1-Day Hollywood Studios Itinerary
Our 1-Day Hollywood Studios itinerary is an efficient step-by-step plan & strategy for minimizing time waiting in lines, maximizing rides, and avoiding crowds at Walt Disney World. It covers attractions, restaurants, shows, including Fantasmic, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, and more. (Updated June 20, 2025.)
This Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS) plan for 2025 has been updated to take into account all of the major changes in the last few years. This includes the opening of Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After and the Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, along with the permanent closing of MuppetVision and Muppets Courtyard to make way for Monstropolis.
Looking down the road to 2026, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is again likely to be the park with the biggest changes. At minimum, that will include the reimagining of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and a new mission featuring Mandalorian and Baby Yoda in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Beyond that, we’re anticipating bigger picture changes to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and potentially more new entertainment.
Another relatively recent change is the introduction of Lightning Lane Multi-Pass and Single Pass, the paid FastPass that replaced the Genie+ system. Previously, we had separate plans with and without Lightning Lanes. With the new system, we’re instead recommending you start with this itinerary as the ‘bones’ to build your own plan, and combine it with Disney’s Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Multi-Pass Rankings & Strategy.
The very good news is that DHS is now the #1 park for Lightning Lane Multi-Pass (LLMP) at Walt Disney World. It’s not necessary to purchase LLMP at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, especially if you have a full day in the park and plan on staying late. However, it’ll make touring so much easier, especially as DHS has the highest average standby wait time of any park at Walt Disney World.
Our big ‘warning’ before you embark on a day at DHS is that crowds peak early. It’s not uncommon for all of the most popular rides to have 60-90 minute wait times shortly after regular rope drop. These long lines can be daunting, and result in guests ‘hitting a wall’ and leaving DHS earlier than the other parks.
DHS can be a very challenging and frustrating because the attraction lineup is very top heavy, consisting almost largely of highly popular rides. Unlike virtually every other park at Walt Disney World, DHS is lacking in the “supporting players” rides department. Which is to say there are very few low hassle attractions that are easy to do with minimal wait to round out your day or kill time. Instead, they’re stage shows–and most guests don’t have the tolerance to do 4-6 stage shows in one day.
This is also why wait times, on average, tend to drop sharper in the afternoon and evening than the other parks. Suffice to say, you’ll really want to stay late at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, even if it means arriving late or taking a midday break. Alternatively, there are plenty of entertainment options to fill-in the middle of your day at DHS (that’s what this plan will incorporate).
If you’re staying on-site and can arrive early, check out our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World. This headstart will give you a big advantage, but is also not strictly necessary for a productive day in DHS. You’ll just spend more time waiting in standby lines without Early Entry or Lightning Lanes, and you’ll need/want to stay later in the day.
For a recent look at the first ~90 minutes of the day, check out our new Early Entry at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Report: What Worked & Went Wrong. That’s not a perfect Early Entry and rope drop run (hence the ‘what went wrong’ part of the title), but it’s often the case that you’re going to need to call an audible at DHS due to ride downtime and the dreaded delayed openings. So that’s worth checking out to form your plan-of-attack and set expectations at a reasonable level.
Fortunately, there are still ways to outsmart the crowds without buying Lightning Lanes or being eligible for Early Entry. For an ideal day at DHS, we recommend arriving to the park about 30 before official opening time, and picking up this itinerary from there. If you’re staying on-site and are eligible for Early Entry, we’d strongly recommend arriving 45 minutes before the official start time of that. With that out of the way, let’s roll…
Start with Second Choices – Unfortunately, if you’re staying off-site and are arriving for official park opening, you’re going to be behind the crowd, making both Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance bad options for starting the day. This leaves you with the “second choice” options.
Instead, start with the simplest approach with the Sunset Boulevard attractions near the front of the park. During the first hour, wait times for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror should be relatively low.
