Droid Depot experience from a child’s perspective

The Droid Depot at Hollywood Studios is a great experience for those wanting to see and do as much as they can. You may be wondering if the price is worth it for young guests. See this Droid Depot experience from a child’s perspective.

What is Droid Depot?

During a recent trip to Walt Disney World, my (Donna) children enjoyed the unique experience of assembling their own droid.

Guests are invited to assemble their own custom-made droid, “one of the galaxy’s most indispensable sidekicks.” This is a unique experience where Guests can choose to either build a BB-series or an R-series.

The chosen series will determine what parts need to be selected. The selection process is truly entertaining. You can spy droid parts rotating overhead and even located on conveyor belts. If you spy a dome, body, or leg that you like simply place it in your bin to later assemble your droid.

We first learned about the Droid Depot experience after reading Maggie’s review of this fun experience. You can check out her full review of the parts and pricing HERE.

Reservations

Reservations are highly recommended for this experience. Currently, these may be made at 60 days prior to the start of your vacation. We arrived 15 minutes prior to our reservation time as suggested. We checked in with the Cast Member at the Black Squire’s Outpost.

As we were standing there we saw many Guests who would approach for a reservation but were turned away. Walk-in reservations are sometimes available. Be sure to make your advanced reservations prior to your trip if this is an experience you think your family will enjoy.

Reservations are highly recommended for this experience. Currently, these may be made 60 days prior to the start of your vacation.

Registration

When you first enter the Droid Depot you approach the registration counter. Here you have to decide if you will choose to build a R-series droid (such as R2D2) or a BB-series droid (such as BB-8).

After selecting the series that you would like you are able to select a personality chip (available for an additional charge). We had reviewed Maggie’s article before our trip and each of the kids had decided beforehand which droid they were going to choose.

When we got there my oldest, who was 12 at the time, changed his mind three different times. In the end he chose the BB-series droid and he was very happy with his decision. The Cast Member at registration was very kind and did pressure the kids to make a decision.

I think it was such a big decision in my young Jedi’s mind that he may have over-thought the process. He now admits that he loved the droid building, but the registration was a bit stressful.

He struggled with his decision because the R-series droids have three legs and the BB-series rolls around with magnets. It may have been better for him to see more pictures of completed droids to help make his decision.

It was a little overwhelming for each child to chose the different pieces for their droids. In retrospect, I think we should have visited the Droid Depot earlier in the day possibly to allow them to see the many choices prior to their reservation.

As you enter the Droid Depot, you can see the many different options that are available for both the R-series and the BB-series. This may be helpful to determine what series your young Jedi may like to select.

I think if we had visited the Droid Depot earlier in the day, it would have given the kids a better idea of the many choices prior to their reservation.

Assembly

My son loved the assembly part the best. He said, “You actually feel like you are assembling your own droid.” Children ages 14 and under must have an adult with them for the assembly process.

We are a family of 5 so I was a little uncertain how this would work. Since our oldest son is 12, they positioned my son close enough to us that we could offer assistance if needed. He did great with the process and didn’t need any help.

My oldest daughter, who was 10 at the time, admitted that the process was easy enough that she didn’t have to ask for help.

My youngest daughter, who was 8, needed a little more help, but she absolutely loved this process.

If you do run into any problems in assembling your droid, Cast members are very happy to help. Simply press the button “Alert Tech” at your assembly station.

Each of my kids admitted that this was a much better experience than purchasing the pre-packaged droids that are available for sale. The pre-packaged droids are also $99.99 so the same price as the experience at the Droid Depot.

Activate your Droid

After each droid was assembled, we were about to experience the best part of the whole process. Each child loved seeing their droid come to life as they assembled each of their custom pieces.

The completed droid was placed in the activating chamber. A simple press of the red “activate” button starts the magical process. The droid began the activation process with the following stages:

• Priming
• Preparing
• Assigning
• Formatting
• Initializing

This was truly when the droid came to life in the eyes of each our children. I loved seeing the expression on each of their faces as they heard their droid speak to them for the very first time.

Playing with their Droids

My son who chose the BB-series droid loves to make his droid go in circles. My oldest daughter likes interacting with the droid on her iPad. She likes to play tic-tac-toe and you can customize your droid while using the app.

By using the app on her iPad my daughter is also able to control her droid. She thinks it is easier to move the droid by using the app rather than the controller that the droid comes with.

My youngest daughter loves to use her droid as a pet. She walks her little droid around the house and she will even ask it to do tricks like sit, stay, and fetch. I think she really wants a pet dog so the droid is defiantly a lot easier to maintain.

Was it Worth the Price?

We surprised our children with the trip to Walt Disney World as part of their Christmas present. The price of the Droid Depot package was included in with our budget for both Christmas and our Walt Disney World trip.

The Droid Package included the droid, a personality chip and the backpack for $164.97. The backpack was very handy to carry the droids in. The alternative is a large cardboard carrying box.

Although the cost for the backpack was a little high in my opinion, they use them quite often to carry their droids to their friends homes for Star Wars play dates.

In my opinion, this was a very fun experience that my kids greatly enjoyed. I still get excited to hear the droids beep and roll throughout the house. It is always fun when a souvenir can help bring a bit of Disney magic even after the vacation.

Has your family enjoyed the Droid Depot? What was your experience? Will you be planning a trip to the Droid Depot for your next Disney vacation? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook Page.