Make the most of the Jedi Training Academy

Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple at Disney’s Hollywood Studios® is the perfect addition to a Walt Disney World® Resort vacation for the younglings in your life. It takes a bit of planning but totally worth it in the end.

The actual experience at the Jedi Temple takes about twenty minutes. The jedi students have masters that will teach them how to use the force, properly and safely handle a light saber and most importantly how to battle the most powerful and dangerous dark side villains.

All younglings ages 4-12 are invited to participate.

Darth Vader and Kylo Ren are ready to battle!

Here are my foolproof tips and tricks to be sure everyone has a galactic good time.

Be sure to get to the park early! We were there at 7:45 a.m. for a 9:00 a.m. park opening. We were at the bus stop by 7. It’s early – I know. But the payoff is worth it. If it’s a little chilly be sure to have your hoodie because you wait in the shade and it can get pretty cold when you’re just standing there. The cast members waiting at the gate are very talkative and fun. During our last trip even Donald and Daisy came to greet us and pass the time – so much fun!

My daughter got to meet Donald Duck before Disney’s Hollywood Studios® opened.

You’re allowed to enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios® thirty minutes before the park opens. The cast members will allow you to walk all the way up to Sunset Boulevard. Some people visit the shops, some people wait until park open to rush to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith or the Toy Story Midway Mania!® Attraction, but we turned left toward Echo Lake to sign up for Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple!

Head down past Hollywood and Vine and 50’s Prime Time Café to the Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular! gift shop. There a cast member is waiting for you to guide you through the process. We were the third family in line – SCORE! We got to pick any session of Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple that was being held that day. Each session begins at ten minutes past the hour but you must check in at the sign-up location 30 minutes prior to the training.

We had some FastPass+ reservations scheduled as well as some dining so after some consideration we picked the 10:10 a.m. session. From there we had time to go wait with the rest of the crowd to rush over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith (waited for about 15 minutes in line) and then used our FastPass+ for Star Tours – The Adventure Continues. We were about five minutes late for check-in but it was perfectly fine. The cast members come through with Jedi robes for the kids to wear. Some kids already had robes they brought from home but they had to take them off and wear the robes given to them. I have no idea why but whatever.

This next part is super important. The kids (30 of them) are split into two groups of 15 and form two lines. One group will battle Darth Vader and the other group will battle Kylo Ren. The cast members will NOT tell you which line battles who. But lucky for you, I will! The line closer to the building (which is the line to the cast member’s right) will be on the lower platform and battle Kylo Ren. The line closer to the walkway (the line to the cast member’s left) will be on the upper platform and battle Darth Vader.

Claudia battles Kylo Ren at Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple.

When the kids arrive at the Jedi Temple be sure to stand next to your child to get the Disney’s PhotoPass® Service card from the proper photographer. If you get the wrong card you will have a lot of pictures of kids that you don’t know. That would stink. The photographers take a ton of pictures and I was really surprised how many of them were just of my daughter. If you already purchased Memory Maker, photos from Jedi Training are able to be added to your account.

Since you already know if your child will be on the upper or lower platform hurry over and get your spot in the front row.

You did it! Now get those cameras ready. You won’t want to miss a thing.