Disney has introduced that the fan-favorite BDX “Duckling Droids” are coming to Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney Global, in addition to Tomorrowland in Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. This stocks the authentic information, my response to seeing them in individual, and different statement concerning the evolution of Famous person Wars land. (Up to date July 16, 2025.)
For those who ignored it, the Disney Analysis Crew has been running on ‘Duckling Droid’ robots for a couple of years now, and doing playtesting with them within the parks for over a yr. Following that, Imagineering offered the BDX Droids all through day-to-day operations in Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland all through final yr’s Season of the Pressure, the place they seemed from April 5 via June 2. After that, the droids had been proven once more all through final yr’s D23 Expo, however to my wisdom, they haven’t completed any main appearances since.
The BDX robots are in a position to a huge quantity of expression in its child-size frame, with a highly-expressive head, two wiggly antennae, and little legs. What units this bipedal robotic aside from others that straightforward glance find it irresistible is the way it walks. The BDX Droids is filled with persona, emoting because it strikes in some way that makes it glance alive and teeming with persona.
July 16, 2025 Replace: The BDX Droids are showing at Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney Global beginning nowadays for a restricted time, via August 30, 2025! The ‘duckling droids’ will waddle their manner round a number of spaces of Batuu and make appearances Tuesdays via Saturdays at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and six p.m.
Our suspicion is that there’s just one ‘set’ of duckling droid technicians, and is the reason why they don’t seem two days of the week. Fascinating option to make Monday a type of days, however it’s simple sufficient to devise round. Notice that the providing is climate allowing, and also you will have to take a look at the My Disney Enjoy app for showtimes at the day of your consult with for occasions and places. (You now can’t in finding them by means of seek–they’re indexed below characters, despite the fact that.)
To organize the BDX Droids for the local weather of Florida (the place “climate” is a factor), the robotics group switched their three-D published portions with milled ones that may higher resist the warmth. It’s unclear how they’ll care for rain; that hasn’t ever been a factor with which they’ve needed to contend in California. Moreover, along side Disney Are living Leisure, new content material has been added to the BDX Droids repertoire.
Those bipedal robot characters have impeccable steadiness blended with procedural animation, modular {hardware}, and reinforcement finding out. That makes the droids in a position to distinctive gaits and characteristics–and they are able to be informed those characteristics inside of months. What follows is the unique announcement of the BDX Droids touchdown at Walt Disney Global and different outposts around the world…
Throughout the SXSW convention, Disney Reports Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Disney Leisure Co-Chairman Alan Bergman printed that the BDX Droids are going world–to Walt Disney Global and the global parks!
Those BDX Droids are coming to Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney Global, in addition to Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland someday “later in 2025.”
The BDX Droids will seem at more than a few places round Black Spire Outpost right through the day. Like different roaming atmospheric characters, we’d be expecting to peer them from round 10 a.m. to five p.m., however there’s no longer a broadcast set time table but.
Jon Favreau additionally showed that the BDX Droids will seem in “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” coming to theaters on Would possibly 22, 2026.
I’ve had the chance to peer the BDX Droids on a couple of events due to Season of the Pressure and different occasions. When Disney calls those “highly-expressive” robots, they in point of fact aren’t kidding. I used to be stunned at simply how emotive and cute the droids are, and in a position to conveying such a lot persona by means of hops, head wiggles, little gentle beams, and different actions.
Having noticed droid playtesting previously that, uh, didn’t pass so smartly due to ‘overly-aggressive’ visitors, I used to be curious simply how sturdy those droids are. To my marvel, no longer handiest are the BDX Droids in a position to self-correcting by means of their footwork, however they’re additionally somewhat resilient after they stumble upon a drawback. Or higher but, when a drawback encounters them.
Additionally to my marvel, visitors behaved beautiful smartly across the BDX Droids all through Season of the Pressure. Possibly I simply were given fortunate and there’s a viral video of those little fellas taking abuse, however I discovered visitors to be shockingly respectful. Possibly that’s as a result of those really are emotive and expressive, so visitors in fact view them as corresponding to ducklings and are extra delicate consequently? I don’t know. However this stunned me and I assumed it used to be noteworthy. Our personal daughter used to be in awe of the duckling droids simply as she is with precise ducklings, for no matter that’s price.
Right here’s our video of the ‘Duckling Droids’ assembly precise Geese of Disneyland. Isn’t that cute?! Suffice to mention, those are going to be a large hit with Walt Disney Global visitors given their aforementioned feelings.
Those might be like Child Yoda, however in droid shape (and minus the tv display). The cuteness issue is off the charts, and the benefit that they’ve over the in-park Grogu is they’ll in fact be capable of have interaction with and make connections with visitors.
It could sound extraordinary, however those will draw an enormous crowd. I’m in point of fact happy that the Season of the Pressure check went smartly and those at the moment are making their option to Walt Disney Global and past. That is precisely the type of factor that may breathe new existence into Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!
Including free-roaming Duckling Droids is some other step that is helping convey Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge nearer to its unique imaginative and prescient.
