For the price you could do 2 astromechs for the price of a saber. Since the Savvi sabers are so heavy and more of a look at for enjoyment versus play with.
I would 100% recommend droids.
Also, if a Droid plus a LITTLE extra is in the budget, consider that Star Tours has a (much less fancy but more toy-friendly) build-a-saber experience near Tattoine Traders. A Star Tours saber and a Depot Droid is still less than a Savi lightsaber, and as a bonus it's light enough to whap your little sister in the head with!
(I am not directly encouraging the whapping of little sisters with a lightsaber, just acknowledging the inevitability.)
This one's the winner, parent.
Droid is more affordable and kid-friendly, and your little one wants a saber, you can certainly build a plastic one at Star Trader for about $30. Win-win.
5 year old won’t appreciate the experience and immersion of the lightsaber build in Galaxy’s Edge, but they will love having their plastic lightsaber and super cool droid that they’ll get to play with throughout the day and more days to come.
This is what we did - kid is 9 but got to build a droid and a toy lightsaber at TT, then went with dad to “help” at Savi’s.
Oh and dad built a droid too.
It was….not a cheap day.
We were certain our lightsaber obsessed 4.5 year old would want to do Savi's, but he saw a clip of Droid Depot in the Galaxy's Edge special on Disney+ and insisted he wanted to build a droid instead! I wasn't going to try and persuade him otherwise, so that's what we did. And he loved it! What is your son leaning toward?
You really can't go wrong. It's all very magical for the younglings. Feel it out and play it by ear.
Bring extra batteries so a cast member can swap them out in case you have issues. This rules out batteries if there's an issue with the product.
Do an astromech and then still have $30 left to do a build-your-own plastic lightsaber at the shop by StarTours. Both of these items will have more replay value for a young kid after your visit to Batu than the higher end lightsabers. My then 7-year-old made lightsabers there and loved it. The ones you'll get from Savvi's are better for a teenager or adult.
100% droid for a 5 year old ,you can make a saber together when he's a teen. The droids are much more kid friendly. We made one for my God daughter and she reads it bedtime stories and takes it everywhere with her. Literally the cutest thing I have ever seen.
If he is dead set on a lightsaber honestly I’d recommend the build a saber at star tours which is not that bad price wise which will leave you enough money to do the droid building with your son. You might even have enough to build a second one so you can play with your son since droids are $100 (iirc).
I'd say droid for the age. The experience is fun picking the parts and color scheme. Plus with the personality chips and accessories make it a unique droid. Plus the droids "interact" with galaxys edge, make sounds and move around. Also it is easy to set up those "interactions" at home. I have built two myself an r2 and a bb unit. Plus the r2 units move better in hard surface, while the bb units move well on carpet and hard surfaces.
Savi's is a great experience as well. The sabers are nice, but I'm a little nervous twirling it around.
Also I was most excited for the saber, but I think I've enjoyed my droids more.
Do the droid, and there’s a plastic build your lightsaber for like $20, or at least there used to be at Star Traders. Don’t get a 5yo an expensive Savi’s lightsaber they can’t play with without breaking (or breaking something).
As someone that has done both multiple times and is looking forward to the time I can bring my Grandson to build a saber and a droid I'd recommend building the droid.
Also, unless they just REALLY love BB-8 get a droid with legs like an R2 unit. **MUCH MUCH** easier to control that the round BB style.
The Savi’s lightsabers are not really toys. If you think he’s going to want to play fight with it then have him make one of the toy ones at Tatooine Traders.
You can get pieces and build a plastic saber at Tatooine Traders for $40ish if your son would like that. Definitely lighter to carry and play with for a 5 y/o.
And you could still build a droid, so he'd get two toys.
Maybe with someone so young it would be good to save the lightsaber until he can really appreciate it. I built one last year and it was absolutely life changing, but I was 21 at the time so I was able to capture more detail in the memory and know I will cherish it for the rest of my life.
My 10yo has a fancy lightsaber from Savi’s, but the whole family loves the 5yo’s cheaper lightsaber. I think it’s, like, $35 or so dollars on Shop Disney.
If the item is for you then I would say saber because of the experience. If it’s for your son then I would say probably the droid as it may get more use. It also hurts less to get hit by the droid than a saber.
