Disney’s Hollywood Studios was Walt Disney World’s third gate, but the park you can visit
today is nothing like what you could experience a decade ago. This theme park opened as a movie
studio park before undergoing one of the most aggressive transformations of any Disney park.
Now you’ll find popular intellectual properties like Star Wars and Toy Story around every corner.
And more importantly, some of the best attractions Disney has ever created.
Find out why this is such a top heavy park in this review!
Universal Studios contemplated the idea of adding an amusement park in Orlando back in
the early 1980s. This would be a studio theme park in the same ilk as their Hollywood park.
Shortly after this, a Great Movie Ride pavilion was pitched for Epcot, but CEO Michael Eisner
thought the concept was so exciting that he wanted an entire theme park built around it.
This meant two movie studio themed parks were on the way to central Orlando.
Disney was able to open their park a year before Universal in 1989. The park opened
as Disney-MGM Studios with the MGM being famous media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This park had
just two rides on opening day in the Great Movie Ride and the Backlot Studio Tram Tour. Then there
were some shows and working studio backlots to differentiate it from the resort’s other parks.
The park most notably got two of the most intense Disney attractions of all time in the 1990s
with the Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror and Rock “n” Roller Coaster.
These two attractions made it particularly appealing to teenagers and adults,
especially when Universal was set to open their Islands of Adventure thrill park.
In 2008, the MGM license ended and the park was renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios,
but the changes were just beginning. In the 2010s, this park received a
complete facelift. The working soundstages were gone. And the studio-like attractions
were being phrased out. Instead, Disney started to add attractions based on their highly popular
properties such as Toy Story and Star Wars. Sure these were based on movies,
but the lands weren’t designed to make you feel as if you were creating a movie.
Rather, you were teleported directly into the lands made popular by the big screen.
This also meant the retirement of the park’s old icons and attractions. For years, the water
tower and giant Mickey’s sorcerer’s hat served as landmarks. Both were demolished. The Chinese
Theater was home to the Great Movie Ride. The theater still stands, but the park’s old signature
dark ride has been transformed into Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Last but not least, the
old Studio Backlot Tour tram ride was completely demolished to allow the Toy Story Land and
Galaxy’s Edge expansions. It’s incredible how much this park received in such a short timeframe.
Now you have the contrast of lands based on the California streets and neighborhoods
and big-budget IPs. But I don’t mind the drastic shift in a few lands because the
park looks fantastic. It’s a Disney park, so of course it’s clean, well-themed, and colorful.
You enter in Hollywood Boulevard, which has all sorts of shops and
restaurants like Main Street USA. If you bear right, you’ll head down
Sunset Boulevard towards the iconic Tower of Terror and Rock “n” Roller Coaster.
On the other side of the park, you have Echo Lake and Grand Avenue. Both these areas have IPs,
but the general feel of the area is based on their California counterparts.
If you complete the loop, you pass through the new areas.
Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is the most immersive area.
Guests travel to the specifically designed planet of Batuu. Here you’ll find popular
characters- both heroes and villains, giant spaceships, plus unique shops and eateries.
And there’s a lot of little details to see since everything is themed.
Toy Story Land looks like Andy’s backyard and I love the oversized toy decorations plus Slinky
Dog Dash hooting and hollering through the area. Finally this leads back to Animation Courtyard,
which is still designed to look like a backlot with some shows for guests to watch.
This park isn’t too difficult to navigate. You have a dead end by Sunset Boulevard, but the
rest of the park forms an oddly shaped loop. The one path that may not be readily apparent
is that you need to go behind Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway to reach Toy Story Land. It always
seemed odd to me there wasn’t a cut-through back there once you head towards Echo Lake.
One area that feels awkwardly dead right now are the remnants of Pixar Place.
It’s a dead end street that used to have the entrance to Toy Story Mania,
but now it’s just this awkward cavity with no attractions. And there’s nothing Disney can do
about it since its blocked by the show-buildings for Toy Story Mania and Mickey and Minnie’s
Runaway Railway on 2 sides. Then the final side is a wall blocking Galaxy’s Edge.
Now let’s talk about the arrival experience. If you arrive by car, you’ll need to pay
$25 to park in the large lot. If you’re staying at a Disney resort or nearby hotel, you have a
few options. All can use the complimentary buses. Some hotels can use the Skyliner aerial tram cars.
Then the Epcot resort area. The hotels in this area can use the friendship boats. Or you can
walk if you don’t want to wait for a boat. You can also use these boats or walk if you
want to park hop between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Epcot’s International Gateway
entrance is roughly a 1 mile walk or a 20 minute boat ride from Hollywood Studios.
As of 2022, this park costs between $109 to $159 depending on the day,
making it one of the priciest parks in the world. The price per day can decrease dramatically if you
buy a multi-day ticket for Disney World. One of the most frustrating things about
Hollywood Studios is that it can often feel congested between the pathways and lines.
This park routinely has the worst waits per attraction on average across the resort.
