Today we are excited to share more about the previously announced Rendezvous: Meet Mando and Grogu experience. We'll focus on how we adapted the characters for this Meet and Greet and the experience that you'll have with them.
The Characters:
While Mando is 25 years older than when guests last saw him in his self-titled television show, his physique is still in good shape due to him still going on many adventures across the galaxy. Contrasting with this is his armor, which unsurprisingly considering it’s use over many years and how sacred it is to Mando, there’s signs of rust, scrapes and blaster marks all over, except for his helmet which he lost a few years ago and now has a newer helmet on instead. It’s rumored that the biggest antique seller on Batuu, Dok-Ondar, may have Mando’s old helmet in his collection.
Grogu otherwise known as the Child has matured plenty since he was rescued as a youngling by Mando. He’s now a bit taller and overall looks (in human terms) around a year older than when guests last saw him. The most important change to Grogu is now that he wears padawan Jedi robes reflecting his training with Luke over the course of many years. He still has as much of a jolly personality as ever and adores the attention that guests will give him and give back that glee in even larger amounts!
Now onto the experience itself:
Set in a backroom of Oga's Cantina, this Meet and Greet experience features an interactive Mandalorian and a puppeteered Grogu. The Grogu puppet is fabulously interactive and is a huge scene stealer, directing the entire experience with Mando as something of a guard for the little Jedi. While it’s been a few years (give or take twenty) since he was first saved by Mando and is now in his seventies, he’s still as cute as ever.
That's not to say that the bounty hunter isn't a delight as well. Using the same tech as the Kylo Ren and Stormtrooper meet and greets, Mando directly talks to you and responds to everything you say with an almost comedically serious nature. Grogu is perched on what can only be described as a highchair against a table.
The big moment of the experience though is when Grogu demonstrates his force abilities. Several props around the backroom are capable of moving at the puppet toddler's command. In the several times we went in to see the pair, Grogu pushed a small cup toward him, lifted one of the tools scattered about the room, found himself a plate of food, and even lifted himself out of his highchair, all in different interactions. The best part of this all was that each moment came naturally during the experience. A direct question to Grogu about using the Force led to a grander effect than a simple interaction where Grogu would simply use the Force as he saw fit while we were talking to him or Mando.
All in all, this is an incredibly unique experience with a pair of characters who have quickly become iconic and beloved that it has only ever made sense for the two to be added to Galaxy's Edge.​