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How to Trade with Jawas at Star Wars Launch Bay

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November 6, 2021 · Karen · 49 Comments

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FYI as of July/August 2017 you no longer can trade with Jawas at Walt Disney World. We can hope this character encounter will return someday possibly to Galaxy’s Edge. The details below reflect our experience while this experience was still available at the Star Wars Launch Bay.

How to Trade with Jaws at Star Wars launch bay
Trading with Jawas was a fun character encounter available at the Star Wars Launch Bay in 2016 & 2017

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has become THE place for all things Star Wars. Beyond Jedi Training and Star Tours, you will find the Star Wars Launch Bay with a multitude of cool Star Wars things to experience.

My favorite part of the new Star Wars Launch Bay at Walt Disney World? Meeting the Jawas!!  Not only will they take pictures with you, but they want to trade with you too, remember Jawas are scavengers!

Why Trade With a Jawa?

Why not?!? It’s such a fun, extra character encounter beyond the standard picture opportunity that Chewbacca and Kylo Ren offer.

Where do you trade with a Jawa?

Inside Star Wars Launch Bay, head right towards the character encounters and right again bypassing the queues for Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. You will find an area staged to look like the Mos Eisley cantina, complete with blue bantha milk on the counter!

The jawas usually work in pairs and are milling around this area interacting with guests. If you don’t see them just ask, they’re likely on a break. We almost always found them when we stopped by the Star Wars Launch Bay.

Blue Bantha Milk at Cantina in Star Wars Launch Bay

What do you trade with a Jawa?

You can try and trade anything you like but they are particular little creatures. I’ve traded with jawas several times this year, hopefully, my tips below will help trade with jawas too!

How to Trade With Jawas at Star Wars Launch Bay

Trading Jawas for droid parts1. They won’t take money. The first time we tried to trade with Jawas, we were unprepared so I handed my son a quarter. The Jawa wouldn’t take it. I am guessing that’s a Disney rule 😉

2. They won’t take things they deem as trash. In fact, they may just take your trash and throw it away for you.

3. They may trade for low-value items like pens and maps (things you might have in your purse) but if they do, they will likely give you another map or pen. Not a very exciting trade but still a fun character encounter.

4. They may trade for travel size bottles of sunscreen and hand sanitizer, also things we found in my bag. I’ve also seen the Jawas refuse these types of items.

5. They do trade for Disney pins, we’ve received other Disney pins (sort of a secret pin trading experience) or build your own droid parts which my boys really like.

I don’t know if these are hard and fast rules set by Disney Parks or if it’s up to the individual Jawa. I’d bet the no money rule is true for all jawas.

I also don’t know if the same experience is available at Disneyland’s Star Wars Launch Bay. Hopefully, I get back there soon and can share my experiences with the West coast jawas.

If you love Star Wars and trading with jawas is important to you, I suggest coming prepared with something fun to trade with the jawas. Jawas prefer shiny things so that would be my recommendation, and I’ve had great luck specifically with Disney pins.

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Share your Jawa trading experience!

This post was originally published May, 4 2016.

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Comments

  1. Momandmousefan says

    May 5, 2016 at 5:29 am

    They won’t take a paper fast pass. (The bonus kind) 🙁 That’s all we had one time, so no trading for my kiddo.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 5, 2016 at 3:59 pm

      We tried transportation cards and birthday buttons too – a no go on those as well.

      Reply
  2. Melanie says

    May 6, 2016 at 11:06 am

    We successfully traded a picture my 4 year old son colored from his Star Wars coloring book. It was a picture of R2 and 3PO – the Jawa gave him build your droid part. He was thrilled. And the Jawa posed for pic with us and I didn’t realize until I looked at the pictures that the Jawa held the colored pic up for the camera. Nice little surprise, we’ll always know we traded a special little picture to the Jawas! :-). LOVED this entire experience!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 7, 2016 at 4:56 pm

      So awesome!! Thanks for sharing your Jawa trading experience!

      Reply
  3. Felicia says

    May 14, 2016 at 6:57 am

    My son was able to trade an empty Capri sun with a Jawa. In return he got some fake currency.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 14, 2016 at 3:42 pm

      That’s fun!

      Reply
  4. Becky says

    May 14, 2016 at 7:34 am

    Ask a cast member if you don’t have anything. They will give you a pen to trade. We did this and received a droid part!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 14, 2016 at 3:41 pm

      That’s awesome. We had our own pens and only received pens in return but maybe that’s because it was adults trading. I can see them being more generous with the kiddos.

