Leap's Note: Today's post comes from Undercover Tourist customer and super Disney World fan Vern Woodruff. Vern has written about the Disney World character greetings, dressing like a princess in the parks and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
At this time, the Jedi Training Academy experience is unavailable at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Stay tuned for updates on when the Force is awakened and young padawans begin training again!
May the Force be with you ... at Disney's Hollywood Studios. With the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, you can now visit Batuu to pilot the Millennium Falcon, drink blue milk, build lightsabers and more! But let's not froget about Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple. This "Star Wars" show, which allows children ages 4 to 12 to train as a Jedi, has been around for a number of years and is still as popular as ever. Each show can accommodate 32 children, and there are about 15 shows per day. However, the total number of available slots is still limited and can fill up quickly. If this is something that would appeal to your young "Star Wars" fan, here are all of the toadally out-of-this-world details on the show, plus tips for participating in it.
What Is Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple?
Unlike many other aspects of Disney which allow you to make reservations weeks or months in advance, you register for Jedi Training Academy at Disney's Hollywood Studios on the day of your visit. Jedi Training at Disney World is an incredibly popular experience and an absolute must for any "Star Wars" fan ages 4 to 12. It costs nothing extra beyond park admission to be a part of this 15-minute show. The show's stage area is next to the entrance to Star Tours - The Adventures Continue.
The show consists of a Jedi Master and several assistants that lead 32 participants through basic Jedi training. The Padawans wear Jedi robes and are broken up into two groups, with 16 being led to a raised platform level, and 16 on ground level. There are marked spots for each child to stand upon. Once everyone is in place, lightsabers are handed out.
The younglings are taught basic lightsaber tactics as a group. After learning this, the children and the Jedi trainers work together to open the Jedi Temple doors at the back of the raised stage. With the doors opened, their fears are manifested as Darth Vader and Kylo Ren appear. The younglings must face their fears and engage in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader (those on the raised stage) or Kylo Ren (those on the ground-level stage).
The younglings and Jedi trainers are successful in overcoming and defeating their fears, driving Darth Vader and Kylo Ren back into the Temple. With order restored and training completed, the younglings are presented to the audience (a great photo-op for momma and papa frogs) before they return their robes and lightsabers.
How to Sign Up for Jedi Training at Disney World
Anyone who wants to participate must arrive at Disney's Hollywood Studios early and make show registration their first stop of the day. To ensure spots for my children, we arrived at 8 a.m. to make it through the security check and be near the front of an entrance line on a crowd level 5 day (be sure to reference our Crowd Calendar before your visit). This was not an Extra Magic Hour day, and the park was scheduled to open at 9 a.m. However, they started admitting people into the entrance area of the park about 8:25 a.m.
As soon as we entered, I headed directly back toward the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost for registration. A sizable crowd was going the same direction. Prior to reaching the Outpost, in front of the Hollywood and Vine restaurant, Disney cast members were organizing people into a line. After a few minutes, we walked back to a queuing area that led to registration. In order to register, the participating child(ren) must be present. There are a number of Disney cast members to register people and once it is your turn, you select a showtime and give them information on the children participating in the show.
Later, you return to the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost 30 minutes before your designated show time. After checking in, there is a shaded area with spots marked for the kids to wait on. They receive their Jedi robes, break up into two groups and line up shortest to tallest. A few minutes before showtime, the two lines follow behind a Jedi Training banner and make the short walk to the show. After the Jedi training ends, the children turn in their lightsabers and robes and rejoin you after successfully passing the Trials of the Temple.
Tips for Jedi Training at Disney World
- If you are not familiar with the attractions and places I mentioned, make sure to look at a Disney's Hollywood Studios map on our Park Plan. You can pick up a map and Times Guide when you get to the park or take a look at the app.
- While you cannot register for a show in advance, check the Disney website before leaving for your trip and find the listing of Jedi Training showtimes. This way, you can plan around other reservations (dining or FastPass+) and determine your showtime preferences.
- Since this is an outdoor show, it can be canceled due to bad weather. If rain is a possibility the day you are there, check the hourly weather forecast and try selecting a showtime that hopefully will avoid the rain. During the summer, quick-moving thunderstorms often occur in the afternoon, so it’s best to aim early.
- Shows are held throughout the day every 40 minutes. There is no seating or shade, so be prepared to stand in the sun while watching the show.
- With the participants split into two groups, there are two PhotoPass photographers on hand to capture all the action. If you have Memory Maker or are interested in the photos, make sure to pick up the correct PhotoPass card from the photographers. The photos can be added to your account. Since it includes all of the photos the photographer took during the show, there will be quite a few that you may want to delete.
- After successfully defeating Darth Vader or Kylo Ren, your child may want their own lightsaber. They do not sell the exact lightsabers used in the show, but you can visit Tatooine Traders next door at the Star Tours exit. This shop has an area where you can make your own lightsaber (even better, right?). You may want to wait until near the end of your visit, especially with the double lightsabers. They are fairly long and the "lightsaber" portion seems to always be extending from one end or the other, making it difficult to carry around.
- If you are not able to obtain a registered spot in the show, it may be possible to participate as a replacement for a no-show if you are willing to be on standby. However, you have to stay near the Indiana Jones Outpost and wait until just before showtime hoping for a no-show. If everyone who registered arrives, then you would have to wait on standby for the next show. With the show’s popularity and the fact that you have to register on-site that day, there are very few no-shows. For the 12:10 p.m. show my children participated in, we arrived at 11:40 a.m. to check in and there were three children there already waiting on standby. At 11:57 a.m., they called for one standby child, leaving the other two to decide whether to wait again or leave.
- If you sign up for the seven-hour Star Wars Guided Tour, children ages 4 to 12 are enrolled and guaranteed a spot in Jedi Training.
What questions do you have about Jedi Training at Disney World? Have a tip we didn't include? Share them in comments below!
Related: Our Galactic Guide to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World
Vern and his wife are the parents of two boys and a girl that all love Disney’s animated movies and shorts. He lives in Ohio and is employed as a mechanical engineer, which helps to explain his excessive attention to detail, organization and planning. His oldest son enjoys watching the animated shorts from the Disney Treasures series, his youngest son has the middle name “Donald” and he likes telling people that he was named after Donald Duck, and his daughter loves the Disney Princesses, especially Rapunzel and recently Elsa.
