Jedi Training Signups Today (5/24/16)

[ChloesDaddy]

Just want to share our experience for those trying to plan. We were at DHS right at 8:00 this morning. They had the four left most tap style lines reserved for early breakfast ADRs to start. At about 8:10 they allowed people to line up in three of the lines and continued to hold the left most line for ADRs. At 8:30 they started scanning people through the through those three tap styles to head to Jedi Training signups.

We proceeded toward the signup area near Indiana Jones. They were holding the line in front of 50s Prime Time. At 8:34 they started leading the line to sign ups. We were about the 10th-12th group in line and were signed up for the 11:10 session and out by 8:45. They gave us a paper receipt with all three kids' signup info on it. We stopped to see the checkin/line up area in front of 50s PT. they had the blue "dots" on the sidewalk in two rows. I told the kids which ones they needed to be on for the character they wanted to face -- near the wall for Seventh Sister and closer to the lake for Darth Vader. We could have still gotten a good position for rope drop to a ride, but my son pretends he's been in the desert for three days with no water when he's gone more than five minutes without fluids, so we went and got more drinks at park opening. We had FPs for what we wanted anyway.

We arrived for checkin about 10 minutes early, and the 10:40 session was getting ready to march out. We noticed that the signup area was still open for more sign ups. Once the 10:40 group left we had the kids get to their spots. The CM marked the paper receipts and tore off each child's section for each child to hold. One family had lost their receipt and had to return to the signup area to have it reprinted. Be sure to hang on to the receipt!

Once most were checked in they arranged each of the two lines from shortest to tallest. Then they got the robes to hand out. They had the kids hold the robes until shortly before departure so they wouldn't get too hot in them. I should note that there isn't much shade in the lineup area, even at 10:30 am, so be sure to have something for the kids to drink and stay cool while waiting. There were some late arrivals that they had to fit in height order.

Just before departure they had the kids put on the robes with parents helping. Then they led them to the Jedi Temple stage area with parents helping to guide them along. Once there they collected the paper receipts from the kids, handed out photo pass cards to the parents and had the parents join the audience.

The kids all did great and were very excited. It was worth the planning and effort of getting to the park early. For all who seek to get their little padawans signed up, may the force be with you.

 

[Blue32]

Just want to share our experience for those trying to plan. We were at DHS right at 8:00 this morning. They had the four left most tap style lines reserved for early breakfast ADRs to start. At about 8:10 they allowed people to line up in three of the lines and continued to hold the left most line for ADRs. At 8:30 they started scanning people through the through those three tap styles to head to Jedi Training signups.

We proceeded toward the signup area near Indiana Jones. They were holding the line in front of 50s Prime Time. At 8:34 they started leading the line to sign ups. We were about the 10th-12th group in line and were signed up for the 11:10 session and out by 8:45. They gave us a paper receipt with all three kids' signup info on it. We stopped to see the checkin/line up area in front of 50s PT. they had the blue "dots" on the sidewalk in two rows. I told the kids which ones they needed to be on for the character they wanted to face -- near the wall for Seventh Sister and closer to the lake for Darth Vader. We could have still gotten a good position for rope drop to a ride, but my son pretends he's been in the desert for three days with no water when he's gone more than five minutes without fluids, so we went and got more drinks at park opening. We had FPs for what we wanted anyway.

We arrived for checkin about 10 minutes early, and the 10:40 session was getting ready to march out. We noticed that the signup area was still open for more sign ups. Once the 10:40 group left we had the kids get to their spots. The CM marked the paper receipts and tore off each child's section for each child to hold. One family had lost their receipt and had to return to the signup area to have it reprinted. Be sure to hang on to the receipt!

Once most were checked in they arranged each of the two lines from shortest to tallest. Then they got the robes to hand out. They had the kids hold the robes until shortly before departure so they wouldn't get too hot in them. I should note that there isn't much shade in the lineup area, even at 10:30 am, so be sure to have something for the kids to drink and stay cool while waiting. There were some late arrivals that they had to fit in height order.

Just before departure they had the kids put on the robes with parents helping. Then they led them to the Jedi Temple stage area with parents helping to guide them along. Once there they collected the paper receipts from the kids, handed out photo pass cards to the parents and had the parents join the audience.

