Hollywood Studios: Disney World’s Best Rides & Most Frustrating Park
Two things can be true at once. Disney’s Hollywood Studios can have the most stacked ride lineup while also being the most frustrating theme park at Walt Disney World. In this post, we’ll break down what we mean by that, and offer some recommendations regarding whether you should do DHS.
It’s gotten to the point that in response to our recent Disney’s Hollywood Studios: This Isn’t Working post, 400+ readers commented. Most of them irate, and many questioning whether it was worth even bothering with DHS on their upcoming Walt Disney World vacations.
There’s one thing that we fear has gotten lost in the shuffle in our recent crowd-coverage and posts showing the chaos at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The park is slammed…for good reason. Sure, Walt Disney World could and should do more to mitigate these problems. However, there’s a sensible rationale for guests who are showing up to DHS in record numbers–it has a lot of good stuff to experience, much of which is new. Here’s why you should set aside your apprehensions and do DHS, too…
Perhaps it hasn’t been clear from our previous coverage, but we can’t in good conscience recommend avoiding Disney’s Hollywood Studios right now. The reason we’ve been covering the park so extensively is not for the sake of rubbernecking an operational train wreck, it’s so you can take a sober look at the realities of visiting, plan accordingly, and strategically visit.
In the aforementioned “This Isn’t Working” post, we already covered the bad of DHS right now. We stand by all of that (and we’ll reiterate some of it later in this post), but we think it’s worth starting with the good to underscore why you should still visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
While the park is changing weekly in terms of operations, so many ‘big picture’ things have changed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the last couple of years that it’s easy to forget where things stood at this park just a few years ago…
When we put together our Top 10 Attractions at Walt Disney World List a few years ago, the attraction lineup was so weak that only the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror made the list. However, that was put together while Disney’s Hollywood Studios was a veritable construction zone. Before both Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened.
In looking at our more recent Top 10 Disney Attractions of the Last Decade, you’ll see that two attractions from Disney’s Hollywood Studios did make that list, including in the #1 slot. Even still, Slinky Dog Dash was a controversial snub, and this list was made before Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway opened.
The decade is very young so this is all but meaningless, but that new attraction is currently Disney’s #1 new attraction of the new decade. At least, until Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast debuts. (Speaking of which, read our Spoiler-Free Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Review for more on how that attraction rates and compares to other rides.)
If we were putting together a new ‘best of’ ride list for Walt Disney World, we’d probably put 3 attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on it. In fact, DHS would rival Magic Kingdom at the top of the list. Two of our top 3 rides at Walt Disney World are in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Someone else making that same list might include 4-5 attractions. That means Disney’s Hollywood Studios has somewhere between 33% and half of the best attractions at Walt Disney World right now.
The reality is that Disney’s Hollywood Studios has an absolutely stacked ride lineup. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are both Walt Disney World all-time greats. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, and Slinky Dog Dash are a trio of very good (or better) new attractions.
The ride lineup is so strong that it’s easy to forget Star Tours: the Adventures Continue, Toy Story Mania, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. Just a few years ago, this trio was considered incredibly formidable–among the most coveted FastPasses at Walt Disney World. Remember when Walt Disney World’s most popular rope drop dash consisted of running through Pixar Place to Toy Story Mania? That was only 4 years ago! Now, Toy Story Mania is almost an afterthought.
Let all of that sink in.
There are currently 8 attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that range from very good to elite all-time greats. We can all quibble about the quality of each, but I think most people would agree that those selections are all “good or better.” That’s better than any other park at Walt Disney World, save for maybe Magic Kingdom.
The main problem with this is that the lineup at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is entirely top-heavy. Unlike Magic Kingdom (or really any other park at Walt Disney World, for that matter), DHS has absolutely no supporting line-up. Disney’s Hollywood Studios doesn’t have any rides that are “just okay” but are relatively easy to experience and a good way to round out your day in the park. It’s E-Ticket or bust. A good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.
