Jedi Training Academy

Bringing movies to life is something Disney Hollywood Studios has been doing since it opened. One of the very special and very popular experiences Disney Hollywood Studios offers is the Jedi Training Academy. Your child can be part of the next Jedi class, learning how to use the Force and wield a lightsaber. Training is only part of the experience, their knowledge will be tested when Dark Side arrives. To make sure your child is able to participate I've put together some of the must know information and helpful hints

Sign-up

There is limited space for this experience and sign-ups are done the day off - you can not sign up in advance. Sign up starts when the park opens. Here is the catch, the opening time may be posted as 9AM but most times the park will allow people to enter and walk down the main streets about a half an hour before the park opens. The attractions are not running but you can go into the shops on Hollywood Blvd and more importantly you can go and sign up for Jedi Training Academy. Sign up is at the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost located between the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! and the 50's Prime Time Café. Often by 9:20AM all the times are booked so if you plan on getting to the park later in the day or not showing up until after 9AM, odds are that you will not be able to participate. Although, you can always watch! The stage is right next to Star Tours and happens multiple times a day. For you early birds, if you are one of the first to sign up you will have your choice of times. I would recommend doing this between 1-3PM. This is when the park is the busiest so it is nice to be doing something besides trying to ride the attractions.

One more note about sign up, a parent and the child(ren) need to be present at the sign up. During the the experience a parent needs to be present at all times also. The whole experience is about 60 minutes. The first 25 minutes is mostly getting the kids sorted and getting them dressed so be on time but I don't' suggest getting there early.

Ages

This experience is for children ages 4-12. I've been ask if you can sneak the 3 year old in and I would not recommend this because it is a long process and a lot of waiting and most 3 year olds will not have the patience for it. And they do ask the child's age multiple times to ensure they are old enough.

Capturing it all

The Jedis in training get split into two stages that are right next to each other but you won't know which one they will be at until you get there. The area is roped off so depending on where you are standing and where your child is, you may or may not have a good angle for photos. I have been able to get some okay photos but this is one of those times where the Disney photographer definitely is going to get some of the best photos. They move around and are closer to the action. These photos will be included if you purchased Memory Maker or you can purchase individual photos online.

In Closing

This is an awesome experience and I highly recommend it, even for the moderate fan. For the littles who really believe, it can be a little scary when some of the Dark Side comes out but they usually do well because the Jedis trainers

are reassuring. And for the believers it's pretty great when they can use the force to defeat the Dark Side. This experience can also be found at Disneyland and on select Star Wars at Sea Disney Cruises.