I am SO excited that my first, in depth, entry is about something that feels so quintessentially geeky: building a lightsaber. 😆
During our recent trip to Disneyland my son and I built our own lightsabers at Savi’s Workshop. (For more details on our trip you can read the entry on my sister blog entitled: What am I doing next? I’m going to Disneyland!!!) Building a lightsaber was the one thing that my son wanted to do on this trip and if he was going to get to make one I wanted to make one too!
I made our reservations several weeks or so before going on our trip and did a little research about what to expect (I couldn’t help myself 🤷🏻♀️) and while I found the information helpful it certainly did not adequately prepare me for what the experience would be like.
Ok, I am getting ahead of myself here, so let’s start with the beginning of the process. 😮💨 (calming and focusing breath)
If you know when you are going to be in Disneyland you can make reservations in advance online or through the Disneyland app. (As I said before I made our reservations several weeks or so before our trip and it was really nice to know that we were already guaranteed a spot instead of having to hope that there would be open spots at some random point on the day we were there.) There are some things, though, that I would recommend you keep in mind when making your reservations:
- In order to finalize your reservation you will be required to put a card on file in case you do not show for your reservation or you don’t cancel a minimum of 24 hours prior to your reservation. You are not charged in advance of your reservation and you are not obligated to pay with the card that you provide while setting up your reservation, they just need to have something on file in case you are a no call/no show.
- You can NOT take the lightsaber on rides with you. This is important to remember because the lightsabers are too long (even when the blade has been removed) to fit in even the biggest locker size that is currently rentable at the park. That means that if you are planning on staying at the park all day you will have to carry it around with you everywhere. They do give you a padded carrying case for the lightsaber at the end of the experience, but they can still be cumbersome to carry around. As such I would recommend that either you plan your reservation for a time shortly before returning to your hotel or have someone who is willing and able to hold your lightsabers while going on rides.
- Each builder can take someone in with them as they are building and if you are wanting to get pictures and/or a video of the process it is a great idea to have someone else record while you are able to focus on the build. (It is an amazing, and even moving experience, so I would personally recommend that you record a video to help commemorate it. If you do decide to take a video I would recommend that you start recording as soon as they begin to let your group into the workshop or at the very latest as soon as you walk through the doors so that you don’t miss anything big.)
After you check in for your reservation they will show you the choices that you have for your hilt. Usually there are only four sets to choose from, but when we made our light sabers there were five choices.
The Reclaim and Reforge set.
This a fifth set that is temporarily available. Basically they use various forms of scrap metal from all kinds of different sources to create the hilt pieces needed for a lightsaber. They are quite beautiful and I was more than a little tempted to use this set for my lightsaber, especially because of the beautiful multicolored piece that would be right at the base of the lightsaber blade. The picture to the left and the video below show only two of the approximately 252 various combinations that the pieces can make up, but they do give you an idea of how the pieces go together and what they can look like.
The four hilt sets that are always available are:
The Elemental Nature set.
This is the first of the four standard hilt sets that are offered. This set is most attractive to people who believe in the ‘living force’. If you are not sure of or are completely unaware the ‘living force’ is seen as a crucial and foundational energy that connects all living things to each other. It is also believed, by some, to be the source of all life. To those who hold the belief that the Force is where all life begins and where all life eventually returns in the end this will most likely be the hilt set that strongly calls to them.
The Peace and Justice set.
This is a set that has ties to the ‘modern Jedi’. A ‘modern Jedi’ is one who is utterly devoted to following only the light side of the Force, forsaking the ancient ways of attempting to reach a balance within the Force by embracing, seeking to understand and controlling the darkness that is inherently part of life and within us all.
The Protection and Defense set.
This is a set for those who are more inclined to use the Force to, well, protect and defend. The pieces often contain ‘mystical’ markings in an ancient, unkown language. The pieces that make up the Protection and Defense set are said to help connect the wielder with the ancient wellsprings of the Force. (Unfortunately the gentleman who was talking my son and I through the various options spoke quite quickly, which I suppose makes sense since helping people build a lightsaber is not something that they want the Empire to discover, but as a result of his rapid speaking I was not able to fully understand what he said about this particular set. If anyone can make out what he says in the audio of the video I would love to know.)
