Savi's Workshop at Hollywood Studios debuts white and gold High Republic hilts and new blade effects

By entgrove · October 6, 2026

Savi's Workshop: Handbuilt Lightsabers in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge added a new series of its Protection and Defense hilt theme on October 5, 2026, finished in white and gold with High Republic Jedi iconography. Every lightsaber built there now also gets an upgraded chassis and blade with thermal cutting, spinning and deflection effects.

Savi's Workshop: Handbuilt Lightsabers at Disney's Hollywood Studios started offering a new series of its Protection and Defense hilt theme on October 5, 2026, finished in white with gold detailing. The same day, every lightsaber built in the workshop picked up a reworked chassis and blade with new effects.

A white and gold Protection and Defense series

The new series reworks one of the workshop's year-round hilt themes around the High Republic era of the Jedi.

• White and gold. The new hilts pair striking white finishes with rich gold detailing.
• Ancient Jedi iconography. Each hilt carries ancient Jedi symbols that Disney ties to the High Republic, the Star Wars era when the Jedi Order kept peace across the galaxy.
• A tribute to protectors. Disney says the design honors those who dedicated themselves to protecting others, the idea behind the theme's name.
• Same theme, new series. Protection and Defense was already one of the four themes offered year-round, so this refreshes an existing hilt line rather than adding a fifth.

Savi's Workshop opened with Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Hollywood Studios in August 2019, and a build there is a hosted, story-driven experience rather than a shop counter. Disney frames this series as parts preserved in the Jedi archives for generations, now handed to a new set of builders.

Upgraded blades for every hilt theme

Every lightsaber built in the workshop now gets an enhanced chassis and blade, whichever hilt theme a guest picks.

• New blade effects. The upgraded blade adds a thermal cutting effect, a spinning effect and deflection effects.
• Smoother ignition. Blade activation is smoother than before.
• Better sound. The chassis also gets upgraded audio quality.
• Cracked kyber crystals. Paired with special "cracked" kyber crystals, a quick flick of the wrist unlocks a color-change effect that shows the pull between the light and dark sides.

The upgrade lives in the chassis and blade rather than the hilt, which is why it reaches every theme. A guest building Peace and Justice or Elemental Nature this month gets the same new effects as one choosing the white and gold series.

How a Savi's Workshop build works

The experience runs from choosing a theme outside the door to igniting a finished blade inside.

• Meet a Gatherer. The story starts outside the workshop, where one of Savi's Gatherers, the cast members who host the build, helps each guest choose one available hilt theme.
• Parts by theme. Inside, each builder receives parts based on their chosen theme and an identifiable cloisonné, or enamel, pin.
• Return the extras. Once the hilt is assembled, any unused parts go back to Savi's inventory.
• Choose a crystal. The hilt then connects to a blade, and the chosen kyber crystal decides whether it ignites red, blue, green or violet.

Disney presents that last pick as the build's big decision: follow the ways of the Jedi, or take up the dark side of the Force like the Sith.

What came before: the 2025 Reclaimed and Reforged theme

Disney's April 2025 addition to the workshop was a limited-time theme built from salvaged scrap.

• Scrap made new. Reclaimed and Reforged, added April 25, 2025, used parts scavenged from the galaxy's Outer Rim that had reached Batuu, the planet where Galaxy's Edge is set.
• Limited time. Disney billed it as a limited-time theme, offered alongside the year-round lineup.
• Year-round lineup. The four standing themes Disney listed then were Peace and Justice, Power and Control, Elemental Nature, and Protection and Defense.
• Parts in the box. Each box held one hilt and four sleeves (pick two), plus two emitters, two pommel caps and two sets of activation plates and switches (pick one of each).

Booking a build: purchase required, reservations encouraged

The new series is on sale now, and Disney's own advice is to reserve a build before arriving.

• Purchase required. A lightsaber build is a paid experience on top of park admission to Hollywood Studios.
• Reserve ahead. Disney highly encourages advance reservations for Savi's Workshop at both resorts that offer it.

Our take. If the white and gold hilts are the draw, book the build before your Hollywood Studios day, since Disney itself steers guests to advance reservations. Builders who prefer another theme still get the new blade effects, so the upgrade alone is not a reason to switch themes.