We continue our coverage of Galaxy’s Edge by taking a look at all of the specialty shops around Batuu. Like the dining we covered here, all of the shops are located in the Black Spire Outpost section of the land.
As you approach Black Spire Outpost from the Resistance Forest, the entrance to the marketplace is up on the left hand side.
The marketplace was pretty crowded, even during this relatively low attendance event. This is actually a good thing though as it really feels like a well traveled, lived in place!
As with the rest of the land, there are tons of details to take in everywhere you look!
You can buy a shoulder sitting monkey which is Batuu’s version of the popular shoulder Banshee available in Pandora.
It’s kinda tough to see due to the reflection, but there is some sort of creature living in this water fountain tank. There was a cast member near by telling guests the water was contaminated and acting disgusted when they drank it anyway.
The creature stall is a really neat little shop. Here you can buy various (you guessed it) creatures which are part of the Star Wars universe. From mini Tauntauns to vicious Rathtars, there are all sorts of fun little critters to come across here.
The shop also has this adorable sleeping Loth-cat in a cage as you enter the stall.
I love that hes sleeping with a little stuffed porg!
The marketplace is full of these small little shops. Some guests seem to complain about the small size of the stores but it fits the theme perfectly and feels really authentic so I like what they’ve done here.
Moving on, we’ll travel through the busy streets of the outpost on our way to the Droid Depot.
You are almost certain to come across some Storm Troopers of First Order Officers giving the guests some sort of interigation no matter where you roam. As I said in our Smuggler’s Run post, its really impressive the amount of roaming characters there are around the land at any given time.
Above is the land’s exit out into Toy Story Land. Initially at least, all entry will be via Grand Avenue with all exiting here. This will likely cause even further traffic than there already is in Andy’s back yard!
We arrive at the Droid Depot where you can drop $25,000 on a full size R2D2 if you like.
Most folks will instead be interested in building a custom mini droid for $100 a piece.
You can choose your pieces from a conveyor belt along the back wall of the shop. Once you assemble your droid, you can bring him to the check out line to be activated and boxed up. All droids are remote controlled and seem to be of decent quality (as they should be for the cost).
There are also a bunch of pieces moving on a track along the ceiling which adds great kinetic energy to the space!
Reservations can be made online for the Droid Depot experience… whether or not they will be absolutely necessary remains to be seen. It’s pretty easy to make one out in California right now without a reservation.
The Droid Depot shop also has a bunch of cool Rex merch which is appreciated. (And yeah I know its actually R3X, but I’m sticking with just calling him Rex anyway).
The other headline shopping experience in Galaxy’s Edge is Savi’s Workshop. This is where you can build your own lightsaber out of sturdy, high quality materials. (It’s nothing like the little building your own station at the Star Tours exit).
The cost to build your own lightsaber at Savi’s is $200 each, so its obviously not for everyone. For that $200, you are not only getting a quality custom lightsaber, you are also getting an engrossing, awesomely themed 20 – 30 minute experience!
We have a reservation for Savi’s during our next trip and look forward to reporting back on that once we experience it for ourselves!
One thing to note: Only 1 additional person may accompany whoever is building the lightsaber. This means that if you have 2 children, both will need to purchase their own lightsaber if the parents wish to accompany them during the experience. Likewise, if 1 child is doing the building, only 1 parent may accompany them inside. Its a frustrating rule, but space is extremely limited so Disney doesn’t have much choice at this point.
Moving on, we head to what was our favorite shop on Batuu… Dok Odnar’s Den of Antiquities.
The store features a ton of cool merchandise with items representing all three trilogies.
I really liked the journal pictured above.
There are definitely some pricey items in here, but most of the items are super neat!
The highlight of the shop is Dok Odnar himself looking over things. This is another impressive animatronic and really adds to the overall feel of the shop (similar to the Bankers at Gringott’s over at Universal).
The display case features pretty much any popular lightsaber hilt you can think of over the course of the franchise.
The walls are also lined with tons of neat items… Most of these items aren’t for sale but they do a great job of solidifying the theme of the shop!
Dok keeps a few neat creatures around as well…
Overall, the shops at Galaxy’s Edge are a home run as far as we’re concerned. They can be a bit on the pricey side, but even if you don’t buy anything they are a joy to just explore. They do a great job of making Batuu feel like a real lived in place and add a great kinetic energy to the land!
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