Is Star Wars Land’s $200+ Lightsaber Worth It?
Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers is one of the most popular things in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This review offers photos & video from this build-your-own lightsaber shop, reservation details, spoiler-free info, and whether it’s worth the high price. (Updated February 25, 2024.)
Savi’s Workshop is an unassuming storefront located in the middle of Black Spire Outpost next to Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities and Droid Depot. Under the guidance of the Gatherers, guests are ushered into a covert workshop where they are using unusual parts to build lightsabers amidst the First Order.
Originally, we planned on skipping Savi’s Workshop. To be honest, I laughed at the idea of a $200+ lightsaber, and might have used the word “sucker” to describe our friend who wanted to do it. This is no knock at Star Wars fans (well, I guess it is), but I spend money on plenty of things others would consider silly or frivolous, so to each their own. Since you’re seeing this review, we did end up doing Savi’s Workshop, so there’s also that.
February 25, 2024 Update: Disney Visa has announced that Cardmembers receive 10% off at Savi’s Workshop for Handbuilt Lightsabers at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. Previously, this was one of the excluded locations, but it now joins other retail and restaurants in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge offering 10% off select merchandise when using the Disney Visa credit card or debit cards.
Note that this only applies to the Savi’s Workshop location at Walt Disney World in Florida. It does not apply to the outpost in Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland in California. At least, not for now. The discount just launched, so it’s possible Disneyland will offer the Disney Visa discount soon, too.
However, we wouldn’t bet on it. There’s already a pricing difference at Savi’s Workshop between the two coasts, with the Walt Disney World version costing $249.99 and the Disneyland version costing $219.99. Even without the Disney Visa discount, Savi’s Workshop at Disneyland is still cheaper.
Savi’s Workshop at Disneyland did cost $250 for a brief bit, but fell from that price back down to $219.99 last year. When it comes to Disney, any drop is a big one, as prices typically only go in one direction–up. That’s still up from the $200 price tag on the Savi’s Workshop lightsaber building experience when it first debuted, but pretty much everything at Disneyland is more expensive than it was ~5 years ago.
As for the reason for the decrease, it’s likely that demand dropped for the Disneyland version of Savi’s Workshop after the price increase, and this was the way of fixing that. Honestly, this is not a huge surprise. Savi’s Workshop is still a relatively popular reservation at Walt Disney World thanks to a steady stream of new tourists.
By contrast, Disneyland is more dependent upon a local fanbase. It’s thus likely that the California park has largely exhausted demand for lightsaber building among locals, and is now reliant on the smaller slice of tourists that visit Disneyland.
This would also explain the addition of the Disney Visa discount at Walt Disney World–demand is starting to drop for Savi’s Workshop, but is still fairly strong. Offering a targeted discount is a way to entice more guests to do Savi’s Workshop, while stopping short of decreasing the price for everyone. Good ‘ole price discrimination in action!
With the 2024 pricing and discounts at Savi’s Workshop addressed, let’s turn to the normal one and start with the titular question. Despite that title, this really isn’t expressly about whether the lightsaber itself is worth $220 (Disneyland price), $225 (Disney Visa Cardmember at Walt Disney World price) or even $250 (full price).
I cannot envision a single scenario in which I’d view a lightsaber as holding that amount of value. Perhaps once the technology gets to the point that it’s an actual tool I can use to carve a Thanksgiving turkey or defend myself against the First Order, but even then, it’d be a tough sell. To someone, I’m sure a lightsaber could be worth more than $200. I am not that person, though.
With that said, the lightsaber itself has heft to it, is substantial, and feels really good in the hand. Then again, I’ve never wielded a high-end lightsaber, and am comparing this (no joke) to the industrial design of my DSLR camera lenses. For all I know, this could be on the low end of replica-caliber lightsabers. I do know that it’s significantly nicer than anything I’ve ever seen in Walt Disney World or Disneyland.
For me, the question about whether this is “worth it” comes down to the hand-built lightsaber itself plus the overarching experience at Savi’s Workshop. As you’ll read in the review that follows, we were absolutely blown away by the show component of Savi’s Workshop and have zero regrets that we did it. The workshop itself along with having a nighttime lightsaber battle below the Millennium Falcon rank highly among the things we did in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
However, value is in the eye of the beholder and it’s very much a your mileage may vary type of thing. Ultimately, you’re looking at a 25 minute experience plus a lightsaber for $250, plus the effort of snagging a reservation or waiting in line to do Savi’s Workshop.