      Reply
  5. Antoinette says

    May 19, 2016 at 7:26 am

    Just got back from WDW and wish I had seen this before our trip. We saw the Jawas but we didn’t know you could trade with them. Next time!

    Also, Disneyland does not even have Jawas in their Launch Bay so no trading there!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 19, 2016 at 9:01 am

      Bummer about Disneyland! I am so sad to learn that. Maybe they will introduce them there in the future! (Fingers Crossed)!

      Reply
  6. Jacquie says

    June 7, 2016 at 8:15 pm

    So great to know! We’re heading to Disney this Fall so I have my Star Wars loving girl thinking about what she wants to bring to trade 🙂 Thanks for the great tips!

    Reply
  7. Ryan Serowinski says

    August 2, 2016 at 9:37 am

    Do the Jawas trade Vinylmation figures?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 3, 2016 at 6:11 pm

      I’d imagine they would accept them but I’ve never seen one give a vinylmation figure in return.

      Reply
  8. Chrissy @ Adventures in DIY says

    August 20, 2016 at 11:33 am

    No Jawas at Disneyland’s Launch Bay – but they do have Boba Fett! I’ve seen him there several times and made sure to get my pic with him the first time. I was there with my brother and he asked what it would take for me to turn him in. lol

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 22, 2016 at 6:19 pm

      Good to know. Maybe they will get them when Star Wars Land opens. Thanks for the tip on Boba Fett!!

      Reply
  9. Erin says

    September 17, 2016 at 1:26 pm

    They loooooove glow sticks! They get very excited when you break the stick in front of them to start it glowing.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 19, 2016 at 6:05 pm

      Good to know – thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  10. Kelly says

    September 18, 2016 at 9:20 am

    My daughter traded a hug and got a fast pass

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 19, 2016 at 6:05 pm

      That is awesome!!

      Reply
  11. Leslie says

    November 17, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    We just went last week and my husband pointed to my 4yo daughter and asked a Jawa, “Are you looking for a droid.” The Jawa got excited, inspected her, and took her to a “cave.” Both Jawas celebrated their find by jumping up and down in joy. My 6yo then rescued her sister and broke her free. No actual trade but the interaction was amazing – and I got the whole thing on video!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 18, 2016 at 10:53 am

      That is amazing! I love the Jawas! Thanks for sharing!!

      Reply
  12. Clair says

    November 25, 2016 at 10:43 am

    We went in October and November this year and tried trading several times unsuccessfully. I was told they don’t trade, by staff.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 2, 2017 at 2:06 pm

      hmm that’s too bad, I still have people reporting the ability to trade with them. Maybe they were having an off day when you visited.

      Reply
  13. Lily says

    December 3, 2016 at 3:58 pm

    We were able to trade a Disney popcorn bucket and a pen. The Jawa was thrilled by both items and danced around using the bucket as a drum, hitting it with a pen. It was by far one of the best character experiences I’ve ever had.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 2, 2017 at 2:04 pm

      It’s our favorite too – The Jawas are so much fun!

      Reply
  14. Julie says

    December 15, 2016 at 8:48 pm

    They allowed us to trade a penny one time. The kids got a glittery square tile for one and a spiral brass colored wire for the other.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 20, 2016 at 11:22 am

      ooh that’s good to know! Maybe we will try that next time!

      Reply
  15. Alisa says

    January 2, 2017 at 10:07 am

    My daughter traded a pen cap and received a Disney hidden Mickey pin. My son traded a disposable rain coat and received a droid part.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 2, 2017 at 2:01 pm

      Those sound like great trades!! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  16. SRoss says

    January 15, 2017 at 6:59 pm

    We brought a little bag of foil wrapped chocolate coins and the Jawa was super excited to trade with my son! He gave him a droid body and a holographic Chewbacca sticker and his enthusiasm for the trade made for some fabulous pics!

    Reply
  17. Monica says

    January 30, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    Was just there 1/23/17 and jawa traded with my son! We tried a few things, Jawa said no. Finally took a big fat sharpie, he gave us a plastic Mickey (that comes on the bottom of the Mickey balloons!)… I was bummed to lose my good sharpie, but it was a fun experience with my son!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 7, 2017 at 5:24 pm

      It is definitely all about the experience!!

