Review: Droid Depot in Star Wars Land
Droid Depot is a build your own droid shop in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World and at Disneyland. In this review, we’ll detail the experience, whether it’s worth the $99 price tag, and how it compares to the $200 lightsaber experience in Star Wars Land.
As a bit of background, Droid Depot is a split retail space, with one half of the store having normal off-the-shelf Star Wars items you can buy while the other half is a workshop with stations for droid customization and purchase. Droid Depot’s building area is stocked with parts, chips, manuals guests can collect to construct (and purchase, of course!) droids.
After choosing a BB-series unit or R-series unit, you’re given a basket and blueprint for parts. From there, you head to the parts station at the back of Droid Depot, which is literally a conveyor belt from which you pull items as they pass by. This is cool, and gives Droid Depot a certain authenticity. Plus, it’s fun to see and snag pieces as they pass you…
From there, it’s on to the build station, where you take the four parts (dome, connection plate, body sphere, and motivator for the BB-series or dome, body, and two sets of legs for the R-series) to follow placemat instructions. Assemble the droid its the proper sequence before the activation process begins.
Pretty simple and quick, and an experience that’ll take under 15 minutes from start to finish (plus whatever time you have to wait in line to start building a droid, if any).
Once finished, you can buy additional accessories, including a personality chip or carrying backpack.
If you want your droid to interact with elements in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge or other droids guests have built, the backpack is your best option.
It seems awkward to just carry them around, so I guess the other option is getting one of those baby slings.
Joking aside, it’s amusing to hear the droids beeping at one another on occasion as you wander Black Spire Outpost.
I think it’s worth discussing how Droid Depot compares with the $200 Handbuilt Lightsaber Experience at Savi’s Workshop, which we lavished with praise. While Star Wars Land has numerous shops and retail stalls, these are the two with a ‘pay-to-play’ show component. The rest can be enjoyed in full without spending a dime.
Quite simply, I don’t think Droid Depot stacks up to Savi’s Workshop in the least. Unless you really want one of these droids, you’re absolutely better off doing Savi’s Workshop–even though it’s double the cost. It’s a next level experience; Droid Depot is cool, but not on that level.
Don’t get me wrong, building an R2 unit at Droid Depot was neat, and the finished droids are cute and fun. However, there’s no emotional resonance to it.
Savi’s Workshop is this communal experience of creating something by hand. Savi’s has a strong show component that’s steeped in lore, tradition, and makes you feel connected to something bigger. Yeah, it’s theme park retail, but it’s nonetheless powerful stuff.
By contrast, Droid Depot feels almost like the anthesis of that. The setting is cool (as is literally everywhere in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge), but also vaguely reminiscent of an automobile assembly plant.
As you grab parts from the conveyor built and take them to your workstation, there’s a certain coldness to the experience.
The setting is also loud and discordant, with a flow of guests waiting in line, entering, and leaving their own workstations. The creation process is interactive and engaging, but it’s about as communal as an assembly line, and there’s no show component that’s comparable to Savi’s.
Whereas the lightsaber experience makes you feel connected to something bigger, Droid Depot is essentially disconnected.
The one exception to this is when the droid is first placed into its activation slot, paired with a remote, and powered up for the first time.
There’s a flurry of blinking lights and sounds, and you witness the droid come alive. Arguably, the coldness of the first half of the experience is such a sharp contrast with this moment that it makes the droid “being born” more poignant.
In the end, that moment was fleeting, and the overall Droid Depot experience didn’t really stick with me. It’s easy enough to peek into the custom droid building side of the shop and see what it’s all about, and I think that’s a sufficient version of this ‘experience’ if you don’t want to drop $99 on a droid.
Worth noting here is that while I built my own droid, I did Droid Depot as part of the media event and was unable to keep my finished droid. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I had an ’emotional bond’ with my creation and had to care and provide for the droid once I got it home. I’m guessing not, as I don’t really feel a bond with the lightsaber I bought and built.
After Sarah saw a number of friends with very cute droids, we debated going back and doing Droid Depot. However, we also saw several falling apart while roaming around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (technically not allowed, but we literally never saw this enforced) and the build quality felt cheap.
You could buy both the excellent Sphero R2-D2 and BB-8 app-enabled droids for just a bit more money than one creation from Droid Depot. Not exactly an apples to apples comparison, but I’d rather have the Sphero products. (Or, you could buy the DJ Rex non-customizable droid from Droid Depot.)
Ultimately, Droid Depot is a neat experience that I really enjoyed and probably would’ve reviewed much more enthusiastically had I not also done Savi’s Workshop. Even though it feels a bit like you’re churned through a production facility, there’s enough heart and substance to make it something special. However, when compared side by side to the lightsaber building experience, there’s a stark contrast, and Droid Depot leaves you wanting more.