After you get past these 8 rides, Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers a slew of shows and meet & greets. For the most part, these are all one and done, and not offerings that appeal to repeat visitors. That might sound fine if you’re a first-timer visitor–after all, everything is new to you–but the downside is that this means frequent Walt Disney World guests disproportionately crowd the top 8 rides.
Another big issue is physical space and capacity. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is by far the smallest park at Walt Disney World, and that’s even after the expansive Star Wars Land has provided guests with more area. (Some fans bemoan the “wasted space” in Galaxy’s Edge, but we think this is integral to its success and something DHS desperately needed.) Throughout the rest of the park, there’s still less area to explore.
For us, this is crucial. We are not “ride checklist” people and don’t simply view the parks as collections of attractions. While it has come a long way since its boxy soundstage days…there still are a lot of those. There are also fewer quiet corners and engrossing areas to get lost in the details. (Again, save for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is perfect for all of that.)
When it comes to capacity, we’re not simply referring to the aggregate of the rides and shows. This also takes into account the aforementioned physical space, plus other things you might not consider like restaurants, lounges, and shops–even restrooms!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has significantly lower capacity than the other theme parks, and even what it does have is not always efficiently utilized. Examples of this include shows performing with a surplus of empty seats, and Animation Courtyard and the Sunset Showcase areas are often uncrowded.
The good news is that there are already some signs that these issues are not nearly as pronounced when park attendance is below moderate. From Presidents’ Day until now (and likely continuing through mid-March when spring break crowds materialize), boarding passes for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance have not been gone in sixty seconds. Morning wait times have still been high, but the scene is not as overwhelming as it is on moderate or peak days.
However, there’s is no reason to believe that any of this is going to die down any time soon on normal or busy days. As we’ve noted several times, both Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Avatar – Flight of Passage are just as bonkers as they were years ago. So long as attendance is high, crowd dynamics will be an issue at DHS. In fact, if Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary brings with it an influx of visitors, this could get worse between now and 2022. Suffice to say, “waiting out the crowds” is not really a viable strategy.
As we covered in the “This Isn’t Working” post, there are things Walt Disney World could do to address or at least alleviate some of these problems. Moving Disney’s Hollywood Studio’s official opening time back to 7 am daily would be a huge one. Adding more atmospheric entertainment is another. At some point, using the FastPass+ infrastructure for advance booking of virtual queue slots and boarding passes seems likely to happen. That would also help.
To Walt Disney World’s credit, some positive moves are already being taken. The new breakfast options at both Milk Stand and ABC Commissary are steps in the right direction, as is the new Mickey Shorts Theater and photo ops. Along those lines, a scavenger hunt like the new “Finding Dory’s Friends” over at Epcot would be another relatively quick and easy addition.
Irrespective of how Disney is addressing the chaos, the fact remains that Hollywood Studios is incredibly busy right now for good reason. While we think our periodic crowd updates have been helpful in managing expectations, we also worry that they’ve been sending the wrong message. Our goal is to help you prepare–not scare you into avoiding Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Sometimes, it’s easy for us to forget that the vast majority of readers here are planning first-time visits to Walt Disney World. We may grumble at, and be annoyed by, the procedures and protocol at Disney’s Hollywood Studios right now, but the fact is that we can’t change them. The operative question is thus, “if we were visiting Walt Disney World for the first and maybe only time, would we want to do Disney’s Hollywood Studios?” The answer is an emphatic yes.
In fact, we’d contend that rather than skipping it during your next Walt Disney World vacation, you should actively prioritize visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios and doing as much as possible. It’s not a “perfect” theme park (that doesn’t exist) without any weaknesses, but what it does well it does really well. How much Disney’s Hollywood Studios have improved as a result of its dramatic transformation is staggering.