This brings us to the capacity of Savi’s Workshop, which is abysmal. There’s a lot to be said for the intimate environment of the workshop, which definitely enhances the show. Nevertheless, the decision to make this a single room (rather than modeling it after multi-room meet & greets) is a puzzling one. The result is a shop with an hourly capacity of under 50 lightsabers.
Scarcity is the other reason why the question of value is nearly irrelevant. With such a low number of daily time slots for Savi’s and such a high number of Star Wars fans with surplus disposable income (or willing to save and splurge for something special), Savi’s could charge double its current prices and never have a problem filling up. (Not to give Disney any ideas…)
When we did Savi’s Workshop, it did not offer reservations. This mean that a line formed each morning and you had to wait to sign up, then return and have your group called to enter Savi’s Workshop took a lot of time. (Sort of like how Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance works now.) Consequently, we had nearly 2 hours of “lost time” as a result of the system.
The good news is that Savi’s Workshop now offers advance reservations online and via both the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps. At both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, reservations are available 60 days in advance. For both, we highly recommend making reservations ASAP before your travel dates.
This system streamlines the whole process, but the downside to that is it means you can get shut out entirely if you don’t think to make reservations well in advance of your vacation. Typically, reservations typically fill up faster at Walt Disney World than at Disneyland. If you aren’t able to score your desired slot early, keep checking the system–especially the day before, as cancellations do occur.
If you’ve already decided you want to do Savi’s Workshop and are only not going to do it in the event that something discourages you, stop reading now. This is not going to be that “something.” We loved the experience, would do it again if money were no issue, and would highly recommend going in without having anything about it spoiled for you…
Again, to avoid spoilers, stop reading/scrolling now.
Seriously. Don’t ruin this for yourself if you plan or want to do it.
For now, Savi’s Workshop truly is a ‘covert’ location: there’s no discernible signage, and save for the long line, crowds, and cash registers outside, it doesn’t even appear to be a storefront in keeping with the design-style of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Prior to paying, you’ll select one of the four themes. These are Peace and Justice (with salvaged scraps from fallen Jedi temples and starships in Republic-era designs), Power and Control (forged by dark side warriors, using remnants from the Sith homeworld), Elemental Nature (embodying the Force and comprised of living things, like Brylark trees, Cartusion whale bones, Rancor teeth, etc.) and Protection & Defense (mysterious materials that reconnect users with the ancient wellspring of the Force).
These are a starting point, with the exact pieces chosen and assembled within the workshop. Pictured below is a full set from Elemental Nature:
After paying, you will be given your pin and a credential that will serve as your group number. The pin is your key to enter the secretive workshop and it also identifies which of the 4 lightsaber designs you’ve chosen.
Naturally, we chose Elemental Nature because one of the options for that is a Rancor tooth. We felt that’d give us the most street cred in intimidating the neighbor’s dog. (As we know from firsthand exposure, dachshunds are ferocious.)
Once your group is among the next to enter the shop, you’ll be allowed to enter a courtyard where you’ll wait to be allowed entrance by one of the Gatherers.
Here’s a brief video offering a snippet of the opening act inside Savi’s Workshop for Handbuilt Lightsabers:
As you can see, inside Savi’s Workshop, introductions are made and a solemn tone is established for the ceremony of crafting a lightsaber.
The Gatherers go over Jedi history, lightsaber lore, and the power of the Force. It’s a good preface, and effectively sets the mood.
Following that, you choose a kyber crystal, which will give your lightsaber its color. The options are red, blue, green, or (for the Samuel L. Jackson fans out there) purple.
At “only” $13 each, kyber crystals are probably one of the best pieces of merchandise in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge; each one changes the color of your lightsaber blade.
You’ll also receive a hilt kit with the necessary parts to choose from to assemble your hilt. Each box of parts includes 1 hilt, 4 sleeves (pick 2), 2 emitters (pick 1), 2 pommel caps (pick 1), 2 sets of activation plates, and switches (pick 1 set).
Gatherers circulate to assist in this process, which takes several minutes.
We’d recommend finishing quickly to give yourself a few minutes to appreciate the themed design of the workshop.
