Darth Vader has a new home at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and most Disney guests visiting the park are walking past his old location without knowing where he ended up.
The Star Wars Launch Bay closed, and when it did, it took the primary meet-and-greet infrastructure for several popular Star Wars characters with it. Darth Vader spent a transitional period meeting guests in the outdoor extended queue of Star Tours before Disney settled on something more permanent. That permanent solution is now confirmed, and guests who have been trying to figure out where Darth Vader went since the closure.
Darth Vader is meeting guests just outside the entrance of Star Tours near the former Jedi Training Academy stage at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Meet-and-greet times are available daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The location is permanent. Vader has been rehomed, and the new spot is actually a fitting one for a character whose entire narrative history is intertwined with the Jedi in ways that make proximity to the former training ground feel appropriate rather than accidental.
Why the Star Wars Launch Bay Closed
The building that housed the Star Wars Launch Bay at Hollywood Studios has a complicated history. It was originally an animation experience. Then it was converted to the Star Wars Launch Bay as the franchise's presence in Disney parks expanded. Now it is being converted back to an animation purpose with The Magic of Disney Animation set to open this summer.
The return of an animation experience to a building that was designed for exactly that purpose is a restoration that animation fans have been anticipating for years. It explains why the Star Wars Launch Bay's run in that space was always going to have a defined endpoint, and it explains why Darth Vader needed a new home before the summer slate arrives.
What Is Happening in the Area Around His New Disney Location
Guests walking by the Animation Courtyard area of Hollywood Studios right now are walking through a transformation that extends well beyond the Launch Bay conversion. Construction crews have been actively reshaping the entire courtyard for several months, repaving, adding fresh landscaping, planting new trees, and updating green spaces. All pointing toward a broader reimagining of the area's identity.
The familiar awning and wait-time signage at the front of the building have been removed as part of the project. The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure in the area received a fresh coat of paint. New permit filings for signage confirm that the area is heading toward a new identity that reflects The Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California, upon construction's conclusion.
The transformation is converting Animation Courtyard into a space inspired by the real Disney studio campus. Introducing a more authentic studio lot atmosphere alongside The Magic of Disney Animation and a new Disney Jr. show. For guests who have visited Hollywood Studios long enough to remember Animation Courtyard in its earlier forms, the changes are substantial. The area will feel noticeably different from what returning visitors remember.
What Disney Guests Need to Know Before Their Next Visit
The Star Wars Launch Bay is gone. Darth Vader is no longer there. He has been rehomed. Guests who are looking for the Launch Bay building will be disappointed and confused in equal measure.
The new location is outside Star Tours near the former Jedi Training Academy stage. Daily between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. That is where he is. That is where he will be. The relocation happened quietly and without the kind of announcement that would have reached every guest who might be planning their day around a Darth Vader encounter.
Now you know. Vader has a new home, and it suits him considerably better than a transitional spot in an extended queue ever did.