Again when the land used to be first introduced, thought artwork featured a lot of alien existence paperwork (no longer that ALF), droids, and unique characters. Over the years, new thought artwork used to be launched decreasing the collection of droids (and so on.), however any individual who has noticed e-book is aware of what may have been.
Many excuses had been presented over time for why cuts had been made to Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. One is that the land had already long past over price range, and cuts are an abnormal a part of the advance and refinement of any venture. Imagineering espresso desk books are a veritable graveyard of deserted concepts.
Any other is that Disney feared that the land could be too crowded upon opening, and that droids would merely get in the best way, be trampled, or differently reason problems. Clearly, this didn’t turn into the case. The primary few months had been in point of fact gradual on each coasts. However hindsight is 20/20.
But some other is that numerous leisure deliberate for Galaxy’s Edge used to be pulled and put in the back of the paywall of Famous person Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. That the dearly-departed Bob Chapek didn’t really feel droids and different leisure had been “vital” for the luck of the land, and so they sought after to monetize that to assist recoup the large sunk prices of SWGE and Galactic Starcruiser.
Neatly, with Galactic Starcruiser now long-dead and Galaxy’s Edge desiring a shot within the arm as it’s no longer just about as widespread as expected, none of the ones excuses grasp water anymore. The land wishes extra leisure and droids to be able to really feel lived-in and alive. Mandalorian & Child Yoda, together with different added characters, had been a excellent get started.
However the BDX Droids are a unconditionally other form of providing, and it’ll be nice to peer them out every day. They’re in point of fact going to wow visitors–I will not stay up for the entire Walt Disney Global enthusiasts to in any case see them firsthand. (And extra selfishly, for our daughter to peer them once more now that she’s just a little older and loves animals much more.)
The land is at its highest with characters; with out them it will probably really feel soulless, impersonal, and dead from time to time and in spots. Characters are an ideal addition to Galaxy’s Edge, whether or not in human or droid shape, and feature already advanced the visitor reaction to the land.
As I’ve been pronouncing for some time now, I strongly suspect that those droids are a part of a larger image plan to do a cushy reboot and relaunch of Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge within the subsequent couple of years. There are a variety of causes for this, from Galactic Starcruiser last to the strengths of Avengers Campus being glaring to Disney no longer having a lot within the near-term and desiring stop-gap tactics to stay visitors coming to the parks.
In more than a few interviews, Josh D’Amaro has hinted in contemporary interviews that he desires to convey again atmospheric leisure Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, however hasn’t dedicated to the rest. Performers from Starcruiser are one option to accomplish this; droids are some other. The ones two slightly easy issues would each breathe new existence into the land and convey it extra carefully in-line with its unique imaginative and prescient, earlier than parts had been reduce because of considerations about crowds and/or a want to place them in the back of the Starcruiser paywall.
It’s no longer tricky to ascertain a situation the place a statement is made on the 2025 Vacation spot D23 a couple of cushy reboot of Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to release the land to thrilling new time sessions and puts–breaking the sacred timeline (however tastefully!) and the usage of the environment of the land as a leaping off level for brand spanking new adventures. (I do know that is arguable with enthusiasts and I’m no longer having a look to relitigate that argument. See Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Must Ruin the Laws for my tackle all of that. Spoiler: my opinion is correct there within the identify!)
It should appear to be an eternity in the past at this level, however there have been credible rumors of this again in past due 2019. On the time, Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge used to be underperforming expectancies and there used to be already a want to “repair” it to raised comport with visitor expectancies and generate pastime. Clearly, it’s been a couple of years for then and different occasions “intervened” again in 2020 to stop any adjustments from going down.
Rapid-forward 4 years, and Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is not new. Now not handiest that, however there’s not anything main within the pipeline till Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom in 2027…and most probably past due 2027. As we’ve up to now identified, Disney building timelines being what they’re, the corporate will essentially need to depend on leisure, overlays or reimaginings because the tentpoles for his or her large advertising pushes within the subsequent two years.
A reboot of Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge may be offering precisely that. Along with droids and performers, there’s additionally tangible era that used to be produced for Starcruiser by means of Imagineering R&D that Walt Disney Global and Disneyland would possibly wish to reuse within the land. New leisure might be created for the catwalks within the land, Savi’s Workshop, Oga’s Cantina, and somewhere else.
It shouldn’t be too tricky for Imagineering to take the teachings discovered and persuade corporate management to speculate extra into Famous person Wars Land. It’d be well worth the funding as a marketable addition that generates new pastime, and would fill the distance till Tropical Americas and the opposite blockbuster additions to DHS, DAK, and Magic Kingdom are in a position to release. It’s additionally merely the smart decision–Imagineering had Galaxy’s Edge most commonly proper from the start, and visitors would really like that model of the land much more.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you call to mind the BDX Droids? Excited to satisfy the Huey, Dewey and Louie robot ducklings at Walt Disney Global, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disneyland? Assume that Bob Iger and Josh D’Amaro will log off on a cushy reboot of Famous person Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Must extra be added to the land, or is it time to transport directly to different initiatives? Do you compromise or disagree with our tests? Any questions we will allow you to resolution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please proportion your ideas underneath within the feedback!
