Jedi Academy - Tips & Highlights

[Hound 109]

Although over 3 years old,...... most (if not all) of the information & tips that are discussed in this thread would be helpful for young Padewans wanting to participate in the Jedi Training Academy. I had received great tips & advice here on the DIS on how best to be chosen by the Master Jedi....& the advice worked!

HydroGuy has included this post on his "Tip Thread" sticky so it gets bumped up from time to time. Most (if not all) of the information is still valid & good. But please feel free to add new information, opinions or experiences.


THE BEGINNING OF THIS THREAD WAS AS FOLLOWS:


Our 8 y/o DS - "Jedi Alec" - put the hurt on ol' Darth Maul this past Tuesday. :yay:

http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp171/hound109/alecdarthmaul-1.jpg

I wanted to let the parents with young sons (& daughters) aged (aprox) 5-11 years old know.....that the Jedi Training Academy can be a trip highlight - especially if your child is picked.

Note: DS was a fan (but not a fanatic) of Star Wars, but his getting picked & turning Darth Maul into chopped liver is all he has talked about since we got back yesterday.

The following link provides some good info & background:

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1466649

A few additional comments:

- Padewan Alec did NOT have a Star Wars T shirt, but it wouldn't hurt to have your child wear one.

- He DID have a sign. We simply took an 8X11 manilla folder and folded it out. Thus an 11 X 16 "sign". Wrote a little something & had Alec hold it over his head with instructions to show it and wave it (& he was jumping up and down) when the Master Jedi was making his picks. (note: i had folded it into a 4 X 4 size and carried it into the park in my cargo pants pocket.)

- There are two areas to stand...one closest to Buzz/SM & the other closest to Matterhorn/Nemo. (with a walkway from the stage to the food court separating them).

- The Nemo side had far less kids when we arrived at 10:15 (for the 10:30 show). Jedi Alec easily found "rope space" next to other Jedi applicants. (Parents stood behind their children). The other side (toward Buzz/SM) was more crowded and kiddos were standing two deep.

- (from the Hub) We walked down the path between the Matterhorn & the back side of Buzz & the entrance area for young Padewans was just past the food court on the right. We entered here to secure the desired front row rope position.

- After 5 minutes of music & light saber techniques by the Master Jedi & his two assistants, Master Jedi stepped up to the stage and began to select applicants for the training.

- He picked 3-4 from the Buzz side & then 3-4 from Nemo side (back & forth until about 25-30 children had been chosen).

- There were about 100 - 120 kids there, & I'm sure it was sad for the ones not chosen. :(

- A couple of girls were chosen (which made sense since there were 10 or so girls on the rope).

- All kids with Star Wars / Jedi outfits & all kids with signs were chosen first. (Alec was the 3rd chosen on the Nemo side after a couple of boys with Star Wars costumes were chosen, (& i believe it was because he was the only person on the Nemo side with a sign.) There were 3 kids on the Buzz side with signs & they also were among the first chosen on their side.

- After Jedi Outfits & young padewans with signs, it appeared to me that the Jedi Master then selected children with Star Wars T Shirts, etc.

- The remaining 8-10 kids were chosen at random (perhaps rounding out age/gender/ethnic mix, or perhaps they just jumped and yelled the most enthusiastically)

- I've also been advised that for siblings....if they have matching shirts or outfits, it is more likely that BOTH would be picked (as opposed to just one).


After being chosen, the kids were given brown Jedi robes & light sabres. Then learned many very cool Jedi moves for about 10 minutes. :yay:

http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp171/hound109/Disneylandalecjeditraining-1.jpg

Then each was given a chance to have a light sabre duel to the death with either Darth Vader or Darth Maul. :cool1: Padewan Alec is very sorry if Darth Maul is missing any arms or legs....but hopefully your child will be one of the lucky ones selected to have a light sabre duel with one of these evil-doers from the "dark side". :) :darth:


================================================== =================================================

UPDATE - Disney prefers that guests not carry huge elaborate signs when touring (they could get confiscated). Better to use a folded up Manilla folder & carry it in your pants pocket (or some other out of sight place) & only take it out for the Training Academy.

But signs continue to be an effective way to get a young padewan selected. In fact, not one person here on the DIS has reported NOT getting selected.... if their young padewan was waving a small sign.

Definitely read jjames's family experience on Page 3 of this thread. It's a great read & a great description of the JTA experience :)


hound :cool2:

:)

[TeamTnC]

THanks for teh idea of wheer to stand. My DS (7) is a HUGE Star Wars fan. In fact for Holloween this year he was Anikan Skywalker. He has the full brown robes. I was planning on dressing him in those already. This is one event I have yet to tell him they have a DL. We were their two years ago and did not have it then. He will be SSSSOOOO excited. I can't wait to see him do this.

Thanks again for the info Hound.

[JenDisneylandlver]

That sounds so cool! My son is going to LOVE this, were gonna make the sign this weekend to take with us next week. Sounds like something to video tape for sure!

[PrincessIM]

I don't think my DD 6 princess: had any idea what Star Wars was all about until she got picked for the Jedi Training. She is now a fan and when asked what her favourite part of Disneyland was, she says "fighting Darth Vader". Definately a must see. We were at the first show, no sign, at the rope on the side closest to Nemo, wore pink and white, had hair and facepainting done at Princess Fantasy Faire and she was one of the first 5 to be picked but she was jumping up and down and waving her arms around like crazy. She wants to go back and do it again.

[Hound 109]

That sounds so cool! My son is going to LOVE this, were gonna make the sign this weekend to take with us next week. Sounds like something to video tape for sure!

Cool. :thumbsup2

Report back on whether he waged battle with "Darth Vader" or "Darth Maul".

My DS has informed me that although Darth Vader is more famous, Darth Maul has a double sided light saber & is scarier (which if you look at the pic of Darth Maul in the link above, you might agree). But both are formidible foes. ;)

Get that sign in his hand and have him jump & yell when the selecting begins. :yay:

Good Luck.

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

This may be a dumb question, but I have a girl & not a huge (sorry) fan of Star Wars.......what do you put on the sign? My daughter loves to be picked - for anything - just never has been yet. Everytime we go to the dolphin show at the zoo, she gets so upset that she's not picked:sad2: And I have her jump up & down w/her hand up & still nothing!

[Hound 109]

This may be a dumb question, but I have a girl & not a huge (sorry) fan of Star Wars.......what do you put on the sign? My daughter loves to be picked - for anything - just never has been yet. Everytime we go to the dolphin show at the zoo, she gets so upset that she's not picked:sad2: And I have her jump up & down w/her hand up & still nothing!

I'm not a "huge" fan of Star Wars either. (I liked "Empire Strikes Back" alot, though)

For your DD.....I would have her wear either a Star Wars type shirt....or a bright unique shirt - lime green, UofT burnt orange ( ;) )....something that the Master Jedi would easily pick out & announce.

Regarding the sign. I saw "Pick Me!" & "The Force is with Me", etc.

Unfortunately, DS Jedi Alec has a father with a warped sense of humor. His sign read....

"Hey Darth...your Mama dresses you funny!" :rolleyes1

Master Jedi (when picking Jedi Alec) merely said "the boy with the orange shirt & the sign" when pointing at him.

hound :chewy:

[gardengirlco]

How close is this to the Nemo ride? Just wondering if we need to plan extra time to get through the Nemo crowd to the Jedi training.

Also, do the kids on the Nemo side generally battle Darth Maul and the ones on the Buzz side generally battle Darth Vader?

[PrincessIM]

When we were there, the kids who were up on stage fought Darth Vader and the kids on the floor fought Darth Maul. After they are picked, they direct the kids over to the left side of the stage (Nemo side) to pick up the light saber and robe. They are then directed to either the stage or floor. After their training on how to use their light saber, they kids are ushered to the right hand side of the stage. That's when Darth Vader comes out. I'm not sure if memory serves me right but I think they fill up the stage first and then start filling the floor.

Jedi training is very close to Nemo. I'm sure that area will be much more congested now than when we were there.

[Hound 109]

How close is this to the Nemo ride? Just wondering if we need to plan extra time to get through the Nemo crowd to the Jedi training.

Also, do the kids on the Nemo side generally battle Darth Maul and the ones on the Buzz side generally battle Darth Vader?

Good question on if Nemo is affecting Jedi Training. (the Nemo ride is very close) I would guess the Nemo side is now more crowded. Maybe someone who is there now can tell us.

Regarding who fights who...PrincessIM is correct. After the "training" they move them all over to the right of the stage (large group). Half are put in a line to battle Vader & the other half to battle Maul. (no criteria...they just split them up).

[gardengirlco]

Thanks for the additional info! I guess I'll find out next week how Nemo is affecting the Jedi Training. Hopefully it won't be too bad. I think we'll approach from the Buzz side. DS is looking forward to being one of the chosen ones. We finished making our sign today so *fingers crossed* that it gets him picked!

[JadeDarkstar]

i think ited be cool if they let them keep the robes or lightsabers lol

[Mommy26]

Thank you very much!

Is there anything like this in the Princess Fantasy Faire i.e. do they pick children to volunteer if they have signs etc.???

TIA

[BC Disney Lover]

Thank you so much for this info Hound. Over the past year my DS(7) has become a Star Wars fanatic. He doesn't know we're even going to Disneyland in 2 weeks but I know this is the first thing he'll ask about. I plan on going to every show until he gets picked!

[gardengirlco]

Thank you so much for this info Hound. Over the past year my DS(7) has become a Star Wars fanatic. He doesn't know we're even going to Disneyland in 2 weeks but I know this is the first thing he'll ask about. I plan on going to every show until he gets picked!

I highly recommend making a sign. Thanks to finding that out here we made one before our trip and it did the trick. My DS was selected the first time we went and we didn't get there as early as I had hoped, it was just a few minutes before it started. We rolled it up and packed it in a suitcase so it didn't take much room. You could probably lay something flat at the bottom of a suitcase too and it would be protected pretty well.

Good luck and have a great trip!

[Hound 109]

Thank you so much for this info Hound. Over the past year my DS(7) has become a Star Wars fanatic. He doesn't know we're even going to Disneyland in 2 weeks but I know this is the first thing he'll ask about. I plan on going to every show until he gets picked!

Let us know how it goes BC.

May the force be with your young Padewan. :darth:

[allimaree]

Hound, thank you SO MUCH for your tips here! We went to the 2nd show last Thursday with my 3 boys. We made signs for them ("Darth Vader Annihilator", "Obi Wan has taught me well" and "Judge me by my size, do you?") but I was worried they wouldn't pick 3 boys from the same family. We spread them out along our side of the floor so they weren't all together, but the signs matched, so I'm sure they knew they were related. They were the only ones with signs at our show. The Jedi master started picking from the other side of the floor first, maybe 5 or 6 kids. When he started picking from our side my boys were 3 of the first 4 chosen!! I was amazed at how well it worked! After the show we went to find their signs so we could keep them for memories but we couldn't find one of them. The CM we talked to said the Jedi Master likes to keep some signs because he hangs them on his wall. So cool! My boys loved the whole experience! Thanks again! :woohoo:

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Regarding how they split the children up to fight either Vader or Maul.........

We have seen the show a couple of times.......perhaps 6. (My son has done it twice.) It seemed as if they have the younger/smaller children fight Vader up on stage, and the older/taller kids fight Maul on the ground. Other people I have talked to have made the same observation.

Perhaps this is just the way it was in the shows we have seen, and not a trend. My tall 6 year old loved fighting Darth Maul, but he would also like to battle Vader. We thought his chances of that were pretty slim.

I agree with the original poster's observations and comments.....we love this show!!! Good luck to all who are trying to get their young jedi knights selected in the future.......

[disneyfan4ever54]

Hound, thank you SO MUCH for your tips here! We went to the 2nd show last Thursday with my 3 boys. We made signs for them ("Darth Vader Annihilator", "Obi Wan has taught me well" and "Judge me by my size, do you?") but I was worried they wouldn't pick 3 boys from the same family. We spread them out along our side of the floor so they weren't all together, but the signs matched, so I'm sure they knew they were related. They were the only ones with signs at our show. The Jedi master started picking from the other side of the floor first, maybe 5 or 6 kids. When he started picking from our side my boys were 3 of the first 4 chosen!! I was amazed at how well it worked! After the show we went to find their signs so we could keep them for memories but we couldn't find one of them. The CM we talked to said the Jedi Master likes to keep some signs because he hangs them on his wall. So cool! My boys loved the whole experience! Thanks again! :woohoo:

Thanks for mentioning where some of the signs end up. :) My DS was sad because his sign also disappeared and he wanted to save it. It will make him feel a lot better to hear this. :)

[sunshinemummy]

Regarding how they split the children up to fight either Vader or Maul.........

We have seen the show a couple of times.......perhaps 6. (My son has done it twice.) It seemed as if they have the younger/smaller children fight Vader up on stage, and the older/taller kids fight Maul on the ground. Other people I have talked to have made the same observation.



I can totally agree with this, the little guys got Vader, the bigger ones got Darth Maul (he is pretty scary looking). My son is almost 9 and was happy to get DM. We did not have a t-shirt or sign and DS got picked about 17th thankfully with his mommy begging and his 6ft4 daddy pointing like mad. It was truly a highlight for DS...and Dh too!! :D If DH was just a bit younger and shorter.....!!!LOL

[allimaree]

When we were there, it was only Darth Vader, no Darth Maul. Maybe because is was the low season? :confused3

[noryglory]

Well, were there on last Monday (Hi Allimaree, again!!) and our little friends who LOVE Star Wars both got to fight and both bad guys were there then.

Thanks to Hound's tips, our friend made a sign "Yoda says PICK ME!" LOL it was so cute and in fact he was the ONLY child with a sign and picked--although almost all the kids who were there got picked, I'm sure he was singled out because of his sign. His little sister was picked also and as many of you say, she fought Darth Vader and her big bro fought Darth Maul. I didn't realize it was a size thing but it makes a lot of sense.

It's such a great show, we walked by and saw a glimspe of it again, and after comparing we really preferred our "Master Jedi"--he was an Asian man and just did a really, really great job with the kids and making great jokes for all the adults watching. Hysterical.

My son, eh, he preferred watching his friends from the Tomorrowland Terrace. I was grateful we didn't have to worry about having all three picked!

[avalon451]

I tried to get my girls interested in this, but they just weren't. The older ones don't like to be in the spotlight (although I think they would have changed their minds, on this) and the younger one thought the Darths were too scary. I wanted to make a sign for them: "Pick me, Obi Wan Kenobi-- you're my only hope."

[ChasRN]

Anyone have any luck getting kids on the older side picked? I'm taking my nephews who are 10 and 12 to Disneyland in a couple of weeks. They are both Star Wars nuts. They don't know about the Jedi Training yet. Based on the suggestions here, I'm pretty confident I could get my 10 year old nephew picked. But I'm worried about the 12 year old. Sounds like they skew towards picking younger kids. They are good kids, but also two boys who are competitive since they are close in age. I don't want to create friction and problems when there are plenty of other things for us to do. Any ideas?

Chas

[december]

I'm really hoping I can get my ds10 picked. He didn't get picked at WDW last year, and he was ok but very disappointed. They picked younger kids. I just finished making a sign for him-I put Jedi ******* and under it "use the force.....pick me" then covered it in quotes from the movies. I did everything in different colors. I also wrote "1st time in DL." The sign is about 3 ft wide, so they can't miss it! I have it rolled up like a scroll and in the back pack already. I told him we'd keep going back until he got picked!

[noryglory]

Um, yeah, I think they will pick you guys!!! That's a riot! They do about 5 shows a day so yes, you can try again.

