Droid Depot is a build your own astromech droid experience and droid store at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Your completed droid is remote controlled and may also interact with other droids and features around Galaxy’s Edge. The following comprehensive guide explores everything you need to know about Droid Depot. These are the droids you’re looking for!
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What is Droid Depot?
Droid Depot provides builders with an experience constructing their own custom astromech droid from mix-and-match components. Builders may construct either a BB-Series droid (like BB-8) or R-Series droid (like R2-D2). Galaxy’s Edge is also adding a C-Series droid option in late May 2022.
In addition to offering the droid building experience, Droid Depot also sells accessories, model kits, scrap display pieces, premade astromech droids, and premium droids.
How long does Droid Depot take?
Allow around 20 minutes to build your droid, but you may more realistically complete your build in 10 minutes. This is a rough time estimate. You can take longer than 20 minutes to build your droid as well, if you’d like.
Droid Depot Price
As of October 2022, Droid Depot costs $119.99 plus tax, a 20% increase from the previous price of $99.99. Additional accessories including a backpack, personality-affiliation chips, and more are available as add-ons. We’ll explore more about the accessories later in the article.
Are there any available discounts?
The droid building experience is not eligible for Annual Passholder or other discounts.
Where to buy Droid Depot droids and accessories
Droid Depot droids and accessories are exclusively available at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. You may search for droids, parts and accessories secondhand on eBay or on Amazon or elsewhere around the internet.
Droid Depot Age Minimum
The droid building experience is suitable for both children and adults, although children may find the experience most enjoyable. The recommended age minimum for Droid Depot is 3 years old. The droid builder may bring up to one guest into the experience area. The accompanying guest may NOT build a the droid.
Galaxy’s Edge requires at least one person in each party to be at least 14 years old. For example, a 3 year old builder must be accompanied by a guest (i.e. sibling, cousin, etc.) who is at least 14 years old.
Reservations and Check-In
Galaxy’s Edge strongly recommends making advance reservations for Droid Depot. Same day reservations and walk-ins may be accepted, depending on the availability of the day. Although you must provide credit card information during the reservation, the card is only charged upon arrival.
Check-In
Arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before your reservation in order to check in at the front of the Droid Depot. Every individual listed on the reservation must be present during the time of the check-in. Have your reservation confirmation, photo ID and the credit card provided at the time of booking available for review.
Cancellations
Droid Depot accepts reservation cancellations at least 24 hours prior to the appointment. Disney states, “If you fail to timely cancel and are a no-show, the credit card provided at the time of reservation will be charged the full price per builder.”
What’s included in each build session?
x 1 completed astromech droid (BB-Series or R-Series)
x 1 carry box
x 1 set of instructions
Building Your Droid
1. Choose Your Droid Type
After your party checks in for your reservation, your first step will be choose to build a BB-Series Droid (with a dome and spherical body, like BB-8) or R-Series Droid (with a dome, body, and legs, like R2-D2). Tell the clerk which type of droid you would like to build. The clerk will hand you a basket and blueprints for the droid. Next, you will proceed to the Parts Station.
2. Select Parts from the Parts Station
The Parts Station features a moving conveyor belt of droid parts. Select components for your droid from the various pieces passing by on the belt! There are many color options and the droid domes come in a few different shapes. Color coordinate your pieces or go wild and mix-and-match whichever way you’d like.
BB-Series Required Parts
- Dome
- Dome Connection Plate
- Body Sphere
- Motivator
R-Series Required Parts
- Dome
- Body
- Center Leg
- Set of Side-Legs
Once you’ve selected your droid parts and placed them in your basket, you will proceed to the Build Station.
3. Assemble Your Droid at the Build Station
The build station features visual assembly instructions and a work area. Follow the illustrated instructions on the work mat in front of you or follow the assembly instructions on the graphic monitor. Need help? Press the ‘Alert Tech’ button.
4. Add the Remote Control and Enjoy!
Once you’ve finished building your droid, a clerk will help you pair your droid with a remote control. Then you will activate your droid for the first time! Don’t forget to give your new droid a name.
These droids are Bluetooth equipped, enabling them to interact with other droids and special features and objects around Galaxy’s Edge.