And finally, the Power and Control set.
Our ‘guide’ said that this was for those Force users who are on the darker side of the Force , but that doesn’t always have to be the case. Think of it this way, not everyone in Slytherin was evil, it’s just that the evil witches/wizards all happened to be connected to Slytherin. The same is true for the Power and Control set of lightsaber hilt pieces. Wielders who are inclined to embrace power and control rather than shy away from it will most likely be drawn to this hilt set regardless of whether or not they practice the dark side of the Force. (I very much appreciate the sleek and elegant simplicity of this set’s colors. Classic black with accents of red is hard to beat and visually appealing.)
After we each selected the set that we wanted to make our hilts with we went to the register to pay the entrance fee and to receive our credentials, and a pin that indicated our choice of hilt set. The pin, which we were told to wear over our hearts, was not just to let those leading the experience know what our hilt choices had been, they were also a memento that, unlike the credential cards, we were able to keep.
We were then instructed to wait until it was safe to enter the workshop without being seen. There was a group of about 10 or 11 other people waiting in a small area off to the side of the entrance to the workshop. The excitement of what we were about to do made waiting, at least for me, more than a little difficult. I regret that during our wait I did not get a picture of the credential card that we would turn in as we entered the workshop and I also regret that I did not start recording the video as our group began filing through the entrance. It may seem kind of silly, it was such a small part of the experience, but my video and collection of pictures feels somewhat incomplete with that small piece missing. 😮💨 Oh well. 🙂
We all entered a room, which was mostly filled by a squashed, horseshoe shaped counter of workstations and took our places at an available station. I mentioned previously that I did some research in preparation for this experience and that even though I found the information somewhat helpful it had not really prepared me for what this experience was going to be like. This was the moment where my research left me completely unprepared. I knew that I would be in awe of the experience (after all, Disney is really good at that), but I had not expected to feel so moved, almost to the point of tears, at several points throughout the process. As you might imagine my unexpected emotional reactions intensified the whole experience for me. Even rewatching the video I took so that I could use portions of it as part of this post caused me to get choked up.
Upon taking our place at the counter we were given an introduction. The woman who was leading our experience, Miss Lizzie, introduced herself and her fellow Gatherers and then said that they suspected we were there for something more than just scraps, relics or to answer the call in these troubling time. She said that we were there “for this” and she showed us a completed lightsaber hilt. This was the first moment that caused me to get emotional and I must not have been alone because there was a very audible gasp from others around the room.
She then showed us the four colors of Kyber Crystals that were available for us to choose from: blue, green, violet, and red. After telling us a little about each color the Gatherers brought the crystals around so that each of us could make our choices.
We were then given all the hilt pieces that were part of our chosen category. Of the ten provided pieces we were able to chose five to use for our lightsabers. This was the moment where I felt that the price of the experience became completely justified. I had seen the different pieces for each set, but I had not had the chance to touch them yet and I had not expected them to be so heavy. Heavy in the most satisfying way. The quality of the pieces and the feel of them and their weight in my hands as I constructed my hilt removed any remaining doubt about whether this experience had been worth the price tag. It absolutely was!!!
All of the pieces for the hilt were beautiful and I definitely struggled over which pieces I would want to use. As a chronic overthinker I could have debated for hours and still not have been able to make a decision, but as we were under a time constraint for the experience and because we were supposed to allow the Force to guide us through the process I quickly made the decision that I would go with the pieces that instantly called to me the most. In the end I had a hilt that I truly did and do feel like I have an actual connection to and with.
I don’t know if my son struggled with his choices as he was assembling his hilt pieces, but after we had both completed our assemblies he leaned over, took a look at my hilt and said “I think that our hilts are perfect representations of us!” That was a huge relief to hear, especially since I had gone with my gut reactions rather than thinking through my choices, and I absolutely agree with him. I think they both turned out beautifully!!!
