Friday, May 11, 2012

Droid Factory Coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

For a fan of toys (large or small..the fans, not the toys), there is nothing more fun than the words "Build your Own" ...well...anything! When that model is applied to something folks geek out over, the mind swims with possibilities. Disney knows of your lust for creation and will soon provide you with the tools to assemble your own droid army!

The Droid Factory experience will be launching during Star Wars Weekends 2012. Fans will be able to build and name their own R-series Astromech droid action figures. Developer Cody Hampton said this experience was in development for three years!

“We began discussing the Droid Factory in 2009,” explained Cody. “We know that personalization is an important aspect of the popular build-your-own light saber experience. We felt the same thing could be done with action figures but on a much larger scale.”

Large scale indeed – the Droid Factory has 71 different pieces to create the 3 ¾-inch figures! To get started, guests chose a dome, a body and legs offered in a variety of colors and styles (Cody said that availability of various parts and colors may change). There are optional third legs and novelty hats that can be added.

“We wanted lots of options for [the Droid Factory],” continued Cody. “There are literally thousands of combinations making each droid unique. Guests can also name their droids with sticker sheets provided at checkout.”









Three domes – R6, R8 and R9 – were created exclusively for this experience at Disney Parks. Cody also told me the multi-colored ear hats were inspired by Jedi Mickey’s Astromech droid, R2-MK. Four additional hats arrive later this summer including a Goofy hat, a pirate hat (YAY pirate hat!), a fedora and a Yoda cap.

Droids will be sold either in single or dual packs (the latter has a value price). They can also be used with the playsets we’ve created like the Starspeeder 1000.

“My favorite droid is named R7-C4,” Cody continued. “He has an orange body like my favorite clone trooper, Commander Cody. He wears the Yoda cap as a nod to the actual hat created in the 1980s when I fell in love with Star Wars.”

Brad built R9-EIU in honor of Eastern Illinois University, where he completed his bachelor’s degree. He explained, “[The droid] would have been great to have around while I was in school.”

Source: disneyparks.disney.go.com

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