The kids all did great and were very excited. It was worth the planning and effort of getting to the park early. For all who seek to get their little padawans signed up, may the force be with you.

Thanks for sharing this! Very helpful! Was there still a line of people when you saw the sign up at 10:30am? I am wondering how long it takes for all those shows to fill up on a regular basis. Thanks!

 

[ChloesDaddy]

Thanks for sharing this! Very helpful! Was there still a line of people when you saw the sign up at 10:30am? I am wondering how long it takes for all those shows to fill up on a regular basis. Thanks!

There weren't but a few people signing up by then. The CM at the line entrance was asking people entering how many they were wanting to sign up as they entered the line, which led me to believe there weren't many slots left.

 

[ErinF]

Thanks so much for all the detailed information! It definitely helps me out, as we'll be at DHS in a couple of weeks to do JTA for the first time.

 

[Mintycake]

Thank you so much for this information! We are planning this exact strategy and I like the idea of doing it earlier in the day so that it's not too hot.

 

[yulilin3]

We could have still gotten a good position for rope drop to a ride, but my son pretends he's been in the desert for three days with no water when he's gone more than five minutes without fluids, so we went and got more drinks at park opening.

This is the funniest thing I'm glad you had a great time!!

 

[jbish]

Once most were checked in they arranged each of the two lines from shortest to tallest. Then they got the robes to hand out. They had the kids hold the robes until shortly before departure so they wouldn't get too hot in them. I should note that there isn't much shade in the lineup area, even at 10:30 am, so be sure to have something for the kids to drink and stay cool while waiting. There were some late arrivals that they had to fit in height order.

Just before departure they had the kids put on the robes with parents helping. Then they led them to the Jedi Temple stage area with parents helping to guide them along. Once there they collected the paper receipts from the kids, handed out photo pass cards to the parents and had the parents join the audience.

Thank you so much for the detailed info! I'm sure it will all make sense once we are there. But since we are total newbies to the Star Wars world, I want to make sure that I'm as prepared as possible for JTA so I greatly appreciate the details. [P.S. I can't help but read your posts and replies in Ron Swanson's voice based on your avatar - lol]

So you showed the kids which dots to stand on ahead of time. When they were checked in, they could just proceed to any dot they wanted? And then after the dots were filled, that's when they rearranged the kids in height order? They didn't tell the kids to stand on one side or the other? Any chance the Vader side would get filled up first?

Also, I keep hearing that, since there's no shade in the waiting area, it gets hot. Would most people recommend a morning time slot to get this done before the high heat of the day? We are going to be there June 14th, so it will be hot, I'm sure. Originally I wanted to shoot for the 7:40 pm slot with the hope we could get the light sabers to light up for the show. However, given that there are no fireworks that night, I've changed our HS evening to another night and contemplating hopping to another park. Just wondering if it would be worth hanging around all day for the lit light sabers? I feel like at 7:40 pm on one of the longer days of the year, it won't really be dark enough to get the full effect. So thinking we should just do it early and get it done with. Any thoughts on this are appreciated!

 

[Dreamin192]

Thank you so much for the detailed info! I'm sure it will all make sense once we are there. But since we are total newbies to the Star Wars world, I want to make sure that I'm as prepared as possible for JTA so I greatly appreciate the details. [P.S. I can't help but read your posts and replies in Ron Swanson's voice based on your avatar - lol]

So you showed the kids which dots to stand on ahead of time. When they were checked in, they could just proceed to any dot they wanted? And then after the dots were filled, that's when they rearranged the kids in height order? They didn't tell the kids to stand on one side or the other? Any chance the Vader side would get filled up first?

Also, I keep hearing that, since there's no shade in the waiting area, it gets hot. Would most people recommend a morning time slot to get this done before the high heat of the day? We are going to be there June 14th, so it will be hot, I'm sure. Originally I wanted to shoot for the 7:40 pm slot with the hope we could get the light sabers to light up for the show. However, given that there are no fireworks that night, I've changed our HS evening to another night and contemplating hopping to another park. Just wondering if it would be worth hanging around all day for the lit light sabers? I feel like at 7:40 pm on one of the longer days of the year, it won't really be dark enough to get the full effect. So thinking we should just do it early and get it done with. Any thoughts on this are appreciated!