As with everything in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the design of Savi’s Workshop is brilliant and moody. Savor it, because you’ll probably only ever be in here once.
Once everyone is finished assembling their hilts, Gatherers help attach the hilts into assembly pods at each building bay. This is when the bonding ceremony begins, which is the highlight and wow moment of the whole experience at Savi’s Workshop.
At the conclusion of this, the blade of the lightsaber is ‘magically’ attached and everyone raises and activates their lightsabers in unison as the voice of Yoda enters the chamber.
I had the Yoda portion of this spoiled for me prior to this (as I never thought I’d do it), and my initial reaction was disappointment that it wasn’t a hologram of Yoda making an appearance.
While that would’ve undoubtedly been cooler, it’s impossible to put into words just how cool the culmination of this ceremony is.
Savi’s Workshop hits all of the right emotional notes; there’s a sense of urgency, solemnity, and pride upon completion. Yeah, you’re just assembling a glorified toy lightsaber, but it feels like so much more.
We both agreed that this was a really powerful experience, and we say this as people who are not heavily invested in Star Wars. I can only imagine how moving it would be for someone who grew up on Star Wars, and has a strong nostalgic bond.
Ultimately, we have zero regrets dropping $200+ to do Savi’s Workshop. I’m actually glad we didn’t go with the original plan of only me entering (for free) to watch our friend build his lightsaber, because my reaction to Sarah upon exiting would’ve been, “you have to see that.” In fact, Sarah’s reaction upon exiting Savi’s Workshop was, “we have to do that again and get another lightsaber so we each have one.”
To be clear, we definitely are not going to do that–it was simply Sarah’s reaction in the heat of the moment. The point here is that our first impressions–even as frugal people who aren’t hardcore Star Wars fans–were so satisfying and the end result so cool that we were fine having dropped over $200 on it.
However, Savi’s Workshop now costs $50 more than when we did it. While I’m glad we got the chance to do it once and found the experience to be incredibly memorable, it’s tough to say the already-high price we paid would be worth $250 to us. It’s a close call, but I’d probably do it for the first time even at $250. Again, value is in the eye of the beholder–and what you’re getting here is not just a fancy lightsaber.
Even at the $250 price-point, Savi’s Workshop is truly something special–an experience to be savored and remembered long after the lightsaber breaks or dies. This is one of the most popular Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge offerings at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and for good reason. It’s not going to be something that everyone can afford to do in terms of time or money, but it’s something we recommend as a splurge for those who can do it. You won’t regret it.
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 early to arrive to beat the crowds. It’s a good primer for this huge addition.
Your Thoughts
Have you stepped inside Savi’s Workshop for Handbuilt Lightsabers? Is it something you’d like to do, or is the $250 price tag a non-starter for you? If you’ve done it, do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Think it was (or will be) worth the money and time commitment? 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!
How long does the whole experience last?
What I want to know is how TSA will respond about guests flying with them? Since they are metal, my guess is they will be seen as a weapon, so they cannot be carried on, but placing a $200 souvenir in your luggage is just inviting the airport thieves to get a new saber.
Directly from from the TSA site..
Light Saber
Carry On Bags: Yes
Checked Bags: Yes
Sadly, the technology doesn’t currently exist to create a real lightsaber. However, you can pack a toy lightsaber in your carry-on or checked bag. May the force be with you.
How does the build a droid experience at Galaxy Edge compare with building a droid at the Star Wars shop in Disney Springs? Is it a similar price and quality?
How do you get a daily time slot? Is there a reservation system or do you have to take your chances once inside the park?
Reservations opened today 🙂
What are the dimensions of the finished product? I’m concerned about luggage space for the trip home, haha.
I just don’t see how marketing wise this could be a good idea. $200 is pretty steep. Yes sure the uber rich and Star Wars junkies will do it but after that I think Disney is going to have to lower the price or rethink the whole thing. What happens when the initial hype is gone and all the rich/junkies have one? I can see an empty building sitting there.
That said I wold love to build one! 🙂
I wonder that as well. When the hype dies down, will the price drop?
Did the same thing happen with banshees or are they holding out on the price?
So I feel silly asking… but there’s no way to go into the workshop without paying the $200? I’m just trying to make sure I understand as I am heading there in a couple of weeks. By signing up for the time slot, you are committing to buying the lightsaber, correct? Thanks in advance!
