Of all the special, interactive experiences at Walt Disney World, the Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios is quite possibly our favorite. My husband and I are huge Star Wars fans, so we were beyond excited to find out our daughter could train to be a Jedi and take on Darth Vader! We didn’t want her to miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience, so before our last trip I researched how to register our daughter.
Children between the ages of four to twelve may take part. You cannot register your child ahead of time for this. As soon as you get to Hollywood Studios, go straight to the ABC Sound Studio, which is in front of the Star Tours attraction. One adult and the child who wants to be in the show must get in line. When it is your turn, the cast member will take down your child’s name, and ask them a few simple questions such as how old they are and if they are afraid to take on the Dark Side. Since this show is so popular and there are very limited spaces available in each class, you should definitely arrive at Hollywood Studios as close to the opening time as possible. We were sad to see many parents trying to register their child around 11:00 in the morning only to be told that all the spots for that day had been filled.
Tip: We arrived around 8:25 for a 9:00 park opening. As soon as they started letting guests in, my husband and daughter ran to the ABC Sound Studio to register her for the Jedi Training Academy, while I darted to Toy Story Midway Mania! to grab some FastPass tickets. This worked out quite nicely for us, and we were able to accomplish everything we wanted that day!
Once our daughter was registered, we were given a receipt with the time of her show. They asked us to return about 30 minutes prior to show time. Overall, plan on spending just over an hour on this. Once we returned, the kids were fitted with their Jedi robes and taken to the stage. Each child was given a toy lightsaber, and they began their Jedi training. As the Jedi Master was teaching them the moves they would need to use to defeat Darth Vader, we began to sense a disturbance in the Force. Darth Vader came out and declared his intent to convert these young Jedi to the Dark Side. Each child went up one by one to take him on. The parents are given priority standing room to take photos, but there are PhotoPass Photographers there taking photos as well.
After the show, each child is given a certificate that says they are now a Jedi Knight. There is a blank name line for you to fill in your child’s name. We were a little worried about our daughter getting scared once she saw Darth Vader, but she was so brave! As soon as she came off the stage, she told us she loved it so much and wants to do this every time we go to Hollywood Studios.
We love this experience so much because your child gets to be part of the action and feel like a star. Our daughter even thought other guests would remember her from the show and want her autograph! It was a nice mid-afternoon break for us to watch our daughter take part in this, and it is a free and unique experience that I know she’ll never forget.
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