Disney made many Star Wars fans’ dreams come true with the 2019 opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, an entire theme park land set in a galaxy far, far away. Until now, though, part of the area was behind a paywall.
Disney is testing a free version of what is normally a $275 Star Wars theme park experience, but it comes with a few limitations. We have details on who can enter and what happens inside. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including how Disney’s changed Star Wars ride works and 12 new Disneyland offerings coming this summer.
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Enter the Lightsaber Workshop for Free
Savi’s Workshop – Handbuilt Lightsabers is an add-on experience in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Guests pay for a 30-minute session in which they’re taught how to build their own lightsaber. The experience is open to all ages. Guests pick their kyber crystal, hilt, sleeve, emitter, pommel cap, activation plate, and switch, and get to keep their creation. The session is guided by a cast member referred to in the shop’s story as a “Gatherer” of the lightsaber materials, belonging to a group called the Loth-Cat Crew.
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The price of a lightsaber session at Savi’s Workshop has steadily escalated since the experience opened, with the current price on both coasts sitting at $250 at Disneyland and $275 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests who have not purchased access to a session cannot go inside Savi’s Workshop. Read our review of the Savi’s Workshop add-on experience here.
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Disneyland will soon introduce a free way to visit Savi’s Workshop with a new offering called the Youngling Saber Building Expo – A Loth-Cat Crew Experience. It will begin on May 22, 2026, for a limited time, though Disney hasn’t announced an end date.
Disney says the Youngling Saber Building Expo is “recommended” for guests ages 3-9, and that children must be accompanied by an adult, but it’s open to “kids and those who are kids at heart.” This implies that adults may be allowed without kids, but we’ll have to wait until it opens to see how Disney handles these procedures.
During the Youngling Saber Building Expo, guests visit Savi’s Workshop to learn about the lore and legends of the ancient art of lightsaber-building. Based on Disney’s description, there may be some hands-on lightsaber-building involved, but if so, guests will not get to keep the lightsaber they build for free. This is primarily an entertainment experience.
Afterward, guests can purchase a lightsaber if they choose, but it’s unclear if they’ll have the chance to buy the actual lightsaber they just built, or if all purchasable options are premade.
Disney says more details, including operating hours, will be shared on opening day. The upcharge Savi’s Workshop experience will remain open, so this new offering will need to juggle its schedule to share space with that.
Notably, the Youngling Saber Building Expo is only at Disneyland, not Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The only way to visit Savi’s Workshop on the East Coast remains the $275 experience.
Is Disney Testing for a Bigger Experience Here?
This new, free way to step inside Savi’s Workshop sounds to me very similar to Ollivanders, the wand shop experience in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal theme parks. In that attraction, a group of about 25 guests at a time visit a wandkeeper, who helps one guest discover the wand that’s calling to them through various special effects around the room. Afterward, guests file into a real gift shop, where they can purchase a wand.
I can’t help but wonder if Disney is observing guests’ response to the Youngling Saber Building Expo as a case study for a possible permanent rollout, whether as a replacement for or in addition to the regular Savi’s Workshop experience.
Disney has shown they’re open to being flexible with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, as demonstrated with the recent sweeping changes, including characters from the original Star Wars trilogy and John Williams’s score now part of California’s version of the land.
Although quite a different beast, Disney also infamously closed Florida’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, aka the “Star Wars hotel,” after just 18 months of operation. In that case, a premium upcharge Star Wars experience, costing thousands of dollars, was a creative risk that didn’t pay off, so Disney shut it down for good.
All that to say, Disney is willing to adjust its Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge strategy, and I’d wager many guests would prefer a free version of the Savi’s Workshop experience to any speculative possibility of the shop closing altogether.
Disney also offers a build-your-own droid experience for $120 in California and $130 in Florida, completely separate from Savi’s and located at a different shop in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Many New Star Wars Experiences Opening on the Same Day
May 22, 2026, is a big day for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on both coasts.
In addition to the Youngling Saber Building Expo, Disneyland will reintroduce live appearances by the BDX Droids, a free-roaming trio of Audio-Animatronics figures, and debut a new nighttime projection show called The Curious Child, starring Grogu.
Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will open a new, permanent version of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run on May 22. The updated ride now stars the Mandalorian and Grogu. We got to ride it and see how riders’ roles are changed in the new version.
Guests can also be on the lookout for new Star Wars novelties, including a new popcorn bucket, at both parks.
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