Darth Vader Relocates to Star Tours as Star Wars Launch Bay Closes

Several excellent characters will be displaced when Star Wars Launch Bay closes forever in a few hours. The good news is that the most evil of them won’t be homeless for long. First reported by Drew Smith, Darth Vader is moving to the Star Tours queue beginning tomorrow, September 25. We had hoped the Sith Lord would take up residence in Galaxy’s Edge – after all, Imagineers relaxed the Batuu timeline a few years ago – but we’ll take what we can get.

Interestingly, the My Disney Experience (MDE) app is showing a rather ambiguous message: “Star Wars Launch Bay: Encounter Darth Vader will be temporarily unavailable beginning September 25.” Anything involving the Launch Bay isn’t temporary. The space is being transformed into The Magic of Disney Animation.

We don’t know the fates of Chewbacca and BB-8, the other two current Launch Bay character experiences. Chewie already roams Galaxy’s Edge, so that might be all we get. I wouldn’t mind seeing BB-8 do the same. Dedicated meet-and-greets would be welcome, too.

While we’re wishing, how about the return of Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple (formerly the Jedi Training Academy)? Disney closed that greatness at the beginning of the Covid shutdown. Those shows invited kids on stage to learn the ways of the Force before confronting Darth Vader and another villain. Since the stage is right next to Star Tours, our favorite Sith Lord wouldn’t have far to go for that double duty.

Read more: We Met the Mandalorian and Grogu in Hollywood Studios