[Hound 109]

Hound, thank you SO MUCH for your tips here! We went to the 2nd show last Thursday with my 3 boys. We made signs for them ("Darth Vader Annihilator", "Obi Wan has taught me well" and "Judge me by my size, do you?") but I was worried they wouldn't pick 3 boys from the same family. We spread them out along our side of the floor so they weren't all together, but the signs matched, so I'm sure they knew they were related. They were the only ones with signs at our show. The Jedi master started picking from the other side of the floor first, maybe 5 or 6 kids. When he started picking from our side my boys were 3 of the first 4 chosen!! I was amazed at how well it worked! After the show we went to find their signs so we could keep them for memories but we couldn't find one of them. The CM we talked to said the Jedi Master likes to keep some signs because he hangs them on his wall. So cool! My boys loved the whole experience! Thanks again! :woohoo:

That's a great story....& it's very cool that all three of your boys were chosen. :thumbsup2

Which side were they standing on? Was one side "more crowded" than the other?

AlliMaree....if you have pics.....please post them. :hippie:


hound :yoda:

[Hound 109]

I can totally agree with this, the little guys got Vader, the bigger ones got Darth Maul (he is pretty scary looking). My son is almost 9 and was happy to get DM. We did not have a t-shirt or sign and DS got picked about 17th thankfully with his mommy begging and his 6ft4 daddy pointing like mad. It was truly a highlight for DS...and Dh too!! :D If DH was just a bit younger and shorter.....!!!LOL

Darth Maul has the double sided light sabre & has Amazing Moves.

Those who enjoy Rock Music & want to see Darth Maul in action might want to go to You Tube & type in "Darth Maul Rocks". It's pretty cool.

hound :cool2:

[Hound 109]

Anyone have any luck getting kids on the older side picked? I'm taking my nephews who are 10 and 12 to Disneyland in a couple of weeks. They are both Star Wars nuts. They don't know about the Jedi Training yet. Based on the suggestions here, I'm pretty confident I could get my 10 year old nephew picked. But I'm worried about the 12 year old. Sounds like they skew towards picking younger kids. They are good kids, but also two boys who are competitive since they are close in age. I don't want to create friction and problems when there are plenty of other things for us to do. Any ideas?

Chas

I would go to the first showing & have both kids with signs & very easy to pick out shirts. (Lime Green....Bright Orange.....something that the Master Jedi can easily spot & say...."the kid with the sign & the orange shirt" for example).

FWIW our successful "signs" were just manilla folders folded out with Sharpie Letters....if you or the kids don't want to do an elaborate sign.

Good Luck. :thumbsup2

[disneyfan4ever54]

Anyone have any luck getting kids on the older side picked? I'm taking my nephews who are 10 and 12 to Disneyland in a couple of weeks. They are both Star Wars nuts. They don't know about the Jedi Training yet. Based on the suggestions here, I'm pretty confident I could get my 10 year old nephew picked. But I'm worried about the 12 year old. Sounds like they skew towards picking younger kids. They are good kids, but also two boys who are competitive since they are close in age. I don't want to create friction and problems when there are plenty of other things for us to do. Any ideas?

Chas

My DS was chosen when we were there for his 12th birthday. Our family is petite though, so he does appear to be younger than he is. There were about 5 kids the same size as him that seemed to be around 10 or 11 and the rest were younger. I would think it would depend on whether the kids were petite or very tall for their age and what age they appeared to be. :)

[ChasRN]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll talk it over with their parents and see what they think. However, I was mulling over the idea that if we made a sign that said "we are brothers and we want to fight the dark side together", maybe there would be a better chance of getting them both chosen.

Chas

[december]

I love that idea!

[Hound 109]

I came across this hilarious & detailed experience of the Jedi Training Academy in recent trip report.

Lots of good information & a very funny read from diser jjames:


And finally, FINALLY, it was time for the event we'd all been waiting for: the Jedi Training Academy. The signs were made, #s 3 & 4 had been coached in the proper jumping and yelling technique, and we were ready to kick some Sith behinds. We were also 30 minutes early. Tomorrowland Terrace was a ghost town. Not to be deterred, the kids parked themselves front and center behind the line, signs at the ready. I headed off to pick up some BTMRR fastpasses, having neglected to read that BTMRR wasn't offering fastpasses on that day. It turns out that the Times guide really does have some valuable information printed in it.

I returned to JTA to see that the crowds had begun to gather. More waiting...waiting...and then the music began playing, the announcer's voice came on, and the Jedi Master took the stage. He immediately began choosing children to participate – beginning with ours!! Unfortunately, we were all a little slow on the uptake, and by the time we realized they'd been called, the Jedi Master had moved on to the other side of the stage. We didn't know what to do. Should we still send them? What if we were wrong? What if it was too late? Oh, the pressure! Luckily, the Jedi Master took pity on the two pathetic creatures still jumping up and down with their signs and called them up again. Whew! (Editors note: The Jedi Master is HILARIOUS! He also speaks very quickly and with a lower tone, so he can be a little bit hard to understand at first. Pay close attention when he begins speaking, so that you won't feel like the village idiot when he has to call your children up to the stage twice.)

With light sabers in hand, it was time for the young padawans to begin their training. The Jedi Master first instructed them in the proper activation technique: push the button and swoosh. Twenty nine lightsabers swooshed out. #4's light saber was stuck. #4 scratched his head, shook his handle up and down, and...nothing. The Jedi assistant came over to help. She activated the lightsaber. #4 then couldn't figure out how to deactivate it. She gave him a new lightsaber.

Meanwhile, the rest of the young padawans had moved on to the fighting routine. #4 took the new saber, gave it a shake, and...nothing. The Jedi assistant came back and once again helped him with the activation. He swung it around a few times, deactivated it, and...once again couldn't get it to reactivate. Meanwhile, jokes were flying through the air at light speed as the Jedi master continued to coach his young trainees. Between the Jedi Master and our own little padawan flunkee, we were laughing hysterically the whole time. #4 finally managed to successfully deploy his weapon – one time.

And now it was time for Darth Vader to take the stage. He rose from the stage in a display of very dramatic mist and music, and tried to persuade the padawans to join him. Nice try, Vader, they'll never join you! But alas, Vader had brought back-ups. A very scary, very skillful Darth Maul joined him. (Editors note: Darth Maul fans should sit on the left hand side of the stage, as this is were he does all of his stalking and glaring.) The padawans were ready to fight!! #4 was put in Vader's line, while #3 was selected to take on Darth Maul, which she did in a very business-like and slightly terrified manner. It was #4's turn to take on Darth Vader. He bravely walked up to the Dark Lord, held out his lightsaber, and....nothing! He still couldn't activate it. He shook it, tried again, and...still nothing. The Jedi Master stepped in. “Dude, he's standing right there – we don't have time for this! Take mine!”

Take mine!”

With the Jedi Master's lightsaber in hand, #4 became a blur of motion as he ducked, posed, whirled, and completely disregarded all of the training he had received. He was a little Jedi fighting machine!

He also got the biggest cheers from the crowd (Mommy blushes with pride). Thank you, Jedi Master, for rescuing my poor clueless padawan and letting him have his moment of glory.

The fighting was over, the Sith lords retreated, and the padawans were presented with their diplomas. For all of us, the Jedi Training Academy was the highlight of our trip. We would definitely go to see it again, even if we didn't have any kids!



& fyi...her entire report is a feel good, funny & well written recap of a nice family who are visiting our little park for the first time. :goodvibes

It can be read here (& has lots of great pics, too):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1817885


hound <---- loves reading reports about families (with kids) experiencing Walt's park for the first time. :thumbsup2

:)

[quiltymom]

DS did this during our trip. I must admit that I had no idea what to expect, but it was great! Even if you don't have kids who want to participate, it would be a fun way to take a food break and watch the action. The Jedi Master was just fantastic.

[TheAXIOM]

The Jedi Training Academy was SUCH a fun event to see.
Seeing all the little ones battle Darth Vader and use the force to stop the Storm Troopers...

Very entertaining.
Wish I was young enough to fight :/

[Grim_Grinning_Girl]

I went to Disneyland about 2 weeks ago, and we had 3 younger kids in our party ages: 3, 5, and 8. All 3 of them were chosen to participate in the Jedi Training academy in the same performance. Of course I planned ahead and made signs for them to hold up, the signs where of: an image of Darth Vader, image of a Stormtrooper, and an image of the Rebel Alliance symbol. I figured a simple & direct visual would work the best, rather than reading material for the Jedi since the selection process needs to be done quickly. And fortunately it worked :banana: . The Jedi called the kids based on the images on the signs, and in succession too, 1-2-3 :dance3: .

Our group went nuts :jumping1: . We were hoping at least one of them would get picked, so we lost it when all 3 were selected, and in a row :thanks: !

[carj]

We went to WDW last summer and this was absolutely the highlight of the trip for my then 7 year old son.
We are going to DLR this summer and I will definitely make a sign! Thanks!

[toni1227]

Thanks HOUND!!! We went last week and my DS got picked! He had a bright blue shirt with a big number 73 on it and he jumped up and down and was at the rope. The guy called out #73!!!
We did make him a sign but he did not hold it up!!! I asked him why and he said that no one else was (but I told him well that was the point to get picked if he saw you waving a sign he would see you and pick you). But luckily he still was picked. That was his favorite thing at Disneyland. Glad I read your thread or I would not have not had a clue on how to get him picked. :thumbsup2

[mrwinky]

My youngest got picked when we were there in OCT.. What I had done was made an iron transfer of the picture of Mikey as Luke from the original Starwars (1977) movie poster... I then put text on it that said "I wanna be a Jedi in Training"... We put the shirt in our backpack and happened to be getting off nemo 15min before it started, so we sat down, front row, and my 5 y/o son was picked about 4 or 5th. I didnt notice anyone with signs. I think the key is to be at the front of the line in the ground they have :).... I got some amazing shots of Darth maul point me out when he was walking down the aisle ( I was there taking photos there) he pointed at me and snarled... Quite an Amazing picture... And it was my sons Highlight of the whole trip... Infact that night he had to call grandma and Grandpa to tell them all about it :)


Winky

[caldisneyfan]

Our DS has been picked everytime so far. Twice in 2007 and last year we only did it once. Last year he dressed as Anakin Skywalker and was picked in the first couple of Padawan learner's.

[MommyWithDreams]

My son was picked twice on our trip the first week of this month. The first time was with a sign the second time was without. There are pictures of the first time he was chosen in my signature. I haven't gotten to the second time yet in my TR.

[magicallyDisney001]

Just wondering, what is the difference between this Jedi Training Academy and the one at WDW?

[Hound 109]

Excellent thread & information on where to buy Jedi Light Sabers....& "Build you Own" Light Sabers. :thumbsup2

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2190567


For the little padewan who must have it all. :)

[aliceindisneyland]

Go to Target and buy a red and white Star Wars Clone Trooper baseball cap (looks like a clone trooper helmet) in the boy's department.
DS 5 just got chosen by waving that hat around and another boy wearing the same hat got picked for that show! $7.99 and worth every penny!

[mac_daddy]

Go to Target and buy a red and white Star Wars Clone Trooper baseball cap (looks like a clone trooper helmet) in the boy's department.
DS 5 just got chosen by waving that hat around and another boy wearing the same hat got picked for that show! $7.99 and worth every penny!

Looks like this?


rebelscum.com
/2009/DSCN3714.jpg

[aliceindisneyland]

Looks like this?


rebelscum.com
/2009/DSCN3714.jpg

Yup that's the one! DS5 was not wearing his JTA shirt the day he got picked -- this photo was during day 1 that ended in a meltdown when both DS and I thought the Jedi Master was talking to him when JM said he was too young (DS had been chosen before when only 3 yrs old.) Lesson learned: stand your ground until **all** the padawans have been chosen!
http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu87/babychubchubtutus/IMG_2458-1.jpg

[disneyfan4ever54]

:) I just wanted to re-emphasize how much holding a sign really does work. There is no mistake as to who the Jedi Master is referring to when a child has a sign. It makes them stand out from everyone else and gives a clear reference: the child in the red shirt with the sign. I've never heard of anyone with a sign not getting chosen to participate.

[farmgirljen]

It worked for us recently! I ha read all the tricks, and mae sure i used them,lol- parked my son in the front row(wedged him in betwen the sign announcing the times of the show and another child) had him wearing a lime green disneyland shirt we had purchased before the trip, and we ha made a sign- he was one of the first few kids picked!

[disneyfan4ever54]

:)It worked for us recently! I ha read all the tricks, and mae sure i used them,lol- parked my son in the front row(wedged him in betwen the sign announcing the times of the show and another child) had him wearing a lime green disneyland shirt we had purchased before the trip, and we ha made a sign- he was one of the first few kids picked!

Good job!......Lime green shirt = bright and visible, along with a sign! I'm glad your DS got chosen and I hope that he had fun! I read about the "sign" tip on here before we went too, and my DS was the 3rd one picked after two siblings holding a sign were picked first (and second). It really does work!

[prettyprincessbelle]

The Jedi Training Academy was SUCH a fun event to see.
Seeing all the little ones battle Darth Vader and use the force to stop the Storm Troopers...

Very entertaining.
Wish I was young enough to fight :/

Me too! :sad2:

I'd probably give into Darth Vader and join the dark side with him anyways. :stir: :darth:

[2wildchildzmom]

Thanks for all of the great advice. My two boys can't wait for the JTA in Sept. They are Star Wars nuts! They are 12 and 8, the 12 year old is small for his age so hopefully he can still get picked. It would be a real bummer if the two of them didn't get to do it together. We will be making signs, wearing bright shirts and going to Target to look for that cool hat.

[disneyfan4ever54]

Thanks for all of the great advice. My two boys can't wait for the JTA in Sept. They are Star Wars nuts! They are 12 and 8, the 12 year old is small for his age so hopefully he can still get picked. It would be a real bummer if the two of them didn't get to do it together. We will be making signs, wearing bright shirts and going to Target to look for that cool hat.
My family is very petite and DS was chosen for the training when we were there for his 12th birthday. Good luck to your boys.....I hope they both get chosen together. :)

[Mary Jo]

I've added this thread to our FAQ sticky at the top. Great tips. :)

[mac_daddy]

So, I followed most of the instructions to the letter:

- 11X17 ledger sheet with the handwritten outline bold Impact font used displaying "THE FORCE IS STRONG IN THIS ONE!" with the 'O' replaced with a bright red rebel insignia (DW rolls eyes when she sees me penciling)

- folding up the sign and placing it in my sling bag, never caught the eye of the security check this Thursday July 30, 2009.

- 11:00AM, around 30 kids lined up around JTA, I situate my DS6 near the split of the two sides, he is wearing a bright red Lightening McQueen shirt. As I hand him the sign with instructions, again DW rolls eyes with disdain and embarrassment as DS6 unfolds sign prematurely. Also, another parent notices the sign with the obvious parental assistance of the bright red Rebel insignia and then looks back at me with a look of disgust in how I could be pimping my kid with an obviously self indulgent display of fanboyness.

- 11:45 AM, the Jedi Master reaches the stage and announces "Who wants to be a Jedi?!" Above the din and clamor of the audience he immediately points to the only kid with the sign and says "The padawan in the red shirt holding the sign!" Immediately, DW immediately hugs and kisses me in disbelief. Me? Feeling like all of that dedication and sacrifice made it a special day!

Tomorrow is DS6 birthday, when he is officially 6. We hope to try the same sign again so I can hold the camcorder steady without DW toppling me over.:banana:

Thanks again, guys. You made me look like a hero instead of a zero!