If you arrive early enough here (or it’s a slow day), you might also be able to do Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster a couple of times via standby with short waits. Follow that by doing the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror while you’re in the neighborhood. Our actual waits for these rides early in the day have been under 20 minutes regardless of posted wait times.
Hollywood Dreams – By the time you’re done with your first few rides, all attractions will have high wait times. This is an unfortunate reality at Disney’s Hollywood Studios–wait times get long earlier than any other park. The first bit of good news is that it’ll work to your advantage later in the day.
The second bit of good news is that, currently, character meet & greets lag behind other attractions in having long wait times. Get ahead of the crowds by doing Red Carpet Dreams, which is the Minnie and Mickey Mouse meet & greet. This currently averages a nearly hour-long wait time throughout the day, but should have an actual wait time of under 30 minutes when you arrive.
Over on Grand Avenue, you can see more characters. This includes the popular Vacation Goofy and Max Goof as Powerline near the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge entrance, among others. These rare characters are all very popular, and we highly recommend seeing them as early on as possible.
Go See A Star War: Episode I – Once you’re finished with the characters, continue to Star Tours: the Adventures Continue and then Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Don’t be afraid to slow down and enjoy some of the atmosphere on Batuu–it’s the least crowded Galaxy’s Edge will be until the evening hours. Consider perusing the shops and marketplace stalls now, as many will have lines later in the day.
We’d also strongly recommend prioritizing the free-roaming Mandalorian and Baby Yoda characters who appear in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This duo is absolutely mobbed in the afternoon, but their sets that start before 11 am are not nearly as bad. Now might also be a good time to try your luck with a walkup at Oga’s Cantina, the Star Wars bar.
If characters aren’t your thing, another strong option is Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run after the Sunset Boulevard attractions. (In which case, you should skip Star Tours and do it later.) You might encounter a slightly longer line for Smugglers Run, but it won’t be nearly as bad as later in the morning or early afternoon. En route to Galaxy’s Edge, you might be tempted to do Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, but don’t–that’s the longest line it’ll have all day.
DHS Morning Run Recap – Here’s how your morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios might look before breaking for lunch:
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (potentially twice)
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (potentially twice)
- Characters (optional)
- See Mandalorian & Baby Yoda (optional, but they’re cool and free-roaming, so no lines)
- Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run and/or Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
If you’re able to accomplish all of this, you’ve had a reasonably productive morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It may not seem like it, but trust us. DHS is all about pacing yourself. With that said, we’d recommend at least one more stop before lunch (especially if you skipped some or all of the above characters).
New Shows – As mentioned above, two new shows have debuted for Summer 2025 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure and Villains Unfairly Ever After. These are included as a separate entry on this list primarily for the sake of drawing your attention to them, and the fact that they’re new. The other shows at DHS are all at least one decade to two decades (or more!) old.
The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure is highly recommended, and currently has showtimes from 9:20 am until 7:20 pm that are spaced 40 minutes apart (e.g. 9:20 am, 10:00 am, 10:40 am, etc.). Although the infrastructure is in place, the Little Mermaid show does not currently offer a Lightning Lane. That should change very soon.
Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After has showtimes from 10 am until 7 pm, with the first and last couple of hours being on the hour and middle of the day being every half hour. There is no Lightning Lane for this show, nor will there be in the future.
Due to their popularity and new-ness, we recommend being slightly more strategic with both of these shows. Catching one or both before lunch is actually ideal in order to beat the midday rush. If you watch either or both between 1 pm and 4 pm, there’s a strong possibility that you’ll be waiting in line and not catching the next show. Demand is likely to remain elevated through early 2026.
Early Lunch – During the middle of the day, you’re going to have some time to kill while waiting for wait times to drop. Fortunately, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is home to two of the Best Themed Restaurants at Walt Disney World.
Definitely book Advance Dining Reservations for right around noon at 50’s Prime Time Cafe or Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. Disregard the negative reviews, as the experience at both restaurants is the star of the show. Personally, I think both serve pretty good food, too. (Note that both are incredibly hard Advance Dining Reservations to score right now; Hollywood Brown Derby is also a great pick if you can’t book either of the other two.)
