Jedi Training Academy: How do they check age?

[wallawallakids]

Just to clarify, they will split the kids into 2 groups at the end. They are separated by size, the smaller kids will fight Vadar, the bigger kids fight Maul. I never considered they brought Vadar and Maul out to "scare" the kids, they bring them out to have a bad guy to fight. Some kids can be frightened.Most aren't. I've only seen one child get upset in maybe 20 shows I have watched.

I was not trying to suggest that they "scare" them on purpose. I was only trying to share our experience as a way to give the OP a different opinion of it from the eyes of younger child. Young kids do not always have the best grasp between reality and fiction. Darth Maul is big and scary looking when you are 3 ft tall and he is right in front of you. That said, there were several other 4/5 year olds up there who were not scared. So I certainly wasn't saying all kids are scared however, I also am willing to bet my kid isn't the only one who has ever cried up there!

In no way was I trying to tell people not to try it. Absolutely go to it, absolutely see it, and try it. It's a great show and my oldest two adored doing it. I was just warning those who might not think of the scare factor. My son is not a kid who scares easily. He loves roller coasters, the dragon in Fantasmic, and has had more surgeries and needle pokes than many adults and has never been afraid or cried with any of these things. He met Darth Vader and took a photo with him the year prior and was not scared so I was actually shocked at how he reacted up there. I wanted to give others a heads up as I really wished someone had given us before we did it. I just regret that it happened the way it did for us and would like to spare others from feeling the way we did (and on his birthday, no less!!!)

Lastly, they do split them up, however, Darth came out and stared right at my son, which is what started the tears, so there is some interaction between the little kids and Darth. Not sure if that is how it always is, but that is what happened the day we went. (This was a few years ago now)

 

[NiceOneSimba]

We just did Jedi Training on Saturday morning. They do NOT check age. I feel like the Jedi Master did a good job of getting a mix of genders and ages. They definitely picked a number of girls, including my DD.

There were definitely a number of very small padawans at our show. I'd say the kids 7 and above pretty much fought Darth Maul. Maybe that varies from show to show, though, depending on how the kids in the audience break down.

The Darths are definitely a bit intimidating, but I don't think they try to scare the kids too much. Darth Maul definitely plays up to the crowd (bangs on the railing with his light saber), but doesn't do it too much directed at the kids other than fight them.

We had a great time at the show! I'd recommend going to the earlier show, as it wasn't crowded at all. There were maybe 35 kids maximum in the audience. We went to a show in the 11 o'clock hour (I have travel/Super Bowl brain and can't remember the exact time). I'd totally recommend it to any Star Wars fans.

We did show our DD a video of the training academy before our trip. There are tons on YouTube. It helped her know what to expect. And, we didn't have to use park time to watch a show to see if she would like it.

 

[LisaT91403]

We did show our DD a video of the training academy before our trip. There are tons on YouTube. It helped her know what to expect. And, we didn't have to use park time to watch a show to see if she would like it.

We did YouTube as well. My 5 year old "loves" Star Wars, even though he's never seen any of the movies. We watched Jedi Training on YouTube before our visit, and he said he wanted to try it. He got picked, and it looked to me that he was a little bit apprehensive when the Darths came out. But he said he had a great time, and wants to do it again. I'm sure it depends on the kid, but for us, watching on YouTube first made all the difference in the world.

 

[pixiewings71]

I still think it stinks that only kids 4-12 can do this....

What about us grown up kids that grew up on the original SW??? I envy those boys and girls facing off against Darth Vader! Any others out there that feel the same?

Sorry, no, this isn't something I want to do as an adult, but for those that do it would be fun.

Take him to see it. He will probably love it. Then ask if would like to do it. If so come back to a later show.

We've watched it but the girls were never interested in being in it, we've always seen them pick people from the audience and they pick a large variety of boys and girls, it's very well done. JTA is fun to watch.

 

[RiderGirl]

I think that like with so many other things at DL, preparation is key. When we took our triplets there when they were 5, we told them all about JTA before we went. We talked about how they would have to volunteer and if they got picked, they would probably fight Darth Vadar. (We also told them that it was unlikely that all three of them would get picked.) The girls decided they thought it would be too scary but our son really wanted to do it. We also warned them that Darth Maul would be there as well but that he would fight the older kids.

Our son did get picked, and the only thing I didn't anticipate was him having so much trouble activating his light sabre, and when the storm troopers came out, all the other kids had run away as instructed, but he missed the instruction because he was still trying to get that light sabre activated. When he looked up, there was a storm trooper right next to him and it rattled him a bit, but to his credit, he looked up at him and hit him with his light sabre! It was quite funny!

Good luck. I agree with others that going to a show first will help you decide.

 

[deanimal]

Thanks for all the tips! My little guy is super outgoing and loves Star Wars, but he's also pretty sensitive, so it might be a bit much for him at barely four. We will probably go again when he's a bit older so he may be more ready then. I also like the idea of watching it on Youtube first. I do that all the time for rides, but I hadn't thought of doing that for a show! Whatever happens, I'm sure we'll have a great time.

 

[Rubygoose]

I think that like with so many other things at DL, preparation is key. When we took our triplets there when they were 5, we told them all about JTA before we went. We talked about how they would have to volunteer and if they got picked, they would probably fight Darth Vadar. (We also told them that it was unlikely that all three of them would get picked.) The girls decided they thought it would be too scary but our son really wanted to do it. We also warned them that Darth Maul would be there as well but that he would fight the older kids.

Our son did get picked, and the only thing I didn't anticipate was him having so much trouble activating his light sabre, and when the storm troopers came out, all the other kids had run away as instructed, but he missed the instruction because he was still trying to get that light sabre activated. When he looked up, there was a storm trooper right next to him and it rattled him a bit, but to his credit, he looked up at him and hit him with his light sabre! It was quite funny!

Good luck. I agree with others that going to a show first will help you decide.

My DD6 had a lot of trouble activating her light saber as well. The Jedi masters did a good job helping her out when they noticed that she was having trouble. I guess there are some light sabers that must be a bit stickier than others.

For the OP: we explained to our DS3 that the sign said that this was for 4-12 year olds, and that he got to watch the show, so he didn't stand up when they asked for volunteers. However, there were several kids selected that I think were younger than my DS. But, I guess that it was up to their parents to decide whether or not they were ready to participate. I think that even though DS is 4 now, he likely wouldn't be brave enough to go up on stage by himself, unlike DS6 who did the show and loves the spotlight. If you think your child is close enough to 4 years old and can handle the situation, then it's up to you to decide whether or not they are ready to volunteer for the show. Regardless, it's a fun show to watch, and DH was super proud (and a tiny bit jealous!) of DD for being able to fight Darth Vader.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I still think it stinks that only kids 4-12 can do this....

What about us grown up kids that grew up on the original SW??? I envy those boys and girls facing off against Darth Vader! Any others out there that feel the same?

I wish that they could put one part of the day for people 18 +