Yes, you are committing to purchasing the Saber to take part in the experience. You can bring one guest along.
They now allow 2 guests per builder. So I guess you could try to hit someone up in line for an additional guest spot. Maybe offer to buy them an extra Kyber crystal 🙂
What would have sold me is if they had made an interactive experience with the lightsabers like Harry Potter wands at Universal. If there was something like a holographic training simulator or something to make it fun. Paying $200 for a lightsaber that will sit in my closet without having made a really memorable experience at the parks in my opinion is absolutely not worth it. Harry Potter interactive waves on the other hand absolutely.
Correct. You pay for the experience, just like a hard-ticket event.
Although the Buid-A-Droid is THE ‘best-bang-for-your-buck’ purchase from Galaxy’s Edge, Savi’s Workshop is the big investment at Galaxy’s Edge and you hit the nail on the head: it is the exclusivity of having a hard to get, unique souvenir from this part of the park. $200 is actually not only on par with custom sabers (non-Disney/LFL lightsabers can get to be in the $500-$900 range), the unique technology that works with the crystals is worth the price of the lightsaber. The rest (metal parts; a saber YOU designed; and sharing the experience with a friend) is frosting on the cake. The experience is the ice cream on the cake; it is as mythical as it sounds, and certainly is a show for dyed-in-the-wool Star Wars fans. I cannot recommend this event any higher; it is the pinnacle of Disney’s technology and merchandising.
What does the final product look like? Does it actually cast a light that’s visible? I’d like to see one of these things before dropping two bills on one.
I wonder that as well. I have seen them in the darkened room, but what about outside or in your home? Are they useless if not in the dark? My guess is yes.
Definitely worth it, I didn’t know what to expect and was blown away. My wife, who initially “couldn’t believe” I was buying a $200 lightsaber, decided the next day that she had to have the experience of building her own!
Also, you now reserve Savi’s online. Reservations open each day at 7am, so set your alarm.
Do you pay online as well when you reserve?
How far in advance can you reserve?
You can only make same-day reservations starting at 7am on the Disneyland website. You must put down a credit card and if you don’t show, you are charged the full price!
My husband and I are going with our two kids in December. If we are just getting two lightsabers for the kids will both my husband and I be able to go back with them or does Disney limit how many parents can go back? (Kids are 8 and 6)
They allow one guest per builder. You’ll really enjoy it. Now that the reservation period for Galaxy’s Edge is over, getting a David’s reservation is going to be tough. I suggest arriving at the park before opening and going immediately to David’s as soon as you can. You’ll choose your style, pay and get a cool collectable pin along with your return time. Then, you can look around for a while before your time.
Darn auto correct. Savi’s not David’s.
They now allow two guests per builder. Make reservations promptly at 7am the day you want to go, and be prepared to pay $200/builder (non-refundable) at that time. Also when you get there, make sure you check out the drawers of parts that are to the right of the checkout. You can see each of the four sets of hilt parts to help you decide which one you want. Even having seen the parts online, I was torn until I saw them in person, when I chose power and control with a blue kyber crystal. Yes, my two sons and I handed over 600 “credits” + imperial fees (aka tax) and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. FWIW, my sons did peace and justice and elemental nature, with purple and green crystals respectively.
I don’t know what the status is now, but we did it on 6/23/2019, and the next day Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities would only sell extra kyber crystals to people who purchased a holocron for another $50. We wanted to get a red one (yellow and white were long gone), but figured we’d parted with enough credits.
I had similar thoughts about the price. Is it really worth it? The answer is a big YES! The experience was unique, fun and moving. And the lightsaber is fantastic. I’m really glad I didn’t just buy one in Doc Ondars. The build your own saber I think is much better. You end up with a very heavy hilt that feels solid. The kyber crystal actually contains a RFID chip that the hilt senses which not only changes the color of the blade but also changes the sound effects it produces. It senses any movement or changes in position and responds with the corresponding sound effect and striking the blade on something or just jarring it in mid-air produces a blade strike sound and the blade flashes white for a moment. There’s a lot going on here. Fortunately, I went to Doc Ondars before our reservation time to discover that the only crystals left on sale were blue and purple so I chose red during the build and purchased the blue that I initially wanted. I heard the next day, only purple was available. Hopefully, Disney will get more in. My daughter predicted that my son’s and my saber will just be gathering dust on a shelf but so far, I just have to fire mine up every day. It’s just that amazing. Well worth the price. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney raises the price in the near future.