More Shows ‘n’ Stuff – Disney’s Hollywood Studios has a bunch of shows that are worth seeing. These include the Frozen Sing-along, Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and more.
No strategy is required for seeing these, just do them at your leisure around their scheduled showtimes. They seldom have actual waits or lines, and are a good way to fill the middle of the day while the rides have long standby queues. They are all lengthy, hence this being the sole entry between lunch and dinner.
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is also a ton of fun, a blockbuster production worthy of its “epic” name. Definitely make sure you watch (at least) both of those; these shows are great ways to kill times while waiting for standby wait times to drop on the park’s headliner rides.
Early Dinner – If you’ve somehow already worked up an appetite and still have time to kill, consider doing another meal. Ideally, whichever of the two table service restaurants you didn’t do above. If you’re more in a drinking and snacking mood, give BaseLine Tap House a try (food spreads pictured above).
Another option is Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. That’s currently one of the best counter service restaurants at Walt Disney World. Yet another alternative is to caffeinate by heading to Trolley Car Cafe (the Starbucks location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios) for coffee. Oh, and while you’re there, grab one of the two Best Snacks at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Whatever you do, make sure you’re not going to need to eat a full sit-down meal in the last 4 hours that DHS is open. This plan practically relies on doing dinner early, which is another “zig-when-they-zag” piece of planning advice for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Late Train to Runnamuck Park – While it might be tempting to run(away) to the newest headliner attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to start your day, the better option is doing Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway about 3 hours before park closing.
There are three benefits to this approach. First, that’s when its line is shortest, so you’re waiting the least amount of time. Second, the queue is mostly outdoors, and the sun can be brutal earlier in the day. Finally, this attraction is at the front of the park, and has the longest lines while guests are arriving or leaving. The sweet spot for short lines is a few hours before park closing. You won’t experience the shortest lines of the day, but this is a good compromise.
Toy Story Land Mania – The most popular part of Disney’s Hollywood Studios with families is Toy Story Land. It’s even more popular than the bigger budget Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with this demographic, and the crowds you’ll experience earlier in the day bear this out.
Everyone’s gotta eat, and most people dine on a consistent and predictable schedule. This is doubly true of families with small children, the core audience of Toy Story Land. Like clockwork, families will start doing dinner at around 6 pm, resulting in a bit of a lull in Toy Story Land crowds. This is precisely why we recommended zigging when they zag and eating an early dinner if at all possible.
With so many high-profile rides in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this is really your best play if you aren’t eligible for Early Entry and are unwilling to purchase Lightning Lanes. The reality is that you’re going to have to compromise somewhere, as it’s simply not possible to get everything done without going against the grain somewhere. You can’t have your cake and eat it too at DHS…unless you do so at 4 pm or 5 pm! 😉
Once you’re in Toy Story Land, you’re going to want to do both Toy Story Mania and Slinky Dog Dash. Which you should do first really depends on when you enter the land. If you arrive before 6 pm, do Toy Story Mania first. If after 6 pm, do Slinky Dog Dash first. Don’t worry too much about posted wait times–they are reactive rather than proactive, meaning Slinky Dog Dash’s posted wait time will drop towards the tail end of the dinner lull…right as people are starting to jump back into line. (Skip Alien Swirling Saucers.)
Another option here if you’re not up for an early dinner is eating at Woody’s Lunch Box after both Toy Story Land attractions, after the dinner rush subsides a bit there. If you have even more time, you can do Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ Restaurant.
Go See A Star War: Episode II — Following Toy Story Land, we recommend backtracking to Batuu once again. It’s better to spend the bulk of your time in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge later in the day rather than in the morning for a couple of reasons. First, crowds are actually worst in the morning and get progressively better as the day wears on.