To that end, we’ve been testing some new itineraries now that Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is open. These touring plans will help you do exactly this, while minimizing your headaches and frustrations with the crowds and boarding pass system for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. We’ll begin rolling these out later this week, but if you’d like a sneak peek, check out our recent Park Hopper Strategy for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. What’s to come is the same idea as that, but eschewing the rambling and anecdotal approach, instead offering field-tested step by step plans of attack.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, 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 clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What is your take on the current state of Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Do you agree with us that it’s still worth visiting, even if that means jumping through some hoops and planning more strategically? Alternatively, will you ‘wait out’ the chaos and return to DHS sometime after Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary in 2021? Do you agree or disagree with our advice and commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? 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!
Hi Tom,
We were in WDW from Feb. 29 – March 5 of this year. I was going to comment when we returned but when all this virus commotion started, it seemed unimportant. And it is but I still want to tell you about our experience.
Let me preface this by telling you that we are both senior citizens who love Disney!! We have been to WDW many times beginning in 1974. This time we were staying at the Contemporary Hotel.
I had been following your blog for months leading up to our visit. It was extremely helpful. We visited all 4 parks and revisited MK, DHS and Epcot a second time. We rode the Skyliner from DHS to Epcot, as you had suggested, and that was a great suggestion!! We got to ride ROR and Smugglers Run on our first day in DHS. We also got on Minnie & Mickey’s Runaway Railroad and Slinky Dog Dash. on March 5th.
We went to DHS on Monday, March 2nd. We got up at 6 AM (we are not morning people, but night owls, however it was worth it!) We were at the bus pick up by 6:45. Within a few minutes the DHS bus arrived. We were at the park by 7:10 AM , which was really too early. After we got into the park, we just hung out there. I was too nervous to go anywhere.LOL At 7:59 I opened the APP and at 8:00 I clicked to get a boarding group. We were assigned to group 48. I was ecstatic!! I was so stressed about this whole procedure. We then proceeded to Starbucks and waited in a short queue and got a beautiful breakfast. We grabbed a seat at a table outside The Brown Derby. It was a beautiful morning. Our boarding group was called at 11:00 AM. We took your advice and rode Smugglers Run as single riders and waited 25 minutes.
We just wanted you to know how helpful your advice was and YES it is so worth visiting DHS and all of WDW. Goodness, we remember when there was only the Magic Kingdom and every attraction had a 2 hour wait. We are also big fans of just walking through the parks and taking everything in. Disney never ceases to amaze us.
Thank you,
Greg and Mary Kinzie
The chaos about getting early to DHS is very similar to the Chaos of Coronavirus. I heard about people arriving to DHS today (March 11) at 6:00. Two hours prior to opening. I arrived about 10 minutes prior, walked through the gate and grabbed a Boarding pass for RoR with no problem. Wait times aren’t that bad, weather is fantastic. I’m not sure about all the fuss and anxiety. It seemed easy and I only arrived ten minutes prior to opening.
I anticipated the worst based on blogs, but have to say, our day at HS went smoothly. We have a 4&7 year old, and just prepped them for a big day.
Got there at 6:30 on March 5th (2nd day of MMRR). We were about 15 min back in the rope drop line for MMRR, and were able to snag group 15 for RoR. We had both of these rides done by 9:30, and were clearly the highlights – the kids loved both rides, but especially MMRR.
We then hit our fastpasses – Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, and Slinky Dog. We could have done Rockin Roller coaster or Haunted mansion instead of Star Tours, but not really appropriate given our kids ages…
Lunch at Docking Bay 7 – a fun glitch in the dining plan is that you can currently mobile order an adult meal and an alcoholic beverage and it will charge a kid’s quick service. We proceeded to abuse this glitch four times throughout the day, and turn 4 kid’s quick service credits into $120 worth of meals! Try it out, it worked throughout our whole week at Disney.
Afternoon we spent doing all of the shows – no waits there, so that was not an issue. We did Alien Saucers when the line died down to 20 minutes, and Millennium Falcon later in the evening as well.
