Many character meet & greets at Walt Disney World take place in themed locations that match the character's personality or the setting of the movie they're from. This attention to detail means a popular character can't be placed just anywhere. The spot has to make sense.
Disney World just relocated a classic villain's character meet & greet spot to a space that hasn't been used in years. Keep reading to learn how this may affect your vacation plans. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including a new resort hotel opening at Disney World in 2027 and cute Loungefly mini-backpacks now available.
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Darth Vader Relocates at Walt Disney World
Darth Vader has been a guest favorite at Disney's Hollywood Studios for a long time. In recent years, the Sith Lord appeared daily for meet & greets inside Star Wars Launch Bay, a museum-like pavilion attraction.
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When Star Wars Launch Bay permanently closed in fall 2025 to make way for The Magic of Disney Animation, Darth Vader relocated across the park. For the past few months, he's greeted guests within an area of the queue for Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.
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As of late March 2026, Darth Vader has moved again, but only a smidge this time. He now conducts meet & greets near the staging area for the defunct Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple show. This stage is located immediately adjacent to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.
In the illustrative map above, the Jedi Training stage is the brown-colored platform between the AT-AT and Backlot Express.
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, also previously called Jedi Training Academy, was an interactive show in which young guests learned the ways of the Jedi. It closed with the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and did not return when the parks reopened. It's nice to see Disney using this space again, as the stage has sat dormant for six years now.
Another space that hadn't been open since before the pandemic, The Garden View Lounge – Tea Experience, finally reopened earlier this month at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
Disney World's website currently lists Darth Vader as appearing every half-hour from 9 AM to 4 PM, daily through May 9, 2026. We assume he will continue beyond that date, but that's the farthest Disney has updated the calendar.
Over in California, Darth Vader will soon appear in Disneyland's version of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge as part of the land's timeline expansion to include the original Star Wars trilogy. For now, there are no public plans to expand the timeline of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios, so Darth Vader remains firmly outside of Batuu's borders in Florida.
More Characters Shuffle at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Darth Vader isn't the only character moving around at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Last week, the park switched Disney Visa card members' complimentary photo-op from a meeting with Olaf to Stitch.
In late summer 2026, a new character meet & greet location called Off the Page! will open inside The Magic of Disney Animation, pictured above. Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Chip, Dale, Mulan, Stitch, and Rapunzel will all appear in a creative experience that teaches guests about the animation process.
I like how Disney's Hollywood Studios features characters you don't often see elsewhere, such as Ariel from the live-action version of The Little Mermaid and Edna Mode from The Incredibles. My favorite photo spot in the park is Red Carpet Dreams, the only place in all of Walt Disney World to meet Mickey Mouse in his sorcerer costume from Fantasia.
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