Second, because Star Wars Land is simply better as the day goes on. The lighting adds a lot to the moody off-planet atmosphere, and makes the experience even more immersive. If time allows, try to knock out both Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance via the standby line.
Do the attractions in that order, and expect Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance to take less than an hour, even if the posted wait time for the standby line is 90 minutes or longer. (Barring a breakdown, it’ll take far less time than the posted wait time suggests.)
Fantasmic – The reimagined Fantasmic is a must see. On nights when there’s only one showing of Fantasmic, that’s the one you’ll do (obviously). While you can line up to see Fantasmic up to 90 minutes in advance, we recommend showing up around 30 minutes before showtime. You won’t get as good of a seat, but most views in the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater are “good enough.” (Consider booking the cheapest Fantasmic Dining Package to guarantee yourself a great seat that way!)
On nights when there are two showtimes of Fantasmic, it’s common for the second one to occur at park closing or 30 minutes after. We’ve managed to see the second showing of Fantasmic from spectacular seats without arriving more than 5 minutes in advance of showtime. (We recommend arriving earlier than this.)
This has been the case even on evenings when the first performance was quite busy and seats filled up 30 minutes before showtime. On those same busier days, the late performances of Fantasmic had multiple entire sections that went unfilled. I was able to snag the third row of a great section at (literally) 2 minutes before showtime, and that was on a busy day.
If you’re a Fantasmic fanatic, you might prefer the ‘perfect’ view of the reimagined nighttime spectacular. Again, we’d recommend booking the dining package in that case. For more viewing advice, see our Guide to Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
After that, take the time for a slow stroll out of the park upon exiting, taking your time to look at and photograph all the beautiful neon signs. The good news here is that even though it’ll be dark out, the neon is so bright that it’s easy to photograph at night.
All in all, it should conclude a pretty satisfying day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This park is so much better than it was just a few years ago–it’s now unquestionably a full day park and one that is free of visible construction. The added good news is that Disney’s Hollywood Studios should further improve once more of the stage shows start to return. That has already happened with the Frozen Sing-Along, so hopefully the others will follow suit soon!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts
What would you include in your ideal day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios? What’s your preferred strategy for Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the Sunset Boulevard duo? What about the first v. second showing of Fantasmic? Do you utilize a zig-when-they-zag approach to DHS, or stick with conventional strategy? If you haven’t visited Walt Disney World, what do you plan on doing? Do you agree or disagree with our strategy or plan of attack? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
The closer I get to having to commit to a September 2015 first timer trip to WDW, the more apprehensive I become. Between all the construction and DAK and DHS, I’m wondering if I should just postpone it. I’ve always dreamed of visiting WDW, and I want to make sure I do it right. Not sure when I will be back…
That’s really a tough question. The thing is, the projects that are currently taking place in DAK and DHS aren’t going to be finished until the end of the decade. AVATAR Land has a 2017 target date and the overhaul to DHS hasn’t even been announced yet, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it isn’t done until 2020 or later.
That’s a lot of time to wait, but if this is a once in a lifetime trip and you don’t mind waiting that long, it’s probably a good idea.
If you have kids and you want to enjoy this while they’re still young…just go now.
We really enjoyed our day at Hollywood Studios, but I found it difficult to plan around show times. It didn’t fit neat and pretty for me. My kids (5 and 3 at the time) loved x100 the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground. Pretty sure that was their fave. My favorite was Muppets. Way good.
We enjoyed TSMM and had fastpasses for it, which helped a ton. We didn’t actually do a whole lot at the park. Still had a good day.
For our next visit, we *might* skip the Studios or we might just go and fit in all the shows we missed the first time.
Oh, and I also felt like the layout of the park was really confusing. It took me awhile to get my bearings.
Poor DHS. It’s like the unloved stepchild of WDW. I, for one, really like it, but I’m a local and can meander, take my time and enjoy the little bits of uniqueness it offers.
