Photo by Bayley Clark for MagicalGuides
Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers rides for all ages and interests, but you’ll want to make sure you plan your day out well in order to maximize your time in the park. To help you prepare for your next visit to the park, today we’re going to share our complete guide to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the park’s best rides.
Keep reading to learn about the most popular rides in the park and whether it’s worth buying Genie+ for your next visit.
What Is The Hardest Ride To Get On At Hollywood Studios?
Without a doubt the most popular attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios these days is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. This attraction has not gone down in popularity at all since it opened, and you’ll either have to stand in line for up to a couple of hours or purchase the Lightning Lane pass if you’d like to ride it during your visit.
That being said, it’s one of the most incredible attractions in the whole resort and one that everyone should do at least once during their vacation. Star Wars fans will be blown away by how immersive the attraction is, and you’ll leave wanting to ride it over and over again.
Slinky Dog Dash is another attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that always attracts a huge number of people first thing in the morning. This is an attraction that you’ll either want to do first thing in the morning or late at night or you could opt to use Genie+ to obtain a pass for this attraction.
Is Genie+ Worth It at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?
Whether you want to purchase Genie+ for your vacation or not is a very personal choice. It will all depend on the time of the year that you are visiting and how many people are in your travel party.
There’s no denying that using this service each day can soon add up in cost, so think carefully about whether it’s how you want to spend your vacation dollars before your trip. Disney’s Hollywood Studios has many great attractions that use this service, but they often go very quickly.
Slinky Dog Dash is a prime example of this, as the ride often runs out of passes very quickly on busy days. As long as you start using Genie+ first thing in the morning, you may want to consider it here to maximize your time in the park and stop your travel party from standing in long lines.
Genie+ can be worth it, if you want to jump on some of the most popular rides. While Genie+ has a list of rides you can get on once per day, individual lightning lane can be purchased for like $15 per person(if not more) and you get to skip the lines.
This is controversial for a number of guests, as Disney previously offer FastPass for attractions at no additional cost including it with park admission at 3 per day.
What Time Should I Get To Hollywood Studios?
Out of all of the theme parks in Walt Disney World, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the one that we most recommend you get to in time for opening. If you are staying on-site at a Disney resort, remember that you have the 30-minute early entry time.
Read More: The Definitive Guide to Rides in EPCOT
This is one of the most valuable perks for visitors to the parks, so we would highly recommend you use it each morning of your vacation. Try to arrive at least 30 minutes before your entry time to the park, as this will give you time to go through security and enter the park. Lines form very quickly in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so pack your patience even when arriving bright and early at the start of the day.
We think the best way to enjoy Hollywood Studios is to Rope Drop the park. If you’re not sure what the heck Rope Drop is, check out my guide how to Rope Drop Hollywood Studios.
If you successfully Rope Drop, you can maximize the number of rides you are able to get into without purchasing Genie+. Don’t worry, we think Hollywood Studios can be a full day park, especially with the reopening of Fantasmic (fireworks show at the end of the night).
List of Rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Let’s take a look at the various attractions on offer during your visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Rollercoasters
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
Photo by Bayley Clark for MagicalGuides
Those over 48 inches in height will be able to enjoy a ride on this looping high-speed coaster, which is one of the most thrilling attractions in the park. Set to the tunes of the world-famous Aerosmith, you’ll take a twisting and turning high-speed journey in the dark. It’s one of the most popular rides with adults and teens, so make sure you don’t miss it if you love coasters.
This is one of the great rides at Hollywood Studios, as it’s a smooth roller coaster I’ve ever been on, but I will tell you this 90 seconds goes by so fast, that you could want to jump into the single rider line so you can ride this multiples times during your day.
Read Also: How Fast Is Rock ‘n’ Roller In Disney World?
Slinky Dog Dash
Photo by Bayley Clark for Magical Guides
Take a ride on this Toy Story character at one of the busiest attractions in the park. This outdoor coaster requires you to be 38 inches or taller to ride, and it’s perfect for kids, teens, and adults. You’ll love soaring over Toy Story Land, which is one of our favorite areas of the park to enjoy both during the day and at night.
Slinky Dog Dash is an outdoor roller coaster, so keep that in mind in case it rains they will close the ride if lightning occurs within 10 miles of the park. If this happens, your best bet is to hurry over to Toy Story Mania, or possibly Rock’N’Roller Coaster especially if you can do the single rider line.
Dark Rides
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
This ride is located in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and gives you the chance to ride the Millennium Falcon for yourself. You’ll be assigned a role as you board your vehicle, where you’ll have certain tasks to do during the ride.
Make sure you pay attention as you go, as you don’t want to let your fellow riders down. You will need to be 38 inches or taller to ride this attraction, so make sure you know if your kids are tall enough ahead of time to avoid disappointment. Also, keep in mind that this is a simulator attraction, so some people may find it to be a struggle if they suffer from motion sickness.
