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Walt Disney World has been making a lot of changes to its website recently, with the removal of some attractions altogether, and some rather confusing updates and takebacks.
Earlier this week, Disney removed Voyage of the Little Mermaid, the family-friendly live re-telling of The Little Mermaid (1989) at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, from their official website and the My Disney Experience app. The show had not yet reopened from the Park’s 2020 closure, and while the rest of Disney World had begun reopening, the show’s shaded queue area was turned into a seating area with benches installed.
As it turns out, Voyage of the Little Mermaid is not the only attraction missing from Disney’s official app and website. Another classic Disney’s Hollywood Studios experience has been removed from both places, and for some Guests its removal could be devastating if it is indeed permanent.
Jedi Training Academy, or as it was more recently called, Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple was an extremely popular interactive experience for “younglings’ ages 4-12 who were ready to try their hand at being a Jedi. The experience closed with the rest of Disney’s Hollywood Studios in March 2020, and since the Disney Park has reopened it has been noted as “temporarily unavailable” until it was removed from Disney’s app and website this week.
Credit: Disney
During Jedi Training Academy, children would undergo Jedi training with a Jedi Master who would prepare them to “use the force” and their new lightsaber skills should they ever encounter the Dark Side. Following their training, the group would indeed encounter the Dark Side in a live performance-style experience in front of Guests on a stage by Star Tours.
There, the future Padawans would face off against the likes of a number of villainous Star Wars characters over the years, including Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Kylo Ren, and Seventh Sister Inquisitor from the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels.
Jedi Training Academy was so popular with Guests that many Star Wars fans strategized their arrival to the park around having the chance to sign up for the experience where the number of available spots for each day was limited.
Credit: Disney
The Disney website has also had some issues as of late with changes to the Genie+ lineup at Disney’s Hollywood Studios being listed and then promptly removed, and posting additional Annual Pass options only to remove them almost immediately.
Disney has not officially announced that Jedi Training Academy would be closing permanently, but seeing it removed from the website and the My Disney Experience app does not seem like a great sign. With any luck, we will see the experience modified or enhanced with a later reopening date, but as always we will let you know here on DisneyTips if we have any updates.
