAT?! That said, I was happy with my green crystal this trip, but I will probably buy more next time we visit Disneyland. With the crystal installed, my fellow builders and I set about choosing and assembling the grips, activator switches, and bases that would complete our hilts.

My hilt

Hilts built, we were told to step back! A trained hand was needed for the last part. A Gatherer came around and screwed our sabers into the table. We were then allowed to step forward and activate. The cases built into the tables lit with the glow of our sabers to great effect. Smiles permeated the room.

First light

Then the tops of the casings rolled to the side and we were able to lift our lightsabers for the first time. Smiles turned to palpable geek-joy throughout the workshop. It was a theatric and wonderful moment.

Rise, lightsaber!

And here it is, the full saber, home safe on my dining table.

Saber

The experience was very much worth it. As usual Disney delivered a memorable and fun time I won’t forget. The lightsaber itself is of high quality and looks fantastic. Savi’s Workshop is super cool.

tags: vacation - star wars