[HydroGuy]

So, I followed most of the instructions to the letter:

- 11X17 ledger sheet with the handwritten outline bold Impact font used displaying "THE FORCE IS STRONG IN THIS ONE!" with the 'O' replaced with a bright red rebel insignia (DW rolls eyes when she sees me penciling)

- folding up the sign and placing it in my sling bag, never caught the eye of the security check this Thursday July 30, 2009.

- 11:00AM, around 30 kids lined up around JTA, I situate my DS6 near the split of the two sides, he is wearing a bright red Lightening McQueen shirt. As I hand him the sign with instructions, again DW rolls eyes with disdain and embarrassment as DS6 unfolds sign prematurely. Also, another parent notices the sign with the obvious parental assistance of the bright red Rebel insignia and then looks back at me with a look of disgust in how I could be pimping my kid with an obviously self indulgent display of fanboyness.

- 11:45 AM, the Jedi Master reaches the stage and announces "Who wants to be a Jedi?!" Above the din and clamor of the audience he immediately points to the only kid with the sign and says "The padawan in the red shirt holding the sign!" Immediately, DW immediately hugs and kisses me in disbelief. Me? Feeling like all of that dedication and sacrifice made it a special day!

Tomorrow is DS6 birthday, when he is officially 6. We hope to try the same sign again so I can hold the camcorder steady without DW toppling me over.:banana:

Thanks again, guys. You made me look like a hero instead of a zero!You know, there have been several threads in recent weeks by people who prefer to "wing it" on their DLR trips. If someone really wants to wing it then it is a free world. But if you have kids they may miss out on cool things like JTA.

When my youngest son was 11 we got him selected for JTA at DLR and he will always remember dueling with Darth Maul. We did not have a sign but followed enough general advice (red shirt, family members pointing at him, early arrival and positioned near center, etc.) that we got him in. Some level of planning goes a long way towards having a more full experience!

Glad to hear of your success story!

[Grim_Grinning_Girl]

Just went with two of my younger cousins. I make vinyl decals so was able to make pretty cool signs, they were the first two kids selected. Went last year with 3 younger kids, all 3 had similar signs and were all picked at once.

One of my signs was of Darth Maul, my younger cousin and his 2.5 year old brother are huge Star Wars fans, little one didn't participate. We were in the very front near the spot where Darth Maul does his saber demo and I figured Darth Maul would walk over if he saw the sign. The unsuspecting 2.5 year old held the sign as Darth Maul came out and sure enough Darth Maul walked over to him, he didn't cry but sure did hide behind his mom, very funny! Darth Maul came over a 2nd time, my cousin was still holding the sign, Darth Maul looked at it and nodded, my cousin spent the rest of the day reenacting how Darth Maul nodded at him.

[aliceindisneyland]

You know, there have been several threads in recent weeks by people who prefer to "wing it" on their DLR trips. If someone really wants to wing it then it is a free world. But if you have kids they may miss out on cool things like JTA.

When my youngest son was 11 we got him selected for JTA at DLR and he will always remember dueling with Darth Maul. We did not have a sign but followed enough general advice (red shirt, family members pointing at him, early arrival and positioned near center, etc.) that we got him in. Some level of planning goes a long way towards having a more full experience!

Glad to hear of your success story!

Yeah--like any adult who had been tipped off that holding up a sign when they entered a casino would exponentially increase their chances of winning a jackpot would blow that off! There's such a buildup to being chosen (and even for the most level headed kids, such a letdown if you're not chosen) that if your kid is into Star Wars you are duty bound to give them an edge!

[godalejunior]

In our last trip DS was lucky enought to battle both Darth Vader and Darth Maul as they ran out of kids to go against Maul. I love that Photopass now does pictures of this and we were able to load up on pics of it as well.

[iheartdisney]

We were "winging" it last week, just popped in to watch the show...didn't really expect to get chosen (and didn't) but wanted to share.
We noticed ALOT of matching sets got chosen- the Jedi Master selected 2 or three sets of matching kids.

[Hound 109]

So, I followed most of the instructions to the letter:

- 11X17 ledger sheet with the handwritten outline bold Impact font used displaying "THE FORCE IS STRONG IN THIS ONE!" with the 'O' replaced with a bright red rebel insignia (DW rolls eyes when she sees me penciling)

- folding up the sign and placing it in my sling bag, never caught the eye of the security check this Thursday July 30, 2009.

- 11:00AM, around 30 kids lined up around JTA, I situate my DS6 near the split of the two sides, he is wearing a bright red Lightening McQueen shirt. As I hand him the sign with instructions, again DW rolls eyes with disdain and embarrassment as DS6 unfolds sign prematurely. Also, another parent notices the sign with the obvious parental assistance of the bright red Rebel insignia and then looks back at me with a look of disgust in how I could be pimping my kid with an obviously self indulgent display of fanboyness.

- 11:45 AM, the Jedi Master reaches the stage and announces "Who wants to be a Jedi?!" Above the din and clamor of the audience he immediately points to the only kid with the sign and says "The padawan in the red shirt holding the sign!" Immediately, DW immediately hugs and kisses me in disbelief. Me? Feeling like all of that dedication and sacrifice made it a special day!

Tomorrow is DS6 birthday, when he is officially 6. We hope to try the same sign again so I can hold the camcorder steady without DW toppling me over.:banana:

Thanks again, guys. You made me look like a hero instead of a zero!

Great report. :thumbsup2

Your DW is exactly like my DW ...."Are you sure he should have a sign....only 2 other kids have signs"...acting nervous/embarrased etc....& then after our padewan was the second one picked, she was whooping & hollering. :lmao:

It's funny, when i first posted this 2 years ago (before it morphed into sort of a Jedi Training superthread because HG included in on his tip threads)....I posted because for DS Padewan Alec (at the time age 7) it was absolutely a trip highlight.

For his first training session, there were at least 75-100 kids & only 25-30 were chosen. Alec was chosen because he had a bright shirt & a sign (& the Master Jedi identified him that way).

He has also been chosen w/o a sign (but with far fewer kids)....but that's not the point. The point is if getting picked is desirable....then maximize the chance that your little 4-11 y/o padewan gets chosen. Because not getting chosen is a bummer (especially if he's a star wars fan) & it could be a trip highlight if your little padewan is picked.


I love the "if a sign would improve your luck at the blackjack table would you hold one" analogy. :rotfl:...so true.


& Hydroguy is right...folks can choose to "wing it" (free country)....but if they merely took advantage of a few tips:

- Arrive early at DL.
- Collect FPs early & often.
- Hop if DL gets to crowded.
- zig when others are zagging.
- make a sign & have him/her wear a unique or colorful shirt if you want your kid picked for JTA.

....then they can still "go with the flow" 80% of the time....but have a much higher quality Disney experience.


All i know is.... in 3 years of reading posts on Jedi Academy....I have yet to hear of a kid with a sign NOT being picked. :teacher:

:)

[Hound 109]

We were "winging" it last week, just popped in to watch the show...didn't really expect to get chosen (and didn't) but wanted to share.
We noticed ALOT of matching sets got chosen- the Jedi Master selected 2 or three sets of matching kids.

Great info. :thumbsup2

What kind of "matching sets" were they?

[iheartdisney]

Great info. :thumbsup2

What kind of "matching sets" were they?

Just siblings in similar shirts. Two boys in matching Gap shirts, 2 red shirts in the front row, etc.

[Hound 109]

That makes sense. It probably avoids family drama that would occur if one gets picked & the other doesn't.

I'll include this info on the front page of the thread....siblings should match....& have signs. ;)

[MyMonkies]

Oh man! We went to this show with our son who wanted it soooooo bad. The first day by pure coincidence he had on a Star Wars shirt as well as his b-day button. He didn't get picked. Everyone always got picked around him-never him. Our hearts just broke for him, I seriously felt like crying. I think we tried that show 3 times that day! On the second day we let the kids each buy something & my son's choice was to build a light sabre. It happened that we were heading to the show for another try right after that. He got picked right away with that light sabre!!!

Anyway, the kids who got picked had something distinct about them.....light sabre, Star Wars shirt (although that didn't work for us), really little & cute, and another thing we saw was groups of kids with matching shirts.....

At the end of the show we were given a picture thing for the pics they took & told they'd be ready in about an hour. We decided we'd wait until park closing & look on our way out. Well, we did just that & got up there to find the shop had closed!!!! They apparently were closing it early that night to prepare for Grad-Night. I tell ya, I pleaded with that man out front-this was the last day we were going to be there. He held strong. Finally I asked if he could go in & get them for me. I am such a baby but I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. He looked at me, snatched my ticket & said he'd see what he could do. :love: He went in & they matched up our pictures with my son & put them on a Photo Pass card for us to view at home. I was sooooooooooo thankful. WHile he was inside my son looked up at me & said, "Mom, you don't have to cry." :laughing:

The other guy that came out to stand guard was asking us about our experience with getting my son into the show. He said that wearing something special usually helps & that some kids come thru in full costume!

I really think this experience sealed the deal on my son having a trip to remember forever. :worship:

[pinkblush]

Just wanted to post about our experience...we were there last week and ds did the Jedi Knight training, first show, 10:30 am, on a Tuesday. There were a TON of kids there! The kids started sitting on the blue line at about 10. It was SO hot with NO shade, lol, but we staked out a spot.


I had read this thread, so I tried to do as much as I could to maximize ds's potential of getting picked. :rotfl: I am *so* embarrassed at how geeked out dh and I were, but hey, it was for ds, right! :lmao: Dh and I wore Star Wars shirts that said "Star Wars Mommy" and "Star Wars Daddy", which we made by using a very nice designer's design from the Dis-ign board. Another designer who makes name designs had this awesome Star Wars name design, so I asked her to make one for ds and she was very nice and made it for us. :)


So, we had a geeked out mommy and daddy, plus ds in a SW shirt. I also made him a sign, per the advice on this board. :worship: When I looked around at the other kids, there were at least 10 others I saw who were getting out their signs! I think the secret is out! :eek: There were also a ton of kids in SW shirts, and some in full out costumes AND signs! :scared1: I saw a few parents give their kids menus or just pieces of paper to hold up that were not *real* signs - which bugged me a little because I had printed mine out beforehand, but I can see why they did it when they saw how many other people had signs!


There must have been 40-50 kids trying to get picked that day, and even though I thought we had planned well, it looked as though everyone else had planned well too! I was worried ds would not get picked, especially since he is pretty shy and not one to make a loud ruckus.


Ds held up his sign (shyly of course, lol), dh pointed down at ds, and I tried to smile nicely, lol - and ds was the third one picked! We were so excited.


But honestly, if it is a busy day, it seems like the signs might not be enough! :confused3 Kids who had on SW shirts did not get picked, and even some who had signs did not get picked. It almost seemed like a contest - who could be the most over the top!


All in all, it was an amazing experience and ds was thrilled to have been chosen. I am SO grateful to everyone who shared their tips on this thread, otherwise ds would have had no chance whatsoever. If it is not a busy day, then there is probably not much to worry about, but if you are there when the crowds are high, definitely take some time to prepare!

I hope this helps someone! And just for kicks, here's a pic of ds - he had a blast doing this and although he was scared at first, now that the experience has sunk in a bit, he says he hopes to do it again!

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc184/mm76_photos/Shirts/DSC_0438.jpg

[MyMonkies]

It's brutal competition, huh!? Funny about the signs, when we went we didn't see any. Lightsabres were the thing when we were there.

[JoyG]

Can you bring your own toy lightsabers into the park? Will they be confiscated by security? I'm wondering if I should try to bring them from home along with a sign.

[JnbTravels]

Thanks for the great tips!!
My family and I were there last week. We were in the park on Aug 13th and 15th. My husband made signs the night before for our 2 kids, one with a drawing of Yoda and one with a drawing of Darth Vader, and we tried our luck at the first show. On the first day, we arrived at 10am and were one of the first ones there, so we got to be in the front of the crowd. My kids were standing next to each other and were picked together - the second and third kids picked for that show. We were so excited! They got to be on the stage too.
On the 15th, my son wanted to do it again, but we were somewhat confident in the signs this time so we didn't rush over there. We arrived near 10:30 and were in the back, but the sign worked again!!
On the first day, we were the only ones with signs, but on the second day, there were a couple other kids with small signs, but they got picked too.

[Hound 109]

:thumbsup2

:yay:

Thanks for the great tips!!
My family and I were there last week. We were in the park on Aug 13th and 15th. My husband made signs the night before for our 2 kids, one with a drawing of Yoda and one with a drawing of Darth Vader, and we tried our luck at the first show. On the first day, we arrived at 10am and were one of the first ones there, so we got to be in the front of the crowd. My kids were standing next to each other and were picked together - the second and third kids picked for that show. We were so excited! They got to be on the stage too.
On the 15th, my son wanted to do it again, but we were somewhat confident in the signs this time so we didn't rush over there. We arrived near 10:30 and were in the back, but the sign worked again!!
On the first day, we were the only ones with signs, but on the second day, there were a couple other kids with small signs, but they got picked too.

Thanks for sharing this JNB Travels. :)

& Pink Blush & My Monkees.....thanks for sharing your experiences as well. :thumbsup2


I'll repeat this (because i can ;)).... for anyone who has an aspiring padewan (aka a kid) between the ages of (say) 4-11 & he/she has even a slight interest in Star Wars:

1. If your kid gets picked it could be his/her trip highlight.

2. If you want your kid to be picked (& who doesn't).....have him/her jump up & down & wave a SIGN (when the Jedi Master is making selections).


It's been over 2 years since i started this thread & after dozens of posters & hundreds (thousands?) of readers....we have NEVER heard of a kid who is waving a sign NOT get picked.


As they said on the Faber College statue....."Knowledge is good". :cool2:

[Hawleys]

We were there on August 11 for the 10:30 show and I believe we were the only family with a sign. Our nephew was picked and the Jedi Training master mentioned the lovely hand made sign.:thumbsup2:thumbsup2
Thanks for the tip. It made our nephews day to battle Darth Vadar!

[pinktink83]

We didnt have signs when we went, but DS was wearing a Star Wars tshirt and they were in the very front. Unfortunately he didnt get picked the first time around. They stayed for the second show and he got picked then! DS didnt mind...he got to watch it from the audience, then experience it himself! :lmao:

[Scrapmouse]

We went in December and were so lucky that both our kids were picked to participate. We arrived on the Nemo side about 10:00 and both DS and DD sat down in the front row waiting for the show to start. Neither one had a Star Wars shirt or sign or light sabre. We just took a chance and were so lucky they both got picked. First, DS was picked third "as the boy in the pod goggles". (He wears glasses.) Then after what seemed like an eternity my DD was picked as "the girl in pink". (She was wearing plain pink sweatpants and sweatshirt.) She was only one of about three girls they picked. There weren't very many girls there to begin with. I would've felt so bad if she hadn't been picked after her brother was picked. But thank goodness it all worked out and they were both picked. We told them up front to not be disappointed no matter what happens and just to enjoy the show. (I know, I know easier said than done.) It's pure luck if they get picked and boy were they both lucky that day. And it's something they will always remember and cannot stop talking about even now all these months later. It was the highlight of their trip. In fact it's probably the highlight of any trip they've ever taken. Good luck everyone. Hope all your kids are able to experience Jedi Academy at least once. :earsboy:

[JoyG]

We were there Sat Aug 22. We went to the first show. My sons wore their Star Wars t-shirts, held up "Pick Me!" signs, and we had our light sabers next to us for extra measure.

We were the first ones picked (and the only family with signs). It was an awesome experience.

I offered my signs to families waiting for the next show. I hope they got as good use out of them as we did.

