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:Â 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!
Hi Courtney ! Same with ours ! We have 3 boys and purchased 3 – when we got to the register I almost had a heart attack ! Made breakfast at Toppolino’sseem minuscule . I’m wondering if they will repair or exchange during our visit this summer .
Hi Tom,
Question – we purchased Rey’s lightsaber back in July (week the park reopened) for our son . It broke shortly after coming home – a metal part broke off – we are going again in June , will they exchange or repair for us ? Like you said , these are very expensive so the fact that it broke was really disappointing.
I built a saber there in September of 2019, or was it Feb 2020? Great experience, and younger kids who are Star Wars fanatics will love it. Pricey, but it’s only money, right? I also got all three blade lengths and every color of kyber crystals. The Savi’s Workshop sabers can be swapped to any blade color of crystals.
Now, Dok Ondar’s is selling the Legacy sabers, which are a little cheaper at $120+ for the hilt without a blade. These are also hefty and well made They are fixed color to the character’s appearance. I bought two of them in January because, well, why not? And they were having a sale on blades, making them cheaper as well as also selling the middle length which was previously only available from a Savi’s build. Legacy sabers are going to rotate out of stock as they introduce new ones too, so get what you want when you see it.
If you look at Ebay prices, it’s cheaper to build at Savi’s. But if you can’t afford to go to the parks…
We did it for a family of four after my son had already done it earlier and had one light saber at his home. He is a big Star Wars fan. For his birthday in 2020 before the pandemic and during the Princess Half-marathon we had a whole day planned at HS and we don’t regret the experience at all. My son is very happy with his 2 light sabers and may purchase a third. We are thrilled with ours and are thinking of doing it again once Disney is open again and the mask mandates and social distancing are over.
Until Disney is opened fully nothing is worth the price tag in our opinion and we were big Disney fans.
MY kids loved the experience, but one of them totally broke after having it home for about one month. $200 dollars down the drain…
Out of five days we will be at WDW, we have dedicated one to HS. We would love to do Savi’s workshop but I’m getting nowhere with getting a spot. Do you think getting a reservation for the workshop is more difficult than getting into HS? In other words, we might try to get a Savi’s workshop appointment on non-HS days and if successful, try to change our park reservation to HS. Currently HS is not available on those days but more people likely cancel HS than cancel their Savi’s workshop appointment- do you agree? I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thank you!
I loved the experience. I asked a single if I could join him in exchange for taking pictures for him. So it didn’t cost me anything but time. Was at Disney Springs last week and saw where you can buy authentic light sabers for less than $200.
Making a light saber was the most important thing my 13 year old daughter wanted to do during our recent trip in March. Since it was so expensive, I made her save up her own money for it. She saved birthday money, Christmas money, allowance, etc. She really had no idea that there was a whole experience, she just wanted the light saber. The day of her reservation, she was so excited. From the moment we checked in, every part of the experience was just magical to her. She literally beamed through the entire experience. She was the only girl at our reservation time, but she didn’t care. I was glad I got to watch the whole experience. It was fantastic and I was glad for the social distancing, because I can imagine how crowded it could be in there without it. I would love to do it again, but do we really need another light saber? I think my daughter definitely appreciated it all more because she knew how difficult it was to save that much money.
If you made reservations for the lightsaber experience prior to the price increase, will you still be charged just the $200?
Only Disney can answer that with complete accuracy, but cases of past price increases on other things at Walt Disney World, those who booked before the price increase paid the advertised cost at the time of their reservation. That was the agreed-upon price then, so Disney doesn’t unilaterally change the terms of the purchase after the fact.
I’m about 95% certain that’ll be the case here, too.
I did this pre-covid. Was allowed one guest. I absolutely loved it. My wife who is not a Star Wars fan loves it as well. So, yes it’s worth it. I’m even thinking about doing it again in December if I can get a time slot.
I made reservations to Savi’s workshop a week ago for our June vacation. It said $200 at the time. Will they charge me $200 or $220 in June? I was wondering if the increase in price is only for those that book the experience April 19th and later or if I will have to pay the extra $20 when we go in June.
For those wondering on how many guests a paying person can have, pre-Covid it was ONE person per paying guest. I can’t imagine that has changed.
We got a pre-park opening reservation for Savi’s at 8:25 AM. I know they will only let one guest into Savi’s, but we’re hoping they will let our family of five into the park early since it would put all of us close to Smuggler’s Run a few minutes prior to park opening. When I called Disney, they said this would “probably” work. Any thoughts or advice on this strategy are more than welcome. A a side note, we also got a post park closing reservation at Savi’s for another family member at 8:45 PM. Current posted park hours are 9 AM – 8 PM. Trip is mid-June.
Dana Wardle – unless changed. We went Sept – Oct 2020 and my son had to have a lightsaber and he at the time was only allowed 1 guest. I believe during normal times 2 guest are allowed but it was drop down to 1 due to Covide. Not sure if it is still1 guest
So, just trying to understand if I read this or not… Let’s say my husband wants a lightsaber, but we are going with my parents. Can the 3 of us go in with him to watch him build it?
We have waited 2 years now and planned our trip around the light saber being my grandsons graduation gift. And he has waited too for this date. My son has waited for this to do it with his son for 2 years to. I will enjoy being the guest just to watch my family’s enjoyment during the build. As they watched me get my wand in olivander’s shop several years ago. It is still a prised possession. So yes it is worth it memories are priceless. And Disney provides the magic! And the memories.
Hello,
You mentioned that WDW guests could book 180 days out, but I thought we could only do this at 60 days. Please confirm.
Sorry about the confusion, it’s currently 60 days. Previously, it was 180.
We signed up for this next week and I hope that the price we quoted when we reserved will be honored. Thinking of canceling it as it was already expensive.
We made reservations the day it became available in 2019 for our October trip that year because we were going to be celebrating at HS on the day of our five year old’s birthday, a HUGE Star Wars fan. We were on the fence back then with the hefty price tag and times that by two with having a Star Wars fan daughter, we couldn’t allow just the one who’s birthday it was and that meant Mom wouldn’t be able to be a “Guest.” After a lot of research and consideration we decided to go for it. We knew we’d be back one day so that wasn’t it, we just felt the need to bite the bullet and spend $500 for this experience for our two kids, and us of course as “Guests.” We do not regret it; it was an amazing experience for our family that we’ll never forget. We joke it was the most expensive 20 minutes of our lives though. Occasionally the lightsabers are pulled out to carefully play with and reminisce about. Do it! I don’t know that the $20 increase would affect us from making the decision had we not done it.
We are considering doing this with my family ( 15f, 15m, and maybe 13f) as well as myself come this October. While we technically COULD afford it that is a huge price tag for 4 sabers and I was wondering if it would be worth it?