When watching Star Wars do you ever find yourself wishing you had your own droid at home?
Pictures yourself super comfy on your couch. The doorbell rings. Don’t you wish a droid were around to answer the door so you don’t have to get up?
Or gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to have a droid make school lunches for the kids every day?
Well, those scenarios aren’t possible…..yet. But you can have your very own Star Wars inspired droid at home if you so desire.
How? By building one at Disney’s Droid Depot at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!
What is the Droid Depot?
The Droid Depot is located at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland Park in California and Hollywood Studios in Florida.
It is a fun workshop where you can design and build your very own BB or R series droid.
Once built the droids are interactive and can move and speak on their own. You can also buy accessories to further customize your droids.
It’s fun and easy to do, making it a great option for kids as young as 5 years old.
The workshop itself is fun to pop into, even if you aren’t building a droid. There are large droid pieces hanging and rotating around on a conveyor belt on the ceiling. Look out for C3P0 looking torsos and legs to make its way around the room.
So fun!
How it Works
The first step is an easy one: make a reservation. One reservation equals one droid. One person may go with the droid builder into the workshop. (In other words, two people to one droid.)
Tip: While reservations are not required, I highly recommend making them. The workshop fills up fast and you could end up waiting a long time for your turn without a reservation.
You make your Droid Depot reservation at the same time as dining reservations. Right now, because of COVID, that means 60 days prior to your visit to Walt Disney World you can make reservations for the Droid Depot. Disneyland has not reopened, but typically you can make reservations for the Droid Depot at 60 days out there as well.
COVID update: Yes, the Droid Depot is currently open.
When it’s time for your reservation, head to the check-in location in front of the Droid Depot no more than 15 minutes before your reservation time.
Tip: Not sure where the Droid Depot is in Galaxy’s Edge? Use the directions feature on the map in the Disneyland and Disney World app and it will show you exactly where to go.
The Droid Building Process
Building your Droid is super easy and fun. They walk you through each step, so you know exactly what pieces you need and how to put it together.
First, you’ll need to decide if you want to build a BB or R-series droid. In other words, do you want to design your own BB-8 or R2D2?
You’ll tell the Cast Member when you check in which droid you would like to build. He or she will hand you a tray with a diagram on the bottom showing you exactly what parts you need to build your droid.
Then comes the best part!
You’ll head to a conveyor belt full of droid pieces in varying colors. Like in a factory, the parts continuously move past you.
You’ll have plenty of time to make your choices and ensure the parts you pick for your droid are perfect. You can even put things back on the belt if you change your mind. We never felt rushed at all.
After you have all your droid’s pieces, you’ll head to the assembly desk to start putting them all together.
Again, they make it super easy to figure out what to do with step by step instructions and diagrams on the assembly workstations. Your kid might find using the power screwdriver to be the best part!
There are more color and design choices to make at this station too. With so many options, you’ll truly have a unique and one of kind droid when you are done.
Once your droid is assembled, you’ll push a button to signal to one of the Cast Members that you are ready to power up your droid. Then you’ll place it in the activation stand, push the activation button, and watch your Droid come to life!
Once your Droid is activated, the Cast Member will give you the remote, test to make sure all its features are working properly and teach you how to use it.
Now you’re ready to hit the road with your brand-new droid!
Droid Building Tips
If this sounds amazing, (it should) keep reading because I have some helpful tips for you to consider.
Tips to Choosing Your Droid Series
R and BB-series are fun and interactive. However, you should be aware that the heads of the BB units tend to fall off easily.
If you think dealing with a head that falls off sounds frustrating, go with the R-series droids. They are very sturdy.
Consider the Backpack – Or Bring Your Own
You can choose to pay $99.99 plus tax to make the droid, or purchase a package deal that includes the droid, a backpack to carry it, and a personality chip. The package deal is an additional $49.99.
I highly recommend purchasing the backpack.
We chose not to get the backpack and soon regretted it. It was annoying to carry the big cardboard boxes around and the box handle started to break.
Once we realized our mistake, we went back and upgraded to the package deal.
It was a breeze for my kids to carry around their droids the rest of the day in the backpack. Bonus, the backpack has some helpful features built in.
First the front can zip down to expose the head of your droid. As you walk around Galaxy’s Edge your droid can interact with the other droids and you can watch in amusement.
Secondly the bottoms have a foam pad shaped to fit the droids. It holds them securely in the backpack, preventing them from moving around and getting damaged. This was especially helpful on our airplane ride home.
And remember how I said that the BB-series heads can fall off? Well the backpacks have a handy little chain you can attach to the head. That way it stays in the backpack and doesn’t get lost. It also has separate pockets to store your droid’s remote and any accessories.
We found the backpack to be useful in the parks, on the airplane back home, and for storage at home. It was a good purchase for us.
However, you can bring a backpack or sack from home to use if you’d rather.
Available Accessories
In addition to the helpful backpack there are a bunch of different accessories you can buy for your droid.
There are personality chips, which when inserted change how your droid sounds. There are several different options to choose from, from both the dark and good sides. These are $12.99 each.
If you’d like to continue customizing the look and colors of your droid, you can buy colorful accessory panels or decals. The accessory panels are $12.99, and the decals are $7.99.
Or pick out some attachments to give your droid more functionality. These range in price from $12.99 - $17.99 each. My favorite attachment is the serving tray, turning your droid into your own little butler. How fun is that!
Didn’t build a droid but still love all things BB8 or R2D2? Never fear, there are tons of regular merchandise you can purchase at the Droid Depot. Things like shirts, sweatshirts, hats, keychains, commemorative pins, bags and wallets, and more. You know, the usual stuff.
How Much Does It Cost?
Building a droid cost $99.99 plus tax. That includes a droid, remote, instructions and cardboard carrying case.
Can You Play with them in the Park?
Short answer to this question is no. You may not drive your droid around Galaxy’s Edge.
However, there is an area sectioned off where you can give your Droid a test drive after building it.
When you are in Galaxy’s Edge, they will interact with certain things around the park. That’s why getting the backpack, letting their heads hang out, and wearing it on the front of your body is such a great idea. Then you can see when and how the droids light up around the different areas of the park.
Will They Collect Dust at Home?
Maybe. Like with any toy, my kids go through phases where they play with them a bunch. Then they might not touch them again for a few weeks.
It’s up to your imagination what you do with them at home. Set up obstacle courses to maneuver the droid around. Take them for “walks” around the neighborhood. Torture your pets with them. Okay, not that last one.
If you have a droid at home, comment with ways you or your kids have been creative when playing with them.
Disney released a Droid Depot mobile app in May 2020. The app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play and brings your droid to life at home. Using the app, you can customize them, design a virtual path for them to explore at your home, and activate special sounds and maneuvers.
My kids love using the app to play music and program their Droids to do dance moves.
Is it Worth It?
For us, yes it was worth it. The kids had a blast making them and still play with them at home.
They chose the droid as their souvenir to bring home from that trip. And haven’t regretted it since.
I am a travel agent with Magical Vacation Planner. I make it easier for you to plan an unforgettable vacation with your family. Click here to schedule a Magical Vacation Discovery Call to learn more and get your free, no-obligation quote.
Or head here to request access to my exclusive Disney Vacation Planning Vault, full of worksheets and resources you can use to plan your next Disney vacation.