[mamaofthree]

We saw this show by accident in July. We were walking by when it started and kind of saw it from the side. It was so awesome, and something I know my kids would love to be a part of. I have two girls and a boy, and they all LOVE Star Wars. Watch it weekly with Daddy. My kids DO NOT look alike at all, I'll have to make sure I put them in matching outfits with signs so we can try to get picked next time. I think if they didn't all get to go up there together we would have some serious trauma. Is there a min age though? Ds is only 3.

[MommyWithDreams]

I made my son a sign that said "The Force Is Strong with This one" with the arrow pointing down...he got picked right away. That day he was wearing a Star Wars shirt as well. He was also picked a second time which we were totally not expecting.
Here are two pics that were taken by the photopass photographer from the second time he was chosen. I loved these pics!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/Nelliez/Disneyland%202009/Image0215.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/Nelliez/Disneyland%202009/Image0219.jpg

[tink929]

It helps to be little, sparkly, and dressed as Tinkerbell too. There weren't any kids with signs when we were there, but there was a boy in Jedi clothes (he was picked second). My sparkly little Jedi Tinkerbell was picked about halfway through and put front and center on the top stage - probably for laugh factor! She had a hard time with her light saber and needed quite a bit of extra assistance - which the Jedi master used for jokes :rotfl: She LOVED it though, and immediately began begging for her own light saber (which we bought) and talking about beating up "dark bader."

[Hound 109]

I made my son a sign that said "The Force Is Strong with This one" with the arrow pointing down...he got picked right away. That day he was wearing a Star Wars shirt as well. He was also picked a second time which we were totally not expecting.
Here are two pics that were taken by the photopass photographer from the second time he was chosen. I loved these pics!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/Nelliez/Disneyland%202009/Image0215.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/Nelliez/Disneyland%202009/Image0219.jpg

Great pics MommyWDreams. :thumbsup2

I love that shot of him ducking....(at the instruction of the Master Jedi of course). :)

[MommyWithDreams]

Great pics MommyWDreams. :thumbsup2

I love that shot of him ducking....(at the instruction of the Master Jedi of course). :)

Thanks Hydro...that was one of my favorites too. I just LOVE the expression on his face in that picture. He meant business!

[2wildchildzmom]

Can't wait....11 days to go...

[HydroGuy]

Can't wait....11 days to go...May the Force be with you! :goodvibes

[jennine]

Do you think this will be an effective sign?

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad65/jbr00ks/JTAsign.jpg

Hopefully this post actually works......first time posting a photo!

The Jedi part was a design by Dom13 on the DISign board.....awesome work BTW!

[spookygirl]

Are the children who are chosen expected to speak? My son has a significant speech delay, and while I know he'd LOVED to be chosen, he would not be able to answer questions or anything. Thanks!

[HydroGuy]

Are the children who are chosen expected to speak? My son has a significant speech delay, and while I know he'd LOVED to be chosen, he would not be able to answer questions or anything. Thanks!Nope. They are only expected to follow training directions and even then when they can't the Jedi Master makes light of it and helps them. :)

[spookygirl]

AWESOME! Thanks for the information. I am going to make signs for both of them then :banana:

[everwondering]

Took my daughters this past week. We got there maybe 5 minutes before the show started and stood on the left side. Unfortunately, since we were pretty late in getting there, we were behind about 2 rows of kids/parents, so my kids didn't stand out much at all--the kids in front were either the same height or even taller! My girls didn't wear anything to stand out either.

BUT, we came armed with a sign that we made at home out of 3 pieces of bright pink construction paper taped together.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i298/julieyet/jedi.jpg

The Jedi picked some kids out, and then saw the sign. He actually took a few seconds to read it, and then actually laughed and called the girls up. They were SO incredibly excited. During the show, Darth Maul stalked by and gave the crowd his evil eye. I flashed him the sign, and the look on his face was priceless.

BTW, there were a whole lot of kids in the crowd, but I think we were the only ones with a sign. I am convinced they would not have been picked without it.

[mamaofthree]

Too funny everwondering!!!!! Awesome story, glad they got picked.

[laura&fam]

Did someone answer if you can bring in your own lightsaber to the park? My son has 3 already so I really don't want to spend $20-25 on another.

Thank you for the tips I know this will be the highlight of the trip for my DS 5 wether he is picked or not. He's a huge star wars fan and pretends with his lightsabers at home all the time.

[HydroGuy]

Did someone answer if you can bring in your own lightsaber to the park? My son has 3 already so I really don't want to spend $20-25 on another.

Thank you for the tips I know this will be the highlight of the trip for my DS 5 wether he is picked or not. He's a huge star wars fan and pretends with his lightsabers at home all the time.It sounds like you think kids need their own lightsaber for the JTA. Not so. The JTA provides lightsabers to each kid selected. :)

If you have a lightsaber you can bring it but it will not make any difference for JTA.

[laura&fam]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I did know they provided them I just know that my DS will want to buy one if he doesn't have his with him . . . and probably even if he does. He already has 3 yet he still asks if we can buy another. How many lightsabers does one kid need?

[jennine]

[QUOTE=everwondering;33638507]Took my daughters this past week. We got there maybe 5 minutes before the show started and stood on the left side. Unfortunately, since we were pretty late in getting there, we were behind about 2 rows of kids/parents, so my kids didn't stand out much at all--the kids in front were either the same height or even taller! My girls didn't wear anything to stand out either.

BUT, we came armed with a sign that we made at home out of 3 pieces of bright pink construction paper taped together.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i298/julieyet/jedi.jpg

GREAT sign!!!:wave:

[bumbershoot]

I love that pink sign. :)


Sorry, I wasn't clear. I did know they provided them I just know that my DS will want to buy one if he doesn't have his with him . . . and probably even if he does. He already has 3 yet he still asks if we can buy another. How many lightsabers does one kid need?

My kid would say..."more". :)

It's totally OK to bring in your own lightsabers to the park. If you have the $8 ones from Target made by Hasbro, those are the ones sold for $10 in the park. They also sell the spring-action ones that you can find at Target...for probably half again as much. etc.

The only thing disney sells, lightsaber-wise, that's really unique (b/c you can get build-your-own kits away from the parks) is this super-cool MICKEY-themed (but not shaped) blue, light up, makes sounds, lightsaber. It's about $12. It's a chrome colored handle with mickey head accents, and the button is Mickey head shaped. Even though Ds has something like 4 of the cheapie sabers (half from Star Traders, half for maybe $5 each from Target on clearance), we got one of those ones. The sound and light are like the build-your-own, BUT they are smaller, the blade retracts *completely* like the cheapies (and UNLike the build-your-owns), and they have the all important BELT CLIP (UNlike the build-your-owns, which is how we LOST DS's brand new build-your-own, b/c it was huge and heavy and didn't have a clip).

So you might toss an extra $15 into your budget, just in case he loves those as much as my son (and husband and I/me) liked it. :)

[JoyG]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I did know they provided them I just know that my DS will want to buy one if he doesn't have his with him . . . and probably even if he does. He already has 3 yet he still asks if we can buy another. How many lightsabers does one kid need?

Yup. We brought our own lightsabers. We were allowed to bring them into the park, but they didn't use them for the JTA.

[laura&fam]

The only thing disney sells, lightsaber-wise, that's really unique (b/c you can get build-your-own kits away from the parks) is this super-cool MICKEY-themed (but not shaped) blue, light up, makes sounds, lightsaber. It's about $12. It's a chrome colored handle with mickey head accents, and the button is Mickey head shaped. Even though Ds has something like 4 of the cheapie sabers (half from Star Traders, half for maybe $5 each from Target on clearance), we got one of those ones. The sound and light are like the build-your-own, BUT they are smaller, the blade retracts *completely* like the cheapies (and UNLike the build-your-owns), and they have the all important BELT CLIP (UNlike the build-your-owns, which is how we LOST DS's brand new build-your-own, b/c it was huge and heavy and didn't have a clip).

So you might toss an extra $15 into your budget, just in case he loves those as much as my son (and husband and I/me) liked it. :)

Those do sound cool . . .Star Wars and Mickey together! And $12 isn't too bad especially if it has the belt clip.

[2wildchildzmom]

Thanks so much to everyone one this thread!!:worship:

Here is our story:

We arrived about 20 mins before the show (on a Saturday) and there were a few kids there but not many. We got on the front row and the kids got there signs out. :thumbsup2
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/donnahill/R1-24A.jpg
I was surprised that no one else had signs. When the Jedi Master came out he picked the boys together, yeah our plan worked! They were so excited and Ian took it so seriously.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/donnahill/R1-7A.jpg
It worked out perfectly too because Ian wanted to fight Darth Maul and Isaac really wanted to battle Darth Vader and that is just what happened!
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/donnahill/R1-14A.jpg
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/donnahill/R1-17A.jpg
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/donnahill/R1-4A.jpg
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i120/donnahill/R1-5A.jpg
After JTA we headed over to the Star Tours gift shop. The boys really wanted to do the build your own lightsaber, but I had read on the boards that the quality was not good. I steered them over to the lightsabers that had the mickey button and they each got one of those. They love them and have played with them constantly since we have gotten back.

[Hound 109]

Excellent story & pictures, 2wildchildzmom. :thumbsup2

Both got picked (even your 12 y/o). :cool1:


Those Darths are really taking a beating from the DisKids.

:)

[2wildchildzmom]

Thanks! My 12 y/o is small for his age. He is bummed that it will be the only time that he will get to do JTA. I asked him today what his favorite thing of the trip was and he said JTA of Course!

I also wanted to mention that the photopass people were there and gave us a slip of paper to view the pic later in the day at the Main St. Photo Center. We went and they were able to load the pic onto our photopass card. Very cool!:thumbsup2

[laura&fam]

2wildchildsmom - where did you get the graphic of mickey with the lightsaber? I have seen that before, but now that I want it I can't find it anywhere. Any Mickey/star wars graphic would be great.

[2wildchildzmom]

I can't find where I got it from! :confused3 but I did find these:
http://www.4shared.com/account/home.jsp
from the disigner WendyPooh

and from Tebi73
http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee98/tebi73/Star%20Wars/?start=0

Just go to their posts in the Disigns thread and they will be able to personalize their disigns for you. The disigners on this board are AMAZING!

The Yoda sign is from Dominic13 and so are the name shirts.

Have Fun!

[laura&fam]

Thank you!

I hadn't ever been on the DISigner forum, what a bunch of talented people! I found a couple of great already made Disigns that will work wonderfully and I can even print them off twice so I can have a copy for my scrapbook (that is ok isn't it?).

[clb79]

My son who was celebrating his 5th B-Day (wearing his button) and got picked. He was so sad when the girl next to him was chosen, then the boy on the other side and behind him got picked, he thought they had chosen him and he started to run out. The lead Instructor said "ok little one in the orange shirt since your so enthusiastic, we can use that kind of attitude".

I started to get worried when he was moved from his waiting spot where I had a good camera shot. We lost sight of him and then noticed that he was walking out center stage next to the Instructor. He ended up being the one that all of the jokes and/or comments were about. Examples:

"Little one," pats him on the head "you just keep doing your own thing, its working for you!" (About half way through learning the combination, he was really trying his hardest and was one of the younger kids picked for that show).

"You might one to aim a little higher, odds are your opponent will be bigger than you, we won't be fighting any ewoks"


Maybe these are all canned comments, but he felt like he was on top of the world.

He also got to be the first one to fight Darth Vader!

It was definitely the highlight of the trip!


(Maybe once I figure out how to post pics or videos I can add some, my profile pic is from that day...)

[tink929]

My son who was celebrating his 5th B-Day (wearing his button) and got picked. He was so sad when the girl next to him was chosen, then the boy on the other side and behind him got picked, he thought they had chosen him and he started to run out. The lead Instructor said "ok little one in the orange shirt since your so enthusiastic, we can use that kind of attitude".

I started to get worried when he was moved from his waiting spot where I had a good camera shot. We lost sight of him and then noticed that he was walking out center stage next to the Instructor. He ended up being the one that all of the jokes and/or comments were about. Examples:

"Little one," pats him on the head "you just keep doing your own thing, its working for you!" (About half way through learning the combination, he was really trying his hardest and was one of the younger kids picked for that show).

"You might one to aim a little higher, odds are your opponent will be bigger than you, we won't be fighting any ewoks"


Maybe these are all canned comments, but he felt like he was on top of the world.

He also got to be the first one to fight Darth Vader!

It was definitely the highlight of the trip!


(Maybe once I figure out how to post pics or videos I can add some, my profile pic is from that day...)

My daughter is five, and she got that spot up by the Master too. I have a couple of his jokes on video, and they're a bit canned, but still made her feel VERY special. :lovestruc

[laura&fam]

My DS just turned 5 and I am worried about him being a bit shy or scared (especially when Darth Vader and Darth Maul show up). How were your 5 year olds? Did you talk to them about it ahead of time or just let them be surprised?

He is so into Star Wars that I know he would love this if he'd let himself.

[deejdigsdis]

My DS just turned 5 and I am worried about him being a bit shy or scared (especially when Darth Vader and Darth Maul show up). How were your 5 year olds? Did you talk to them about it ahead of time or just let them be surprised?

He is so into Star Wars that I know he would love this if he'd let himself.

We haven't gone yet, but when I told my boys about it my 9 yo was excited and my 6 yo was hesitant about it. Like you said, I know he would love it if he would let himself. I showed them some videos of JTA on youtube. There was a really good one that showed it from start to finish. After my shy 6 yo saw that he was more excited and is talking like he wants to do it. For him, I think we will need to watch the show once or twice first, and then he will want to participate. :)

[clb79]

My DS just turned 5 and I am worried about him being a bit shy or scared (especially when Darth Vader and Darth Maul show up). How were your 5 year olds? Did you talk to them about it ahead of time or just let them be surprised?

He is so into Star Wars that I know he would love this if he'd let himself.

Our son did fine. I was a little worried he would be timid, but he was super excited and that helped him get chosen to participate and they seemed to like that particular age group a lot.

When storm troopers first show up the Jedi Master/Instructors call the kids and kind of shew them off stage while Darth Vader and Darth Maul make their introductions. He acted a little nervous and scared as everyone was scurrying around him to get over to the corner where it was "safe", but it was kind of organized chaos and it didn't seem to scare anyone too bad. The Jedi Masters did a good job of making sure the kids felt safe and protected!

We didn't tell him anything about what to expect, we just let him be surprised and take everything in as it happened. We just told him that it was the Jedi Training Academy show and left the rest to his imagination. I would love to know what he was thinking or expecting, obviously whatever it was was enough that he wanted to be picked. My little brother who is a Star Wars nerd (a member of the 501st Legion that dress up as Storm Troopers etc for parades and events) was with us and was a good Uncle that was willing to sit with him in the viewing area. Who knows what he might have said to get him excited while they were waiting (he hadn't seen the show before though, so the actual content and fighting Darth Vader and Darth Maul was a complete surprise to both of them).

I would say go for it with your son, he is almost exactly the same age as ours was and he sounds like he is in to Star Wars even more than ours was (he is obsessed now though!). Worst case scenario is he is too timid to be chosen and gets a front row seat. If he is picked the CMs working the show and the kids around him will probably be enough to get any jitters out!

[Dinder1]

Thank you so much for the tips.... I would have never thought a sign would work so well!

Do they ever choose large groups of kids? We're going with some other families and might have up to 7 kids with us who want to participate. Maybe we'll just all get our signs and spread out! :rolleyes:

[tink929]

My DS just turned 5 and I am worried about him being a bit shy or scared (especially when Darth Vader and Darth Maul show up). How were your 5 year olds? Did you talk to them about it ahead of time or just let them be surprised?

He is so into Star Wars that I know he would love this if he'd let himself.