      Reply
  18. Brittany says

    February 17, 2017 at 5:34 pm

    We just got home and I wanted to share our experience because it turned out to be a success and one of my kids favorite things about our Disney trip! So glad I found this post and were prepared to trade! We took a little bag of toys – Mardi Gras beads (shiny), some random other things my kids thought they might like, and some Star Wars Angry Bird toys that we had duplicates of. We found the jawas and got ones attention. They started the bartering process with one jawa – it happened to be the jawa with the smaller pouch. During the process a Disney worker got my attentions and told me to have them try the other jawa – the one with the large container pouch. So I sent my kids to this jawa with the angry bird toys. They both got droid parts as trades for their toys! They were so excited!! The worker told me that this jawa is the one that carries the droid parts! Hope this helps! Happy trading!! So much fun! February 2017!!!!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      February 22, 2017 at 11:24 pm

      Thanks for the update! We will watch for the Jawa with the larger pouch on our next trip!

      Reply
    • Val says

      April 4, 2017 at 3:07 pm

      My boys tried pins to no luck but they did take a rice crispy treat and we got a glow stick but then I remembered I had a pack of finger lights and they went crazy for those….you can get a big pack for cheap on oriental trading…we got mini droid pieces for the finger lights.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        May 3, 2017 at 11:20 am

        ooh they took food from you, that’s interesting. Thanks for reporting your experience!

        Reply
  19. Daniel Shetler says

    March 10, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    I’m reading thi, in the minivan, on our way to WDW right now. I just got a little more excited 😉 Spring Break 2017 here we come!!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 11, 2017 at 9:38 am

      I hope you have a blast!!

      Reply
  20. A. Wilson says

    March 27, 2017 at 12:59 pm

    Glad I found this. We are going to WDW in 40 days ( May 6). I have a countdown widget on my phone screen lol. This looks like a fun idea for our 6 yr old. I will be going through toy boxes to look for some trading trinkets. I’ll have to hide them in my luggage though since kiddo doesn’t even know we are going to WDW. He just thinks we’re going on vacation. 🙂

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 27, 2017 at 6:35 pm

      Awesome, glad I could help!!

      Reply
  21. Christi says

    April 14, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    We were there last month and I wish i had read through the comments before we went. My 11 year old daughter and I traded a sticker I had in my pocket and she got the hug while I got the paper the sticker was on! It was too funny and we all got a great giggle from it! Can not wait to visit again with something better to barter with!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 19, 2017 at 9:42 am

      I’m so glad you still had a great experience, we can’t wait to head back and try to trade more things!

      Reply
  22. Michele says

    June 26, 2017 at 9:04 am

    Thanks so much for your post… we went to meet the Jawas 2 days ago… I had read your post and brought glow sticks with us. When we found the Jawas my son went up to one and handed them a glow stick. The jawa looked at it, cracked it and waved it around. Then he pointed to my son and then at himself.. reached into his bag and pulled out a little yellow nugget. ( we have no idea what it is but it was a fun experience). The other Jawa came up to my son and knocked his hat off of his head! ( my son is 15) we all laughed… and then the storm troopers came over to investigate what was going on!! Amazing experience!!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 27, 2017 at 5:20 pm

      It sounds like an awesome experience! So glad my post could help prepare you for the experience!!

      Reply
  23. Michele says

    March 28, 2018 at 9:32 am

    We just got back from Disney and the Jawas are no longer part of the Star Wars meet and greet. We asked a cast member and he told us they have been gone since July of 2017.
    Maybe they will return when Star Wars land opens up next year.

    Reply
    • Kimberly says

      August 5, 2021 at 10:39 am

      We have some friends going next week and I was telling them about this. We went back in May 2017 and had a successful trade. I picked up a piece of the big, round, gold confetti from the kids show next door and folded it into an origami crane. I gave it to my son to trade and they gave him a droid piece. One Jawa took it to the other and showed that one, felt like I’d found something unique. Made my kid’s day. Sad to hear they’re not doing this anymore.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        August 9, 2021 at 8:43 am

        It was so much fun. I keep my fingers crossed that it will eventually show up at Galaxy’s Edge!!

        Reply

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I'm a mom to two boys, Arizona native, and travel lover. Desert Chica is my place to share a peek into our life and the easy and inexpensive costumes, crafts and desserts I like to make. “If I can do it, anyone can!” Learn more about me here.

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