We then had a nice 2 hour dinner at Brown Derby, which was awesome downtime for us and the kids. We snagged a fastpass for Fantasmic. After dinner and before the show, we rode Star Tours 3 times in a row with no waits.
Saw the show, took 2 tired kids back to the hotel on the Skyliner.
In summary, it was a long day, but we experienced zero issues with finding things to do – on the flip side, the day we went to Epcot, we hated every second of fighting the festival crowds that were just there to drink and clog every food line for 20+ minutes. Not a good place for the kids.
I guess my summary is – the Park Hopper HS/Epcot strategy might be OK for some, but for well planned families with kids in tow, staying at HS is the way to go.
Sorry, haunted mansion = tower of terror 🙂 I also forgot we got in another MMRR during the day – my daughter really wanted to do it again. Wait time posted at 110 min, took us 55 min to get on the ride. So don’t trust those wait times!
We just finished a first-time visit to WDW and HS, and while I appreciate the park has appealing rides, we wish there was more for younger kids and ultimately regret spending a whole day there. The other parks have so many more attractions with lenient height requirements for our 3 year old, whereas at HS, we were struggling to fill our time after Swirling Saucers and a couple of shows. I agree that it’s top-heavy and in need of more smaller-scale rides to fill it out
We just visited Disney World for the first time as a family and we had the best time ever! Our park days were February 26th through March 3rd with a day on both ends to arrive and depart. So 7 park days total. I chose Hollywood Studios as our first park day on Wednseday Feb 26th and again on Monday March 2nd. I avoided the weekends plus Thursday on purpose. I had been researching this park for several months before our trip with the hopes of riding Rise of the Resistance. and all that diligence paid off! We were on ROR both days within the first hour of the ride opening which was about 9 am. The first time we landed in Group 15 ( the groups started at 10 and I know this because I asked at the ride itself.) and the second day Group 9. I didn’t ask what number the groups started on March 2nd. So back to Wednesday the 25th…We parked at about 7 am. we were through bag check and the entrance turnstiles at about 7:30. the crowds were not too massive. We headed to Indiana Jones outpost for Jedi Training sign up. I was getting nervous becaus I didn’t want to be signing up when the park opened, but I got finished with sign up at about 7:57 and headed to my group to zone out and open the My Experience App. While in line, i heard a cast member say to open the app a few minutes befor 8 because if you were in it already like 10 minutes or so, you would have to close out and re-enter. right at 8 AM I pressed the Find Out More link under the ROR tab…I then went to My Status and then hit Join Boarding Group. selected my party and Voilal! We were in. I have been practicing this maneuver for months I tell you. In my bed in Temple, Texas…Central Standard Time, I would practice aligned with Eastern Standard time. Call me crazy, but it worked. Twice. I tired to get the adults in my group on the same page and tell them to practice beofre we left , but none did so and each day they were fumbling around in the app at 8 am not having a clue as what to do. My husband included. I personally secured our boarding groups each time due to practice and reading this blog for new updates. Moving on. After we were in a group and had my daughter signed up for 11 am Jedi Training ( needing to arrive at 10:30) we were unsure as what to do, not knwing when the group would be called. We had a fast pass for Star Tours beginning at 9:45 ( we did not secure a fast pass for smugglers run, sadly) My main goal was ROR. We went to Galaxy’s Edge and entered around the Star Tours Area. It was a madhouse. An insane amount of people. We couldn’t have turned around if we had wanted to. We went to Ronto Roasters for a breakfast Ronto Wrap and it was delicious! My picky kids even enjoyed it!. Just sitting here at 8:20 we saw Chewbacca walking about and some Stormtroopers talking to kids. It was awesome! So my husband got the idea to ride Tower of Terror. And I mentioned how far awa it was from us. he decided he need to do that anyway and then right when we got in line, our boarding group was called. I was hoping to get out of ROR in time for our Star Tours FP bacause we had Jedi Training coming up. our whole day had been up in the air becuase I wasn’t sure whn we would get on ROR or score a Jedi Training spot. But now we knew these things. ROR was fantastic!!!! It was the first ride of our WHOLE trip and nothing topped it. So we missed our Star Tours Fast Pass and I’m