Besides the rides, I could easily spend a full day there. Watch Streetsmosphere and sit on a bench on Sunset Blvd. to people watch as crowds spill out of Beauty and the Beast or come off Tower of Terror. Enjoy a cup of coffee and carrot cake cookie at Writer’s Stop, and browse the books while you’re there. Get a cocktail at the HBD lounge. Grab a drink at Tune In and sit out by Echo Lake, listening to the background loop and basking in the sun. Browse the shops and notice the themeing and detail. TKAE YOUR TIME in One Man’s Dream, and stay for the film at the end. Go slowly through the queue at GMR to study the memorabilia. Sit on a bench in the Streets of America and listen to the city sounds. Photograph the fun architecture on Hollywood and Sunset. Get the Imagineering Field Guide and appreciate the details and hidden gems in the park. Eat at Prime Time.
Granted, this isn’t a plan for first-timers, or even those who have only a few days to visit, but it just goes to show that there can be a full day had at this park, even in it’s ‘under construction’ state.
This is the area of your post that really speaks to me (I can’t believe I didn’t include a stop for a drink at Brown Derby or Tune-In Lounge!): “Enjoy a cup of coffee and carrot cake cookie at Writer’s Stop, and browse the books while you’re there. Get a cocktail at the HBD lounge. Grab a drink at Tune In and sit out by Echo Lake, listening to the background loop and basking in the sun.”
Some of the other stuff is a bit extreme, but I get your point. The Disney-MGM Studios was my mom’s favorite park when I was young, and thus, the park we visited the most. I love it. I also hate to see what it has become.
I think it still has potential for greatness, and I am REALLY excited for what I think is to come. Unfortunately, I think right now we are in the midst of those awkward teenage years (I know it’s not a teen anymore, but bear with me…), waiting for it to come into its own. I’m willing to be patient and deal with the construction walls for the next few years, because I think the pay-off will be worth it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of once in a lifetime or occasional visitors who don’t have that same luxury as you or I…
Our last trip my wife was 5 months pregnant and a little moody by our 4th or 5th day of the trip. Hollywood Studios was perfect for all the reasons you mentioned…it’s a little lame. But, for her, it meant sitting at shows (Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, Muppets), tame rides (Great Movie Ride) and awesome live entertainment (Mulch, Sweat and Shears). Plus, my daughters love the Honey! I Shrunk the Kids play area. I get why you didn’t include it, but for parents with kids, that place is awesome.
Plus, Hollywood Studios has some excellent dining options, as you mentioned. We loved Sci-Fi Drive-In, Mama Melrose and Pizza Planet.
That should be the Studios’ tagline during all this construction: “Great for pregnant women – not much to do, but what there is doesn’t require much walking!” I should really work in marketing, right? 😉
Kidding aside, good points. Nice mention of the Honey! I Shrunk the Kids play area, too. I always forget that…I remember absolutely loving it as a kid!
I agree with Lisa above, great photos! Thanks for posting them.
Thank you both! 🙂
I thought Great movie ride was in tier 1.
Yeah, it definitely is. I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote this. Probably about that Butterfinger Cupcake! 😉
Hollywood Studios is a good park for park hoping. Depending on if you would rather see Fantasmic or Illuminations, one can start their day in Epcot or DHS and then hop to the other park after lunch. Of course, that doesn’t make for a perfect 1 park/1 day experience.
DHS is somewhat of a ride, rinse, and repeat park. If the crowds/lines are reasonable and you time your fast pass+ times right, fun can be had from riding the rides multiple times. Or experiencing the Muppets over and over… if you can handle so much distinct patriotism in one day. 😉 Personally, I enjoy hanging out in the Muppet Vision 3D area listening to the music in a loop, especially when munching on a carrot cake cookie. And it can be nice to really take your time and not rush through the exhibits in One Man’s Dream. Sure, Hollywood Studios (currently) is a shell of what it used to be and it doesn’t have the ambiance of Animal Kingdom or Epcot, but there are certainly worse ways to spend a day if you’re more into a relaxed touring style.
