Savi's Workshop - Handbuilt Lightsabers at Disney's Hollywood Studios — Local services in Bay Lake

I loathe to leave this feedback, and I have gave myself a few days to write this with a clear head but this is my experience and how it has made me feel. I am giving one star because I have to give something.

We tried for a few months before our holiday to book the Star Wars Savis lightsaber building experience at Disney Orlando. Each time we tried to book either the website froze, crashed or continuously tried to ”load”. This happened on SEVERAL attempts using website or through the Disney app.

We noticed on the Disney website there could be walk ups/walk ins available and where advised to just “ask a member of staff”. So we decided as we couldn’t book before our holiday we would wait until we were actually there. What could go wrong at Disney eh !?!?

On the day we tried to do this for ONE member of our party we were met with 2 of the most arrogant, ignorant, dismissive, misogynistic, male chauvinist Disney attendants ever to walk this earth.

We asked if there where any availability for walk ups at the lightsaber building experience, their answer was “you need to check the website” I explained we have checked website, the website is saying there’s availability but website keeps freezing, we can see there’s availability but there’s also a faint buffering screen on top of web page and I can’t continue to book the experience. Their answer again, “you need to check website”. Me : “We have checked your website, we can see on the website you could maybe have walk ups available daily and just ask a member of staff” His reply “ you need to check the website” This is when we realised we were dealing with a complete idiot. Both “helpers” took great pleasure in watching us plead for the experience. Every question we asked was met with a stone wall “you need to check website”.

We were left feeling humiliated, disheartened, foolish, judged and intimidated.

By this point I was really upset, and by 2 men who were meant to help visitors but instead took great pleasure in revelling in the wee bit of power that had been bestowed upon them. Not only did I feel like that but also my 2 companions.

On Disneys website it clearly states there is daily walk in available for Savis and just ask a member of staff. I understand the chances of this would be slim but we thought what’s the harm in asking and especially as we were in the park for the gates opening.

We decided to speak to someone at the main enterance. This is where we met Disney helper Tim who assured us there are walk ins daily, they are limited but we had a good chance as we were there early. He passed us on to the helper at the ticket window, Jen . Jen was quick to blame it on my phone and my phone VPN. I said 5 iPhones 3 iPads and 2 laptops all had the same response.

We were fob off with a lame excuse, blaming our devices. I would have accepted “sorry I’ve checked here there is no availability today/ this week/ this month”.

With taglines of “WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE” and “THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH” that wasn’t our experience.

Disney you really have to sort this out. Not only your website and app but also your staff, for those 2 where self absorbed, self centred, egotistical, power...

I want to start off by saying that my teenagers and I absolutely love theme parks. We love Universal and Disney very much. We have annual passes and have visited both parks several times a month for several years. There are many amazing things at both parks, and some things that we don't think are worth the time and money.

One of my sons wanted to build a lightsaber at Savi's Workshop for his birthday. He is obsessed with Star Wars and notices very obscure references as we walk around Galaxy's Edge. (Many cast members are unaware of the references that he notices.) He is consistently enthralled when we are in Galaxy's Edge. Rise of the Resistance is possibly the best ride every made.

So, on to Savi's Workshop. We really liked the aesthetic and the cast member's acting and the overall experience of getting to choose between different things. So many details of the experience were very nice. However, when it was over, we ended up sharing with each other that we felt disappointed. It didn't have the lasting impact that Rise of the Resistance did, or even the excitement that we felt simply walking around Galaxy's Edge. My son quickly compared it to choosing a wand at Universal's Wizarding World. We realized that the wand experience is infinitely better, to the point that it really made Savi's feel like a waste of money.

For free, you can walk into Olivander's Wand Shop, which is even more impressive than Savi's. For free, you can talk to a Universal cast member and have a very authentic discussion about what type of wand would suit you best based on your personality and interests. For free, you can wait in line to attend the additional experience of watching one visitor go through an experience like Harry did with special effects as an Olivander type character helps the visitor select a wand. Then for $50, you can take a wand home with you. The wands come in lovely boxes far superior to the bags you get for the lightsabers. You also get a "Maurader's Map" in your box, which is greatly prized by all of us. But most importantly, the wands are equally lovely as display items, toys and costume props, and interactive experience tools to "cast spells" in the park. While the lightsaber can only be used for display.

We knew the lightsaber can only be used for display, but he was confident the experience of building it would be worth the $250. However, we were all disappointed. He is hopeful that the droid building experience...

This was the worst experience I’ve ever had at Disney world. First the cast member that was showing us what we would be building opened up 4 drawers so quickly and told us most of the parts were not available. You had to pick from 4 different light sabers to build but did not explain what they all meant. Then you go and pay. $468 for 2 people. Then you have to wait in a courtyard. I was in a scooter and was told where to park it. I was told I couldn’t be in at and was told to go sit on a rock while we waited. My leg was killing me and I couldn’t stand and I saw another person sitting in their scooter and I said this was unacceptable and the cast member was so rude and told me that’s was the rule. I then asked to speak to a supervisor and they apologized and said I could bring my scooter over to sit and wait. I asked for an apology from the rude cast member and they refused to have her apologize to me for her behavior and instead took her into a back room and said she wasn’t available and they would talk to her. Another manager then came over and wanted to hear what happened and I said I wasn’t interested in talking about it again as the situation was already handled by the other manager and I didn’t want to get upset again. Then we went inside and after a brief introduction they brought out all the parts we picked. We explained that we didn’t pick anything yet and they said no this is what you picked outside and we explained we didn’t pick anything outside and they didn’t seem to understand why we didn’t pick anything. The explanation of what to do was so unclear and the whole process was so disorganized that we got frustrated and said we were done and wanted to leave. A cast member took us out and brought us to the register to refund our money. It was so disappointing because after going to the parks 4 times last year we were never able to get a reservation to the workshop so we really wanted to make a lightsaber but this was so not worth the money and the experience...