not sad about it. hindsight, we probably could have done it and still been to JT at 10:30. But I’m still not sad about it. Jedi Training was AWESOME!!!!! I wish adults could do it! so after that we hung around Toy Story Land and used our next fast Pass for Toy Story Mania! That was a fun ride!!!!!!! So then we decided to Meet Chewbacca. the line was very low. After Chewie we met BB-8! We then went to the MilkStand so i could get a Blue Milk, my husband got Green, His was better. Then we sadly decided to leave. We should have stayed. we were scared away by rain. lots of it. it only rained on us that afternoon and night. the rest of our trip was super pleasant and some cold days and nights. Onto our second Hollywood Studios day. Monday march 2nd. I knew this day would be busier. and boy was it. the lines to get through the turnstiles were twice as long. We arrived and parked at 7:00 but didn’t get through the turnstiles until almost 7:40. This time we went and sat inside the curios photo place. it was noisy and crowded outside. I used the same startegy to get into ROR and we got into bording group 9. seems like they had the ride up and running at like 8:45. We had virtually no wait inside the queue like the last time. Befor this we went to Tower of Terror immediately and got on with maybe a 15 inute wait. By the time we got off, our ROR group was called. After ROR, my group wanted a Ronto Wrap again. Then we walked through Galaxy’s Edge ( got interrogated by Kylo Ren..call him Ben. he doesn’t like that) We had a Fast Pass for Slinky Dog Dash at 10:30. That was fun ride, but I enjoyed Expedtition Everest and Rockin’ Rollercoaster better. Then we booked it to For The First Time In Forever Frozen Singalong. It was fun! my daughter and I enjoyed it but the rest of the group did not. Then we met Olaf. He really does like warm hugs. Then we made our next Fast Pass To Alien Swirling Saucers. It was alright. my least favorite of the toy story rides. Then we went to meet Sulley. Then my husband and son went to ride Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster. My son is 9 and he loves thrill rides. While this was happening, the rest of our party watched Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. I Loved it! I am a huge fan anyway. My 7 yr old daughter enjoyed it too. So after this, we met back with my husband and my son and I went to ride Rock ‘n’ Rollercoater! It was so fun and I’m glad we did that together! Then we walked back to the Milk Stand for GREEN mil k, check out the Millenium Falcon ( probably could have ridden it) and Woody’s lunch box for an early dinner. After this, we hung around Echo Lake until our last Fast Pass, the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectaculer! It was a great show. Now my kids want to do stunts for a living. We did not watch any fireworks here. I was the lone voice that wanted to stay from open to close each day. We were out of the park by 6:30. and let me tell you, I would rather fight the morning masses than the late night ones. All In all, we had a great time! I am sad about Smuggler’s Run and not even trying to get on, but We’ll go back in 5 years.
I’m from Texas also, how did you practice from him when it doesn’t show that you are scanned into the park? I want to practice for our upcoming trip in June.
Sally, the app will let you go through all of the steps of signing up for a Boarding Group, but if you haven’t scanned in you get a “Looks like you’re not in the park” error message instead of a confirmation screen at the end. I definitely recommend practicing a few times before going just so you’re familiar with the layout, it’s not super confusing but there’s so much adrenaline on the day of having that familiarity can help keep you calm and focused. Good luck in June, the ride truly is extraordinary!
Thanks Tom for all of the helpful advise. This was our first trip to WDW and we absolutely loved it. The whole family agreed that Hollywood Studios was our favorite park, but we are bit biased as we are huge Star Wars fans. We managed to snag a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance (#6), while in line for Runaway railway. Smugglers run was a blast and Star Tours was really good as well. The family had a lot of fun at Muppet show as well. Galaxy’s edge was a dream come true for me, the force will be with you always. Thanks again
Completely agree with this post. Just got back from a family trip to Disney World from 2/29-3/6, during which we spent all day at DHS on Sunday 3/1 and Wednesday 3/4. Two couples with 4 kids total, ages 6-10. We hit DHS, MK and AK but the winner by far for all of us was DHS. Admittedly, both the grown ups and kids were all Star Wars fans, so Galaxy’s Edge was a huge hit (Oga’s Cantina was a really fun experience for the kids).
