Disney’s Hollywood Studios has never been a static place, and the guests who visit regularly understand that the park they walked through last year is not always the park they will walk through this year. Lands get reimagined, attractions get updated, and the physical geography of the park shifts in ways that can be disorienting for guests who have built their visit routines around specific landmarks and locations. That process of constant reinvention is part of what makes Hollywood Studios feel alive in a way that a frozen-in-amber park never could, but it also means that things guests have grown attached to have a way of disappearing without the ceremony those attachments might warrant. The Star Wars Launch Bay was one of those things. It had occupied the building that originally housed the Animation experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and had served for years as the central hub for Star Wars character meet-and-greets, merchandise, and interactive elements, providing fans with a dedicated space to engage with the franchise beyond the rides in Galaxy’s Edge. When it closed it took with it the primary meet and greet infrastructure for some of the most recognizable characters in the franchise, and the most recognizable of all of them, the one who has been a presence at Disney parks for decades and whose imposing silhouette is immediately recognizable to anyone who has ever seen a Star Wars film, suddenly found himself without a home. Darth Vader has been relocated, and as of recently, the Dark Lord of the Sith has a new meet-and-greet location that puts him back in front of guests every day.Credit: DisneyWhere Darth Vader Is NowDarth Vader has been relocated to a new meet and greet spot just outside the entrance of Star Tours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The new location positions him near the former Jedi Training Academy stage, which is a fitting geographic landing point for a character whose entire narrative relationship with the Jedi makes any proximity to that staging area feel appropriately on-brand. Meet-and-greet times at the new location are available daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Credit: Inside the MagicThe relocation follows a brief transitional period during which Darth Vader met guests in the attraction’s outdoor extended queue area. That arrangement was always going to be temporary, and the new permanent location near the Jedi Training Academy stage represents a more settled and accessible home for the character than the extended queue setup provided.Why Darth Vader Needed a New Star Wars HomeThe Star Wars Launch Bay, which had been operating in the building that originally served as an animation experience at Hollywood Studios, is being converted to make way for The Magic of Disney Animation, which is set to open later this summer and will invite guests into the process of creating animated films. The return of an animation-focused experience to a building originally designed to house exactly that kind of content is a restoration that animation fans have been anticipating, but it displaced the Star Wars character meet-and-greet infrastructure built around the Launch Bay.The building’s history reflects the broader evolution of Hollywood Studios as a park. It began as an animation experience, was converted to house the Star Wars Launch Bay as the franchise’s presence in the parks expanded significantly, and is now returning to its animation roots as Disney shifts the park’s identity in a direction that reconnects it with the studio storytelling legacy that gave Hollywood Studios its original identity.Credit: DisneyThe Broader Transformation Happening Around Darth Vader’s New Star Wars LocationThe relocation of Darth Vader is happening against the backdrop of a significant transformation in the Animation Courtyard area of Hollywood Studios that has been underway for several months. Construction crews have been actively reshaping the area with repaving, fresh landscaping, newly planted trees, and updated green spaces designed to introduce a more immersive studio lot atmosphere that reflects the real-world Disney studio campus in Burbank, California.The courtyard’s familiar awning and wait time signage have been removed as part of the broader reimagining, which is converting Animation Courtyard into an area inspired by The Walt Disney Studios. The transformation includes a more authentic studio campus atmosphere with expanded shade and greenery alongside new and returning experiences, including The Magic of Disney Animation and a new Disney Jr. show. The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure in the area was repainted as part of the refresh, and permit filings related to new signage suggest guests can expect a noticeable identity change when construction concludes this summer.For guests who have been visiting Hollywood Studios long enough to remember the Animation Courtyard in its various previous forms, the changes underway represent another chapter in a building and a park area that has reinvented itself multiple times over the decades. For first-time guests, when the transformation is complete, the area will present itself as a cohesive studio-lot environment, with animation at its center and a newly settled Darth Vader nearby to remind everyone that Star Wars is still very much part of the Hollywood Studios experience.The Sith Lord has found his spot. The Force is strong just outside Star Tours and will be available daily between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.The post Iconic ‘Star Wars’ Character Got Evicted From His Disney World Home appeared first on Inside the Magic.