If you’re planning on visiting the new land, you’ll also want to read our Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Guide. This covers a range of topics from basics about the land and its location, to strategically choosing a hotel for your stay, recommended strategy for the land, and how to beat the crowds. It’s a good primer for this huge addition. As for planning the rest of your trip, we have a comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide as well as a thorough Walt Disney World Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
Have you built a customized droid at Droid Depot? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? If you done both Droid Depot and Savi’s Workshop, which did you prefer? If you’ve done neither, which is more appealing to you? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We built droids- bb8,r2d2, c-series. Small wait, staff maid the difference being very helpful, and interacting with our droid’s as we built them! Very rememberable experience!
My kids absolute love their droids and love building their droids. However, recommended my kids get the droids that could get accessories at a later point so they had something to spend birthday/Christmas money on and family members could purchase accessories for gifts. We live in Oklahoma and I just found out the accessories can only be purchased in park. This was not explained when we signed up, purchase, and built the droids. I only found out when I went to purchase some accessories for my kid’s birthday. I can understand only being able to purchase the droids in park because you have to build them and it is part of the experience, but not being able to purchase the accessories online in 2022 is just poor customer service. The only justification for this policy is to try to sell more park tickets, which doesn’t work for those of us that live multiple states away. On top of this, the staff was not helpful at all while we were there. One of my children want to build an R-series unit and they didn’t inform him he picked out parts for a C-series unit. He is 7-years-old and picked it out thinking he had gotten the right parts and he liked the color better than the offerings for the R-series. He would have picked a different color if he knew it was a C-series instead of a R-series. No employee informed him of his error and I assumed after it was complete that he had changed his mind since I was letting him build it on his own while I watch from the side. He only found out later when comparing it to R2-D2 while walking around the park. Thankfully we were able to convince him it was still good because he like the color and he built it himself. But, that shouldn’t have happened.
Building a droid is a great experience and worth the money, but make sure you get all the accessories while you are there. There are eBay sellers with the accessories, but they definitely mark up the prices.
Ugh, wishing I hadn’t read this, but I appreciate the information. My ex husband took our kids to Disneyland last month and did the lightsabers, and since we had already booked Disneyland months ago, we decided to do the Droids on our trip, and the Droids are supposed to be their big Christmas gift. Looks like it’s going to be a waste of $400.
We got a broken droid and they at refusing to fix it. Worst purchase ever!
I’m going to Disney for spring break 2021 and I want to know what the best Droid is to get but I have seen a lot of bad reviews on the c3po so bb8 or r2d2 plz respond before spring break
bb8!
I wish I had read some of these comments before going to Droid Depot on June 30. We bought the BB8 version – BIG MISTAKE as mentioned above because you have to continually open the sphere to turn it on and off. Maybe they could have told us this before we made the choice? My son can’t open it himself, so every five minutes, I have to help him twist it open and align it. Maybe I am naive, but I am shocked that Disney doesn’t disclose this from the start. We would have definitely purchased the R2 instead.
Oh, and just to be clear, they hit you up at the front for the backpack and extra personality chip – so it was close to $180 – not $99.
What personality? Exactly the same useless noises as the “non-personality” versions. We were told that as we walked around Star Wars edge the droid would “interact” with its surroundings. That’s didn’t happen. Oh, and we had to stop every five minutes to unpin it from the backpack, open the sphere, and toggle the on-off switch! That was fun.
What a scam. So disappointed in Disney over this. Clearly, it’s all about the money.
Robin H., I am completely onboard with your comments. I did the BB8 unit, for myself as an adult. I have never been one to be a big RC fan, only having one or two my entire life. Of any that I could have purchased and looked forward to the most, it was this one in Star Wars Land. Possibly the worst money spent in Disneyland. I did both the Light Saber build and this RC BB8 unit. If I were to do it again, I would probably purchase the R2 unit. There is really no controlling the BB8 unit. You think you can control it, but there really is no controlling it. It is remote, but uncontrollable. Possibly the worst money spent on any “toy” type product ever. Yes, I did build a light saber as well at Savi’s Workshop. It was a fun experience, but after building I found out that right next door you can purchase exact replicas of the light sabers used in the shows, Luke’s, Vader’s, etc…. about 10 or so to choose from for basically the same price or less. The sabers are awesome to have, knowing I sat in the little theatre back in ’77 as a kid seeing them being used onscreen for the first time. To have one made that actually is weighted right to feel like a real light saber is pretty fun. I ended up purchasing one of the pre built replicas as well as building my own. I have not used them to dual or hit against anything and the pre built one has already had the light go out just by waiving it. It ended up turning back on, but only if I then turned the saber off and on again. Now I am wondering if these are not as worth it as I had originally thought. All I can say about either the droids or sabers, buyer beware. You have been warned. This was an experience I had waited for, for a few years now since they opened Star Wars land. However, Disney falls a little short on the product value. And yes, I agree about the BB8 unit, it is a pain to have to open it every time I want to turn it on an off. A few things about both products the R&D department probably should have thought through. For anyone reading this, again know, you have been warned. We were in Disneyland Feb 9, 10 and 12, 2022. One thing I will add that was a benefit from all this, if you built a droid or saber, you can build them any time of the day and have them held at the Droid Depot for safe keeping until you return at the end of the day to pick them up. Not as convenient as the old way where they would send things to the front of the park for you to pick up on your way out. If you build a droid or saber early in the day and check it in at DD for safe keeping, and you end up at the front of the park, or downtown disney, or California Adventure late in the day, plan for a hike back to Star Wars Land to secure your merchandise. Outside that, we love the park and the memories made, just not sure I would make building a saber or droid as one of those memories for anyone.