After everyone completed the assembly of their hilts the Gatherers came around and tested each of our hilts to make sure that they had been assembled correctly, that they were secure, and ultimately that they were ready for the final step in the process: stabilizing the Kyber Crystals and producing the blade. Miss Lizzie explained that this is typically done using the Force, but as the Gatherers are not Force wielders they have and use technology to help them with that step of the process. As she was telling us about this the other Gatherers were going around and inserting our hilts into an opening on the bottom right side and between the work stations. Once all of the hilts were in place we were able to step back up to our station and, in preparation to activate the lightsabers, place our hands on our hilts.
This was, at least, the third moment where I got emotional. Just as we were about to activate our lightsabers we heard Yoda’s voice. Hearing his voice pulled me right back into the experience. Yes, I knew where I was, but in that moment and in others like it it was so easy to be completely wrapped up in the narrative that they were weaving around us and I loved every second of it.
It was time to activate our lightsabers and for me there are no words to describe that moment. It was amazing and surreal and absolutely worth it.
Before we left with our new, beautiful, and cherished lightsabers Miss Lizzie told us that having a lightsaber comes with great power and that ‘great power should not be dropped on the floor’ (that was probably my favorite thing that I heard throughout my whole trip) and so to help prevent that as well as to protect our new lightsaber on our travels they provided us with a padded carrying case. As we exited the backroom of Savi’s Workshop I almost couldn’t believe the experience I had just had. (Honestly, if it hadn’t been for the lightsaber in my hand and all the pictures on my phone I don’t think it would have been difficult to convince myself it had all been a dream.)
My son and I stepped to the side so that others could easily exit through the door as we both marveled our own and each other’s lightsabers before my logical brain snapped back into action.
Before sheathing my lightsaber I approached one of the individuals working out front of Savi’s Workshop and asked if he could show me how we could remove the blade from the lightsaber, how we could change the Kyber Crystals and where we would go to buy the remaining four crystals that we did not choose during the build. After being shown what we needed to do for the blades and crystals we were off to Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiques to pick up the extra Kyber Crystals.
My son and I wanted to have as many of the different Kyber crystal colors as possible and with the cost of each of the crystals being between $15 and $18 buying four additional crystals to be able to have a full set of the colors felt doable and reasonably priced. Since one of the extra colors that we were going to be buying was blue the woman behind the counter allowed us to select the little cannister ourselves because there was a chance that we could open it and find a ‘cracked’ blue crystal. (Sadly we were not lucky enough to get one of those.) She also informed us that when purchasing a red crystal there was a chance that we could receive a ‘black’ crystal, but as my son had selected a red Kyber Crystal during the build we decided that we didn’t need to purchase another one.
While I am not a die hard, or even intense, fan of Star Wars I did grow up watching the original trilogy with my father and definitely have an affinity for the original Star Wars. I never wanted to be a Jedi, but I always found the lightsabers to be so beautiful and elegant and to have had the opportunity to be able to make one side by side with my son was the ultimate experience. It was not only the highlight of our whole trip, but it is a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life and one that would not have happened if I had not been able to share it with my son.
Was it worth it? Worth the money for an experience that lasted only about 15ish minutes? Worth the price of admission? My answer is absolutely and unequivocally YES!!!! Yes, it was worth all the penny pinching that was necessary to be able to go and if you still have doubts then maybe this next statement will relieve you of them. It was so worth it that if given the opportunity to go to Disneyland again (or to go to Disney World) I will most definitely be taking my son to build another lightsaber together.
Despite my emphatic statements about the experience being well worth the price tag if you are debating whether or not to indulge in the experience yourself all I can say is this: let the Force be your guide and embrace that choice which is right for you.
Maybe someday our paths will cross, or maybe it will be the blades of our lightsabers, who can tell. Regardless of what the future holds may the Force be with you, always.
