As many people may know or have heard, Disney resorts are one of the happiest places on earth. This is after all, their mission statement. However, with that said there are a number of concerns that come to mind when visiting amusement parks including the costs, queues, crowds of people, etc. One of the best ways is to visit during off peak or low season, but even then, it will still be super busy.
I recently visited at the end of February and here are some of my top three tips for visiting Hollywood Studios, one of the parks in the Disneyworld of Orlando, Florida. There are some general tips that would be relevant for all Disney parks (eg. obtaining fast passes), but for this post, I’m going to share some of my favourite things to get the most of this park.
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Toy Story Land
This is relatively new to Hollywood Studios and I think some of my favourite attractions from the park was found here. Given how new it is, definitely come here first. I went on the Slinky Dog Dash first thing in the morning and it was quite busy, about a 60 minute wait! It was definitely a ton of fun. This was a roller coaster ride. It is not very intense but at the same time, it does some fun “toy” like things. However, a good portion of the wait is actually out in the open, which is why going earlier in the morning would mean a bit cooler wait compared to later on in the day.
Toy Story Mania is a target shooting game and this was interactive and you can even compete with who you are with on the ride. Most of the wait for this one was undercover and the standby queue was not nearly as long as the one for Slinky Dog Dash. Both are fun in different ways.
This whole area of Hollywood Studios definitely makes you feel like you’re a part of the movie with the toys. They even have the green army soldiers roaming around the area doing shows as well! -
Musicals!
When you get tired, sit down and watch one of the many musicals! When I visiting, there was a Frozen sing-along and Little Mermaid. I wouldn’t suggest getting a fast pass for either of these but if you get into the queue about 15-30 minutes before the show, you’ll likely get to sit down in the theater (unless if you’re there during peak season). Most of these shows last for about 20 to 30 minutes as well, so it is a good way to break up your day from all of the walking, standing, and waiting in queues.
These productions are done really well with elaborate costumes that are representative from the movies that we love from Disney. The Frozen sing along has an audience of at least 500 people. It is a sing along where the lyrics are displayed, so do not worry if you feel like you don’t know all of the words! -
Night time shows
Stay late for the night time show. In February 2019, there was Fantasmic!, which is about Mickey and the various classic movies from Disney, which starts at 8pm and there was also a Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, which starts at 8:30pm.
The stage area for Fantasmic! opens up around 6:30pm and by 7:30pm, it was getting quite full, so I would recommend going earlier and you can buy some food to eat in the theater as well. This show is actually just around 30 minutes long but it is quite a bit of a ways to get to the Star Wars Spectacular but if you’re seated near the exit and you walk quite quickly, you’ll be able to see most of the Star Wars one as well!Fantasmic! has a mix of illusions done with water and also some fireworks mixed in with the classic characters. It also has some of the famous songs that many people will recognize from these movies as well.
The Star Wars show has some epic scenes from the movies along with the iconic music matched to fireworks as well. This show is only about 15 minutes.
Depending on your interests, you can pick and choose or go to both and just miss a small portion for one of them.
And bonus, if you’re into Star Wars, a whole new area will be opening in Hollywood Studios later this year dedicated to all things Star Wars. Here’s a couple of sightings of Storm troopers.
What about you guys? Have you had a chance to visit Hollywood Studios or other Disney resorts? Any tips or suggestions for fellow Local Guides?
