If you’re planning a holiday at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, you can’t miss Disney's Hollywood Studio. We have collected some tips and tricks to help you plan your theme park vacation:
Tips for a day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Tip 1: Arrive before the park opens!
As with most theme parks, it's worth coming early! Since there are so many attractions and rides waiting for you here, including the immensely popular Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, you should arrive before the park opens to be among the first guests in the park. Guests staying at a Disney Resort Hotel can enter the park before other park guests, but even if you don't enjoy this benefit, be sure to arrive at the park entrance early.
Tip 2: Swap Fantasmic! for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Are you a Star Wars fan and want to immerse yourself in a galaxy far, far away? If you don't want to watch Fantasmic!, head to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at the time of the show. The themed area, which is already incredible during the day, comes to life in the evening and offers a completely different atmosphere. Plus, closer to closing time, waiting times for many attractions are significantly shorter!
Tip 3: Go to the theme park during the week!
Although the theme parks in Walt Disney World are never empty, they are usually less crowded during the week than on the weekends. If you can schedule Disney’s Hollywood Studios on a weekday, definitely do it as this park is popular!
How do I plan a day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
In the morning
Guests staying in one of the Walt Disney World resort hotels benefit from “Early Entry”, which allows you to enter the theme park half an hour before the park opens. Most guests who use this early entry arrive at the park 30 to 60 minutes before early entry and then head straight to Slinky Dog Dash or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Without early entry access, it's usually not a good idea to do these two popular attractions at the beginning of the day, but always keep an eye on the waiting time. The best alternative for a shorter queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is to book Individual Lightning Lane access for the attraction. However, these are often sold out seconds after the park opens. For Slinky Dog Dash there is Genie+ access, which you have to book at 7 a.m. sharp.
Three of the attractions that often have relatively short wait times early in the morning are: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™, the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster and Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run - so you can check off these three rides as soon as you enter the park.
After this exciting start to the day, waiting times for most attractions will be quite long. If you don't mind a bit of waiting and are focused on the attractions, then you can now head to your favourite rides. Otherwise, now is a good time to meet Disney characters since most guests are focused on the rides. At Red Carpet Dreams you can Meet & Greet Mickey and Minnie, in Walt Disney Presents you can meet the Sulley from Monsters Inc., and in Celebrity Spotlight, Olaf is waiting for you.
After the meet & greets with the Disney characters, you can now take a walk through Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge where you can marvel at the attention to detail of the lovingly created themed area and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of Batuu. Long queues often form here throughout the day, which are best avoided earlier in the morning or later in the evening. After your trip to another galaxy, you can include an early lunch or check the wait times for your favourite rides.
Midday
Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers a range of fantastic shows that you can fit into your theme park schedule throughout the day while you wait for the ride lines to shorten. These are some of the performances worth seeing: For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, Beauty & The Beast Live on Stage, Muppet*Vision 3D and the Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Afternoon
In the late afternoon you will be lucky to find short queues for the ever so popular ride opened in 2023, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, and if you incorporate an early dinner, you can beat the crowds in Toy Story Land, which empties out around 6 p.m. as many families eat at this time. Here you can experience Toy Story Mania!, Slinky Dog Dash and the Alien Swirling Saucers.
At evening
Finally later in the evening, the show Fantasmic! begins to end an exciting day at the theme park. If you choose not to watch this spectacular show, it's a good idea to visit the Star Wars themed area again, as the atmosphere becomes even more exhilarating in the dark!
With this guide to your day at Disney's Hollywood Studios, you can continue planning your Disney vacation and pinpoint your favourite attractions and rides. If you still need to book your tickets, you can buy yours here Walt Disney World Tickets.