There are two reasons. One, this park doesn’t have many rides. Two, a high percentage of their
rides are E-tickets, which are the cream of the crop when it comes to Disney rides.
So when you only have a small amount of rides, many of which are super popular, you have a
recipe for lines. There are many days where all major rides have lines exceeding an hour. Most
of these rides have high throughputs between their base capacities and speedy operations at least.
The worst line is easily Star Wars Rise of the Resistance. I think this ride is the best
attraction at any Disney park, so its popularity is warranted. The line is routinely posted
at 2-3 hours. The other problem with this attractions is that it’s extremely complex
and thus the most likely attraction at the resort to suffer from downtime.
It’s not uncommon for this ride to have multiple lengthy breakdowns per day.
There are three methods to avoid a long wait for this attraction, but they each have their cons.
First, you can experience this attraction during early entry.
Guests staying at Disney Resort hotels or select partner hotels can get in 30 minutes early.
However, you need to arrive 45-60 minutes before Early Entry starts to beat the crowds to this
attraction, so I don’t advocate this approach. Not only do you lose sleep, but this attraction
takes nearly 20 minutes to experience so you lose all your early entry time on one ride.
Second, you can hop in line right before close. This is often the fastest way to
experience the attraction. The wait time will be hugely overestimated before closing time
and the line will fly with no more Lightning Lanes being accepted. The one downside
with this approach is that you risk the ride breaking down, which burned did burn me once.
Third, you can purchase an individual Lightning Lane that costs $15 on its own.
This gets you on the attraction fast at a pre-selected time, you just have to pay extra per
person. Because of how new this attraction is and how long its line gets, these fly off the shelf
like hotcakes. Disney Resort guests can start booking one at 7 am. Non-resort guests can book
this ride once official park opening time hits and there are usually some left, but not many.
The other line that is routinely bad all-day is Slinky Dog Dash.
The other attractions will have long lines, but they take longer to build and die down sooner.
How you tour the park depends on two things- whether you have early entry
and whether you purchase the Genie Plus skip-the-line pass.
If you have early entry, there are two options I recommend. If you arrive 30-45 minutes before
early entry starts, I would begin with Slinky Dog Dash. You should be one of
the first people on this coaster. Since it’s a quick attraction, you can often experience
Toy Story Mania while it’s still a walk-on and then get over to one other attraction like
Runaway Railway or Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run before the non-resort guests can enter.
If you arrive right at the start of early entry, I would start with Tower of Terror.
You can usually ride this 2-3 times with no wait and then you can usually head over to Rock “n”
Roller Coaster while it also has a short line. The latter does have a single rider line. Just
note that it is often not worth it if you see this line extending down the ramp outdoors. It does not
move fast. These two rides are my early morning targets if I don’t have early entry as well.
Genie Plus is a skip-the-line service that costs $15 per day per person. I would recommend it.
While there’s a good chance the major rides will run out of availability by the mid-afternoon,
you should be able to skip at least 3-4 of the headliners,
which I think is worth it. Plus keep refreshing and you may get lucky.
Starting at 7 am on the day you’re visiting, you can start booking skip-the-line passes
or Lightning Lanes for the attractions. The one that disappears the fastest is Slinky Dog Dash.
This one can run out in minutes, so this should be your top priority if you want to skip this line.
The other ones to grab later are Tower of Terror, Rock “n” Roller Coaster, Millennium Falcon:
Smugglers Run, and Runaway Railway when it’s on this tier. Rise of the Resistance
isn’t included in this service. It’s the individual Lightning Lane as noted earlier.
You can book one Lightning Lane every 2 hours or as soon as you use your most recent Lightning
Lane- whichever comes first. You can use it on each attraction once per day per person.
I recommend using this tool to hit the rides you didn’t ride early in the morning.
This helps you skip long lines midday. You then want to fill the middle of the day
with shows when you’re tired of waiting or waiting for Lightning Lanes. The popular ones can fill up,
but if you arrive at least a few minutes before the showtimes you should get in.
One touring note with this park is that this is one of the best parks at Disney World for a stormy
day since many of the attractions are indoors and will not have their operation interrupted.
Now let’s move onto the fun stuff, the attractions. One of the best aspects
about this park is how even small guests can ride most attractions. Outside of the first
coaster I’m going to mention, guests 40” or taller can ride everything else in the park.
Hollywood Studios has two roller coasters and both have launches. The wilder of the two is
Rock “n” Roller Coaster. This indoor coaster has a strong initial launch, two forceful inversions in
the first half, and a great on-board soundtrack as you rumble through the darkness. I find the layout
to be pretty front-loaded, but it is a rare older Vekoma that manages to be smooth start to finish.
The more family friendly of the two is Slinky Dog Dash. This Mack coaster glides through
Toy Story Land, zipping past pathways and toy structures. The ride isn’t intense, but it has
great visuals and the nearby sounds really elevate the experience as I note in a review.