My daughter wasn't nervous really ahead of time, but you could tell she got a bit timid when she got picked. She sure had a hard time getting that light saber to work, and I thought she'd be embarrassed, but she just laughed and let the masters help her.
This master/assistant/whichever actually sought my daughter out at the end and gave her a big hug for trying so hard :lovestruc
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs248.snc1/9532_183356439777_568324777_3874269_4792842_n.jpg

Here are some of my girl:
Waiting to get picked:
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs268.snc1/9532_183356444777_568324777_3874270_345518_n.jpg
Getting moved up front:
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs268.snc1/9532_183356464777_568324777_3874273_5642013_n.jpg
After the battle (I don't know that boy, apparently he just wanted to wave:rotfl:):
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs248.snc1/9532_183356484777_568324777_3874277_2476506_n.jpg

[miraclemax]

Hi,
My sister is a huge Star Wars fan she would be thrilled to particpate in the show. However, even though she's young at heart she's 23 in reality...If I make a super cool sign do you think we have a chance?

[disneyfan4ever54]

:) It is for kids only. The info. from DLR'S website says ages 4-12. They won't select anyone who appears over that age.

[Scrappingjen]

Are kids still bringing signs? Doing this would make my DS whole trip.

Any tips on what to make for our signs? He is a Star Wars Freak

[MG3G]

Our 2 boys were picked together this month. We used all the "tips". Got there early and sat right at the line in the middle of our section. They wore matching bright green Disney t-shirts (and ear hats), both had small signs. Signs were are harder stock paper but the same size as a regular computer sheet. Just hand written signs. They were picked together, the first on our side. They dropped the signs and ran for it so I picked the signs up and handed them to the 2 boys who were directly behind them. (We didn't know them - I just said "Here hold these quick!" once I got over my own excitment and saw the signs on the ground still.) The 2 boys were brothers also but not wearing matching gear etc. A little bit younger and they weren't getting noticed because they were not doing the jumping yelling thing. It was nearly the end of selections but within SECONDS of them holding the signs they were both picked together too :banana: Our kids missed out on this two years ago so it was awsome to see all four get to go and the other family was so thankful for us letting them use the signs.

[disneyfan4ever54]

Yes, the signs work for sure! They are so easy to spot from where the Jedi Master is, and it gives an easy reference point as to who he is referring to. There might be 6 kids with "red" shirts on in the area that he is pointing to, but if he says "the person with the sign"....that's really clear. :)

[alleycatmom]

We went on March 17 and Jedi Training was the most important thing on our to-do list. (Our son is 5 and a HUGE Star Wars fan. This was his second Disney trip.)

We read all the tips on here beforehand. We showed up to the first Jedi Training about 40 minutes early and sat near the middle right, facing the stage. We had an 8 1/2 x 11" sign with Yoda saying "Pick Me You Should" and our son was wearing a Yoda shirt (green because of St. Patrick's Day) had his light saber and when the Master came out we jumped around like crazy people! Even then he was one of the last picked.

It was so awesome! He had the time of his life and his dad and I got all choked up. We took a bunch of pictures but the pro was better so we got the PhotoPass. (There were 6 taken by the pro but we only bought one.)

We were only at Disneyland for one day (thanks to the Give-A-Day promo), so I didn't want to spend the whole day going back to Jedi Training.

[tanyaewa]

This whole thread reminded me of the *Gravedigger* sign we took to Monster Jam 2009 - the driver flipped his truck and then ran right into the stands to give my ds6 a hug and stuffed truck. Too cool!!
You've got to give it a try right??!!
I am definitely helping to make signs for this!!

[tomato]

When my son was 10 we went twice to the show because he wasn't picked the first time. (He was in the second row the first time.)

For the second show we made sure we were there early enough to get him into the front row. Also, we bought the Jedi Training hoody (it was raining and he was cold and needed it anyway ... to be honest we wouldn't have bought it otherwise, but I think it helped). DH told him to pull his hood up and when the Jedi Master began choosing, he should reach out towards him with a serious look on his face. (Insert my giggle here, LOL!)

Sure enough, the first words out of the Jedi Master's mouth were, "The force is strong with this one ... the young boy in blue in the front row ..." He was thrilled!

It is easily one of the top highlights of our trip. I have a great shot of him fight Darth Maul where DS is literally in the air. We all loved it!

[trish.]

We first encountered the Jedi Training Academy when DS was 6 in WDW - it would have been the perfect age for him. My DH and DS went to two shows and he wasn't picked either time.

This last trip to DL in February - we knew we had to get him picked! We were there on a slow day right before Presidents Day - we went to the JTA on our first day there at the first show. He had on a Star Wars t-shirt and was in the front row.

The first kid to get picked had on a Jedi costume robe. Next a couple kids with signs. Then very random picks - but almost all were very excited and jumping up and down. Then the Jedi Master looked towards DS, I was getting excited and he picked...his little sister. Ugh! Of course my DD5 was happy, but she doesn't even really like Star Wars where her brother LOVES it. haha. She was wearing her "little miss matched" socks and stood out a bunch - but it was her pink sparkly converse that the Jedi Master noticed, "And the young Padewan in the pink sparkly force shoes" or something like that.

Interesting thing I noted - not all sign holders were picked. There were quite a few signs at that show. I know because I counted all the signs - knowing that only 25 kids get picked and felt our chances were hugely diminished. But kids that were "hiding" behind signs were not picked.

The story does end well - DS and DH stayed in the area - I think we went on Nemo. Then they just sat in JTA area while DD and I went to see Tink and friends. By the time we got through the line and returned to JTA - I was able to catch the end of DS's performance. Yay! :banana:

It was great to get that "out of the way" at the beginning of the trip. The kids really enjoyed it.

DS was picked for the second show because he jumped up and down the entire time - DH told him that was his only option so he went for it.

[hulamom]

Aloha!

Just wanted to report that DS7 was chosen to train on Saturday 5/8! Our last visit about a 1 1/2 years ago, he just wanted to watch but not participate. This time, he really wanted to "take down Vader." I read up on this thread :-) because this was on the top of his list and I'd hate for him to not be chosen.

DD12 made a very colorful sign for him (taped 2 pieces of 8x10 plain white computer paper together and folded it up inside my bag so it passed security) that said, "PICK ME!! I *AM THE FORCE". He was also wearing a Star Wars T shirt.

We went for the 2:25 show on Saturday and arrived around 2:15. It was already pretty crowded in the front area. We found a spot for DS toward the center of the side closer to Space Mtn.

When the Jedi Master came in, DS held his sign above his head and jumped up and down. The master 1st chose from the other side (side near Nemo). When he came to our side, he chose DS first!! "The young man with the very colorful homemade sign"!!!

DS was really into it and got his chance to challenge Vader:

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x283/dkasson/Disneyland2010/TommyVsDarth.jpg

DS slept with his certificate and wore a new "Jedi training academy" t-shirt to school today. He has not stopped talking about it.

Mahalo!

-- Hulamom

[mommyof2boys1girl]

How young are kids picked? My dd has no interest in "training", but she wants to watch her older brothers and have a sign too. Will we run the risk of offending the "master" if she gets picked and we decline? She's very very tiny for her age (she's 3 1/2, but she looks about 2), so will they probably pass her over anyway? Or should I try to convince her she shouldn't have a sign?

[tink929]

How young are kids picked? My dd has no interest in "training", but she wants to watch her older brothers and have a sign too. Will we run the risk of offending the "master" if she gets picked and we decline? She's very very tiny for her age (she's 3 1/2, but she looks about 2), so will they probably pass her over anyway? Or should I try to convince her she shouldn't have a sign?

Maybe make her a sign saying something about picking her brothers? "A little too small to take on Darth Vader - let my brothers protect me!" or something like that, and have them on either side with coordinating signs?

[HydroGuy]

Maybe make her a sign saying something about picking her brothers? "A little too small to take on Darth Vader - let my brothers protect me!" or something like that, and have them on either side with coordinating signs?Great idea. When my then DS12 got picked we did not have a sign. It was before the science Hound has outlined here! He did wear a red shirt, I lifted him up in my arms and jumped up and down, and his three older brothers jumped around us and pointed at him.

To have a second sign by the cute little sister... ooooh that is clever! :)

Maybe her sign could alternatively say "The force is strong with this one!" and have an arrow on the sign to point to a big brother?

[MinnieVanMom]

This was in WDW and DS gave it his all to get Darth. We wear matching SW shirt that I make and then he does jump up and down to get noticed. We make sure we arrive early and get up front.

He also got picked at DL to fight darth maul. It was wonderful! http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x86/aprilfregd/Hunter/Image0158.jpg

[CamAnd]

Hi,

We're thinking of a trip to DisneyLand/Calif. Adventure for our first visit later this summer. We just came back from WDW and noticed the kids wait in a line and the first 14 or so kids get to do the training. This was different from last year in WDW when the Jedi Master picked kids from the crowd. DS was lucky enough to get picked since it was our first try(& of course tips used to increase your chances).

[Hound 109]

CamAnd......according to hulamom, the Jedi Master was still making selections as of a few days ago. :thumbsup2

We are all very much aware that the "Disney park in the swamp" ;).... will have kids stand in line if they want to battle the Darths. At this point, not at DL. But if i ever hear that the selection process has changed, i'll put it on the first page of this thread since it gets bumped up from time to time.


HulaMom......great pics & great story. :cool1: Thank you so much for sharing. Another enthusiastic young padewan with a sign is picked first. :yay:


Very few things in life are black & white.....but (imo):

- If you want to tour & use Fast Passes efficiently......read Hydroguy's rules & tip threads &...

- If you want to maximize the chance of getting your young Padewan picked to battle the Darths.....make a sign, have him hold it & have him/her jump up & down :yay:.


Aloha!

Just wanted to report that DS7 was chosen to train on Saturday 5/8! Our last visit about a 1 1/2 years ago, he just wanted to watch but not participate. This time, he really wanted to "take down Vader." I read up on this thread :-) because this was on the top of his list and I'd hate for him to not be chosen.

DD12 made a very colorful sign for him (taped 2 pieces of 8x10 plain white computer paper together and folded it up inside my bag so it passed security) that said, "PICK ME!! I *AM THE FORCE". He was also wearing a Star Wars T shirt.

We went for the 2:25 show on Saturday and arrived around 2:15. It was already pretty crowded in the front area. We found a spot for DS toward the center of the side closer to Space Mtn.

When the Jedi Master came in, DS held his sign above his head and jumped up and down. The master 1st chose from the other side (side near Nemo). When he came to our side, he chose DS first!! "The young man with the very colorful homemade sign"!!!

DS was really into it and got his chance to challenge Vader:

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x283/dkasson/Disneyland2010/TommyVsDarth.jpg

DS slept with his certificate and wore a new "Jedi training academy" t-shirt to school today. He has not stopped talking about it.

Mahalo!

-- Hulamom

[SaraK]

I just found this thread. My son got picked last month and had a blast. Every few days he'll say to me "Mommy, remember that time I battled Darth Vader and hit him in the head?" Words every mother longs to hear...:rotfl2:

All we did to get him picked is have him wear a Star Wars shirt and he and DH stood near the front and DH held him up. All joking aside, I really WAS proud of him because he was very brave and so stinkin' cute.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0da04b3127ccef9a665d2044c00000030O08AcsnLZozZtQ e3nw4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0da04b3127ccef9a6c7db041400000030O08AcsnLZozZtQ e3nw4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0da04b3127ccef9a691ac044800000030O08AcsnLZozZtQ e3nw4/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

[2wheels]

Does anyone know where I can purchase view my sons "battle"? He fought Darth Vader AND Darth Maul. When I left they gave me a card(not photopass) that I.... seem to have misplaced......:hippie: I've been routing around forever trying to find out who has the pictures.

[2wheels]

anyone know where to see the photo's? :hippie:

[tink929]

They told me I had to check in at the photo center on Main Street and they could find my daughter and load the pictures on to a photopass card or I could get printouts. Are you still at the park? It's worth a shot.

[triplefigs]

What do the signs usually say? It's my triplets' 10th bday next week while we are there. Is "It's our 10th b'day!!!" enough (with them in matching shirts), or should it say more?

Thanks!

[Kayla's Mom]

What do the signs usually say? It's my triplets' 10th bday next week while we are there. Is "It's our 10th b'day!!!" enough (with them in matching shirts), or should it say more?

Thanks!

How about something about "A triple threat" or something to that effect? :goodvibes

[cats75252]

Will this be ongoing for the rest of the year?

[triplefigs]

How about something about "A triple threat" or something to that effect? :goodvibesCute! I made signs that say It's OUR 10th birthday with their names and some clip art. May add your saying!

[triplefigs]

Totally worked! All 3 of my triplets were chosen.

[Hound 109]

Totally worked! All 3 of my triplets were chosen.

:cool1:

:thumbsup2

Triplefigs.....give us a one paragraph recap.

What did they wear, what did their signs say & which of the evil Darths did they battle??

:hippie:

[triplefigs]

:cool1:

:thumbsup2

Triplefigs.....give us a one paragraph recap.

What did they wear, what did their signs say & which of the evil Darths did they battle??

:hippie:
they just had on Disney shorts and shirts (no Star Wars- didn't make it over there the day we had planned). Stood on the far right facing the stage. Signs were in bright color ink on standard printer paper. Said "it's OUR 10th birthday" with their name and a color pic of either Darth Vader, princess Leia, or Luke. They battled Darth Maul (sp?). It was great!!!

[wiscmama]

Thank you SO much for these tips. We arrived a little late (about 10:25) for the 10:30 show yesterday and my son was in the second/third row. He jumped up and down with his sign and was picked. Awesome!!!:cool1:

[jandj524]

Just got back and the signs worked like a charm. There were a handful of kids with signs and they were all picked as was a child with his light saber.

Thanks again for the tips in this thread :)

[TheColtonsMom]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I did know they provided them I just know that my DS will want to buy one if he doesn't have his with him . . . and probably even if he does. He already has 3 yet he still asks if we can buy another. How many lightsabers does one kid need?


My DS is 6 he has 6 lightsabers...says when he turns 7 he will need another LOL
He only has 2 hands...

[TheColtonsMom]

We are leaving for Disneyland on Christmas Day All my DS6 wants for christmas is a trip to Disneyland to go to the Jedi training academy.

Thanks to all who have posted here we have taken all advice given believe me this one moment could make or break how he feels about Disneyland forever. (this is his first trip)

Will come by this thread to let you know how it goes..Thanks again

[SplashMo]

Just have a sign even if it is a 8.5x11 sheet. The trick is getting the child to hold the sign....

[QueenDoOver]

Just have a sign even if it is a 8.5x11 sheet. The trick is getting the child to hold the sign....

The first time my son did Jedi training, he was too embarrassed to hold the sign. But I was standing behind him, holding it over his head while he jumped up and down. He got picked really quickly, and the Jedi called him the boy with the sign.

The next time we went, he begged me for a sign! :rotfl2:

[Hound 109]

We are leaving for Disneyland on Christmas Day All my DS6 wants for christmas is a trip to Disneyland to go to the Jedi training academy.

Thanks to all who have posted here we have taken all advice given believe me this one moment could make or break how he feels about Disneyland forever. (this is his first trip)

Will come by this thread to let you know how it goes..Thanks again

May the force be with your young Padewan. :thumbsup2

:)

[626Mom]

Thank you for these great tips! My DS8 loves everything SW and was crushed when he didn't get picked on our trip 3 years ago. Hopefully with these hints he'll get picked during our trip at Christmas. fingers crossed...

[QueenDoOver]

Thank you for these great tips! My DS8 loves everything SW and was crushed when he didn't get picked on our trip 3 years ago. Hopefully with these hints he'll get picked during our trip at Christmas. fingers crossed...

