Walt Disney World: Jedi Training Academy

If your child is a Star Wars lover and you are planning a trip to Walt Disney World, you should plan to check out the Jedi Training Academy. Your child (ages 4-12) will receive Jedi training and have a chance to fight a Sith Lord on stage, typically Darth Vader. Best of all, participation is FREE with your admission to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Darth Vader & Darth Maul arrive

Jedi Training Academy is held on the stage to the left of the Star Tours entrance. There are several sessions through the day. The event is popular, and signup close to park opening is typically required for even the evening shows. Children return 30 minutes before their scheduled show time. They are entertained with Star Wars trivia questions and are given their robes. My daughter answered the second or third question and then stopped raising her hand. At one point there was a question that no one had answered correctly, but that I was pretty sure my daughter knew the answer to. I asked why she wasn't raising her hand and she said she wanted to give the other kids a chance to answer. I finally convinced her that she could raiser her hand if no one else was, or people had the answer wrong.

When it is time for the show, the children are then escorted by staff members to the training stage. I recommend one adult waiting with the child(ren) and the rest of the party obtaining a good viewing/photographing location.

Jedi Trainees are Guided into Position

If your child wishes to participate, I recommend arriving at Disney's Hollywood Studios at park opening and heading straight to the signup location outside the ABC Sound Stage. One parent and the participating children need to be at the signup slot, but do not need to have their park ticket so another adult can take the tickets and secure Toy Story Midway Mania Fast Passes. I was a little worried about being able to secure a slot for my daughter since we were there Easter week which is one of the parks busiest times. Fortunately Disney had responded with an increased frequency of shows (they were almost continuous at mid-day) and increased capacity with both Darth Vader and Darth Maul fighting so they had almost double the number of slots. They filled the Jedi Training Academy shows mostly in order, however they were willing to work with those who had lunch reservations and could not make a certain show time.

The show starts with Jedi teaching the children some basic light saber moves and then they each have a chance to fight. My daughter was originally lined up to fight Darth Maul in front of the stage, but during training they moved her up to the main stage to fight Darth Vader. Below is the video I took of my daughter fighting Darth Vader using my iPhone.

I loved her enthusiasm in attacking Vader and how the Jedi responds:


In case you are wondering, no they don't get to keep their robes or their lightsabers. Lightsabers are available for purchase in the nearby Tattoine Traders store, with the option to create a customized lightsaber. Each child does receive a certificate at the end. Disney PhotoPass photographers also make sure to capture each child, and will provide you with a special card for the photos from that show.

Newly Trained Jedi Celebrate

Even if your child does not want to participate, I recommend watching at least part of the show. This was the first trip that my daughter (age 7) wanted to participate. However, in the past she has has always wanted to watch the show. She is already asking to do Jedi Training Academy again on our next trip.