Really shouldn’t be reviewing the lightsabers if you don’t know the value of lightsabers. The quality of these rivals the quality of the ones online that go for $300+. I went and built one myself. To anyone who does buy lightsabers I can tell you these are worth the money without a doubt.
So I thought I would add in my experience. We went opening weekend and it was amazing. The experience of building the lightsaber was incredible, but it felt like it took up so much of our 4 hour window with waiting to get in and then having our time slot. Even with the $200 and tax price I have to say it was a a magical experience. Once the 4 hour windows are over, I am sure it will take some of the pressure off.
I went with rancor tooth model and while the lightsaber looks amazing we soon discovered it is possessed. It will suddenly turn on and off very quickly multiple times a day, with no one touching it. The first night with it in its case we had no idea what they sound way as the lights were out, and it freaked my wife out. We cant keep it in any bedrooms or where we watch tv as it keeps going off. I have taken it apart and put it back together. Same issue. I reached out to Disney to see what i can do and am waiting to hear back.
I can see issues if you have problems with this and live across the country, and am curious on how Disney will handle quality issues.
I wanted to get this for my husband and 2 of our children when we are at Disney Wold Florida celebrating his 50th birthday. Seems like it is going to be a lot of running around and planning to secure a place for 3 of them at the same time! Shame you can’t pre-book!
You can pre-book. Reservations opened today. But, getting 3 time slots together is going to be next to impossible.
My husband and I have been talking about this and both agree that building lightsabers would have totally been worth it IF Disney had built something like a Jedi training experience where you use your lightsaber and train with Jedis (Cast members) and maybe have them send you on missions around Galaxys Edge. We would have absolutely bought several lightsaber for our family if that were the case. To build it and then do nothing with it is absolutely not worth it for us.
I’m a DINK….and $200 bucks was my impulse big ticket purchase limit at WDW. I’d rather use that towards artwork/jewelry.
I’ve spend 250 on a backstage magic experience. It was okay. I wish our tour guide was the person we didnt get a tour from. It was 8 hours though.
Point being is that it was less than an hour…it is scripted…you get a lightsaber, but really…what when will you use that?
My parents used to barter with my brother and I. Local fair is in town ..well, you can go on rides that night OR go to Hershey Park? You want a park souvenir or want to buy $50 dollars in Claire’s?
Back in 2015 at Disneyland had build your own lightsaber in one of the stores there. My son built his own along with sound and it didn’t cost $200. Maybe you just paying for the experience?
Those were plastic and low quality (I made one of those back in the day). These lightsabers are high quality metal with working electronics and interchangeable crystals to change the color of the blade.
I want to address the size of the room you mentioned for the workshop. My logic says that when the crowds die down they are going to have a lot less visitors (like you said, you’ll only do this once) and were thinking that they would have it (going forward) at a size to keep people moving through. There will always be the next generation that doesn’t have one to keep visiting the park.
My husband and I are looking forward to doing this ourselves. Normally I am like you (with a budget and this would fall under “something I wouldn’t normally pay $200 for”) but we are in a rather firm financial situation right now and will be able to afford them for both of us.
We’ve already seen the video (already spoiled) so for us it’s worth the “price of admission”. We are very excited to do this and are happy we decided to wait until after the reservation time period so we can spend as much time as we want in Star Wars Land. I do have a question though. I believe there was a video from the Star Wars Convention on this area and there was something about a “carry bag” that you could get to put your lightsaber into. Is this not the case or is it for the “traditional” ones you can buy in Dok-Ondar’s?
A carrying case is included in the price.
Most custom lightsabers like this run about $100-$200 anyway so it’s pretty on par.
If you rush to Savi’s first thing, what do you do with the saber throughout the day?
It seems too large to take on any rides with restraints — would you need to take it to the hotel before doing any such rides?
Apparently some people are having it sent to their hotel rooms. I do not think they fit into any locker.
The experience comes with a padded soft case with a strap to sling it over your shoulder. I did it first thing when I got to the park and had not problem walking around with it after
And note. The blades are easily removable.