Jedi Training
While at Hollywood Studios, the girls joined in Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple (previously known as Jedi Training Academy). This is an awesome experience for any Star Wars fan (well, at least any fan between age 4 and 12, leaving some of the parents around wondering if they could pass as one of their kids for a bit ;) ). It’s also one of the hottest tickets in town and there are no FastPasses for it. So, we made sure to get to the park right when it opened to sign up. Even so, we ended up in line for about 30 minutes just to sign up. Our girls got into the 12:40 group, and they told us to be back there at 12:10 to get ready.
When we got there at 12:10, there was a little bit of standing around as everyone gathered. We took advantage of the time, pulled out our PB&J sandwiches, and ate the quickly. Once all 30 of the kids had arrived, they lined them up in height order and gave them Jedi robes.
They then marched from Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost to the Jedi Temple next to Star Tours. They were led by a banner-holder who continually yelled “Make way for the future of the Jedi Order”. After arriving at the temple, the fun got started.
Our younglings were met by 4 Jedi - one master, her apprentice, and two other students. And then the training began. Each youngling was given a lightsaber, and they were all taught a bunch of moves. They repeated these in sequence to practice them.
But then, the trials started. Their darkest fears were realized when Darth Vader and the Seventh Sister Inquisitor arrived.
But they learned to face their fears, and each got a chance to fight one of these evil Sith. Both Molly and Leah were in the group to fight the Seventh Sister, which was fortunate since we’d just caught up on the second season of Star Wars Rebels and she was fresh in their minds.
In the end, lightsabers were not enough to get rid of the evil ones, so they had to use the force to push them away.
But wait, Darth Maul showed up as well, with his acrobatic double-sided lightsaber moves.
And Molly was shocked.
But we all used the force to push him away as well.
There was a lot more to the show, but I think you get the idea. For a Star Wars fan, this was as fun as it gets. It’s also got to be the most interactive attraction at Disney World. Where else do you get to be up on stage for 20 minutes, including fighting the bad guy one-on-one?
The girls say this was their favorite part of the trip, and even though I experienced it vicariously, I’d say it was my favorite part as well. I highly recommend it for any Star Wars fans who meet the age requirements.