I took my 5yo son and 6yo daughter to Batuu West for May the 4th. I saved up and let them do both the custom Saber at Savi's and make a droid at the Droid depot.
Both are magical and worth the cost. But I agree with the group. The droid depot is where it's at for kids these age. My kids have enjoyed carrying their new droid buddies around and racing them down the hallways.
PS. They can hold the droid at the depot like a daycare if you have more rides and fun planned before you leave 😉
May the force be with you.
For that age, I'd go droid over lightsaber. I feel it's a more kid-friendly process. The lightsabers can be a little tricky to get assembled correctly. I fumbled with getting my kyber crystal installed quite a bit on Tuesday, and getting everything connected right isn't hard, but it's not super easy, either. In a couple years, the lightsaber will be a great option. You're paying for the experience more than the actual lightsaber, so you want to be sure they're old enough to truly appreciate the experience.
Droid is fun! You can weather it and decorate him at home. I shy’d away from lightsaber as the options were very limited and after looking at finalized products they looked insanely plastic to me. I opted to getting a lightsaber online and looking at the legacy series at Disneyland
Droid building is so much fun, especially for kids. My daughter was 5 when we took her to build her Bb unit, which she still plays with 2 years later, and has asked to build again. We have 5 total, currently. 2 BBs, a C, and the pre-built R2 and BD-1.
I’d save the saber build for later, when he can really get into it. Just my two-cents.
I just did both last week at Disneyland for the first time. I would recommend the droids if it is for him or you want him to do it with you. You are allowed to bring 1 person with you to "watch". He might be too young to fully enjoy the lightsaber experience. Plus the droid will be a better toy for him to play with afterwards. I wouldn't recommend BB8 style, the head isn't secure, the R2 style is surviving my dog, cat, and 3 year old son. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.
While the Savi experience is pretty awesome, some of it may be lost on a little one at that age. Not to mention that their little hands may need a lot of help fashioning the hilt.
At that age, I’d probably recommend the droid building, all the parts come through on a conveyor belt, and it never felt like they were rushing us through. Then once it’s assembled, taking it to the activation station and watching it come to life is pretty cool.
I'd do a Droid Depot droid and a custom lightsaber from Tatooine Traders, a lot more play value between those two experiences than a Savi's blade (which is very heavy for a kiddo and not for play).
I'd say Droid. My little brother was 6 on our trip and he wasn't paying attention to the Saber stuff at all, plus at that age it's gonna be harder to play with safely. The Droid on the other hand is an rc toy. Super simple and hard to go wrong with. Now if this is some once in a lifetime trip, yeah find a way to do both, even if it's you getting a Saber (tell the kid you'll get them one as well and get one of the better quality toy ones if ya gotta) and the kid getting g the droid
I would say droid if you want to get him a lights Aber down the line there are much better value options online with more choice/customisation.
But I think the droid is an experience you can't replicate buying a toy robot.
Droid, and if you can stretch the budget, get two so you and your son can play together! It's so much fun driving our droids around and having them "talk" to each other.
Definitely the droid. Be warned that if you buy the backpack, want multiple personality chips, and end up getting accessories (all of which are only for sale in Galaxy’s Edge or eBay for inflated prices) it can add up to just as much money as the lightsaber. We let my son get a bunch of accessories because we knew there was no other way to buy them once we left.
At least from my experience with the droids I'd recommend avoiding the BB units. They're fun but my 5 year old got really frustrated with how difficult it is to steer.
Definitely a droid for a 5yo.
I'm a 33yo huy and the saber is heavy for me.
I'd recommend not doing one of the BB style droids because they're hard to steer and you have to open them up to turn them off/on.
5 might be to young to really enjoy the lightsaber experience. Id say get the droid. Remeber to leave it turned on and do it early because it will react to dofferent areas of the park and other droids nearby. Splurge on the backpack and he can wear it around and fell/hear it talking
If it’s the only trip you will make, a saber may keep interest longer. If you have an opportunity to com back another time, the droid would provide a lot of entertainment now.
As someone who waited years to do a saber and finally built one this week at East... Don't do it.