Like many Disney parks, this park has barely any flat rides.
The only one is Alien Swirling Saucers, a colorful and adorable attraction combining
the motions of both tea cup rides and whips into one fun attraction. It’s worth a spin
if it has a short wait, but know the cycle is obnoxiously short to keep that line moving.
There also aren’t any water rides here, but there are some top tier dark rides.
Rise of the Resistance is the world’s most immersive attraction and best dark ride.
This ride is a 20 minute experience with pre-shows that teleport you into the action.
Then the trackless dark ride seals the experience with fun motion and breathtaking visuals. There
are most definitely spoilers on this journey. I recommend going in as blind as possible, but I do
have a review if you want to know everything. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is another
trackless dark ride. This one brings you into a classic Mickey Mouse cartoon. The visuals
are conveyed in an interesting manner with the animated walls plus the occasional animatronic,
but they work flawlessly when paired with the motion of the vehicles. It is weird visiting
this park without the Great Movie Ride, but this is a much more exciting attraction in my opinion.
Toy Story Mania is one of the best shooting dark rides in the world. The shooting mechanism
is super rewarding and addictive. The 3D visuals are great. Then each level
is a blast between the abundance of targets and reride value trying to unlock the secret ones.
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror has the best ride system of any drop tower. You start with a highly
immersive story and some dark ride scenes before experiencing one of the best drop sequences on
any freefall attraction. The drops are only 13 stories tall, but they induce some great
airtime and stomach drops. Plus you have these rapid ascents with even more sustained airtime.
And the ride sequence is randomized, so you never know the order of the drops.
Another good dark ride is Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run.
This is a simulator crossed with a video game. Six people work together across three different roles.
Pilot is by far the best. Always request this one. You have the most control over the experience as
you guide the spaceship through the world. Gunner is a decent position. Switch to manual aim if
you want to actually aim as opposed to just pressing buttons. I find engineer the least
engaging of the positions, which is why I never use the single rider line for this attraction.
You board quickly, but you will get this role. Star Tours is a turbulent motion simulator past
familiar Star Wars landscapes. I like how the ride switches the locations between rides,
so there’s some reride value here, especially if you’re a fan of the franchise.
Rounding out the attraction offerings are the shows. Pay attention to the showtimes
for each of them so you can plan ahead how to see all the ones of interest.
My favorite without a doubt is Fantasmic, the nighttime spectacular.
This one is held in an Amphitheater, unlike its counterpart at Disneyland. It’s not as intimate
as a setting and it requires you to arrive a bit earlier, but you do get a better view on average.
And this show is special between the sights, sounds, and effects. I love all the pyrotechnics,
particularly during the dragon sequence. Then there’s something magical seeing all
the characters ride by on the boat at the end as Mickey launches fireworks into the sky.
My favorite one during the daytime hours is the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.
It’s based on one of my favorite films and some of the stunts they pull off-
especially on that scale- is shocking for a park show. Take the helicopter sequence for example.
Beauty and the Beast is a nice stage adaptation of the feature film with all your favorite songs.
The plot is a bit chopped up, but you come to this one for the music.
Voyage to the Little Mermaid may never reopen, but I liked how this stage show…again…played the
top songs from the popular film. And it was neat how the supporting characters were brought to life
by strategically manipulated puppets. Then the younger guests will find some
special character meet-and-greets and sing-a-longs that will appeal to them.
Another key component of your visit will be the food. If you want to try a sit-down restaurant,
you want to book these as far in advance as possible. The popular ones will sell out,
but you can get lucky with availability on the day of if you keep refreshing.
My favorite table service restaurant is 50’s Prime Time Diner.
You have delicious comfort food plus a playful wait staff that will tease you. Think of this
as a Disney-fied version of Dick’s Last Resort. The best quick service place is Woody’s Lunch Box.
This is a quick service location, but know the nearby seating area is entirely outdoors…aka hot
most days of the year. But the food is worth it! How much time you need at Hollywood Studios
depends on your tastes. I think this can be a half-day park if you only care about the rides,
but you will need to either maximize your use of Genie Plus and/or efficiently use your
time at either the start or end of the day. If you care about the shows too,
this easily becomes a full day park. So do I recommend Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
Absolutely! This is personally my second favorite park at the Walt Disney World resort.
I love how strong the top tier attractions are here. Rise of the Resistance, Tower of Terror,
Runaway Railway, and Toy Story Mania are four of my favorite Disney attractions anywhere.
I could spend all-day lapping these dark rides if lines allowed me to. But beyond
this top quality, you can also have a relaxing day enjoying everything else this park offers,
especially if you use the help of Genie Plus to minimize how long you’re standing in line.
So those are my thoughts on Disney’s Hollywood Studios. What are your thoughts on this park’s
transformation from a movie studio themed park to one with some of Disney’s most popular IPs.
How do you think it compares to Walt Disney World’s other parks?
Let me know your thoughts down below. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if you
gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a lot
more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!