How to Build a Lightsaber at Savi's Workshop
Updated: Jan 17, 2023
A comprehensive guide to building your own lightsaber.
Calling all Jedi (and Sith), Savi’s Workshop is the must-stop shop of the galaxy, hidden amidst the Black Spire Outpost. Be sure to lay low to avoid the attention of the First Order and find the Gatherers to show you the way. Here’s everything you need to know about building a lightsaber from making a reservation, choosing a hilt, and continuing your way with the Force.
Reservations and Cost
As Darth Vader once said, “Don’t underestimate the Force.” Disney recommends making a reservation to partake in this VIP experience. The reservation must also line up with a Hollywood Studios park ticket reservation. Same day reservations are limited and can be made up to 2 hours in advance. Walk-ins are available on a first-come first-serve basis depending on availability.
To make a reservation, head to Savi’s Workshop online or use the My Disney Experience App connected to your park tickets. Bookings are available two months out and get reserved very quickly. A form of payment is required at the time of booking and will only be charged upon arrival or missed appointment. The experience, lightsaber, and carrying case costs $250 plus tax. Additional customizations can also be purchased at Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.
Experience
Check-in starts 15 minutes prior to the reservation time and can be found in front of Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers. Reservation confirmation, photo ID, and credit card used at the time of booking are required upon arrival.
Outside of the workshop, one of Savi’s Gatherers will have you choose one of four available hilt themes and give you a collectible pin that will identify your selection to the cast members inside.
Hilt Themes
The hilt themes include Peace and Justice, Power and Control, Elemental Nature, and Protection and Defense.
Once your hilt theme is chosen, the Gatherers will usher you inside the low-lit workshop where you will construct your lightsaber from the materials they gathered from all over the galaxy. You will build your hilt from a box of parts based on your pin. Each box includes one hilt, four sleeves (you choose two), two emitters (you choose one), two pommel caps (you choose one), and two sets of activation plates and switches (you pick one set).
After the hilt is built, the Gatherers will share the story of the power behind the kyber crystals and help you pick your very own. Whether you choose green, blue, red, or violet for the heart of your lightsaber, they will masterfully attach your hilt and lightsaber blade and prepare for you to ignite it.
After your lightsaber is built, you are sent on your way to continue your path. With this brand new connection with the Force, you’ll be ready for whatever adventure comes your way. “Close your eyes. Feel it. The light… it’s always been there. It will guide you,” Maz Kanata explained to Rey in The Force Awakens.
Our Very Own Jedi
As the ultimate Star Wars fan, Megan made it a priority to experience as much of Galaxy’s Edge as humanly possible. This included early morning Rise of the Resistance boarding groups, Smugglers Run FastPasses, late night Cantina drinks, Blue Milk, building a droid, and of course, building her own lightsaber. She chose Peace and Justice with a green kyber crystal to embody a classic Jedi-style lightsaber. While you are allowed to bring one guest per builder, she decided to go alone to truly soak in the moment and become one with the Force.
*EXPERIENCE SPOILERS*
Megan describes being led into the workshop that consists of a giant, round bar table set up with designated work stations. There are a few cast members to assist with the building and one in the center to present the story of the Jedi, the nature of the hilts and the history of the kyber crystals. “As they told the story, the lights would dim and the walls would glow with a corresponding color to the story. For example, Yoda speaks and they use green to light the room.” They ask you to close your eyes and think about what color speaks to you. When you see that color in your mind, you’re instructed to open your eyes and a cast member stands before you with a canister full of lit kyber crystals. “It was such a little touch to have the crystals ‘appear’ before you, but it felt like they totally immersed you with a Force-like connection,” Megan recalls.
Based on the pin received at check-in, which was strategically placed on your left side over your heart to symbolize the connection with the Force, the Gatherers place a tray of parts to begin the construction of your hilt. Once assembled, the cast members assist in attaching the blade by “plugging in” the hilt to a long tube. All at once, everyone activates their new lightsaber and raises it to the sky. As you leave the workshop, you are given a protective sleeve to carry your lightsaber.
Tips from Megan
Come prepared. Do your research and make a decision on your color and hilt so it is “little panic, maximum enjoyment.”
Don’t leave the batteries in and connected for long periods of time because it will drain the batteries quickly.
Take awesome pictures at night in Galaxy’s Edge, especially if another person in your party has one. During our class trip, there was a group who all had lightsabers that did a little photoshoot right before park close and the pictures turned out incredible.
Have careful lightsaber battles. While you are allowed to carry your lightsaber around Galaxy’s Edge, they have a strict policy on hitting the Stormtroopers. “Or any cast member for that matter. So don’t do that.”
Conclusion
Overall, this experience is truly a dream for any Star Wars fan and just proves that Disney really does make dreams come true. As Ganodi said in The Clone Wars,“I am a Jedi. I’m one with the Force, and the Force will guide me.”