And for a very magical moment, I always bring an extra sign and share with another child. There is always some kid there trying for his 3rd time, just really hoping this time he will finally be picked. I love to make his day:)

[TheColtonsMom]

And for a very magical moment, I always bring an extra sign and share with another child. There is always some kid there trying for his 3rd time, just really hoping this time he will finally be picked. I love to make his day

Wow what a wonderful idea. You are a gem and get the true magic of Disney. I am sure there are parents who thank god for you.

[Disgram23kids]

Thanks to all the advice I found here on the board, last Saturday, my 6 year old grandson was chosen at the 10:30 show. We dressed him in a Star Wars Lego Shirt that was black but had bright colorful lego Jedi characters on it. We found a tatoo with Yoda at Toys "R" Us and put that on his cheek. My granddaughter who is 17 and extremely artistic, painted the same Yoda on a poster board with green and black lettering that aid "Battle the Dark Side - I Must!!". It was awesome. At 10:00 AM, we went to the area and sat down - front row. As the space started filling up, the kids and I moved back to let little kids sit in front. We watched my grandson strike up a conversation with the two little boys sitting next to him - one on each side. I was amazed at how many parents still sat in front with their kids when little kids were behind them just dying to get chosen. My granddaughter actually walked up to the guy who's son was sitting next to my grandson and pointed out to him that if we hadn't moved back, his son would not be in the front row and that he could easily see over the kids heads so he should move back a bit and let the kid behind him sit where he was. I was proud of her. She said it very nicely and the father did move. Anyway, when the Jedi Master came out all the kids were standing by that time and cheering - jumping up and down. My grandson held his sign over his head and it ended up over all three little boys heads because it was so large. The Jedi master chose 10 kids from the Nemo side and then he turned to our side and said -I believe the force is very strong with these three boys right here holding the Yoda sign. The boys were so excited. :dance3: My grandson practically threw the sign at us and off they went. The one little boy's mom said "I think we just piggy backed onto your sign!!" I paid a lot of attention and when they had finished picking (30 kids) - everyone with a sign or a star wars shirt was picked. There was a little boy sitting across the rope aisle from us who was crying because he wasn't picked. We gave him my grandson's sign and his Dad said they would try again at the next show. He was thrilled. We got great photos and I will try to post some this weekend after I get them downloaded from the cameras. I appreciate all the tips/advice. It was great!!!!

[HydroGuy]

Thanks to all the advice I found here on the board, last Saturday, my 6 year old grandson was chosen at the 10:30 show. We dressed him in a Star Wars Lego Shirt that was black but had bright colorful lego Jedi characters on it. We found a tatoo with Yoda at Toys "R" Us and put that on his cheek. My granddaughter who is 17 and extremely artistic, painted the same Yoda on a poster board with green and black lettering that aid "Battle the Dark Side - I Must!!". It was awesome. At 10:00 AM, we went to the area and sat down - front row. As the space started filling up, the kids and I moved back to let little kids sit in front. We watched my grandson strike up a conversation with the two little boys sitting next to him - one on each side. I was amazed at how many parents still sat in front with their kids when little kids were behind them just dying to get chosen. My granddaughter actually walked up to the guy who's son was sitting next to my grandson and pointed out to him that if we hadn't moved back, his son would not be in the front row and that he could easily see over the kids heads so he should move back a bit and let the kid behind him sit where he was. I was proud of her. She said it very nicely and the father did move. Anyway, when the Jedi Master came out all the kids were standing by that time and cheering - jumping up and down. My grandson held his sign over his head and it ended up over all three little boys heads because it was so large. The Jedi master chose 10 kids from the Nemo side and then he turned to our side and said -I believe the force is very strong with these three boys right here holding the Yoda sign. The boys were so excited. :dance3: My grandson practically threw the sign at us and off they went. The one little boy's mom said "I think we just piggy backed onto your sign!!" I paid a lot of attention and when they had finished picking (30 kids) - everyone with a sign or a star wars shirt was picked. There was a little boy sitting across the rope aisle from us who was crying because he wasn't picked. We gave him my grandson's sign and his Dad said they would try again at the next show. He was thrilled. We got great photos and I will try to post some this weekend after I get them downloaded from the cameras. I appreciate all the tips/advice. It was great!!!!:thumbsup2

[Susie63]

We went to DL in February and my 8 yr old daughter was thrilled watching the kids at the JTA. She wanted to participate so badly, so as soon as the show ended , she plunked herself down right by the lines where the characters come out . There was no way anyone was getting closer than her. Since the young man strolling around(who was dressed as a jedi knight),keeping an eye on things saw her, he came over and talked to her for about 15 minutes till other people started to file in. A few kids tried to move her over but he was pretty quick in letting them know they had to find another spot. Of course they picked her.If anyone sits there that long there is no way they would not pick her. So if you have the time and could use a good break,it is a sure way to make that magic happen. We also had front row seats at a table which was great.
http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i452/jcmm1014/IMG_0395.jpg
http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i452/jcmm1014/IMG_0397.jpg
http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i452/jcmm1014/IMG_0409.jpg

[Hound 109]

Thank you for these great tips! My DS8 loves everything SW and was crushed when he didn't get picked on our trip 3 years ago. Hopefully with these hints he'll get picked during our trip at Christmas. fingers crossed...

Good luck 626Mom. :hippie:

Get a sign in his hands & have him jump up & down!!! :yay:

Please report back & let us know how it goes.

:)

[Hound 109]

And for a very magical moment, I always bring an extra sign and share with another child. There is always some kid there trying for his 3rd time, just really hoping this time he will finally be picked. I love to make his day:)

Great idea QueenDoOver. :thumbsup2

Almost as welcomed as free Corny Dog while you're waiting for the Fireworks.......or a free FP to Griz Rapids on a 100 degree day!! :cloud9:


:)

[626Mom]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the help!:goodvibes We were at Disneyland 12/26-12/30 among the crush of humanity. We followed the tips; showed up early, staked out a prime location (yes that concrete floor is COLD and HARD!)and had our signs made. My two boys were the first ones chosen :yay: and it was the highlight of our trip. Thank you everyone for the advice!

[TheColtonsMom]

Colton got picked on our first attempt the first day. He would have loved to do it again but with the crowds i though it unfair for him to get picked twice when there were so many others who wanted to do it. After all thanks to DIS we were in the know! We did share signs with families that were obviously not on their first attempt. What a feel good moment when those children got picked too.

[Dizneydaz]

My DD11 has been chosen 3 times so far to do the training. I think there was one time (maybe 2) when she wasn't chosen. She hasn't had a sign or been wearing any Jedi clothing. What she has done is keep jumping up and down the entire time they are picking kids, waving her hands around. Twice she was the last one chosen and I think it was because she was still jumping up and down til the very end. One of the PP we have befriended told us they want the high energy kids.;)

Last time she did it she was with her friend who hadn't done it before. She got chosen right away but my DD11 was the last one picked. ;) I was so glad they got to do it together. :cloud9:

My tips are:
Go on a day that isn't going to be too busy and do the first show. (this worked for us the first time)
Have your child jump up and down and show lots of energy. That's what they are looking for.

So, if you don't have a sign, don't despair. Your DD or DS may still get chosen.

[Hound 109]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the help!:goodvibes We were at Disneyland 12/26-12/30 among the crush of humanity. We followed the tips; showed up early, staked out a prime location (yes that concrete floor is COLD and HARD!)and had our signs made. My two boys were the first ones chosen :yay: and it was the highlight of our trip. Thank you everyone for the advice!

from Colton's Mom: Colton got picked on our first attempt the first day. He would have loved to do it again but with the crowds i though it unfair for him to get picked twice when there were so many others who wanted to do it. After all thanks to DIS we were in the know! We did share signs with families that were obviously not on their first attempt. What a feel good moment when those children got picked too.

626 Mom, Good to hear that the tips are still helpful. :thumbsup2


Colton's Mom, Very Cool that you were able to share the signs with kiddos who where there for their second Jedi show. It's nice to spread the excitement of being picked by the Master Jedi to others. Well done. :hippie:

:)

[ironpig70]

We just got back from going over Christmas and we did the 2nd or 3rd show of the day. We arrived about 20 minutes before show time and it was semi packed. My son was sporting his Oregon Duck sweatshirt and was picked 1st on our side and the second picked was wearing an Oregon Ducks shirt.


I will say we heard a lot of Go Ducks from CM's and guest alike. Heck we even had a parade member come over and say it.

So if your team is doing well or is well known it may be a benefit to sport your colors.

[DahliaRW]

My ds6 just did this last week. We did the first show on a slow day. He was wearing a Mickey shirt and was picked citing that. He was also very energetic.

I saw it mentioned in this thread earlier in passing, but if your child does Jedi Training if you go to the photo store on main street and tell them the date, time, and whether your child fought Vader or Maul, they will load the photos of your child onto a photopass card so you can include them on your CD. Or you can buy very expensive prints there if you don't want to buy the cd.

[Amariel]

We just did Jedi Training yesterday, and signs worked to get my two sons picked. I was a little nervous at first, as he was picking a bunch of kids without signs (there was another fairly large group of 5 or so kids with signs). But I told mine to keep jumping and waving their signs, and in the last pass he chose the other group of kids, and my two, so all the kids with signs were picked. I guess motivation to have them keep jumping and waving those signs! (And they loved the Jedi training!)

[brookies_mommy]

We just did Jedi Training yesterday, and signs worked to get my two sons picked. I was a little nervous at first, as he was picking a bunch of kids without signs (there was another fairly large group of 5 or so kids with signs). But I told mine to keep jumping and waving their signs, and in the last pass he chose the other group of kids, and my two, so all the kids with signs were picked. I guess motivation to have them keep jumping and waving those signs! (And they loved the Jedi training!)

I guess I need to get busy making a sign.. any new suggestions?

[karelle]

Just updating on our trip this past week. My son was picked on our first try (thank goodness!). He was wearing a bright yellow Star Wars shirt, and of course we brought a sign.

(Side note about the sign: when we went through the security check, the lady took the sign out and called over to another worker asking if that size was okay. It was fine, but apparently they had somone earlier that week bring in a bigger sign that they didn't allow...so keep that in mind when creating a sign! Ours was just printed on regular 8.5x11 paper and taped to foam board cut to that size.)

We were sitting on the left side (as you're facing the stage), and was the only one on our side with a sign. There was a family on the other side with two signs, one for each of their kids. My son wasn't the first picked, but was picked fairly quickly in the process. We then gave the sign to another little boy who was trying to get picked, but it was too late, and he didn't get chosen.

My son was the first to fight Darth Vader though (somehow he must have weaseled his way up to the front when they had them all gather off stage on the right side). He was kind of disappointed after the fact because he didn't get to "fight" Vader, he only got to "train" with him. I'm pretty sure he was expecting an epic battle of some sort! :lmao:

Some pictures of my little padawan:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k294/karelle11/IMG_1706.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k294/karelle11/IMG_1728.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k294/karelle11/IMG_1739.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k294/karelle11/IMG_1742.jpg

Here is is, trying to shake things up a bit. The look on the Jedi Master was priceless!
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k294/karelle11/IMG_1743.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k294/karelle11/IMG_1746.jpg

Oh, and our sign. I know I was looking for some inspiration and couldn't really find anyone's signs...so hope this helps someone. I think most are handwritten. I made ours in Photoshop, and it wasn't until we got to Disneyland I started worrying about the potential copyright infringement at using a Disney/Lucas owned image...but apparently it was okay.
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k294/karelle11/MICKEYPICKME2sml.jpg

[disneyfan4ever54]

Great pics! Your DS is so cute and it looks like he had a lot of fun! I'm glad it all worked out for you! :)

[Go Mickey]

So loving this thread, going in October and I really want my 7yo to do this. He's always battling with this "light sabers" at home. I really think he would get a kick out of this =) Thanks for all the info.

[Hound 109]

Thanks for sharing your experience Karelle. :thumbsup2

Great pics....I especially like the second pic. You could do a caption over your DS who's pointing at Vader & appears to be saying:

"Dude....you're going down!! " :lmao:

:)

[goldies 5]

We found Hound 109's tips helpful. This past December we had both our 6 and 8 year old in Star Wars costumes, got both picked the very first time. It awesome.

[JacknHanksmom]

I've pretty much memorized this very helpful thread (thank you all)!

I feel like I know how to help my 6 year old Jedi get picked, but I'm wondering how hard it is to get into the show in the first place.

A friend was there over Spring Break and said they waited an hour to see it, but then, that was Spring Break.

We'll be there May 4, 5, & 6, which should be slow.

May 4th we'll be arriving mid-morning/early afternoon. I'm wondering if we should head right there to give it a try, or if we're better off waiting till the next day. I'm also wondering where to fit a show in the general plan of the day....after mm but before DCA? Or just before leaving the park for lunch? or early evening? If anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Totally possible I'm over thinking the whole thing, but this is our #1 dl priority.

[Hound 109]

He'll get picked.....especially if he follows the many tips. :thumbsup2

Other comments below:

I've pretty much memorized this very helpful thread (thank you all)!

I feel like I know how to help my 6 year old Jedi get picked, but I'm wondering how hard it is to get into the show in the first place.

Just get there 10-15 min. prior to a session. Have kiddo snag a seat up front (you should stand behind the kids) & don't let late arrivals scooch him out of his position.

A friend was there over Spring Break and said they waited an hour to see it, but then, that was Spring Break.

It'll likely be slow when you go....no worries.


We'll be there May 4, 5, & 6, which should be slow.

May 4th we'll be arriving mid-morning/early afternoon. I'm wondering if we should head right there to give it a try, or if we're better off waiting till the next day.

I would (after picking up FPs at Indy or SM). But if not....do it the next day.

I'm also wondering where to fit a show in the general plan of the day....after mm but before DCA? Or just before leaving the park for lunch?

If DL opens later (in the morning), i wouldn't do it first thing, (imo, the first 2 hours at DL should be spent riding slow loading rides like in FL & picking up 2-3 FPs for later)....I'd probably do it just before leaving the park for lunch or in the afternoon. But if DL opens at 8am, then i'd do the first show.

or early evening? If anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Totally possible I'm over thinking the whole thing, but this is our #1 dl priority.

I'd do it afternoon or late morning (given DL will have short hours). Good luck to your little padewan. :thumbsup2



Also.....I wanted to post a link to a recent thread with some great pictures:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2709752

Check out DisneyDaz's post (in this linked thread) with a dozen or more fantastic pictures of JTA.

:)

[marlyjuice]

Hi!

I am STARWARS Fan an d I have a Question. Ist it possible for me to play in this attraction? Or am I too old?

[HydroGuy]

Hi!

I am STARWARS Fan an d I have a Question. Ist it possible for me to play in this attraction? Or am I too old?The Jedi Training Academy is really for children up tp 12 years in age. After that one is too old.

[Hound 109]

Originally Posted by marlyjuice
Hi!

I am STARWARS Fan and I have a Question. Is it possible for me to play in this attraction? Or am I too old?


The Jedi Training Academy is really for children up tp 12 years in age. After that one is too old.

I agree.

But marlyjuice, if you're a true Stars Wars fan, you'll want to watch it. Grab a meal or snack at the counter service restaurant (directly behind where the kids stand), have a seat & watch the show. It's a hoot. :3dglasses

:)

[cam&phoebsmom]

We have done the JTA at both WDW and DL-my son loves it!

In DHS he wore a shirt that said "The Force is Strong in This One" with a silhouette of Yoda leaping with a green glittery light saber my sister made. The jedi running it said. "I see the Force is strong with this one..." when he called him up.

