Imagineering Bringing Cute Droids to Disneyland During Multi-Month Star Wars Event
Season of the Force is just kicking off at Disneyland Park, and the celebration of all things Star Wars will include limited-time offerings like themed merchandise and specialty foods, “Fire of the Rising Moons” offering a different view of the Disneyland fireworks from Galaxy's Edge, new scenes on Star Tours, and more!
In addition to these special offerings that will be available during Season of the Force, Disney has shared that cute new droids are coming to Disneyland Park during the duration of the celebration. Droids have always been an integral part of the Star Wars universe, and seeing fan-favorite droids like R2-D2 and recently C1-10P “Chopper” from Star Wars: Rebels roaming Galaxy's Edge is a real treat, as these characters are so much fun to interact with and really add to the immersion of the land.
Now, the land will welcome even more new droid friends that have some exciting features. These droids had previously appeared for a “test run” in Galaxy's Edge to see how they would work in the park environment, and now they are ready to return and entertain guests. Keep reading for more details on these new droids coming to Galaxy's Edge for Season of the Force!
Cute New Droids Coming Soon to Disneyland
For Season of the Force, which runs from this Friday, April 5 – June 2, two BDX droids are coming to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland. These droids weigh 20 kilograms (about 44 lbs) and will be a great addition to the land. Visitors will be able to see them at various locations around Black Spire Outpost throughout the day.
We had the chance to see these droids during a special tour of the R&D labs at Walt Disney Imagineering this week. Their range of movements, noises, and lights were all super cute. The droids are like little puppy dogs that bound up to you.
Though the droids are controlled by a nearby Cast Member (or in the case of our visit, a nearby Imagineer), they have actually learned how to handle different environments using “reinforcement learning.” For instance, they can walk over an uneven surface like a stack of different sizes of pieces of wood. They do this by capturing the successful experience and using it as reinforcement.
We don't yet know the hours that these droids will be in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. They will likely appear at random times throughout the day into the early evening based on when other characters appear in the land. The droids are not weather proof, so if we see any more rain during the coming months, they likely won't be out to play.
In a YouTube video shared by Walt Disney Imagineering as the first episode of the series “We Call It Imagineering,” there is a cute moment of Josh D'Amaro, Chairman of Disney Experiences, interacting with the droids and asking what they are working on. They look up, respond with some little noises, and carry on to their next destination.
These droids previously appeared in the park last year for one day as a test run in a sneak peek conducted by Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Research. The test aimed to explore how the droids fared in a park environment with obstacles, uneven terrain, and guests coming across their path.
The BD units (short for “buddy units”) that were being tested scanned their surroundings with light-up eyes and eye-like antennae that reacted to sounds in real-time. During their visit, they interacted with visitors, Cast Members, and other animatronics around the park.
In developing the test droids, artists animated keyframe movements that the droids could read and mimic, with motions including dances, head-tilts, and a red-eyed glare.
See them in action during the test that was conducted last year below in a YouTube video shared by Walt Disney Imagineering. These droids are too cute! We love the way they move and function.
We're looking forward to seeing these cute BDX droids in the park during Season of the Force. You can see our full guide to Season of the Force at Disneyland for everything you need to know about the upcoming celebration!
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