Tatooine traders lightsabers

[Neverbeast]

Going in about a month with two 11yos, a 9 and 7yo. Right now we have Savi’s reservations for all 4, but that’s so. Much. Money… they all say they want to build a droid
AND a saber… so I’m wondering about maybe booking the younger two at Tatooine traders for cheaper sabers and letting the older two have the full drama experience.

I don’t think the younger kids would know what they’re missing or mind, but do the Tatooine traders sabers still light up? Is it fun at all to build for that age without the story telling element of Savi’s? I can’t find any recent reports about the process or product afterward.

I think I’ve mostly convinced to go cheap for them, I just want to know what I’m getting myself into! I originally thought they could do droids and big kids could do sabers but now that everyone wants to do everything I’m second guessing all my choices

 

[heathsf]

@Neverbeast My nephew built a lightsaber at Tatooine Traders a few days ago. I wasn’t there but my brother told me he got to choose four different things including which color to light up. I believe he said the choices were blue green yellow red or white.

 

[JohnRPG]

There's absolutely no comparison between these experiences. The Tatooine Traders lightsabers are the flip extension ones, comparable to a $30 lightsaber at WalMart. Yes, they light up and make noise. But there's no real quality, and there's no guidance or Disney magic to the build. You walk up to some baskets, pick your parts, and you're done. It's very much a toy.

At Savi's, you're brought into a hidden area. There's massive themeing in place. You have a guide and his assistants who talk to you about the history of the Jedi, the force, and the lightsaber. You pick hefty metal parts. The final constructed product is very much not a toy. It's a display piece. (Yes, it lights up and makes sounds, but the blade is more fragile and more expensive to replace than the Tatooine Traders one.)

I think if you only have some of the kids do Savi's, there's going to be real resentment. The end products are very obviously of different quality. The flip side, though, is if you have four kids with Savi's sabers, at least one of them is going to get broken before you leave the park.

 

[isabellea]

My kids both have a Tattooine lightsaber and had many battles in the backyard with them, especially at night! No way I would let them battle it out with a Savi saber!!!

 

[Neverbeast]

There's absolutely no comparison between these experiences. The Tatooine Traders lightsabers are the flip extension ones, comparable to a $30 lightsaber at WalMart. Yes, they light up and make noise. But there's no real quality, and there's no guidance or Disney magic to the build. You walk up to some baskets, pick your parts, and you're done. It's very much a toy.

At Savi's, you're brought into a hidden area. There's massive themeing in place. You have a guide and his assistants who talk to you about the history of the Jedi, the force, and the lightsaber. You pick hefty metal parts. The final constructed product is very much not a toy. It's a display piece. (Yes, it lights up and makes sounds, but the blade is more fragile and more expensive to replace than the Tatooine Traders one.)

I think if you only have some of the kids do Savi's, there's going to be real resentment. The end products are very obviously of different quality. The flip side, though, is if you have four kids with Savi's sabers, at least one of them is going to get broken before you leave the park.

Makes sense. I think what the younger kids care about is being able to fight with them and lighting up… and they absolutely will break any version immediately, it’s almost like you’ve met them

I think I’m going to tell them Savi’s is only for 10+ and then they can choose if they want the cheap toy version or nothing. I can deal with some age related sibling resentment but I really can’t deal with 800$ of fancy sabers.