I'm here now in the waiting area with my daughter for the 7:40 show. It's actually shady at this time so that's nice. They told me they most likely will be turning on the sabers

 

[John Marecek]

Thank you so much for the detailed info! I'm sure it will all make sense once we are there. But since we are total newbies to the Star Wars world, I want to make sure that I'm as prepared as possible for JTA so I greatly appreciate the details. [P.S. I can't help but read your posts and replies in Ron Swanson's voice based on your avatar - lol]

So you showed the kids which dots to stand on ahead of time. When they were checked in, they could just proceed to any dot they wanted? And then after the dots were filled, that's when they rearranged the kids in height order? They didn't tell the kids to stand on one side or the other? Any chance the Vader side would get filled up first?

Also, I keep hearing that, since there's no shade in the waiting area, it gets hot. Would most people recommend a morning time slot to get this done before the high heat of the day? We are going to be there June 14th, so it will be hot, I'm sure. Originally I wanted to shoot for the 7:40 pm slot with the hope we could get the light sabers to light up for the show. However, given that there are no fireworks that night, I've changed our HS evening to another night and contemplating hopping to another park. Just wondering if it would be worth hanging around all day for the lit light sabers? I feel like at 7:40 pm on one of the longer days of the year, it won't really be dark enough to get the full effect. So thinking we should just do it early and get it done with. Any thoughts on this are appreciated!

The activating of the lightsabers with the sound effects is worth the wait if you are a family of Star Wars nerds. Whole show has a different feel at night. Sabers have a lot to do with that I think.

Make sure you check the forecast. We had no issues the day we went, but our friends kids were on the dots a couple of weeks ago when the sky opened up, canceling their show.

 

[Princessmom2]

Just want to share our experience for those trying to plan. We were at DHS right at 8:00 this morning. They had the four left most tap style lines reserved for early breakfast ADRs to start. At about 8:10 they allowed people to line up in three of the lines and continued to hold the left most line for ADRs. At 8:30 they started scanning people through the through those three tap styles to head to Jedi Training signups.

We proceeded toward the signup area near Indiana Jones. They were holding the line in front of 50s Prime Time. At 8:34 they started leading the line to sign ups. We were about the 10th-12th group in line and were signed up for the 11:10 session and out by 8:45. They gave us a paper receipt with all three kids' signup info on it. We stopped to see the checkin/line up area in front of 50s PT. they had the blue "dots" on the sidewalk in two rows. I told the kids which ones they needed to be on for the character they wanted to face -- near the wall for Seventh Sister and closer to the lake for Darth Vader. We could have still gotten a good position for rope drop to a ride, but my son pretends he's been in the desert for three days with no water when he's gone more than five minutes without fluids, so we went and got more drinks at park opening. We had FPs for what we wanted anyway.

We arrived for checkin about 10 minutes early, and the 10:40 session was getting ready to march out. We noticed that the signup area was still open for more sign ups. Once the 10:40 group left we had the kids get to their spots. The CM marked the paper receipts and tore off each child's section for each child to hold. One family had lost their receipt and had to return to the signup area to have it reprinted. Be sure to hang on to the receipt!

Once most were checked in they arranged each of the two lines from shortest to tallest. Then they got the robes to hand out. They had the kids hold the robes until shortly before departure so they wouldn't get too hot in them. I should note that there isn't much shade in the lineup area, even at 10:30 am, so be sure to have something for the kids to drink and stay cool while waiting. There were some late arrivals that they had to fit in height order.

Just before departure they had the kids put on the robes with parents helping. Then they led them to the Jedi Temple stage area with parents helping to guide them along. Once there they collected the paper receipts from the kids, handed out photo pass cards to the parents and had the parents join the audience.

The kids all did great and were very excited. It was worth the planning and effort of getting to the park early. For all who seek to get their little padawans signed up, may the force be with you.

Thanks for all the great info! How long does the show/activity last?

 

[John Marecek]

Thanks for all the great info! How long does the show/activity last?

You check in 30 minutes before show (get there a few minutes before if you want a specific opponent), then the show itself is 20.

 

[RachaelA]

I wonder how the photopass pictures look at night... The sabers lighting up sound awesome.

 

[John Marecek]

I wonder how the photopass pictures look at night... The sabers lighting up sound awesome.