Absolutely agree on the Park Hopping. This is actually one of the big advantages of FastPass+ – now you can go to DHS later in the day and still do Toy Story Mania!
I ought to make a “1-Day Distinct Patriotism Itinerary” featuring Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and DHS, with stops at Hall of Presidents, Mark Twain Riverboat, American Adventure, Voices of Liberty, MuppetVision, etc. Might be a fun thing to try for July 4th…especially since that’s a busy thing and none of the patriotic attractions are all that popular (darned kids these days!).
That sounds like a great idea. And you could probably even toss in Country Bear Jamboree onto that list, since they are country bears… in America. (Sure, it may be a stretch, but any time you can include the Country Bears in a list, that’s a good thing, right?)
Also, The Carousel of Progress has a 4th of July reference right in the show.
My husband and I always make this our first park for every visit. This is because we usually take the earliest flight into MCO and make it HS by lunch. It’s enough time for us and if we finish early we just head on to another park. If it wasn’t for rockin and tower we could probably not think twice about skipping. I am excited to see the hat gone this year though 🙂
The removal of the hat is the single “addition” about which I’m most excited this year. Totally addition by subtraction, but whatever. So, while I could see skipping DHS this year, I definitely will not just because I’m so excited to see that.
The saving grace of DHS is dining. Sci-fi and 50s Prime Time are excellent choices but I go there for Brown Derby Cobb salad and grapefruit cake. If not for that DHS would not be a must do but while I’m there dining, I’m glad there are @5 attractions worth seeing.
+1 on the Brown Derby Cobb Salad & Grapefruit Cake. If I were doing 3 meals at DHS, that would have been my next pick. For anyone reading this who wants an alternative to the restaurants I listed…there it is!
I also do not understand why people would eat here when the many great restaurants of the Boardwalk so closeby. My one exception is the Star Wars dinner!
Even if you don’t like the food at 50’s or Sci-Fi, I think it’s pretty difficult to deny that Hollywood Brown Derby is an excellent restaurant.
While agree with you that DHS is pretty lame as of late there are a few hidden gems I haven’t seen mentioned. My family loves pulling the rope by Indiana Jones…the one that says Do Not Pull”, although last time we were there it wasn’t working. Also the Singing in the Rain umbrella. Love love love Mulch Sweat and Shears as well. It’s a good park for a rest day- just kicking around taking our time.
Definitely a good park for a rest day. All of the shows, and the fact that it has (by far) the smallest footprint of all the parks makes it a light walking day.
I actually consider HS a two day park….yes, this may seem crazy! I typically spend one night there (usually my arrival day OR the day I spend at AK), just for dinner and Fantasmic. I then spend my departure day there since I can get everything done before my late afternoon Magical Express. With FP+ you can probably get this park done between 12-2pm, with the exception of Fantasmic- which I can never miss!
Ha, that sounds less like a 2-day park (when I first read that, I did think it was a bit crazy! 😉 ) and more like a strategic 3/4th day park.
So with your clarification, you don’t sound crazy at all!
I would also recommend trying out the Animation Academy. It’s a very different sort of experience compared to the standard rides, shows, and meals that make up the rest of your day. This is an opportunity to sit in a comfortable room, stay mentally engaged and participate by trying your hand at a little pencil drawing. The result is that you have created your own Disney souvenir for free!
Good point about Animation Academy. Although Disney has the classes available on Youtube, sitting in the room with an actual art table elevates the experience.
My wife has an abundance of art talent, so we did this at first on her request. But even as a guy who can’t draw anything without a t-square, I find it very enjoyable.
Ha, I know some people love Animation Academy, but I’m not a fan. Since this is *my* ideal day, it doesn’t make the list. 😉
Good thing there’s a comment section, though, because you guys both raise some great options for others that may not make my list for ‘personal’ reasons. Thanks!