After finishing your droid, you may take it for a spin in a nearby designed fenced in area. The fenced area is the only place in the park where you can drive around your droid. Disney DOES NOT allow anyone to use the remote control to drive their droid around Galaxy’s Edge or elsewhere in the Disney Parks. In short, with the exception of the designed fenced in area, parkgoers must carry their droid after leaving the Droid Depot.
Droid Depot App (Free)
Disney launched a free Droid Depot app in May 2020 for Apple and Android. Sync up the phone app to your droid in order to customize your droid’s name, navigate your droid around the house, and activate sounds and features.
The app also features some games and enables you create virtual digital droids inside the program.
Add-On Astromech Personality Chips for Droids
After leaving the Build Station, you may optionally select a personality chip for your droid as an add-on. Personality chips change the sounds and personality of your droid. Personality chips also modify and how the droid interacts with other droids and features around Galaxy’s Edge.
There are three types of personality-affiliation chips: First Order, Resistance, and Scoundrel. Each type comes in two different colors. The symbol on the back of the chip denotes the affiliation of the droid. A Resistance droid will be friendlier with other Resistance droids. A Resistance droid will also be more comfortable interacting with features in Resistance areas of Galaxy’s Edge. The droid may be quieter and more nervous in First Order areas of Galaxy’s Edge.
How do you add the personality chip to your astromech droid? Simply remove the rear panel on your droid and slide the chip into the open slot. You can swap out the personality chip for another one later. A droid may only hold one chip at a time, however.
Droid Depot Backpack
The Droid Depot Backpack makes carrying your droid around the park easier and more comfortable. The backpack costs an additional $49.99 plus tax at the park.
The dark blue bag features artwork of a droid dome and the name “Industrial Automation Astromech Droids”. Unzip the pouch on the backpack to allow your droid to “see” out of the bag and interact with other droids and features around Galaxy’s Edge!
Looking for an alternative to the official Droid Depot Backpack? Some Etsy sellers offer custom bags designed to hold a Droid Depot astromech droid.
Other Accessories
Droid Depot sells additional accessories to help you further customize and personalize your droid. Some accessories are decorative (i.e. decals and panels). Other accessories include attachments like tools, blasters, jets, or even a serving tray like the one R2-D2 carries in Return of the Jedi!
- $7.99 Decals (various colors and styles)
- $12.99 Panels (various colors)
- $12.99 Tool attachments (various designs)
- $17.99 Blaster and jet attachments (with light and sound effects)
- $17.99 Serving tray (with small plastic cups)
Approximate Droid Size and Weight
BB-Series droids measures about 7 inches by 7 inches. R-Series droids are about 12.5 inches tall, 8.5 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. There may be some slight variation in size depending on the parts you select. Both types of droids weigh 3.5 pounds (about 1.58 kilograms).
Battery Replacement
Although batteries are included with your droid at Galaxy’s Edge, you’ll invariably need to replace them at some point. Each astromech droid requires 6 AA batteries. The remote control requires 2 AA batteries.
Droid Depot vs. Savi’s Workshop
Droid Depot and Savi’s Workshop operate in similar ways. Both add-on experiences recommend reservations (limited same-day reservations and walk-ins availability), last around 20 minutes, and enable builders to create their own custom astromech droid (at Droid Depot) or custom lightsaber (at Savi’s Workshop). Droid Depot costs $99.99 plus tax to construct a droid. Savi’s Workshop costs $219.99 plus tax to construct a lightsaber.
SEE ALSO Savi’s Workshop Lightsabers: Everything You Need to Know
If you only have the time or budget to select Droid Depot or Savi’s Workshop, which experience is “worth it”? Depends what you’re looking for. Since Savi’s Workshop feels more immersive and steeped in Star Wars history and lore, many adult Star Wars fans may favor lightsaber building. How many Star Wars fans have dreamed of building their own lightsaber for their entire life? Quite a few. The completed lightsaber may be a bit heavy and cumbersome for children, especially younger children.
Droid Depot may be more suitable for children, particularly younger children. The build process is a bit simpler than building the lightsaber, more straightforward and easier to follow for children. Children may also find more play value in the completed droid, which is remote controlled and interacts with other droids.
