Disneyland Park surprised and delighted fans with the test run of three new roaming droids at Galaxy’s Edge. These little bots are shaped similarly to BD-1 in Star Wars Jedi video games. Executive R&D Imagineer Joel Peavy and Associate Lab Director Moritz Bächer described their excitement about these little guys in an official video released on the Disney Parks YouTube Channel. The droids in training can roam over uneven terrain on Batuu and learn on the spot how to emote with guests. The video showcases one doing a happy dance while a second’s eyes flash red and it shakes its head angrily.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LZBR0Eo8ENY
In a video shared by fan @DisneyDan on Twitter, one of the park’s characters interacts with the little droids, telling them to do life-form scans. You can pick up some of the droids’ nicknames in the video, like “Greenie.” Their personalities are on display, too, as the blue and orange droid get huffy because Greenie is chosen to lead them back:
WOW!!!! NEW DROID characters at Galaxy’s Edge!!
— Disney Dan Becker (@DisneyDan) October 12, 2023
Check out these tiny little guys! What an amazing addition.
Hope they stick around. pic.twitter.com/TSZPmRVvWz
Needless to say, Star Wars fans lost their collective minds over how adorable these new additions were. In the video, their faces light up, watching the trio pal around with their handlers. Across social media, fans expressed their joy at seeing the droids in action.
Me when a beloved character is announced for Disneyland: "Oh that's nice."
— Star Wars Explained (@StarWarsExplain) October 12, 2023
Me when BD droids start walking around at Disneyland: https://t.co/3Zh6ACoBQU pic.twitter.com/744Da3xIfM
FREE ROAMING DROIDS IN GALAXY'S EDGE THE PROPHECY HAS FINALLY BEEN ANSWERED pic.twitter.com/TUzyciRX3Q
— Phil • The Horizoneer (@TheHorizoneer) October 12, 2023
This is great! 🤩 I hope they make it out of field test R&D and become a staple of Galaxy’s Edge! It will bring a new level of dynamism to the land.
— DSNY Newscast (@DSNYNewscast) October 12, 2023
Seeing all 3 together, they remind me of ducklings… henceforth I am coining the name “Droidlings” for these little guys! https://t.co/lvwvgyIWXC
Though the love was reasonably unanimous, some fans expressed their nervousness at the idea of bad fans ruining these droids for everyone.
Well it’s about time Disney brought some more “life” to Galaxy’s Edge.
— Dan-O Florez (@TheDanOChannel) October 12, 2023
How long till people ruin this though? 😬
Half-kidding… https://t.co/XjDKKdZJ41
It’s unclear when the droids will return, but it’s a neat way to bring Galaxy’s Edge closer to the original concept. The creators originally mused for the park to include free-roaming droids that could interact with guests. Until then, it’s clear that the three cute bots made their mark with fans who eagerly await their return.
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