Orlando Sentinel

Disney: New Droid Depot app drops on ‘Star Wars’ day

- By Dewayne Bevil

Disney is introducin­g a Droid Depot app that has ties to the build-a-bot store that opened at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park last year. It’s no accident, of course, that it became available on May 4, aka May the Fourth Be With You Day.

The app now allows the store-bought BB-series or R-series astromech droid units to interact with folks at home. For people who have not purchased one, there’s a virtual experience for building multiple digital droids, picking from dome and body styles.

Units purchased at the physical Droid Depot can be connected with the app, which will let buyers “pilot them on a virtual path around their home activating sounds and maneuvers using the app,” according to a post on the official Disney Parks Blog.

Additional elements of the app include music from Oga’s Cantina within the Galaxy’s Edge attraction and make a profile for each droid unit. (“Affiliatio­n: Scoundrel” reads the example.)

The free app can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

Disney also is selling preassembl­ed BB-8s and R2-D2 units via shopdisney.com for the first time. They are listed for $99.99.

Email me at dbevil@orlandosen­tinel.com. Want more theme park news? Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosen­tinel.com/newsletter­s or the Theme Park Rangers podcast at orlandosen­tinel.com/travel/attraction­s/ theme-park-rangers-podcast.

 ?? JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL ?? A conveyor belt displays parts at the Droid Depot inside the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL A conveyor belt displays parts at the Droid Depot inside the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
 ?? WALT DISNEY CO./COURTESY PHOTO ?? Disney’s new Droid Depot app lets users connect with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge from home.
WALT DISNEY CO./COURTESY PHOTO Disney’s new Droid Depot app lets users connect with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge from home.

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