I get a great deal of questions concerning how to get a child picked for Jedi Training Academy. Disney has improved the process in recent years, sort of. In previous years, a child would appear for the Jedi Training Academy Show next to Star Tours and the Jedi Master would choose the children that he or she felt had the strongest representation of the Force. In recent years, they moved to a sign up or registration process for Jedi Training Academy that may not be less daunting, but it is more obvious.
Now, you head straight to the sign up area at ABC Sound Studio which is located to the left of the American Idol Theater and pre-register your child to the show of your choice, based on availability. (During Star Wars Weekends, the process usually takes place at the Indiana Jones Stunt Specatular Theater area. This morning the park was really busy, but sign ups were totally completed before 9:45am and most of those guests went straight there at park opening. Your young “Padawan” MUST be present to sign up and they request that the child be between 4 and 12 years of age, but no proof of age is requested.
The Cast Member will give you a little slip of paper to remind you what time to return to the ABC Sound Studio for your child’s performance.
What is Jedi Training Academy?
The Jedi Training Academy is a 20 minute interactive opportunity that allows young children from the ages of 4-12 to battle against the forces of the dark side in a light saber instruction demonstration. The children are referred to as Padawans, which is like a Star Wars term for apprentice. Children are usually allowed to battle against Darth Vader, but during Star Wars weekends it may be Darth Maul or Asajj Ventress.
Only 12 children are allowed during most of the year per show, but that number increases during Star Wars Weekends due to popularity. Children are loaned brown training robes and light sabers for the performance, which they must return after the show, as the Jedi Master teaches the Padawans to overcome the Dark Side. After completing their training, Padawans are presented with a certificate that is suitable for framing. It’s a fun show that includes Star Wars music and sound effects along with hearing Darth Vader challenge the children in a non-threatening way.
What happens if it rains?
In the event of inclement weather like rain or lightning in the area or even if there are technical issues, the children will be invited to attend a special meet and greet with Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers inside the Star Tours attraction. Only Padawans that have pre-registered to participate in the Jedi Training Academy are allowed to take part in this special meet and it only happens if the show is cancelled.
We are staying offsite. We have an ADR at 8:20 at Hollywood and Vine on an EMH Day. If my husband takes my son to sign up for the Jedi training before our reservation, will they get turned away? Do they check during EMH to make sure you are staying onsite?
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Yes they check or you will need that ADR to enter. Don’t understand the first question.
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We were so excited to do this with my son. Now my disney experience is saying it is not available the week we are there Oct12-17 is this true?
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It’s possible that they just haven’t loaded the schedules yet. We’ll wait and see what happens.
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We are heading to WDW on 8/29- 9/2~ Staying on site & really trying to make Jedi Training happen this time~ I noticed on the website when I try to access times for JTA on Sunday 8/31 & Monday 9/1 they say no times available~ I was thinking they did this everyday? Sat. 8/30 is EMH starting at 8am~ what time do u suggest getting there? 7am? It looks like Saturday is our only day to attempt this… and did I read we should line up to the far left? thank you for suggestions 🙂
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Just not published yet.
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So with the new Frozen RD tango, does the strategy still sway on being able to be one of the first to sign your kid up? I’ve seen people complaining of getting there an hour early only to be overwhelmed once everyone remigrates in the park before RD.
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You still need to follow the strategy, just be among the first at the ropes along the LEFT side of the park at entry.
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My little guy is so excited about this.. in a two week vacation with 8 days of parks, it’s the ONLY thing he wants to do. I have H&V breakfast reservations made for 8:10 am, the park opens for EMH at 8 that morning. Think they’d the rest of our party go to breakfast while i take the little jedi master to sign up and then pop back to join them for breakfast? I really have to try to make this happen!
I’m making so many notes as i read your blog.. brilliant!
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Go straight to Jedi sign ups and head to breakfast AFTER. They will allow you to check in a little late for breakfast.
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Hi there, Can you tell me how much the Jedi training cost and if The Jedi Training runs all year long? We are going next month. Thank you!
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Nothing and yes
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We have breakfast reservations at Hollywood & Vine at 8, what time should we head over to sign up for Jedi training to get a great choice of times? I keep reading rope drop is normally 30 mins earlier which would mean the rush would come in at 8:30. Do they let people having breakfast wander over before the rope drops? If me and my two boys leave breakfast for 20-30 mins and my parents stay and eat will they let us finish eating after? Thanks so much, you are THE most informed!!
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Park usually opens around 8:45 to 8:50am range
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We just left after having the show canceled due to rain. No special meet and greet was offered, and no certificate, all they did was offer to let the kids borrow a lightsaber if the parents wanted to take a picture. So instead of a happy padawan, we got to leave with a crying child. Very frustrating.
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Bummer. My daughter got a pic with Vader earlier this year at a rain out
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We plan on doing this when we go next spring for our trip. Would we still be able to sign up if we have an early breakfast at Hollywood and Vine? I’m wondering if we should cut out breakfast so we can be sure to sign him up.
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Is your breakfast before park opening? If so, just have one parent leave the breakfast briefly with the child and return to finish breakfast after sign ups at park opening.
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Yes, we were planning on an 8:00-8:30 breakfast. Thank you!
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Then just have an adult and child leave briefly to register and return after
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Awesome! Thanks, Kenny. Love your site, BTW. 🙂 I am planning several meet and greets for my daughter and this has been EXTREMELY helpful.