They told me up front when i did mine and my son did his we didnt get the back packs but we were able to get 3 personality chips for 30 bucks when one is 15 but walking through galaxys edge the droid did interact with it surroundings the reaction is random and sometimes wont reacte the same way twice to the same thing we love ours and play with them most every day since we got back
My family built droids during our trip last week. I would recommend *DO NOT* buy the BB8 version. When it goes on standby (after 5 minutes), the only way to wake it up is to open up the large sphere and flip the On/Off switch to off and back on. The large sphere is very hard to open and close again, and I worry that doing it too much will damage the flimsy plastic it’s made of.
The experience was fun, though, and they are really cute when they are working. My husband and son got the R2 version, and they are great!
Absolutely a horrible experience at the Droid Depot. The girl helping my son (who has SPD and is in the spectrum) was building droid today 4/7/2021 around 9:45am was trying to put together his droid and the girl kept telling him to stop! Don’t touch it! No, you can’t todo that when all he was trying to do was build his droid and put in the loyalty chip. He ended up crying and running out of the depot. So I basically spent $500 on a couple of droids with an experience that my son will end up remembering as a tragic event. Absolutely sickening to a father with a special needs son. I wish I knew who this young lady was so I could explain what a horrible person she is. If you hate your job that much I’m sure there is someone that would love to have it. The Disney cast members have taken a seriously negative turn.
I an going to Disney soon for my 15th birthday,I want to know if it is worth the money and time
II just turned 51 yrs old have enjoyed Star Wars since I was 10 , just did the Want Disney Hollywood studios Star Wars experience nothing but a total blast , it’s awesome to be an adult kid ,that has his own money to spend because you can buy whatever you want lol ,,, Highly recommend the droid build , extremely positively recommend the light saber build . Spend the money you won’t regret it goes great and a man cave 11 Nov 2020 . And if you fly into Orlando . You can take it back on the plane as a carry-on and even passes TSA inspections it was very easy . I just separated the hilt from the saber ( push in twist pull out ) in my check in luggage and I didn’t need to even do that. . Have fun definitely worth it
My husband built a droid on our trip in January. Was surprised that even though we had made a reservation, others walked in right next to us in a second line and were accommodated while we stood there. Parts selection process was fun. The cast member at the assembly stations told us to wait since our spot was not working but a manager came over and told us to step up to the broken station. We tried to tell her what the cast member said as did the cast member but the manager kept insisting that we use the broken station and actually took the tool and started making our droid. She continued to be rude and rushed us along before we told her that we would make our own droid and she walked away. Light Sabre too expensive for us
My son will be building a droid with my husband. Can I go in with them to take pictures? If not, is there a viewing area for me to watch and take pics from afar? Thanks!
yes you can
We went back and forth on buying a BB-8 and ultimately decided against it. We are regretting that decision because it would have been a nice keepsake and a way to remember the trip for my son and I. I have searched but cannot figure out if there is a place I can buy these online? How does this Droid compare to the Last Jedi Hyperdrive BB-8?
A prebuilt BB-8 and R2-D2 are available from ShopDisney.com right now. They’re the same as the Droid Depot units with some added light weathering. In the case of R2, there are also additional silver details that went unpainted on the park units. They are $99.99 each and qualify for free shipping!
So we’re home with our $177 droid (personality chip and backpack) and the thing doesn’t work. We call, we email, we send the motivator back for repair. The motivator comes back and it still won’t move side to side (he only turns his head). User error? I don’t know. What I do know is the cast member rushed us through and the whole thing took about 15 minutes and they didn’t spend any time teaching you how to use the remote so here we are, with an expensive toy. Does anybody out there know how to get the bb unit to move side to side or could possibly take a picture of the motivator in the bottom dome and send it to us, so we can see if it’s put together properly? Thanks so much in advance.
I’m having an issue where mine just quits responding to the remote. Just bought it today and got the same package as you. My 2 sons got the regular package and theirs works fine. This stinks!!!! Can anyone help?
I went back and forth about getting one (because I was definitely getting a lightsaber), but in the end I decided to do it. I have no regrets. While the lightsaber and the saber building are definitely better, there is a lot to love about the droid experience too. I really like having my very own droid that is different from what I have seen in stores. Only thing I dislike is having to open it every time I want to turn it on.
So if you buy the droid in the middle of the day, you have to carry it with you? Or can you get it sent to your resort?
No, you do not need to carry it. You can send into customer service to pick up when you leave the park for the day.
They no longer offer the option of sending back to your room. There are clear backpacks on Amazon as a less expensive option (~$13) to the $50 depot backpack.