6. Droids and lightsabers
We absolutely love Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge thanks to its rich immersive atmosphere. While the land is mostly popular for its two outstanding attractions—Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run—the Black Spire Outpost is also home to two of Disney’s coolest upcharges.
We are referring, of course, to the Build-a-Droid and lightsaber experiences. The first of these takes place at The Droid Depot, where guests have the opportunity to build a custom droid companion to take part in your adventures throughout Walt Disney World and beyond. The droid-building experience is utterly charming (especially for kids), and the lifelike nature of the droids is delightful. They can even react to elements throughout Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, like getting nervous when stormtroopers are near. The base cost for building a droid is around $100.
The second worthwhile splurge at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the lightsaber building experience at Savi’s Workshop—an immersive experience where you and a group of other guests are recruited by a secret society of scavengers to build a custom lightsaber of your own design. The sabers are of excellent quality and come with a blade, carrying case, and the ability to customize your blade color by changing out Kyber crystals (available at Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities). The experience is on the expensive side at $220 a person, but the accessories included as well as the themed experience make the cost worthwhile.
Budget Alternative
This is a tricky one to discount, but if you want to score a lightsaber for much less, we recommend visiting Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities to look at their collection of legacy lightsabers. These sabers are based on those carried by characters from throughout Star Wars history, and they are exceptionally well-made. We highly recommend spending extra for a long blade instead of a short one—they look much better when lit up.
7. Magical makeovers for kids
Splurges aren’t just for adults. Want to give your kids an epic Disney experience beyond the typical vacation? Disney has you covered.
Along with kid and teen-specific tours as part of the Enchanting Extras mentioned above, Disney’s two most popular kid experiences are makeovers at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disney Springs and The Pirate’s League at Magic Kingdom. These specialized experiences give your child the opportunity to enjoy a full makeover into a princess, mermaid, or pirate. Each package includes different accessories, and in some cases full costumes.
Budget Alternative
Put together your own epic kid experience! Creative parents can make your own makeover experience by purchasing a costume and accessories either at Walt Disney World or through a third party before your trip—the latter may sound lame in comparison to official Disney swag but some of the costumes for kids available online these days are extremely well-made. Keep the goodies a secret until you arrive at Walt Disney World then reveal their gift and have some family fun!
8. In-Room Celebrations
Want to show someone in your party a little extra love? Disney Floral & Gifts offers a variety of gift baskets, flower arrangements, toy kits, and other gifts that can be delivered to your resort before or during your vacation. While some of their more elaborate offerings for in-room celebrations are currently limited due to the pandemic, they still offer an impressive selection of Disney-themed gifts to surprise that special someone.
The sky is really the limit for these celebrations, from Jedi and Princess kits for kids all the way up to champagne and flower packages for couples. Disney also offers custom cake orders if you want to enjoy a special celebration in your room or during one of your restaurant visits.
Budget Alternative
You don’t have to go through Disney to build a surprise gift into your vacation—you can either work through third-party providers throughout Orlando or plan a trip into town to build one yourself. The latter option will take a little extra work but includes the perk that you know your gift will be totally customized and made with extra love.
9. Fireworks dessert and dining experiences
Want to enjoy a little V.I.P. treatment and score some of Disney’s best seats for fireworks? Consider trying one of Disney’s fireworks dessert parties or dining packages.
There are quite a few of these, and they all follow a similar format—guests get to enjoy either a dessert party or dinner package paired with special seating for the night’s fireworks. Versions of these have shown up over the years in all four Walt Disney World parks, with some experiences also offered at resorts like The Contemporary that have prime fireworks views. At the time of this writing, Disney is offering one specifically—a 50th Anniversary Dessert Party.
Budget Alternative
Having your own fireworks picnic may be challenging depending on how busy the parks are when you visit, but a family could have a lot of fun putting together their own mini fireworks dessert spread you can enjoy before the show! For EPCOT in particular, I highly recommend Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie and Kringla Bakery as prime spots to pick up some splurge-worthy sweets.
10. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
The ultimate Star Wars geek experience is nearly upon us.
At the time of this writing, we are only a few months away from the arrival of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, Disney’s most immersive resort experience ever. There really is nothing else at Walt Disney World (or even in the theme park world) to compare this experience to—guests visiting Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will be immersed for two nights in the ultimate Star Wars roleplaying experience intermixing the magic of an intergalactic “cruise” with a full itinerary high adventure in a galaxy far, far away.
A stay at this resort comes with a hefty price tag (ranging from $749 to $1209 per guest per night!) but includes everything you will need for your two-night visit including your room, all meals, entertainment, a complete schedule of activities and story encounters, and a visit to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (including special access to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run). While the price is higher than most guests are going to be willing to pay, when you consider all that is included, the room cost is equitable with several Disney deluxe resorts like The Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Budget Alternative
I will admit, as an avid Star Wars fan, I am racking my brain for this one! We don’t know enough about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to know if non-guests will be able to access the resort at all (perhaps through some sort of preview lounge?), but we certainly hope we might see some discounts eventually. In the meantime, I would say the lightsaber building experience at Savi’s Workshop as well as creative activities like Batuu-bounding will have to hold over us Star Wars fans who can’t bounty-hunt our way to enough credits to afford Galactic Starcruiser yet.
What splurges do you want to try at Walt Disney World—did we miss any? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook! Thanks for reading!
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