Hollywood Studios is one of the four Disney parks that make up Walt Disney World. It also has a reputation of having one of the highest wait times of any park.

There have been a lot of updates to the park in recent years, including the opening of a dedicated Star Wars area with lots of new rides still being added. Getting into the park and getting on the brand new attractions can be tough which is why good planning is key. 

Entering Hollywood Studios

When you enter Hollywood Studios, you will start in the main plaza. The park opens at 9am most days. However, if you want to make sure that you can get straight to your favorite rides, you should arrive before the park opens.

The parking lot opens an hour before the park gates, and getting in early can help you hop on some rides before their stand by times get astronomical. This is referred to as “rope drop”.

The Disney Skyliner is a fun way to get in the park, transporting guests from Disney resorts to Hollywood Studios. There are three stops located at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Pop Century Resort.  You have to take the Skyliner if you are staying at these resorts.

You can also take a bus from certain resort hotels. The monorail system does not go to Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. Unless you are driving, you have to take the Skyliner or a bus from the Disney Resort Hotels.

There are several main routes for getting around the park, which can help you stay out of the crowds. If you want to go straight down Sunset Blvd and see Celebrity Spotlight, Animation Courtyard, Mickey Avenue and Echo Lake then that is a good option. This route also takes you past Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

Boarding Groups For Rides

The new ride in the Star Wars area, Rise Of The Resistance, started out with a boarding group system to manage queue times. You had to apply for a boarding group using the My Disney Experience App if you want to get on this ride. If you managed to get a spot, you will be given a time to return to the ride and get on. 

Now you can pay extra to get an Individual Lightning Lane time if there are any or use the standby line. You can also use your DAS Pass.

Disabled Access At Hollywood Studios

Each of Disney’s Hollywood Studios rides has a designated waiting area for disabled visitors, which is usually good enough to guarantee you a place on the ride. You will be given a Disability Access Pass, which gives you access to certain rides and attractions. However, it is not applicable on all rides, so you need to check when and where you can use it before you go. You can find more information here. 

In most cases, you will find that shows scheduled at a specific time will not allow you to use your Disability Access Pass and you will have to get in line early if you want to get a good seat. 

Restaurants At Hollywood Studios 

There are plenty of places to eat at Disney Hollywood Studios and most of them have reasonable prices. However, be aware that not every restaurant will allow you to make reservations in advance for a table. 

If you want to make sure that there is somewhere good to go to lunch or dinner, try picking up a free copy of the Guidebook from one of the park’s information stands so you can find out where the best places are located. The book also provides lots of other useful info about upcoming shows and events that might help your visit run more smoothly. 

Top restaurants include Sunset Ranch, 50’s Primetime Cafe, Sci-Fi Dine In Theater and Mama Melrose. When looking for restaurants, you have the option of table service or quick service. The quick service restaurants are some of the best places to eat if you are in a rush because they are essentially fast food outlets.

There is a lot to see and do in Hollywood Studios and if you are only there for a day, you want to get around the park faster. So, stopping in at a quick service restaurant to grab a bite to eat is usually a better option than dining at a table service restaurant. 

Character Experiences At Hollywood Studios 

Character experiences are a big part of the Disney experience and you can meet some of your favorite characters at Hollywood Studios. The best place to do this is Animation Courtyard, where you will see Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Pluto on most days.

Another good character spot is Pixar Place, where you can see Lightning McQueen and Mike from Monsters Inc. As well as being able to meet characters around the park, there are also shows with various Disney figures. 

There are some great motorcade shows in Hollywood Studios. There are two different shows you can watch; the Mickey and Friends Motorcade with all of the classic Disney characters, and the Pixar Motorcade with everybody’s favorite characters from the biggest Pixar movies like Toy Story and The Incredibles. Both motorcades start near the guest relations area at the park entrance.

They run multiple times throughout the day too, so don’t worry if you only catch the end, you can always go back later to see the full show.  

Attractions With Low Wait Times At Hollywood Studios

If you are looking to do as much fun stuff in Hollywood Studios as possible then you’re in luck. Most of the things you can do in the park are shows that run continuously, or on a posted schedule. That means you will have no trouble at all planning out your day to see as many shows as possible. Here are some of the very best low wait Hollywood Studios attractions for you to work into your park strategy.

Lightning McQueen Racing Academy

This is the newest attraction at Hollywood Studios and it’s a must if you revisiting the park with children. Not only is this show full of impressive effects the fun continues with a dance party outside. This show is only ten minutes long and runs continuously so you can walk right in before each scheduled performance. During the show you see the one and only Lightning McQueen talking and driving on stage before your very eyes!

Voyage of the Little Mermaid

This is another short continuously running shown. It’s 20 minutes long, so the most you will have to wait is 20 minutes. You only have to wait that long if you just missed the previous performance.You can easily walk right in to this just by knowing when the showtimes are. In the show, you are treated to a music focused summary of The Little Mermaid with creative performances featuring puppetry, live singing, and theater filling effects.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

The thirty year long run of this stunt show makes it the oldest remaining attraction in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s also one of the few remaining behind the scenes focused attractions that still exist in the park. The massive theater can support way more guests than it needs to on any given day. The show operates on a regular performance schedule that is posted, so you can show up close to the start time of the performance and find a decent seat without waiting in the queue for very long. The show treats guests to key action scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark and demonstrates how the stunts are performed.

Star Tours: The Adventure Continues

Star Tours does not seem out of place with attractions like Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, or Rockin’ Roller Coaster; but while those two attractions regularly have wait times of over an hour, Star Tours is frequently under 10 minutes. Whenever you see 10 minutes as the posted wait time, that is the lowest the sign will go, so it’s practically no wait at all.

Walt Disney Presents

This is an attraction within an attraction, so not only is there not much of a wait time, I would argue that the wait time is not nearly long enough. Usually this venue features the continuously running One Man’s Dream, although right now the theater is showing sneak previews of upcoming Disney films. The real draw here is the museum of Walt Disney’s history which features models and artifacts that are even more interesting than the feature presentation.

In order to make the most out of your visit, you want to get as much done as possible. So, making use of wait times is necessary if you want to get around the park efficiently. Wait times can be viewed for each ride in Hollywood Studios and they are often updated regularly too, so you know what you are dealing with before getting into a line. The usual advice for queuing up in this park is that later time slots will always have longer wait times because more people arrive during those hours. 

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the most popular area in the park right now and it’s definitely a must-see while you are there. It opened in the summer of 2019, so it’s still very new and most visitors will head straight there, so expect crowds. You can find some great rides including Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance. Don’t miss the Cantina for a drink too. If you are visiting later in the day, try to avoid these areas during peak times, give yourself some breathing space and go visit at quieter times. 

Disney Hollywood Studios has something for everyone with all of their favorite characters on show, great rides with interactive queues and fantastic shows. However, it can get very busy and if you only have a day there, good planning is the key to making sure that you don’t miss out on anything. This guide has all of the information you need to plan the perfect trip! 

Check Out What You Can Learn While At Hollywood Studios