They came out great. At the end, when they present the kids to the crowd, they dim the lights, ask them to activate the lightsabers again, with the sound and it looks really cool.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Excellent report. Thank you for taking the time to share it.

 

[toasterstrudel]

thanks so much for the info! I am a little nervous about the sign ups! This will be our first time with our 6 year old jedi ; )

 

[RachaelA]

They came out great. At the end, when they present the kids to the crowd, they dim the lights, ask them to activate the lightsabers again, with the sound and it looks really cool.

View attachment 171325 View attachment 171326

Thank you!

This just made the decision for us that we are doing a night time one next trip!

 

[mshanson3121]

Wow. You were lucky! When we were there they didn't start letting anyone through the tapstiles until 8:50 - and that was on a very busy summer day.

 

[mshanson3121]

Also, I keep hearing that, since there's no shade in the waiting area, it gets hot. Would most people recommend a morning time slot to get this done before the high heat of the day? We are going to be there June 14th, so it will be hot, I'm sure. Originally I wanted to shoot for the 7:40 pm slot with the hope we could get the light sabers to light up for the show. However, given that there are no fireworks that night, I've changed our HS evening to another night and contemplating hopping to another park. Just wondering if it would be worth hanging around all day for the lit light sabers? I feel like at 7:40 pm on one of the longer days of the year, it won't really be dark enough to get the full effect. So thinking we should just do it early and get it done with. Any thoughts on this are appreciated!

Definitely do it earlier. I know ourselves, we'll be trying for an 8:00 ADR so we can get right in line, and hopefully get the very first slot at 9:20 (or whatever time the first is by then). It is very warm standing in the sun.

My problem with waiting until evening is, while normally the showers come through in the late afternoon, sometimes they *can* come through in the evening. And they won't do them if it's storming. Also, it won't be any noticeably cooler at 7:30 pm than at 9:30 am.

 

[matthewhavens]

Just want to share our experience for those trying to plan. We were at DHS right at 8:00 this morning. They had the four left most tap style lines reserved for early breakfast ADRs to start. At about 8:10 they allowed people to line up in three of the lines and continued to hold the left most line for ADRs. At 8:30 they started scanning people through the through those three tap styles to head to Jedi Training signups.

We proceeded toward the signup area near Indiana Jones. They were holding the line in front of 50s Prime Time. At 8:34 they started leading the line to sign ups. We were about the 10th-12th group in line and were signed up for the 11:10 session and out by 8:45. They gave us a paper receipt with all three kids' signup info on it. We stopped to see the checkin/line up area in front of 50s PT. they had the blue "dots" on the sidewalk in two rows. I told the kids which ones they needed to be on for the character they wanted to face -- near the wall for Seventh Sister and closer to the lake for Darth Vader. We could have still gotten a good position for rope drop to a ride, but my son pretends he's been in the desert for three days with no water when he's gone more than five minutes without fluids, so we went and got more drinks at park opening. We had FPs for what we wanted anyway.

We arrived for checkin about 10 minutes early, and the 10:40 session was getting ready to march out. We noticed that the signup area was still open for more sign ups. Once the 10:40 group left we had the kids get to their spots. The CM marked the paper receipts and tore off each child's section for each child to hold. One family had lost their receipt and had to return to the signup area to have it reprinted. Be sure to hang on to the receipt!

Once most were checked in they arranged each of the two lines from shortest to tallest. Then they got the robes to hand out. They had the kids hold the robes until shortly before departure so they wouldn't get too hot in them. I should note that there isn't much shade in the lineup area, even at 10:30 am, so be sure to have something for the kids to drink and stay cool while waiting. There were some late arrivals that they had to fit in height order.

Just before departure they had the kids put on the robes with parents helping. Then they led them to the Jedi Temple stage area with parents helping to guide them along. Once there they collected the paper receipts from the kids, handed out photo pass cards to the parents and had the parents join the audience.

The kids all did great and were very excited. It was worth the planning and effort of getting to the park early. For all who seek to get their little padawans signed up, may the force be with you.

At 8:10 how did you know 3 of the 4 ADR lines converted to JTA lines? Did you already have an idea that this would happen ahead of time? Was there an announcement made? Did they change the signs? I'm curious if everyone there at 8:10 was made aware of the JTA lines.

 

[brennicksmom]

Do they get to keep the light sabers and robes?