Having just returned from an amazing couple of weeks touring Florida's Disney and Universal theme parks, it's interesting to go through all the souvenirs you picked up along the way and mull over the experiences you were too rushed to fully appreciate at the time.
As my memory settles now that we're past those mad-dash days, I find there are a few experiences that stand out - walking past a 2 hour queue in the single rider lane to experience the magnificent Metrofloo ride at the Ministry of Magic to go straight onto the ride because I chose a lie-in and breakfast over an early start, tracking my lost phone to Epcot guest services (thank you Android) to spend most of the day just relaxing around the various country areas and, of course, building a Lightsaber at Savi's workshop.
When I wrote about the wider experience of Galaxy's Edge over on the UK Anime Network, I went through the Savi's workshop experience quite briefly - here, I want to go into a little more detail, as well as my reflections and subsequent purchases once I had returned home.
The Experience
My brother-in-law Matt had booked us in for this one, and I had stupidly gotten my hopes up around acquiring the Reclaimed & Reforged parts which had been released for a second limited run in October, but was sadly long gone by the time we arrived in April. However, I had cheered up enormously when I discovered that a good selection of the parts were still available to buy individually for $24.99 each at Dok Ondar's Den of Antiquities, a way to get rid of the surplus I suppose, but still a fraction of the Ebay prices, so before we even set foot in Savi's, I had acquired a complete set of what I needed to create the battered and aged looking saber of my dreams.
This, it turns out, was a Godsend. At $275 this was not a cheap experience, even if you did get a custom Lightsaber of your own at the end. When Matt and I opened up the parts trays ahead of our experience, we were a little taken aback by how cheap a lot of the parts looked. Despite being metal, the finish seemed very basic. Although I had intended to go all in on a Jedi-style saber (with the Sith's Power & Control set being too Kylo Ren for my original trilogy tastes, and the Elemental Nature set just looking bonkers) once I saw the intricate detail and superior finish of the Protection & Defence High Republic style pieces, we both decided to go all in on this style. In a way it was a shame as we'd have little to compare and contrast, but the actual event itself was very well done - even though I'd seen it in full on countless Youtube videos, actually standing there and interacting with the cast was still a magical experience, helped no end by our lead actor being far superior to any I'd seen online previously. I also loved his boots.
A great atmosphere heightened by the relaxed and charming delivery of our host, who was fantastic
I won't go into too much detail on the build as you can just search on Yahoo and watch the whole experience, but in short; you choose your style before entering and get a pin to wear and a card to present, this presumably ensures you're handed the right tray at your station. Our entry was delayed by 40 minutes (a common occurrence on this trip) so suffice to say we were more than ready to get started when the door opened. I took a single photo of the build, wanting to concentrate on enjoying the experience rather than watching it back, and I think that was the right choice. It's been filmed to death and I definitely took in more of the atmosphere which is why it stands out in all those jumbled and rushed memories. You can take a friend in with you to observe, so if you do plan to go, I'd certainly suggest you have a friend film it for you.
The Aftermath
So, as soon as I came out of the experience, we went for dinner and I had swapped over all the parts for the R&R set I had picked up at Dok's, and I was smitten. It's actually on my desk as I type this, I just love everything about it - the weathered look makes it feel so much more authentic, especially given the scrap nature of the Savi storyline. You can kit the hilt out with some extra parts too, including different Kyber Crystals of varying colours, with white and yeellow exclusive to Dok's, you can buy a very heavy stand that lights up and allows you to buy additional trays for your crystals, which also have a light under them. Additionally Holocrons are available (Sith and Jedi communication devices) that react to the chips inside the crystals and play messages, giving you a very interactive play pattern. Saber belt clips, hardier carrying bags and even extra blades are also available, the only thing you can't buy is an individual Lightsaber core onto which you can place your Savi's parts. This seems like an odd oversight, or else a way to get you back into Dok's, but then you're almost certain to be left with parts on the side if you want to use any of those available in Dok's that are available to buy separately. Thankfully I found an Ebay seller with hundreds of the things at a very reasonable £27 plus postage, so I ordered a few of those as Matt had also given in to temptation and bought some Reclaimed and Reforged parts.
We'll make a geek of him yet.
Matt's Protection & Defense hilt on the official stand with its crystal displays attached. Very smart.
Getting the Lightsabers home was fun, but Virgin are clearly very used to these items being brought on board and we had no trouble hauling the two sabers onto the plane, even chatting with other Savi customers about their builds. It's a great ice-breaker.
Since returning home, I'm both very happy with what I bought, and also kicking myself for not buying what I had a chance to at the time. We picked up the cooler crystal colours - I had green from Savi's but picked up purple for Bry's saber, red for the chance to get a black crytsal (nope) and a blue crystal for my future R&R Lightsaber that's awaiting a core. Now I wish I'd picked up the exclusive yellow and white crystal for the complete set, and possibly green for the cannister. In store they're $25, on Ebay $40. I figure I'll pick these up at my leisure and then buy a display stand for the cannisters.
You get to pick a crystal during the build, but can buy others in cute cannisters at Dok Ondars
I had also (correctly) assumed our luggage wouldn't take the additional weight of the heavy hilt stands, but thankfully found those in the UK from a collector clearing out a bunch as he needed a more space-efficient display solution, so a win for convenient timing there.
I've since ordered the alternative emitter for Bryony's saber as that's what Matt picked and it looks awesome (I went for the more feminine option as I knew it was going to Bry, but I may want to borrow it sometime...) and I have my eye on both the Savi's R&R pin (£40 minimum) and the last of the four sleeve parts to complete the collection (£95 minimum). So it's gotten even more expensive as experiences go, though I appreciate the obsession is entirely of my own making.
I have to admit, without the R&R parts I doubt I would be anywhere near as enamoured with the experience as I am now. Honestly if the 4 part options look good to you I can recommend piling in when Galaxy's Edge reboots on April 29th with a new focus on the original trilogy (an event I sorely wish I could be there for as the sequels do nothing for me) but if you're planning on going and want to experience something unique which leaves you with a personalised part of the Star Wars universe, then I can heartily recommend it.
Just make sure you buy everything you think you might want from the various stores before leaving as picking any of it up after the fact is a costly business.
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