But to Tom’s point, every ride/attraction was really solid. There are no weak or boring rides in that park anymore. We were just there a year ago and it was fine for one day, but we were all set after 8 hours. This year, on the first day alone, we spent 14 hours in the park and everyone had a great time. It really helped that the crowd levels were lower than they had been throughout Jan and Feb, made it really easy to repeatedly get on rides like Smugglers Run and Toy Story Mania late in the day. Also, Boarding Groups for ROR were readily obtained and the ride seemed to be operating well all week.
On the 4th especially, the park was really light in terms of crowd flow. From 4-5:30, 6 of us were able to ride Smugglers Run 4 straight times (once via FP, the other 3 times via standby).
I know there have been plenty of horror stories on this site about what can go wrong with the heavy crowds in DHS, but on a normal weekday that park is outstanding. I’ll always think of MK as THE signature Disney experience, but right now DHS is the best of the 4 parks.
My only complaint is with the benefit of hindsight, I wish Toy Story Land had been built as large as Galaxy’s Edge. Right now, it seems a little too small and there’s hardly any shade or cover. On a hot day, it’s not as fun to explore and get lost in as Galaxy’s Edge and that’s too bad, because it really does have a lot of character.
Well I’m Okay to wait it out. Plan to visit DHS once Epcot transformation is over. As those new rides will be the hot ticket in disneytown (think Guardians of Galaxy, Ratatouille…) Epcot will get crowded then. Advantage of waiting is that also gives Disney time to sort out all the isues with Rise of the Resistance operation.
This headline made me a bit nervous, and I was relieved by the punchline. My family’s spring break trip to the Florida Keys has suddenly had to be rerouted (due to an elderly relative With health problems not being allowed to visit with anyone who has recently flown). My family is heading north, instead, to Cocoa Beach, Kennedy Space Center and then onto the Swan. Our plan is to spend Easter day at DHS, primarily to experience GE and M&MRR. This is the least amount of planning time I’ve ever had for a Disney trip, and I was surprised that at 34 days out I was able to get decent FP+. TSM, RRC and Star Tours. None of the hot tickets, but still better than I expected. I also managed to secure a PPO ADR for H&V, so we’ll hopefully have some options as to where to stand when it’s time to try for a boarding group. . Is there any particular geographical spot that has proven lucky for app connectivity?
We have Verizon and had a solid 5 bars on Sunset Blvd waiting to rope drop RNR
Great article but I think you slightly missed the mark on the secondary attraction issue:
Shows can be very good secondary attractions. They swallow huge numbers of people and typically for an extended period of time. (20-30 minutes+, as opposed to a 5 minute ride).
And the problem isn’t that shows aren’t repeatable: Remember Tom, your multiple visits per month is not exactly common. For most visitors, it’s a once in a lifetime trip, or at least once every few years. You can sit through Indiana Jones stunt show once every 4-5 years.
The problem is the shows aren’t actually open the first 2-3 hours of the park. In addition, a lot of the shows are showing their age. Didn’t Indiana Jones open with the park originally. Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are both 30+ year old IPs. Muppets has been there forever without significant upgrading.
— The opposite is true of Star Tours. While it’s a “ride,” — it’s a fairly old ride. But they have kept it fresh with scene updates.
I’d argue that part of the reason the park gets less congested in the afternoon isn’t solely the Rise of Resistance effect, it’s also that the shows have started to run.
So the big issue isn’t the lack of “secondary stuff” — It’s the lack of secondary stuff for the first 2-3 hours of park operation (which are now the busiest hours of the day thanks to Rise of Resistance).
