The Journey of Our Droid

Once upon a time not too long ago there was no Star Wars Land. But things evolve, and we had a whole new world to welcome at Disney's Hollywood Studios. With something so massive coming to the theme park, obviously that meant we would see many commercials trying to entice people to come and spend their hard earned money. Disney Jr is GREAT at marketing to kids! That first trip to Disneyland? Thanks, Disney Jr. That beautiful tropical oasis of Aulani in Hawaii? Thanks, Disney Jr. The magic of Disney at sea? Thanks, Disney Jr. So it is of no surprise that Walt Disney World was desired by our little toddler. Thanks, Disney Jr. And one final thank you for something that DID surprise me... Star Wars Land and making a droid.Thanks, Disney Jr.

Our reservation window was upon us. We could do dining reservations. We could book FastPass times. We could get a time slot to make our own droid! Katura had so many ideas of design and color, but we wouldn't really know until we got there which she would choose. After a ridiculously fun character breakfast we made our way to Toy Story Land for characters and a ride, but then it was straight to the Droid Depot in Batuu! Thanks to already having a reservation we walked right in, looked at all those suckers in the standby line that just had to wait for an opening, paid, and began our experience.

First up, which type of droid. She kept liking the round BB8 style, and again surprised us by choosing on like R2D2! We girls had our basket and went to the conveyor belt. Our basket had pictures showing what pieces we needed to grab. It was completely our decision which colors and exact styles we wanted. Once everything was in our basket we went over to an assembly area and began building. Only a builder (Katura) and a helper (myself) were technically allowed, but with Katura using her stroller as a stepping stool to see, Shawn ended up behind us holding that stroller in place - and thus documenting via photographs. Pieces were assembled, power tools were used (no joke!!), and then our droid was brought to life!

In the spirit of Walt Disney and "plus-ing" things, I got her a fancy voice box for it and her dad got her some stickers to make her already partially purple and blue droid have some pink! With that KIR2 was born. Sure, Katura had some girl name that I can't remember, but as the person with the credit card I gave it the official name of KIR2.

That little cutie played around in Batuu quite a while as I was flying the Millennium Falcon. It fought off some storm troopers and even encountered the always terrifying Kylo Ren. She had a full day! Katura was in love. They played together in the hotel room, too. Apparently it is fun for Katura and her dad to have the droid chase Mom's bare toes when she isn't paying attention!

Finally it was time to sail away. Our new little pet was given a cozy home in a backpack so we could keep her safe while getting to the port and onto the ship. We were so ready to play with her in our stateroom. Disney had other plans.

At the port terminal we sent our bags through security. We knew that certain things aren't allowed on board, and the notice we read specifically said NO light sabers. What it failed to mention was that droids are also a no-no. We were pulled aside and KIR2 was taken from our bag and put into a plastic black bag. I was given a hand written receipt and told I could come back to that spot to collect it when we get off the ship. All of the droids would be playing together while we sailed.

Fast forward to Friday morning. We had a porter with us to help with all of our luggage. He was taking us to our Walt Disney World bus, and we told him we had to make a stop to grab the droid. Guess what was not there waiting for us. Our droid. The woman seemed to be kind like, "No, there isn't one here with your room number on it." and then almost just dismissed us. I gave them my receipt. They kept looking at the bags. Nothing matched. I repeatedly explained where we were when it was taken and kept telling them it looks like R2D2 but is pink and purple. A phone call was made. There was something left on the ship! Was it ours? No. (That's when we learned that our baby droid DID actually go with us to the Bahamas after all!) 

The porter was stuck with us, so that meant not able to go earn more money from other passengers. The clock was ticking. Our bus was getting close to leaving. We had to make decisions. I made sure Shawn had all of his things. Katura and I took our bags and went with the porter to the bus. I thanked him profusely, gave him a hefty tip and then got on the bus. The cast member there said they hoped Shawn would make it because this was the last bus to Disney!

Katura was so confused. Where was her toy? Where was her daddy? Why did we got on a bus without him?

Meanwhile back in the terminal it was almost very complicated and expensive. Paperwork was going to be filled out. Disney Cruise Line would have to pay for us to get back into the park, get us a droid reservation, pay for another droid and the upgrades... and we were flying home the next day!

Finally someone must have listened when Shawn again said it is pink and purple and they finally looked in bags. There she was! Our cabin number was there, but someone else's number was partially over it. We had our girl back!! Shawn came hustling to the bus and made it just in time!

Now KIR2 is home, safe, and monitoring all of the activity near our Christmas tree!