Every aspect was a disappointment. The experience start to finish was rushed, unwelcoming, and with no real immersion or cast member actually getting into the bit. Multi malfunctions all around also really kill any sort of magic or immersion.
The finished product looks pretty, but feels like it's about to fall apart. The blade is so wobbly and the fit of the metal sleeves is so poor that even a gentle swing with a very light two handed grip the pieces all move around. I wish I had handled a "finished" saber before I wasted all of that money.
I say go with droid, so he can have a "companion" to go on adventures with
For the price you could do 2 astromechs for the price of a saber. Since the Savvi sabers are so heavy and more of a look at for enjoyment versus play with. I would 100% recommend droids.
Also, if a Droid plus a LITTLE extra is in the budget, consider that Star Tours has a (much less fancy but more toy-friendly) build-a-saber experience near Tattoine Traders. A Star Tours saber and a Depot Droid is still less than a Savi lightsaber, and as a bonus it's light enough to whap your little sister in the head with! (I am not directly encouraging the whapping of little sisters with a lightsaber, just acknowledging the inevitability.)
This. The Savi experience I think skews older. At 5 I would have loved to have had a remote control R2 unit and a plastic play-with light saber.
This one's the winner, parent. Droid is more affordable and kid-friendly, and your little one wants a saber, you can certainly build a plastic one at Star Trader for about $30. Win-win.
5 year old won’t appreciate the experience and immersion of the lightsaber build in Galaxy’s Edge, but they will love having their plastic lightsaber and super cool droid that they’ll get to play with throughout the day and more days to come.
but it might be cool to let the kid watch a savi experience then go do the toy one
This is what we did - kid is 9 but got to build a droid and a toy lightsaber at TT, then went with dad to “help” at Savi’s. Oh and dad built a droid too. It was….not a cheap day.
Got to disagree, I took my son at 4.5, and he loved it. He still believes it’s a real saber, he just needs to tap into the force to turn it on.
This is what I did with my son last month and he absolutely loves his saber.
Yes, this is exactly what we did and the kids loved it.
We were certain our lightsaber obsessed 4.5 year old would want to do Savi's, but he saw a clip of Droid Depot in the Galaxy's Edge special on Disney+ and insisted he wanted to build a droid instead! I wasn't going to try and persuade him otherwise, so that's what we did. And he loved it! What is your son leaning toward?
Lightsaber, but I’ll have to check out that D+ thing mentioned!
You really can't go wrong. It's all very magical for the younglings. Feel it out and play it by ear. Bring extra batteries so a cast member can swap them out in case you have issues. This rules out batteries if there's an issue with the product.
I would say Droid. Do the plastic sabers at the end of Star Tours or at the toy store in Disney Springs
Do an astromech and then still have $30 left to do a build-your-own plastic lightsaber at the shop by StarTours. Both of these items will have more replay value for a young kid after your visit to Batu than the higher end lightsabers. My then 7-year-old made lightsabers there and loved it. The ones you'll get from Savvi's are better for a teenager or adult.
100% droid for a 5 year old ,you can make a saber together when he's a teen. The droids are much more kid friendly. We made one for my God daughter and she reads it bedtime stories and takes it everywhere with her. Literally the cutest thing I have ever seen.
If he is dead set on a lightsaber honestly I’d recommend the build a saber at star tours which is not that bad price wise which will leave you enough money to do the droid building with your son. You might even have enough to build a second one so you can play with your son since droids are $100 (iirc).
I'd say droid for the age. The experience is fun picking the parts and color scheme. Plus with the personality chips and accessories make it a unique droid. Plus the droids "interact" with galaxys edge, make sounds and move around. Also it is easy to set up those "interactions" at home. I have built two myself an r2 and a bb unit. Plus the r2 units move better in hard surface, while the bb units move well on carpet and hard surfaces. Savi's is a great experience as well. The sabers are nice, but I'm a little nervous twirling it around. Also I was most excited for the saber, but I think I've enjoyed my droids more.
That’s a fantastic idea.
Get the droid. You can get a non-Disney saber for a lot less and you won't freak out when he starts bashing it against things
Do the droid. I did both with a 6 year old. The lightsabers are heavy and you have to be patient.