Go back to the planning of DHS, the thought was probably “mornings aren’t very crowded.. Let’s run shows starting around 11am, as crowds grow…”
Now that you have the massive crowds first thing in the morning, that logic doesn’t work.
Agree with you that moving opening back to 7am would improve issues. But also starting more of the shows within the first hour of park operation would help a lot.
… meanwhile.. it’s starting to look like 9am openings may really be coming in a few weeks.
I agree that most of the shows need upgrading or maybe replacement. Yes Tom the muppets 3D is iconic but could use a sprucing up. Don’t mess with the fountain Disney! I can watch beauty and the beast every other year. I don’t think that opening them earlier will help however. My youngest did the saucers then mania then Disney jr live no problem. The problem is there isn’t enough little kid rides. Who is going to watch a show at or close to rope drop when they know a ride line will increase exponentially in the next couple hours? This isn’t broadway but I do think shows have substantial value as a secondary. Also as Tom has said more impressive street acts can fill time and provide entertainment.
The ride lines don’t increase over the day. The longest lines of the day are around 8:30-9:30am.
If you show up at 7am for 8am open, you’ll already have a 60-100+ minute for headliners. Saucers is easily 60 minutes by 8:30 am nowadays.
Best realistic itinerary, if shows were open:
8am rope drop attraction. 8:30-fp.
9am show. 9:30am, second fp. 10am show. 10:30am– fp.
That would be a reasonable 6 attractions/shows by 11am.
I agree 100%. We were at HS yesterday. We rope dropped Toy Story Mania. By the time we got off, Star Tours was 20 minutes, but Saucers was 50 and it just went up from there. Naturally, we did Star Tours. However, once that was over, we found ourselves with nothing to do before our first fastpass at 10:15. We didn’t want to wait 2 hours for a ride and none of the shows had started yet. We did the Mickey Cartoon short and then essentially sat around for 45 minutes just waiting for our fastpass to kick in. They know the morning crowds are insane, I can’t understand why they haven’t shifted show times to accommodate.
I belong to the “Get Off My Lawn” generation. I watched a video of the entire Runaway Railway ride this morning, including the wait to get in (actually, I skipped through all of that to get to the ride). It was 60 minutes long after the guy with the video had already waited about 60 minutes or more. He was there for rope drop and the wait time was 180 minutes when he finally reached the sign with the wait time listed. I fast forwarded to all the waiting in the queue until the movie started and guests entered yet another long waiting area before getting on the train. When the guy finally boarded his car on the train there was about ten minutes left in the video. I hate the artwork in this ride, it’s noisy, it’s frenetic, it’s bound to bother some guests with mental disabilities. Kind of like flashing lights with Epilepsy or migraine. Daisy Duck’s portion would make me dizzy (I get motion sick). After the ride was over, he still had several minutes of exiting the ride and the building. It will be another few years before I need to go to DHS, even with an AP.
100% right on post. Been thinking this exact same thing. The transformation in terms of park prioritization IS staggering. Three years ago we did a Disney trip with my in-laws/extended family and, as the only Disney buff of the group, I basically told everyone else to ignore DHS if they were pressed for time. I cannot imagine giving that advice now. ROTR is epic, MMRW – family dark ride?!? Yes!!! – and Slinky Dog is the best starter coaster after BTMM. Yes, they need more middle-of-the-road attractions. And yes, given its footprint…it might have bitten off more than it can chew… but it’s nice to see a post acknowledging the transformation that we all desperately wanted.
Visited HS on 3/3 and 3/5. Took an Uber from Coronado Springs arriving at park about 7:30 to 7:40 for 8 am opening. On the 3rd we were in Boarding Grp 46 and started the ride about 11 am, on the 5th we were considered a backup boarding group with number 88. We got on the ride at 2 pm. Both days ROR was running at a great rate and boarding groups through at least #120 were able to ride. Amazing ride even for non-Star Wars fans. Seemed easier to get an earlier Board Group by being near the park entrance as opposed to being in a deep mass of people awaiting ToyLand to open, but that might have been a coincidence.