In DL we did not have that shirt but my son had his bday button on, and jumped up and down and looked excited but "not like you can't be trusted" (which is what we told him). We also told him to stare right at the Jedi trainer and try and give him good eye contact.

Here is one of our favorite pictures when my son was able to use the "force push" on the storm troopers!:thumbsup2

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i447/camphoebsmom/604-1.jpg

[JacknHanksmom]

Thanks, Hound for your great reply, and thanks to all for this thread. I know this will be a highlight.:)

[MiceFan]

Thanks for the tips! We're going at the beginning of June and I'd really like to get my two + their cousin up there! Cousin #2 will be too young, but I'm making all 4 of them Jedi shirts right now. I'm thinking up ideas for signs too and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that my crafting is not in vain!!! Anyway, thanks for the tips and for validating that I'm not obsessed, or at least I'm not the only one who is, ;) just because I want to give my kiddos the extra edge to get picked!

[lapdwife]

My son was picked last night. I think it was just his enthusiasm. :yay:He was jumping up and down and had his hand up. He was just in a Hurley shirt, nothing Disney or Star Wars. We got there about 30 mins early and he was in the front.

Wanted to add...forget your camera! It never fails every time I don't have it something "cool" happens for our family there. I had no camera last night when he was picked nor did I when we've ridden the Lilly Belle

[WDWJonasGirl]

All of your kids are so cute!! I love this show! It is one of my favorites here at Disneyland. The last time I went, something special happened to me. It was the last show of the day so the Jedi Master and assistants went backstage. One of the assistants looked right in my eyes and said "May the Force be with you". I loved this.

[Dizneydaz]

He'll get picked.....especially if he follows the many tips. :thumbsup2

Other comments below:



I'd do it afternoon or late morning (given DL will have short hours). Good luck to your little padewan. :thumbsup2

Also.....I wanted to post a link to a recent thread with some great pictures:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2709752

Check out DisneyDaz's post (in this linked thread) with a dozen or more fantastic pictures of JTA.

:)

Thanks, I'm flattered!:hug:

[WDWJonasGirl]

Also.....I wanted to post a link to a recent thread with some great pictures:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2709752

Check out DisneyDaz's post (in this linked thread) with a dozen or more fantastic pictures of JTA.

:)

Love it!! Thanks Hound!!

[WDWJonasGirl]

The Jedi Training Academy is really for children up tp 12 years in age. After that one is too old.

Why is that?

[HydroGuy]

Why is that?Because the Jedi Master will not select you.

[WDWJonasGirl]

Because the Jedi Master will not select you.

Does the Jedi Master think that adults would hurt the darths? :lmao: :confused3

[pinkprincess30]

We did JTA Wednesday May 11th, the LAST show of the day (phew!). We had simple signs saying "Pick Me!". ALL THREE of my kids got picked... DS5, DS6 & DS9. They LOVED IT!!!

[ccpat]

We were at Disneyland yesterday and two of my children got to participate in the training, but that was on the third show we went too. :goodvibes
The first two times my children were very enthusiastic but they seemed to pick little jedi's and kids with signs. The third time we got there early enough to be right in front and my oldest 11 and youngest 7 were chosen, but my middle ds 9 wasn't :confused3 so when we go tomorrow I will bring signs. Maybe then all 3 can do it at once. It was fun to watch, and they loved it so much and I have my husband sit with them while waiting for the show to start and I would run get fast passes for autotopia or space mountain. It worked out great. I've been using ridemax and during our "break" we fit so much in!

My tip would be to be in the front row of children! I'll see how signs work tomorrow. :cheer2:

[WDWJonasGirl]

We did JTA Wednesday May 11th, the LAST show of the day (phew!). We had simple signs saying "Pick Me!". ALL THREE of my kids got picked... DS5, DS6 & DS9. They LOVED IT!!!
Congratulations!! That's awesome!!


I have a cool story from the last time I went. It was the last show of the day when the Jedi Master and his helpers were going backstage. One of the helpers (the guy) looked right in my eyes and said "May the Force Be With You" to me. :woohoo: I loved this. I thought he was cute :lmao:

[RedRosie]

My DS(9) was picked to go on stage. He had a Star Wars shirt and sat in the front row, right in the middle. He was not jumping up and down a lot, but the SW shirt and location worked. We did notice that siblings with matching shirts (not even SW or Disney) were both picked. We went in early November so very low crowds, but about 60 kids there and only 20-30 were picked. I read about wearing the shirt and sitting on the blue line in these boards so THANK YOU all for those tips. It worked and made fabulous memories for him.

[WDWJonasGirl]

My DS(9) was picked to go on stage. He had a Star Wars shirt and sat in the front row, right in the middle. He was not jumping up and down a lot, but the SW shirt and location worked. We did notice that siblings with matching shirts (not even SW or Disney) were both picked. We went in early November so very low crowds, but about 60 kids there and only 20-30 were picked. I read about wearing the shirt and sitting on the blue line in these boards so THANK YOU all for those tips. It worked and made fabulous memories for him.

Congratulations!! That's amazing!!

[starshine514]

We got picked! I told my sister about JTA and she made my DD6 a little padawan (sp?) outfit. She looked so cute! We also made her a sign out of orange construction paper (Taller than YODA I am) and I instructed her to jump up and down. She was in the first row on the far right side, and at first I thought we had chosen a horrible location, since they started out choosing kids from the middle. But then they chose her! She got to fight Vader and it was the cutest thing ever. She wore her outfit the rest of the day (apparently it was more comfortable than the Snow White costume she was wearing earlier) and got lots of comments from CMs - apparently, a little girl in a jedi outfit is rare.

Thanks so much for all the tips! Seeing her participate was a trip highlight!

[WDWJonasGirl]

We got picked! I told my sister about JTA and she made my DD6 a little padawan (sp?) outfit. She looked so cute! We also made her a sign out of orange construction paper (Taller than YODA I am) and I instructed her to jump up and down. She was in the first row on the far right side, and at first I thought we had chosen a horrible location, since they started out choosing kids from the middle. But then they chose her! She got to fight Vader and it was the cutest thing ever. She wore her outfit the rest of the day (apparently it was more comfortable than the Snow White costume she was wearing earlier) and got lots of comments from CMs - apparently, a little girl in a jedi outfit is rare.

Thanks so much for all the tips! Seeing her participate was a trip highlight!

Awww. Very cute!!

[mamabean]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!


This thread saved us totally!!
Our boys both wore Vader shirts, and we made them signs, and BOTH got picked!!!!

Here is a link to their pictures!!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/255690_10150621354765083_842560082_18883065_605043 1_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/251340_10150621354880083_842560082_18883067_640018 _n.jpg


Showing their Jedi FORCE!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/254540_10150621354995083_842560082_18883069_359498 1_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/253861_10150621355740083_842560082_18883080_928033 _n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/249959_10150621355580083_842560082_18883078_536839 3_n.jpg

****** We went to TWO shows, the first one the boys tried to get picked but it didn't happen! The second show I did the signs and BAM they got picked!!**

[WDWJonasGirl]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!


This thread saved us totally!!
Our boys both wore Vader shirts, and we made them signs, and BOTH got picked!!!!

Here is a link to their pictures!!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/255690_10150621354765083_842560082_18883065_605043 1_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/251340_10150621354880083_842560082_18883067_640018 _n.jpg


Showing their Jedi FORCE!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/254540_10150621354995083_842560082_18883069_359498 1_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/253861_10150621355740083_842560082_18883080_928033 _n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/249959_10150621355580083_842560082_18883078_536839 3_n.jpg

****** We went to TWO shows, the first one the boys tried to get picked but it didn't happen! The second show I did the signs and BAM they got picked!!**

Love the signs!! Congratulations on your boys getting picked!

[MiceFan]

Thanks for the tips! We're going at the beginning of June and I'd really like to get my two + their cousin up there! Cousin #2 will be too young, but I'm making all 4 of them Jedi shirts right now. I'm thinking up ideas for signs too and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that my crafting is not in vain!!! Anyway, thanks for the tips and for validating that I'm not obsessed, or at least I'm not the only one who is, ;) just because I want to give my kiddos the extra edge to get picked!

They got picked!!! We went to the first show of the day at 10:30, we arrived around 10:15 and it was already getting crowded. The first row was pretty full, we were in the second row but when the girl in front of them got picked, it opened up a hole and all 3 managed to be seen. It was mostly boys, with I'd say, about 120 kids in the crowd hoping to get picked.

Here they are right before with their signs and matching outfits. Our school had the Mickey die cut, but it would be easy to cut out yourself. They were neon colors and said, "The force is strong with this one," "Pick Me (on one ear) Jedi Master (on the other ear) You're my only hope (on the face,)" and the oldest just had "Darth Maul" with a slash line. I think there were 3 or 4 other kids with signs and they all got picked, one family had to cut their sign into 2 pieces, I think security made them do it on the way into the park. I had ours in the backpack and wasn't questioned at all, I was a little worried that the paint sticks wouldn't be allowed, but they were no problem.


http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd456/marysatoro/JediSigns.jpg

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd456/marysatoro/IMG_5593.jpg

We were all the way to the left facing the stage, in the 1st/2nd row. I told them to be sure to bounce and show those signs! They were the very last ones picked, the Jedi Master said, "To avoid any confusion, let's have all 3 in the white tank tops." I'm still in shock that all 3 of them got up there on the first try! My daughters ended up fighting Darth Vader and Darth Maul at the same time, not ideal for a mother trying to get good pics but pretty cool to a Star Wars fan. I ended up videoing both with a wide screen shot and I'm planning to get the close-up Photopass pics for each one. My niece is only 6 months older than my youngest DD and they are about the same size, but she ended up fighting Darth Maul with the big kids.

We handed our signs to a Canadian family that we had been chatting with before the show, I hope the signs brought them luck too.

Thank you so much for the tips, you helped make our trip unforgettable! My family grumbles about all the time and effort I put into planning our Disney trips, but when it all comes together, they see that it's worth it!
:thanks: :disrocks:

[Hound 109]

First off....to Mama Bean..... great update & great pics in your post above.

Thanks for sharing the info & the great memories. Your Padewans looked super pumped to do battle with the Darths.



& to MiceFan......

They got picked!!! We went to the first show of the day at 10:30, we arrived around 10:15 and it was already getting crowded. The first row was pretty full, we were in the second row but when the girl in front of them got picked, it opened up a hole and all 3 managed to be seen. It was mostly boys, with I'd say, about 120 kids in the crowd hoping to get picked.

Wow....120 kids. I wonder if Star Tours 2.0 is bringing more kids to this?


Here they are right before with their signs and matching outfits. Our school had the Mickey die cut, but it would be easy to cut out yourself. They were neon colors and said, "The force is strong with this one," "Pick Me (on one ear) Jedi Master (on the other ear) You're my only hope (on the face,)" and the oldest just had "Darth Maul" with a slash line. I think there were 3 or 4 other kids with signs and they all got picked, one family had to cut their sign into 2 pieces, I think security made them do it on the way into the park. I had ours in the backpack and wasn't questioned at all, I was a little worried that the paint sticks wouldn't be allowed, but they were no problem.


http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd456/marysatoro/JediSigns.jpg

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd456/marysatoro/IMG_5593.jpg

We were all the way to the left facing the stage, in the 1st/2nd row. I told them to be sure to bounce and show those signs! They were the very last ones picked, the Jedi Master said, "To avoid any confusion, let's have all 3 in the white tank tops." I'm still in shock that all 3 of them got up there on the first try! My daughters ended up fighting Darth Vader and Darth Maul at the same time, not ideal for a mother trying to get good pics but pretty cool to a Star Wars fan. I ended up videoing both with a wide screen shot and I'm planning to get the close-up Photopass pics for each one. My niece is only 6 months older than my youngest DD and they are about the same size, but she ended up fighting Darth Maul with the big kids.

We handed our signs to a Canadian family that we had been chatting with before the show, I hope the signs brought them luck too.

Thank you so much for the tips, you helped make our trip unforgettable! My family grumbles about all the time and effort I put into planning our Disney trips, but when it all comes together, they see that it's worth it!
:thanks: :disrocks:

Great story, great pictures MiceFan. :)

Glad to hear the tips were helpful & it sounds like the signs are still an effective tool....especially when crowded.

Thanks for the details & for sharing your experience.

:yay:

[Bunnyfeather]

My DD (5) got picked on Tuesday at the first show. She had a Leia shirt, but I think the Leia hair did it. Her stepmother made her these donuts out of socks and we threaded her pigtails through and around them. Very effective and flat-out adorable. When she got her turn to fight Vader, he said to the trainer "If you will not join me, perhaps she will." It has been almost a week and DD is still walking on air to have been Jedi trained.

[WDWJonasGirl]

Awesome!!

[TigerlilyAJ]

Thanks for all the tips and tales! Keep 'em coming. I've been showing some posts to my 6yo for him to read and prepare. Guess the two non-matching SW shirts he and his 3yo brother have will not be enough to get them both up there? Maybe signs will overcome the non-matching shirts?

AJ

[Love Tink]

I wouldn't want to say it's a "guarantee," but waving a sign is...pretty much a guarantee.

We went to shows two days in a row, on August 9 and 10. One day we went in the morning and the next day in the afternoon.

I was there with five kids, and different combinations of the kids tried to do the show on different days (my seven-year-old son did it twice). Every one of them was picked. And in fact, the second day, the four kids with me were the first four kids picked, bam bam bam bam.

Each time, they were the only kids in the crowd with signs. I was shocked - it seems like such a no-brainer. The last time we were at DL was 2007, and Jedi training was still pretty new, and I wasn't surprised we were the only ones with signs. But, by now, I figured word would be out and lots of kids would have signs. Nope.

There were nowhere near 120 kids at our shows, I'll note. Probably half to two thirds of the kids waiting were chosen for each show.

It's still a lot of fun. Last time we tried it, at WDW this spring, my five-year-old bailed out when it was his turn to fight Darth vader. So he was thrilled that he stuck with it and really fought the big guy this time. And my seven year old, on his fourth try at DL, FINALLY got to fight Darth Maul (they don't have that option in Florida when we go). He was so excited!

[WDWJonasGirl]

Wow!! Congratulations for those whose kids have been picked!!

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

I haven't read the entirety of this thread but I've watched the JTA probably a dozen times to write a blog entry about it here (http://myyearwiththemouse.com/2011/06/07/jedi-training-academy-part-1-selection-and-training/). This is what I've witnessed:

*I have never seen a child with a sign not get picked. I think this is the single biggest factor.

*I have seen a lot of children wearing Star Wars clothes not get picked. Based on my observation, I don't think this offers much of an advantage. The sign is a much better bet.

*Dress siblings alike, even in white, and I would do that over having them wear non-matching Star Wars shirts. Sibling identifying signs are a big help.

*After a certain age, it is NOT an advantage to wear a Jedi robe or bring your own light saber. It's cute on the little ones but I have seen older kids (maybe 8 and up) in full regalia get passed up. They want kids who will be compliant with the fighting routine and instructions, and older kids in regalia will sometimes grandstand and put in their own moves, which they don't want for the safety of both the child and the cast members. It really depends who is doing the picking, but some CMs will deliberately overlook older children with their own light sabers. So that's not going to be a guarantee and may be a liability.

*Enthusiastic PARENTS can make a big difference too. They want a lot of crowd interaction and if parents are going nutso during selection they know there will be a lot of cheering during the battle scenes. That's why for kids who don't get spots in the front can still get chosen if Daddy is holding them up and jumping up and down and you're raising a ruckus with them.

