Jedi Training Academy
My youngest child was only nine months old during our first trip to Walt Disney World. Over the past few years, he has grown in both stature and courage, and he decided this would be his year to conquer the World! This past September, Adam dared the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Dinosaur!, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I think—no, I know—his new power came from a much bigger source: the Force.
The second day we were at the Parks, my young Padawan got the chance to battle Darth Vader at Jedi Training Academy at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. A Padawan, Star Wars-ese, is a “Force-sensitive adolescent who had begun one-on-one Jedi training under a Jedi Knight or Master.” Of course, we had noticed Adam’s natural talent and knew he was ready to take that next step.
In an exciting 30-minute performance onstage, Adam and the other trainees donned the signature brown robe and skillfully obeyed the instructions of their Jedi Master, blocking, ducking, cutting and striking their light sabers where directed. They defeated the Dark Side and earned certificates officially proclaiming them “a Padawan, a student devoted to the ancient training of the Jedi Knights.”
Jedi Training Academy
Jedi Training is now arranged on a sign-up basis. However, the Force was with us, as we were able to secure a slot abandoned by another protege. We do recommend that to assure your child a spot onstage, you should arrive at the Park at opening. Proceed down Hollywood Boulevard, left around Echo Lake, and into the American Idol Experience/Sounds Dangerous building to the Jedi Training Academy desk. Your Padawan should accompany you to registration, because he or she may be asked a few simple questions like his/her age and if he/she can follow directions. Shows are scheduled throughout the day and time slots fill up fast. Once you’ve signed up, you will be given a piece of paper with your child’s name and show time, and you will be asked to return 30 minutes prior to that appointed time.
Go now, and may the Force be with you.
Jodi Whisenhunt is a Disney-devoted veteran homeschooling mom of 3 and an award-winning freelance writer and editor. Think outside the textbook and learn while you play at her Magical Mouse Schoolhouse, where Disney IS school!
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