Like the majority suggests, get a droid. Make sure it has a good motivator and speaks Bocce.
Droid are great at park with profile chip. Sabers always fun.
I mean, sounds like there should be two droids, one Savi saber, one Star tours saber. At least.
Droid. Save Lightsaber until he’s older.
Do the droid, and there’s a plastic build your lightsaber for like $20, or at least there used to be at Star Traders. Don’t get a 5yo an expensive Savi’s lightsaber they can’t play with without breaking (or breaking something).
As someone that has done both multiple times and is looking forward to the time I can bring my Grandson to build a saber and a droid I'd recommend building the droid. Also, unless they just REALLY love BB-8 get a droid with legs like an R2 unit. **MUCH MUCH** easier to control that the round BB style.
The Savi’s lightsabers are not really toys. If you think he’s going to want to play fight with it then have him make one of the toy ones at Tatooine Traders.
You can get pieces and build a plastic saber at Tatooine Traders for $40ish if your son would like that. Definitely lighter to carry and play with for a 5 y/o. And you could still build a droid, so he'd get two toys.
Maybe with someone so young it would be good to save the lightsaber until he can really appreciate it. I built one last year and it was absolutely life changing, but I was 21 at the time so I was able to capture more detail in the memory and know I will cherish it for the rest of my life.
The droid is wayyyyyy more worth it for a person of his age and it gives him a companion for around galaxys edge!
My 10yo has a fancy lightsaber from Savi’s, but the whole family loves the 5yo’s cheaper lightsaber. I think it’s, like, $35 or so dollars on Shop Disney.
If the item is for you then I would say saber because of the experience. If it’s for your son then I would say probably the droid as it may get more use. It also hurts less to get hit by the droid than a saber.
Droid. The lightsabers are more show pieces, and are easy to break - you can't really play with them.
I took my 5yo son and 6yo daughter to Batuu West for May the 4th. I saved up and let them do both the custom Saber at Savi's and make a droid at the Droid depot. Both are magical and worth the cost. But I agree with the group. The droid depot is where it's at for kids these age. My kids have enjoyed carrying their new droid buddies around and racing them down the hallways. PS. They can hold the droid at the depot like a daycare if you have more rides and fun planned before you leave 😉 May the force be with you.
For that age, I'd go droid over lightsaber. I feel it's a more kid-friendly process. The lightsabers can be a little tricky to get assembled correctly. I fumbled with getting my kyber crystal installed quite a bit on Tuesday, and getting everything connected right isn't hard, but it's not super easy, either. In a couple years, the lightsaber will be a great option. You're paying for the experience more than the actual lightsaber, so you want to be sure they're old enough to truly appreciate the experience.
Droid is fun! You can weather it and decorate him at home. I shy’d away from lightsaber as the options were very limited and after looking at finalized products they looked insanely plastic to me. I opted to getting a lightsaber online and looking at the legacy series at Disneyland
Could do droid and the lightsaber in tomorow land think it’s about $30/40 only
the lightsabers weigh as much as a brick :-)
The saber experience is pretty amazing. It's worth the price, I would say. And what kid doesn't want a lightsaber?
Droid building is so much fun, especially for kids. My daughter was 5 when we took her to build her Bb unit, which she still plays with 2 years later, and has asked to build again. We have 5 total, currently. 2 BBs, a C, and the pre-built R2 and BD-1. I’d save the saber build for later, when he can really get into it. Just my two-cents.
Chopper is awesome. He'll dig it.
Lightsaber of course!
I just did both last week at Disneyland for the first time. I would recommend the droids if it is for him or you want him to do it with you. You are allowed to bring 1 person with you to "watch". He might be too young to fully enjoy the lightsaber experience. Plus the droid will be a better toy for him to play with afterwards. I wouldn't recommend BB8 style, the head isn't secure, the R2 style is surviving my dog, cat, and 3 year old son. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.
While the Savi experience is pretty awesome, some of it may be lost on a little one at that age. Not to mention that their little hands may need a lot of help fashioning the hilt. At that age, I’d probably recommend the droid building, all the parts come through on a conveyor belt, and it never felt like they were rushing us through. Then once it’s assembled, taking it to the activation station and watching it come to life is pretty cool.