[Hound 109]

WDWJonasGirl, thank you for all of your recent (enthusiastic) posts. They should make you an honorary Jedi. :cool1:


LoveTink.....excellent post. (I agree with all of your observations). Congratulations on getting all of your padewans chosen. :thumbsup2


MyYearwiththeMouse.....fantastic blog & pics!! Thanks for posting. I also agree with your take on being picked. Good point regarding OLDER kids with their OWN sabres possibly not being picked. Also, good point about having siblings wear the SAME (bright) shirt to ensure both get picked.

Loved your blog.....may i post a link to it on my first page (in my first post)? & i agree with your "getting picked" in order of importance strategy:

Here’s Shelby’s Guide to the Jedi Training Academy:

1.Bring a sign
2.Act enthusiastic, especially when it seems to die down a little. Jumping up and down really helps.
3.Enthusiastic parents seem to help. Hold your kid up if you’re in the back.
4.Wear a Star Wars shirt (no guarantee) or another brightly-colored, easily-identifiable shirt or hat
5.Dress your children the same if you have more than one (more than two I’d split into different groups)
6.Leave your own light saber at home


Thanks for all the posts guys. :thumbsup2

:)

[Hoku]

I don't know if they always have the same routine, but my daughter and I watched this on YouTube to see if she wanted to do it. We found a video that showed the training part and we memorized it so she could practice at home. She turns 5 in December so she's still young. That's why we've been practicing this routine:

Left shoulder
Right shoulder
Left leg
DUCK
stand
Left leg
Right leg
Head

The routine is simple, but it goes fast and I've noticed from the videos that some of the younger kids struggle a little. This way, when DD gets picked, she'll be at her own advantage.

[WDWJonasGirl]

I don't know if they always have the same routine, but my daughter and I watched this on YouTube to see if she wanted to do it. We found a video that showed the training part and we memorized it so she could practice at home. She turns 5 in December so she's still young. That's why we've been practicing this routine:

Left shoulder
Right shoulder
Left leg
DUCK
stand
Left leg
Right leg
Head

The routine is simple, but it goes fast and I've noticed from the videos that some of the younger kids struggle a little. This way, when DD gets picked, she'll be at her own advantage.

Love that plan!!

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm just curious but what are some of the things that helped your kids get picked? It would be really cool if my cousin got picked.

[Bashara]

Just wanted to say after reading through this thread, and knowing all 3 of my sons would love to be picked especially Master 7, we prepared well and all 3 got picked the first time we tried! We were at DLR the last week of September 2011.

Older two were wearing Star wars costumes, youngest was in a Thor costume. We were in the second row from the front but luckily the adults in front remained sitting. Made sure all 3 jumped up and down and waved a sign and made lots of noise.

The Jedi Master picked them out by saying "the three boys together all in costume" and pointing. He had basically picked about half dozen kids from the front row on both sides already before he picked my three out.

I passed the signs on to the kids sitting near us who hadn't been picked yet but unfortunately none of them got chosen.

Most of the other kids he picked had Star Wars tshirts on or were carrying a lightsaber or wearing the R2D2 mickey ears.

The only downside to having all 3 in the same show was that youngest was fighting Darth Vader at the same time as middle was fighting Darth Maul so getting pictures and video was hard. Thank goodness for CM photographers.

All in all a highlight of the trip, and thanks for all the advice on this thread :)

[ballarinamom]

DD was dressed as Amadala (her Halloween costume) and she jumped up and down waving her hands as DH and I pointed at her. Anything to get them more attention to stand out to the trainer. DD changed as soon as it was over

[Tollerwalker]

My son has always been too shy to try it at WDW but I think he is going to give it a shot when we go to Disneyland in January. I think he will love it :)

[Redo0418]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their tips on getting picked for the Jedi training. We made a sign on bright green cardstock that said "Will Padawan - choose me" and my son drew a picture of a lightsaber in the middle.

We walked up to the show at 10:20 and I made sure he was as close to the blue line as possible - we were on the right side so it wasn't too hard.

He got picked right away and fought Darth Maul after I bribed him. He was really terrified to fight him until I offered a Lego set if he did and that did the trick.

If it weren't for the green sign I know he wouldn't have been picked so a big THANK YOU to everyone!

:worship:

[JillyBean77]

I was not going to attempt any of these tricks because I figured, they probably would pick one or two of my boys but not all three, so why try? But I'm very encouraged by these reports and will attempt to use the tips recommended. Thank you!!

[Bashara]

I was not going to attempt any of these tricks because I figured, they probably would pick one or two of my boys but not all three, so why try? But I'm very encouraged by these reports and will attempt to use the tips recommended. Thank you!!

I very much felt like that too at first. But seriously, I think especially if they all look similar and are dressed similar they will call all 3 of yours up like they did with mine. If you go the extra mile to dress them in star wars tshirts or costumes, even if they aren't all star wars costumes, they stand out in the crowd. Only downside I found was despite there being so many children picked 2 of my boys ended up fighting the 2 Darths at the same time which was probably just bad luck. The photos the Disney photographers take are great too so make sure you check them out in the shop and get them loaded on to your photopass if you like them :) They give you a card as you leave the area to tell you what time they will be available at the photo shop on Main St. It won't happen automatically obviously so you have to drop in to the shop to identify your children.

[kirstie101]

I just wanted to throw our expereince out there as well. I was not at all prepared and had not read this thread as it never occured to me that DD (almost 5) would be interested in doing this. We've watched the show every year though so maybe I should have figured it out! :confused3 Anyway, as we were not at all prepared, we just sent her down there with her Uncle and they were in the front row. No sign, no costume, no star wars t-shirt. She was in a shirt I had made for her (red with a minnie silhouette on it and her name under it) When it was time for kids to be picked she just jumped up and down with her hands in the air and Uncle kept pointing at her and she did get picked so she was thrilled. This was the highlight of the trip for most of our group! :yay:

[tgrunewald]

These are great tips and stories.

Are there any times which are less crowded and how early should be show up?

Thanks!

[Love Tink]

I was not going to attempt any of these tricks because I figured, they probably would pick one or two of my boys but not all three, so why try? But I'm very encouraged by these reports and will attempt to use the tips recommended. Thank you!!

Don't know if you've already gone to DL, but wanted to let you know that I've had all three of my boys picked together multiple times.

In fact, one afternoon this August I had all three of my boys, plus my niece and nephew, in the same show.

Make signs! We made signs the last time we came, in 2007. This year, I figured, "By now everyone will know the 'sign trick' and the audience will be full of signs." Nope - they were the only kids with signs and they were the first five kids picked.

[WDWJonasGirl]

That's awesome!! I want to get my cousin picked the next time we take him.

[DisneyBabies]

We are planning our first trip to DL in April and it is great to get all these little tips.

But I'd like to share my DS's Jedi Training story from his first trip to WDW in 2009. He was turning 5 on that trip and of course we wanted him to experience as much magic as possible. He was picked to be one of the helpers at the Lion King show, but was too shy to go up. Alice and the Mad Hatter were opening the Tea Cups one morning and we figured out how to get him chosen to ride with them, but he said the Mad Hatter was too loud, so he didn't do that either.

Then he saw the Jedi Training and that was something he REALLY wanted to do. So we asked the CM what we needed to do and she explained that DS needed to stand at the blue line and maybe he would be chosen for the show. One parent told us that since DS was a lot smaller than most of the other kids that he probably wouldn't be picked since they don't put 5 year olds up there with a bunch of 10 year olds.

So the Jedi Master comes out and DS is standing at the blue line, on the left side of the stage when the kids are chosen. He was standing off by himself away from other kids and the majority of the other kids were all clustered together at the middle of the stage though some were scattered like DS on the left and right. There was a lot of pushing by the other kids (2 children were knocked down and one wound up being stepped on) as well as a lot of yelling. DS just stood on his own and raised his hand like he does in school and waited for the Master to turn his way. The Master began choosing children on the right side and worked his way left, though he completely passed over the children in the middle. And finally DS was chosen (and he didn't care that he was given the last spot). He took off so fast for the stage, that he made it up the stairs (which were on the right side of the stage) and on to the front center spot before the other kids could get in place. I will NEVER forget the look on his face when he turned to wave at us from the stage (as a matter of fact, I got a great picture of that very happy face).

When the dust settled and we got a look at all the kids before they put on their robes, we realized several things: 1-Not one of the children were wearing anything Star Wars related, 2-Not one of the children who had been chosen had been yelling, 3-And not one of the children who had been pushing and shoving in that middle group had been chosen.

I like that he didn't have to do anything extra to be chosen to be a Jedi. And I like that even though he was smaller than 98% of the other kids in the crowd, he was still picked. It made his trip.

Things are done differently now at WDW and it seems the same at DL too and I guess I can understand why, but the randomness of how he was chosen, just makes that moment a little more magical to me.

I guess we'll have to talk about it and make sure we are prepared if he wants to try it at DL. Thanks for the tips.

[94bruin]

I'm hoping to convince DD1 to do this. She's a major SW fan right now - she was Princess Leia for Halloween. Unfortunately, she's afraid of being hurt by Darth Vader/Darth Maul. I even showed her some YouTube clips and pointed out that every kid came out unscathed.

Any tips on what I can tell her to convince her that she won't die, lol!

I may have my work cut out for me since on our last trip (she was just shy of 5), she ran crying from Capt Hook when we tried to get her to take a picture with him.

I know she'd have a blast doing it since she's done something similar in her Tae Kwon Do class... (playing with foam noodles.)

Yes, she can sit through the movies, somehow.

[disneyfan4ever54]

I'm hoping to convince DD1 to do this. She's a major SW fan right now - she was Princess Leia for Halloween. Unfortunately, she's afraid of being hurt by Darth Vader/Darth Maul. I even showed her some YouTube clips and pointed out that every kid came out unscathed.

Any tips on what I can tell her to convince her that she won't die, lol!

I may have my work cut out for me since on our last trip (she was just shy of 5), she ran crying from Capt Hook when we tried to get her to take a picture with him.

I know she'd have a blast doing it since she's done something similar in her Tae Kwon Do class... (playing with foam noodles.)

Yes, she can sit through the movies, somehow.

Is she more afraid of one of the Darths over the other? Darth Maul is very scary, even to me...LOL. If it helps at all, the younger kids usually fight Darth Vader and the older kids fight Darth Maul. Is she 6 years old? From what I've seen, chances are that she would get Darth Vader. Can't guarantee it, but that has been the pattern. :)

[WendyWhy]

Is she more afraid of one of the Darths over the other? Darth Maul is very scary, even to me...LOL. If it helps at all, the younger kids usually fight Darth Vader and the older kids fight Darth Maul. Is she 6 years old? From what I've seen, chances are that she would get Darth Vader. Can't guarantee it, but that has been the pattern. :)

I agree with you - Darth Maul is absolutely frightening! My 5 y/o is on the taller side - and he got chosen to fight Maul - but he did fine! I was more nervous for him than he was for himself!:thumbsup2

[disneyfan4ever54]

I agree with you - Darth Maul is absolutely frightening! My 5 y/o is on the taller side - and he got chosen to fight Maul - but he did fine! I was more nervous for him than he was for himself!:thumbsup2
Wow...5 years old and chosen to fight Darth Maul! .....Glad he did well! Good for him! I would have been shaking all over. :)

[94bruin]

Is she more afraid of one of the Darths over the other? Darth Maul is very scary, even to me...LOL. If it helps at all, the younger kids usually fight Darth Vader and the older kids fight Darth Maul. Is she 6 years old? From what I've seen, chances are that she would get Darth Vader. Can't guarantee it, but that has been the pattern. :)

Nope, doesn't matter which bad guy - she's afraid of both. Well, luckily we're getting APs. Maybe if she doesn't work up the nerve this time, she'll want to do it next time. I just don't know how long she'll be into Star Wars...

[disneyfan4ever54]

Nope, doesn't matter which bad guy - she's afraid of both. Well, luckily we're getting APs. Maybe if she doesn't work up the nerve this time, she'll want to do it next time. I just don't know how long she'll be into Star Wars...
How many days will you be there? Since there are multiple shows each day, maybe after she watches a few shows in person, it will be easier for her to see exactly what takes place and then she can decide if she wants to try it. Good Luck! Let us know what happens. :)

[GrandBob]

Just wanted to add my two cents to this thread. Holding a sign really does work! We took our 8 yo DGD in November. We lined up at the end of the previous show to wait for the next one. A cute little girl, about 6, who had been chosen in the previous show, came up to DGD and handed her a sign, saying "here, this worked for me." It was just a simple 8.5x11" piece of paper, with a hand-written message that said "Please, please pick me". Very simple. But by holding up that sign, and jumping up and down, DGD was the very first child picked in her show.

I video'd the entire thing. So, so cute!

-Bob

[Roook22]

We had 3 boys with Star Wars shirts and signs on 11/26/11, and all three were picked.
It really worked, first time. Thanks everyone!

[Hoku]

When we went, my 4-year old daughter was matched up with Darth Maul, which suprised all of us. We told the pre-show host (before the pre-show) that she had practiced all the moves at home and was excited to fight the real thing. Maybe the word got out to the main host? Maybe her overflowing excitement got her to fight him? Don't know. But she did great and we've got awesome pics. Hopefully we can get the work it so she can fight Vader next time.

[Jaymcee]

I just read somewhere but can't find it again that now you have to sign up for the training, sounded like first in first served. Can anyone please confirm this?

[HydroGuy]

I just read somewhere but can't find it again that now you have to sign up for the training, sounded like first in first served. Can anyone please confirm this?The Jedi Training at Disney Hollywood Studios at Disney World in Orlando takes signups. At DL there are no signups. They have more space and the approach of picking kids from the crowd remains.

[Hound 109]

I just read somewhere but can't find it again that now you have to sign up for the training, sounded like first in first served. Can anyone please confirm this?

Long bus rides, excessive humidity and signing up for the Jedi Training Academy are all exclusive to the "resort in the swamp". At DLR, the Master Jedi still picks the kids before the show.

Good to here that all the tips are still working & that Dis kids are still having a blast defeating the evil Darths. :thumbsup2


EDIT: HG BEAT ME TO IT BY A MINUTE.

:)

[Jaymcee]

Thanks hydroguy and hound 109, as I newbie I often find myself reading wrong info for another park, normally figure out my mistake but not this time. 20 sleeps to go.

[heatherenae71]

I haven't read all the replies, so I apologize if this is a repeat question.

Is there a photopass photographer(s) at JTA?

Thanks!

My DS did this at DHS and *loved* it...and now when we go to DL this June, my DD wants to get it on the action (she remembers the whole "fight" sequence - cracks me up!). We will definitely bring a sign and have them in Star Wars clothing!! :cool1:

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Oh gosh, I have to have this happen for DS. He's just recently begun to be SUPER into star wars and I think getting up there would be excellent for his self esteem. Struggling with bullies at the moment :(

Thanks SO MUCH for the tips. I think I'll get him a shirt and maybe make a small sign. He'd love it so much!

[awdsmama]

I hope my DS gets picked (if he wants to be of course)!! He likes sword/light sabre fighting and all that good stuff. Looks like we'll be bringing one of his Star Wars shirts with him. I had also planned on stopping at City Hall for his "1st visit" button - maybe that will help him also!

[MNRMommy]

Super Bummed :guilty:

DS and DD both have gotten picked several times at DW to fight in the Pirate show (not sure if they even do it anymore) and they have no interest in this. Maybe I'll make my own sign and jump up and down :rotfl2:

It was the highlight of his last trip when he not only got picked but got to be the one to fight Captain Jack but I guess he's too grown up now. This childhood thing sure goes fast so all you with little kiddos who still get excited over Darth Maul and even Princesses treasure it while you can.

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm a huge fan of the show. I would love to get my cousin picked the next time we go with him and his family.