Star Wars fans everywhere are gushing about the new, custom-built lightsabers available at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge:
Yes I spent 200 on this. Yes I’m nuts. Yes it was the COOLEST EXPERIENCE EVER. Yes it is Very heavy. And YES IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT. #GalaxysEdge #StarWars pic.twitter.com/4a0MDxXSsJ
— SoCalAvsFan (@SoCalAvsFan) May 22, 2019
By now, we’re sure you’ve seen it all across Instagram and Twitter, but we’ve decided to break things down for you.
OMG!!! Check this custom lightsaber out from Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge from Savi’s Workshop. #StarWarsGalaxyEdge #starswars #disneyland #kybercrystal pic.twitter.com/H7wQjJ0y0z
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Theme park blogger @thecalibae was among the first to post about the lightsaber and kyber crystals fresh out of a preview. Even more photos were shown in an Instagram post:
Here, showing an Elemental Nature lightsaber hilt with a Rancor tooth at the base, plus a variety of kyber crystals:
But how does it all work? What does it really cost, and what’s the process like? Well, that’s where the videos floating around come in handy. A video posted to Vimeo by user Loyd Calomay detailed some aspects of the lightsaber building experience, as well as kyber crystal functionality:
And funny enough, it all starts out with a pin. Depending on the theme of your choosing (Peace and Justice, Elemental Nature, Power and Control, or Protection and Defense), you receive a special pin that you then show to the Gatherer in charge of your building session. These pins act as your key to the Builder’s Table. (More on these pins later.)
Almost everyone we’ve seen review these hilts comment on how heavy and well-made these are. They’re priced on par with Force FX lightsabers, and have the same detailed craftsmanship and quality materials.
However, if you unscrew a Force FX lightsaber, you just get the battery pack. If you unscrew the ends of a custom lightsaber from Savi’s Workshop…
The middle part is held together by magnets, so once you loosen up the ends, you just pop the middle covers out.
You unlock an interactive kyber crystal igniter, which hums and speaks to you through the Force. The kyber crystal acts as the heart of your blade.
Now, each kyber crystal has a different sound and hum to it when you place it in and out of the igniter. It’s great that the hilt responds even when it isn’t on. The kyber crystals we’ve seen so far tend to have pointed ends that pop into crevices on each end of the igniter. (Likewise, they pretty much just pop out once you want to swap them.)
Builders can choose between red, blue, green, or purple kyber crystals that come in small storage vials. (Do note that while this video depicts white and yellow kyber crystals, those are not available at the workshop.)
Once the new kyber crystal is inside, you close the hilt back up and ensure it’s screwed tightly, or else you may encounter a “false start” hum if you’ve inserted your crystal improperly.
You then pop in the blade and flip the switch to turn it on. Also like a Force FX lightsaber, hilts make sounds upon turning off as well as retracting the blade, and react to touch and movement just like a real lightsaber would. These blades are universal and can be popped on to the legacy lightsaber hilts sold at Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.
Another build by TMR Tours shows us a Power and Control themed lightsaber with a red kyber crystal:
Another video by Skywalking Through Neverland shows a more in-depth look at the themed pins as shown during Star Wars Celebration:
A Power and Control pin.
A look at the Peace and Justice and Protection and Defense pins.
The video shows more details about Jedi and Sith holocrons, but just to be clear, those will only be sold at Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. Each kyber crystal has a hidden character inside, so you can place the crystal inside and unlock hidden content. What happens if you pop a Jedi kyber crystal inside a Sith holocron? You’ll have to try it and see.
Now, as far as pricing goes, the Disneyland website lists a catch-all price of $199.99 per lightsaber, plus tax for the experience, but in fact each piece breaks down to have its own price.
That means that while your first custom build will include all three elements, you can continue to purchase extra kyber crystals (as shown above) for different colors, effects, and combinations. You can also purchase additional hilts and legacy lightsabers to pair with your existing blade. A different lightsaber for every day!
We know you’re pumped to build your own lightsaber, but if you have a 4-hour reservation lined up, do keep in mind that many have reported the experience (waiting in line, going through the lightsaber building process, etc.) to take as long as three hours. So if you’re looking to build, prioritize your time, but most importantly, relish the experience!
There is a glare so I’m not 100% sure but it looks like that purple Kyber Crystal says “This crystal is attuned to THE THE force.” Am I seeing that right?
*Obi-Wan voice* Your vision serves you well.
Somebody in China made a booboo.
Im confued as to how to get the white kyber crystal. Are they purchased somewhere else?
im thinking from what i have been able to find in roomers and videos, that they will either come along down the line, or maybe only available only at special events like May the 4th, or when a movie is released…. with that said i could be completely wrong and you may of only been able to get them if you were one of the special invites or press invites, like the above video, all we can do is wait for the disneyland opening or in my case, wait till August for Hollywood studios opening
Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities is where you get white and yellow kyber crystals. You can only select red, purple, green, and blue during the custom build process, but at Dok’s shop, you can buy any of the other colors you didn’t choose plus white and yellow. The kyber crystals can also be placed in a Holocron and each one will tell you something different.
Kyber crystals are only $13 and can be purchased at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities in Blue, Green, Red, Purple, Yellow, and White.
White & Yellow are sold at Dok Ondors.
White and yellow kyber crystals should be for sale at Dok-ondar den of antiquities along with the legacy lightsabers and holocrons.
Can you open up a legacy light saber and change the kyber crystal to have the blade change color or is that feature only available for custom built ones?
The Kyber Crystals will not be interchangeable with the legacy lightsabers. Those are set to their default colors and cannot be changed out
You’re able to buy the white kyber crystals at Dok Ondars Den of Antiquities!
Yellow and white crystals are available for purchase at the Den of Antiquities. The entire experience is really stunning, probably the best $200 I’ve ever spent.
How did you get a yellow kyber crystal??? It’s my favorite color blade
Thanks for sharing my video! That’s also my lightsaber in @thecalibae’s photos. I met him just outside of the Star Wars Launch Bay after my visit to Galaxy’s Edge.
Are there batteries to power the lightsaber?
The building experience itself is about 20 minutes. Worth every penny, but in case anyone is confused by the 3 hr time frame posted above, most of that would be waiting in line (though they have return times, which helps).
Are the crystals all the same shape. The red and black definitely are. The blue and green also seem to be the same shape. Why not just but one and make molds of different colors?