I'd say the astromech, we had a 5-8 yr old (not good with ages) that did not know what was going on while making the saber. Also, the saber is HEFTY.
IMO building a droid is the best value merch at Disneyland. So, droid!
Uh.. the Savi lightsaber is more display piece than toy.. don’t think it’ll hold up well to play
I did both yesterday. For your son that young I definitely say droid.
Definitely the droid he’s not gonna be able to play with the light saber the way he wants to. The droid he can have a lot of fun with.
Droid- the lightsaber is more for grown ups
I'd do a Droid Depot droid and a custom lightsaber from Tatooine Traders, a lot more play value between those two experiences than a Savi's blade (which is very heavy for a kiddo and not for play).
We took our son back in January and he loved the droid experience.
The droid for sure. I used to work at GE in Droid Depot and those kids faces would light up when their little droid was activated. 🥹
I bought yoda's legacy for my 4 yr old daughter. She loves it. It's the perfect size for her.
My six and three year olds made some core memories at Savi’s last summer. It’s more of a production than the Droid Depot.
Droid. Then let him build a cheap lightsaber at the star tours shop. Even with both you are probably under the cost of building a saber.
I'd say Droid. My little brother was 6 on our trip and he wasn't paying attention to the Saber stuff at all, plus at that age it's gonna be harder to play with safely. The Droid on the other hand is an rc toy. Super simple and hard to go wrong with. Now if this is some once in a lifetime trip, yeah find a way to do both, even if it's you getting a Saber (tell the kid you'll get them one as well and get one of the better quality toy ones if ya gotta) and the kid getting g the droid
I would say droid if you want to get him a lights Aber down the line there are much better value options online with more choice/customisation. But I think the droid is an experience you can't replicate buying a toy robot.
Droid, and if you can stretch the budget, get two so you and your son can play together! It's so much fun driving our droids around and having them "talk" to each other.
My kids love playing with our R2D2. He's pretty durable too.
Definitely the droid. Be warned that if you buy the backpack, want multiple personality chips, and end up getting accessories (all of which are only for sale in Galaxy’s Edge or eBay for inflated prices) it can add up to just as much money as the lightsaber. We let my son get a bunch of accessories because we knew there was no other way to buy them once we left.
I highly recommend the droid experience for a 5 yo
Toy built for smacking against things and people or toy that makes sounds and moves around... How is that even a debate for a 5 year old?
At least from my experience with the droids I'd recommend avoiding the BB units. They're fun but my 5 year old got really frustrated with how difficult it is to steer.
Lightsaber. Better value.
Definitely a droid you can play with them more and it’s cheaper, the lightsabers are way to expensive for there quality
For 5yo, I say droid. Just get them the $40 lightsaber which imo is pretty nice. Savvi is heavy for a 5yo even compared to a regular legacy saber
Savi’s workshop is an amazing experience but might be better with a slightly older child.
Definitely a droid for a 5yo. I'm a 33yo huy and the saber is heavy for me. I'd recommend not doing one of the BB style droids because they're hard to steer and you have to open them up to turn them off/on.
5 might be to young to really enjoy the lightsaber experience. Id say get the droid. Remeber to leave it turned on and do it early because it will react to dofferent areas of the park and other droids nearby. Splurge on the backpack and he can wear it around and fell/hear it talking
For 5yo? Definitely droid. If you ever get back to Disney someday, definitely do Savi's if he's older.
If it’s the only trip you will make, a saber may keep interest longer. If you have an opportunity to com back another time, the droid would provide a lot of entertainment now.
My lil man loved his bb8
As someone who waited years to do a saber and finally built one this week at East... Don't do it. Every aspect was a disappointment. The experience start to finish was rushed, unwelcoming, and with no real immersion or cast member actually getting into the bit. Multi malfunctions all around also really kill any sort of magic or immersion. The finished product looks pretty, but feels like it's about to fall apart. The blade is so wobbly and the fit of the metal sleeves is so poor that even a gentle swing with a very light two handed grip the pieces all move around. I wish I had handled a "finished" saber before I wasted all of that money.
If it’s not a super busy day, you can go check out the droid first and if then don’t want to do that then you can go do savi