{Disney} Touring Strategies for Hollywood Studios

For many Disney guests, Hollywood Studios has been known as a half-day park or the one to skip if you can't fit all four parks into your overall itinerary.  For 2017, Hollywood Studios saw the lowest attendance of all four Walt Disney World parks.  Disney has been actively working on changing this attitude, starting with the addition of Toy Story Land to Hollywood Studios.  A new ride, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, is scheduled to open in 2019 along with a new Star Wars Land.

Admittedly, we've been in the camp of not viewing Hollywood Studios as a place to spend an entire day.  We are not Star Wars fans so none of those attractions appeal to us.  Although, Rich wouldn't be opposed to checking those out.  There is quite a bit to do and see here but we tend to buzz in and out.

After our visit last week, I wanted to write out some strategy thoughts for those planning to visit Hollywood Studios in the near future given that the park has changed.  It will continue to change in 2019 with new rides and attractions, but for now, this is what the park and wait times look like.

1.  Get. There. Early.

I cannot emphasize this touring strategy enough.  The best way to experience rides with little to no wait is to arrive at Hollywood Studios prior to the official park opening.  This applies to all the parks, but today, I'm only going to focus on Hollywood Studios.

At the end of this post, I have detailed actual wait times from Tuesday, August 28th.  The crowds on that day were considered to be moderate with Hollywood Studios as a lower crowd day.  As you can see, arriving early would have allowed you to jump on several rides with very short lines.  Park attendance builds throughout the morning, which is typical with all parks.

If Slinky Dog Dash has a long wait but other rides do not, wait to ride it later.  The wait times for other rides will only increase, and Slinky Dog has seen wait times slightly decrease or remain about the same during the day.  I'm assuming this has to do with guests all heading to that ride first, and not every guest arrives when the park opens.

I've seen other Disney bloggers selling the strategy of staying at the parks until closing in order to avoid long wait times.  Note that none of these bloggers have children.  As you can see from the wait times I posted below, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster had an 80 minute long line 35 minutes prior to the park closing time.  I will admit that other wait times near closing time were lower than mid-morning, but I know from experience that night doesn't necessarily mean low wait times.  It depends on the park, crowd levels and actual closing time.  Because Hollywood Studios isn't as popular and seen as a half-day park, it most likely has lower wait times at night.  I'm still a fan of arriving at park opening.

2.  FastPass+ Selections

Currently, the most difficult FastPass+ to secure at Hollywood Studios is Slinky Dog Dash, the new roller coaster in Toy Story Land.  I was logged on right before 7:00 am at the 60 day mark and this was the first FP+ I attempted to make even though Hollywood Studios wasn't going to be the first park of our vacation.  (Tip:  Always try to make the hard-to-get FP+ first.)  I was told that there were no FP+ available for Slinky Dog Dash.

Keep in mind that the tier system has changed for FastPasses at Hollywood Studios.  Right now, guests can initially make only one Toy Story Land FP+ (Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers or Toy Story Mania.)  Your other two FastPasses can be for any of the other rides/attractions in the park.

I always suggest not making any FP+ for the first hour after the park opens because rides at that time should not have long wait times.  A strategy employed by those in the know is to jump on your favorite ride(s) right when the park opens and then experience those rides later in the day with a FP+.

Do not make FP+ for later in the day because as soon as you use your 3 FastPasses, you can book another.

Guests right now are flocking to Toy Story Land, leaving Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster without a line in the morning hours.  See my break-out of times below.  If you don't want to use a FP+ for either of these rides, head to that part of the park first thing in the morning.

3.  Toy Story Land



Toy Story Land opened on June 30th and because it's so new, it's the most popular area of Hollywood Studios.  There are three rides in Toy Story Land:  Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Mania.  The first two rides listed are new to Hollywood Studios.

Slinky Dog Dash is described as a family friendly roller coaster.  I found it to be slightly more intense than the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, located in Magic Kingdom, but maybe that's just me.  Note that the height requirement for both of these roller coasters is 38 inches.

I'm going to go out on on a limb and predict that at some point in the future, the Alien Swirling Saucers will become one of those rides that hardly ever sees a long line.  (Think of the tea cups and carousel in Magic Kingdom.)  While the theming was excellent, there really isn't anything special about this ride and its location in the back of the park will add to its slide in popularity. If you need to choose between rides, this is one to skip.


Wait Times for Hollywood Studios, August 28, 2018

Park Hours: 8:00 - 9:00 am Extra Magic, closing at 9:00 pm

7:52 am
Slinky Dog - 30 mins
Toy Story Mania - 10 mins
Alien Swirl - 5 mins
Tower of Terror - 5 mins
Rock n Roller - 5 mins

8:15 am
Slinky Dog - 40 mins
Toy Story Mania - 10 mins
Alien Swirl - 10 mins
Tower of Terror - 5 mins
Rock n Roller - 5 mins

8:30 am
Slinky Dog - 60 mins
Toy Story Mania - 15 mins
Alien Swirl - 25 mins
Tower of Terror - 13 mins
Rock n Roller - 5 mins

8:55 am
Slinky Dog - 50 mins
Toy Story Mania - 20 mins
Alien Swirl - 30 mins
Tower of Terror - 13 mins
Rock n Roller - 5 mins

9:15 am
Slinky Dog - 65 mins
Toy Story Mania - 20 mins
Alien Swirl - 35 mins
Tower of Terror - 13 mins
Rock n Roller - 20 mins

9:50 am
Slinky Dog - 55 mins
Toy Story Mania - 40 mins
Alien Swirl - 35 mins
Tower of Terror - 13 mins
Rock n Roller - 35 mins

10:25 am
Slinky Dog - 55 mins
Toy Story Mania - 40 mins
Alien Swirl - 30 mins
Tower of Terror - 40 mins
Rock n Roller - Temporarily Closed

10:56 am
Slinky Dog - 55 mins
Toy Story Mania - 40 mins
Alien Swirl - 35 mins
Tower of Terror - 50 mins
Rock n Roller - Temporarily Closed

4:30 pm
Slinky Dog - 50 mins
Toy Story Mania - 40 mins
Alien Swirl - 25 mins
Tower of Terror - 15 mins
Rock n Roller - 50 mins

8:25 pm
Slinky Dog - 40 mins
Toy Story Mania - 10 mins
Alien Swirl - 15 mins
Tower of Terror - 10 mins
Rock n Roller - 80 mins