IF you can do a Starring Rolls cupcake and a milkshake at 50’s Prime Time in the same day, you’re a better man than me. 🙂
DHS is by far my least favorite park and I think about skipping it. But TSMM is fun and ToT is my favorite ride in WDW (and it’s getting close to the top of my daughter’s list). My wife loves the Muppets, and Star Tours and even the GMR are fun. Added together, that’s more attractions than we enjoy at Epcot so we usually spend pretty much a whole day here.
Interesting comment comparing it to Epcot. When you put it that way…I think I have to agree. There are a few Epcot attractions that are can’t-miss for me, but the list isn’t all that long. At the end of the day, I far prefer Epcot’s ambiance, though.
I really hope that the placemaking to come in DHS makes it a park with a better sense of place…
Hollywood Studios is a very sad place of late. I don’t really go to WDW to experience attractions so much as to soak up the atmosphere and appreciate the history and uniqueness of the resort. My perfect day at the studios would be a cupcake at starring rolls, muppet vision 3D, one man’s dream, a stop at the animation building to see the artwork, great movie ride (if it’s open), lunch at Hollywood brown derby – Cobb salad and grapefruit cake, a coffee at writer’s shop, and perhaps take in a performance of mulch, sweat, and shears. I do enjoy toy story mania but not enough to wait 90 minutes or longer if I can’t get a fastpass.
Can’t believe I forgot Mulch… I really enjoy them, too!
Mulch is gone now. 🙁
The animation building is now Star Wars and the drawing class (our favorite HS attraction hands down) has moved out of the park. 🙁
Hopefully all of these growing pains will be well worth it in the future!
I’m one of the few who is not impressed with Sci-fi or 50s Prime Time. the food is mediocre and therefore overpriced. The only thing going for them is the atmosphere.
Love the Toy Story Characters! Not only are Buzz and Woody fun to meet, but the queue has great photo ops as well! Those always end up as some of our favorite pictures. Also making time to interact with army men is a must!
Yes! The Army Men are great. Always love seeing them out by Toy Story Mania.
We had a great time at HS this summer with our small kids. There were so many characters to meet and low crowds. Disney jr activities and characters make it a fun place for the you get kids!
In a way, I think it’s also tough with kids: the best attractions (Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster) are for adults. The shows can be a bit much for kids to sit through one after another.
This is one of the reasons you have a mid-tier attraction like Toy Story Mania that has one of the longest waits in all of Walt Disney World. That 90 minute-plus wait isn’t happening because it’s a high quality attraction…
Fortunately, plenty for kids is likely to be added to DHS during the upcoming expansion.
As usual, your photography is amazing. It’s almost like I’m there experiencing it with you.
I think it is a great park for first timers because it’s such a low stress park. You can take your time and relax. Besides Toy Story you could probably get away with no fast passes. We love Hollywood Studios. In fact we spent this past Christmas day there. A “must do” for us is Jedi Academy. I have a 7 year old son and it is the highlight of his trip! We also really love the Frozen Sing Along. My 5 year old lights up when Elsa makes it snow!
Five years ago, when I went to Disney with a large group (7 of us), Hollywood Studios was easily a day-and-a-half park because we wanted to hit everything (it was my third time to the park, but the other 6 people were there for the first time). But, having just visited for my honeymoon in November, I have to agree that there isn’t much to do. My husband and I hit all the big stuff that morning, ate lunch, and then decided to head back to our hotel for a nap and Kona Cafe for dinner. It was the frenzy of Thanksgiving week and still we were able to zip through our must-do’s. We did head back to the Studios for Fantasmic and the Osborne family spectacle of dancing lights. If it weren’t for that (and it’s only seasonal), we would have been done for the night. I won’t be heading back to the World until after this big overhaul is done.
Yeah, we *used* to be able to spend a lot more time there, too. I suspect it’ll once again be a 1.5 day park around 2020 or so. Ha…