I was there also 3/3 and we got boarding group 47 in the middle of toy story rush. I would totally recommend HS.
can you go to Hollywood studios during the morning magic hour and get a star wars boarding pass or is it only when the park opens for the general public?
The attempt to obtain boarding group frenzy doesn’t start until 8:00 (for everyone) but being there for Magic Morning ensures you’re inside the park with time to spare, rather than fretting in a bag check or admission scanning line. Those lines do move pretty quickly, in our experience, but you never know . . .
The app to get the boarding pass opens a 8am and you have to be in the park already
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your blog, I really appreciate it. I have a question on the boarding pass system. Could all members of your party tap/scan into HS then immediately leave the park and head to Epcot or the parking lot or wherever and still be able to try for a boarding pass? Would this be a good or poor strategy?
As I understand it, once you actually get your boarding passes you can go to any park you please as long as you are back for the ride when called.
Hi Jack,
Thanks for your response.
What I’m wondering is if you can swipe into HS, then leave it, then attempt to get a boarding pass (from outside HS) at opening time since you already logged in at HS?
YES, you can tap into the park and immediately leave, then grab your boarding car from the car, hotel, rope-dropping Epcot, anywhere. The app & virtual queue don’t know or care about your physical location, they only know and care that your ticket has already been used to enter DHS.
Thank you Andy!
can you go to Hollywood studios during the morning magic hour and get a star wars boarding pass or is it only when the park opens for the general public?
Understand that we only have a week’s worth of experience in this endeavor but we found that if you don’t get into a boarding group or backup in about ten minutes after the park opens you’re SOL. Once the groups are filled the que closes for the day. No second shots so far, so no matter how you play it, after the park opens the attempt kinda doesn’t eat into much of the rest of your day.
The good thing is that I’ve seen the backup groups being called so it looks like the ride efficiency is, or was, top notch and that they’re getting as many people in as possible.
Trying to figure out if you could scan into HS, then leave and actually scan into another park and still be able to use the app to attempt to get a boarding pass at the appointed opening time. Unsure if scanning into 2 different parks would affect your ability to attempt getting a boarding pass since it could signal that you actually left HS.
It depends on whether DLR is your “home” park. If it is, I honestly think DHS can be skipped as almost every ride of note is already at DLR (or soon will be for MMRR) and the “Hollywood theme” is unimpressive (especially if you’re from L.A.). The Aerosmith roller coaster is okay and arguably the only ride worth the visit is ToT since the DLR one as been completely re-themed.
I’d argue that a DLR person visiting WDW would be better off skipping DHS and concentrating on the other parks, especially AK where none of the rides are DLR clones plus the theming is superb (especially in comparison to DHS).
As a West Coaster, TRUTH, to your comment.
This is how I feel about HS! Our first few visits to WDW when our kids were small (first visit they were 3 and 1) we didn’t visit HS. Even after Toy Story Land opened it was still my least favourite place to go. This year (end of February) we did ROR and managed to snag a FP for Slinky Dog which was our first time riding it. It was super busy when we were there (should not have gone on a Saturday!!!). I wish I had a fast pass for the bathrooms!
My opinion here is more about things that I still don’t find good enough in HS. There are two main streets where there is more attention to the details on each facade of the buildings. This is something very important for me, that makes Disney better than other amusement parks. But, when we visite the entire park, there are lots of old big buildings that are not much more appealing that big boxes. I am suprised that this is still that way. I don’t see why this park should not get more attention to the details as the MK. I would like the see the park us more space, if possible. I would like more thant one small lake. I guess that some scenic attraction that could also be used as a transportation could have its place here. Also, there are not enough rides yet. So, it’s clear that it is way better than before and also that there are operating issues, but to me this park is still less interesting than any other in Disney.