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My son has been talking about doing this for a year now. We should be able to sign him up (it will be late August) as long as we make it there at rope drop. My question is – since this is an hour long commitment, what happens if the only available times are during one of your preselected FP+ times (like the ones obtained carefully, 60 days in advance, with little chance of obtaining another one during a reasonable time that day)? Will they give you a paper FP or some sort of option to make up your FP at another time? I would love for him to do this, but not at the risk of losing our Toy Story Mania fast pass, for example.
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Maria,
If you follow my directions and arrive early, you’ll be able to pick the time you wish to participate.
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Well, my girls want to do this, so the plan is to hit up the park early and wait for rope drop (Friday, 7/11). The EMH hours are at Epcot that day, so that should divert -some- of the crowd. It’s summer so we’re going to have to move pretty quickly. The show looks cheesy to me, but then I’m not a kid lol. I showed them the video and they want to do it even more.
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We are planning a trip for December. My 10 year old stepson and 8 year old nephew really want to do this. They had some questions that I can’t find answers for. They want to know if they can keep the robes (I said probably not. lol) and if they get to keep the lightsabers (again, probably not. 😉 lol)
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Neisha,
No they can’t keep the robes or sabers. They do get a certificate.
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Well, I should have just looked up Jedi Training on your site instead of Disney World’s. No where in my Disney Experience app did it tell me I had to sign up my three boys first thing in the morning.
😦 I failed them last week on this one. We were even parked in the first row of parking that morning. I’m sure we could have easily signed up. I wish I read this post prior.
Disney World didn’t live up to their reputation for our family. Fast pass info from castmember a was inconsistent. Checkin was quick at AOA but uninformative. We still had fun. Best funnel cake I’ve ever had.
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There’s a lot of information that Disney doesn’t attempt to communicate to its guests these days. A simple blurb on the Jedi Training to arrive early for sign ups would at least help, or they could just link to my blog post LOL
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We’re going the 3rd weekend, our first time attending SWW. We made reservations for galactic breakfast at 8am. Is it possible to get into the park early to sign up for Jedi training an make our reservation?
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Park opens at 8am, so you might get in early anyway. It often opens 30 minutes before posted time for SWW. Register, then head to brekkie. The brekkie peeps will wait if you’re a few minutes late.
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We’re staying onsite, what time would you recommend we get there to line up? Thanks so much for your info!!
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Hour early if you don’t want celeb autographs
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Hi,
We are going to HS the week before Easter and there are EMH. I am curious if offsite guests even have a chance of getting into the Jedi Academy if all the onsite guests have the extra hour to sign up. Do they save some spots for offsite guests?
Thanks.
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I wouldn’t go to a park that offers EMH, if I didn’t have that privilege. Waits will be really high by the time you enter the park and you’re already behind the 8 ball. Spots are never saved. First come, first served.
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We are going in 3 weeks for our honeymoon, my husband is gutted that this is only for under 12s!
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Kenny,
I’ve been studying your blog lately with extreme dedication. There is so much wonderful information here, and I am slowly starting to absorb some of your wisdom. Your sense of humor is an added plus.
Here’s my question for you: I’m planning a six-day trip for a family of 4 in October 2014. I have a six year old Princess who loves Doc McStuffins and Frozen and a 10 year old boy who probably wouldn’t be caught dead posing with Tinkerbell or Ariel and is focused on coasters and Star Wars stuff. Everyone likes fireworks and parades, and Mom and Dad like leisurely sit down meals. Everyone wants to go to the Halloween party. I’m working on a two-track plan that allows our family to break into boy-girl groups at various times but still feel like we’re experiencing the parks TOGETHER…since that is the point of a family vacation, right?
I am in way over my head, would you be willing to—for a fee of course—review my plan and give me your thoughts on whether it will work? I was going to also ask you if I could pay your admission and an hourly wage to be our family’s Disney Sherpa but then I thought that sounded a little stalker-ish, so I’ll stick with the request for e-consulting for now. 😉
Thanks in advance,
Katie in Wisconsin
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Katie,
Drop me an email and we can chat about it kennythepirate@gmail.com
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I remember when I was the age to want to do Jedi Training Academy, they only did it during Star Wars Weekends and they just picked kids from the audience. So parents would push and shove for their little kid to be in the show. The best part about the show being limited time was that everyone got a Star Wars action figure after the show!!!
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Kenny- How early do you suggest we need to be at the park before opening during Star Wars Weekends? Is an hour before the park opens early enough?
Also, any tips on getting to fight Asajj or Darth Maul instead of Darth Vader? My son has fought Darth Vader and is hoping to get someone different during our SWW trip!
Thanks for all your great information!!
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Great summary! 2 quick things from our experience this year, they request you return 30 minutes prior to your show time and your child has to not only be present to register but answer a questions such as how old try are and if they are afraid of bad guys. They won’t sign the kids up if they too scared.
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Thanks for the add-ons. I should have added the questions part, but forgot 🙂
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I only remember because we were turned away our first try because of our crying child – but she pulled it together to sign up later and LOVED the experience. I think she thought they were using real light sabers. Sorry for my horrible typing and missing words. Guess I didn’t proof it before I posted.
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No apologies necessary 🙂
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Here’s the problem we had ~ NO ONE mentioned anything special to the kids when things were cancelled today due to rain. Just “Sorry, no training, give back the robes. Goodbye.” If there was a special meet and greet for the kids someone should have told them about it. It’s very annoying when something like this happens, and the cast should have done SOMETHING for the kids who lost out on their training op just because of the weather.
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