Read Also: Motion Sickness; How To Avoid At Disney World
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Another Star Wars-themed ride that you won’t want to miss is Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. This ride is located outside of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge area, but continues to attract Star Wars fans year after year. Rides must be 40 inches or taller to enjoy this experience, and once again, be aware of potential motion sickness from this simulator if it’s something you have experienced in the past.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Photo by Bayley Clark for Magical Guides
We briefly touched on this ride earlier, but it’s a popular attraction in the park for many reasons besides just being one of the newest rides. You’ll want to prioritize riding this early in the day if it’s something you are looking forward to, or you may miss out on the fun.
Kids need to be at least 40 inches or taller to ride, and the attraction takes you through various rooms and experiences before entering the trackless ride experience.
You’ll be blown away by the effort the Imagineers went to in order to immerse you in this one-of-a-kind attraction. If you’ve never enjoyed this experience, I would highly recommend considering paying the Genie+ fee for this ride instead of waiting 2-3 hours if you get to the park late.
This is why I recommend making this attraction a priority when you rope drop the best Hollywood Studios rides. Rise of the Resistance offers an immersive experience for guests, as you are captured by the New Order and ultimately interrogated by Kylo Ren before being rescued by the Resistance.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
One of the park’s most thrilling, and best-themed rides is The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. This landmark stands over the park and is fun to ride during both the day and night. We recommend that you think carefully about taking kids to this attraction, as the drops can be very frightening even if they reach the 40 inches minimum height requirement.
The theming of the ride is absolutely incredible though, so you’ll want to ride it over and over again to take in all of the details. Growing up I always watched the Twilight Zone, and this ride did not disappoint, what was a disappointment to me was learning that the Tower of Terror is not based on any single episode of the Ron Sterling series.
Read Also: Tower of Terror Drop: How Bad and Scary Is It?
Kid-Friendly Rides
Alien Swirling Saucers
With a minimum height requirement of 32 inches, this is a great ride for the younger kids in your travel party. It’s part of the popular Toy Story Land, and takes you on a swirling and twisting adventure with your fellow guests. Lines don’t usually get too long here, so it’s a good option for a busy day in the park.
I was able to ride on this ride twice in a row with my nephew, as he loves going around in circles as we shout with our hands up. There’s no doubt this is a great ride for young kids.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Photo by Bayley Clark for Magical Guides
Home of the former Great Movie Ride sets an updated fun train ride for the entire family, especially young ones that are just starting to experience Disney World. Yes, some folks might be sad that the Great Movie Ride is no longer with us, but remember the goal of Walt Disney when he created Disney World, is that it would never be complete, and would always be evolving to a new audience. I think this is a great way to introduce Mickey Mouse to a young Disney fan.
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is one of the first rides you see when you enter the park. As you approach the ride building, you’ll usually notice a long line forming outside, as it’s soon become one of the park’s busier attractions. The attraction sees you climbing aboard Goofy’s train for what seems like a relaxing day out. Of course, not all goes to plan, and you’ll soon be taken on an adventure full of twists and turns that is a whole lot of fun for everyone in your family.
This is another fun ride for kids of any age. Would I rope drop this? Only if I was with someone that did not want or could not ride one of the rides in Galaxy’s Edge. Think of this more of a way to cool down, or a ride the whole family can go on.
Toy Story Mania!
Photo by Bayley Clark for Magical Guides
All ages can enjoy this experience in the parks, which puts you head to head against each other in a shooting match. You’ll put on 3D glasses before you enter your ride vehicle, which brings the attraction to life in a whole new way. Kids and teens love trying to beat their parents on the attraction, so make sure you don’t miss out on this one during your next day in the park.
Muppet*Vision 3D
While not technically a ride, this is a great attraction for the whole family that is perfect for cooling off during a hot day in the park. This 3D show features many of your favorite characters from The Muppets and runs continuously throughout the day. Even on the busiest days in the park, you’ll have no trouble getting in with just a short wait time.
Top Tips for Touring Disney’s Hollywood Studios
While Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a fantastic park to visit during any Walt Disney World vacation, you need to make sure you plan your day out in advance to avoid missing out on any of the top attractions. We notice many people feel frustrated from standing in lines all day long here, but that doesn’t have to be the case at all.
Make sure you arrive at the park for opening time, and take advantage of the early morning hours if they are offered to you when staying at a Disney resort. This is the one park which we highly recommend always getting to for opening time, as otherwise you may find that you miss out on the top attractions or spend all day waiting just to ride one or two things.
Read Also: Guide to Rope Drop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
From there, you’ll want to start by riding the most popular attraction first, then moving onto some of the smaller ones. One thing to keep in mind is that most of the rides in this park are very popular, so they usually have much longer wait times than the other parks.
There are also fewer attractions but more shows, so pace yourself carefully when planning your day so you don’t just spend all day in lines. Make sure you plan a good lunch or dinner break as well so you can sit down and rest. The good news is a lot of the rides here are indoors, so you won’t be subjected to waiting in the heat all day long.
There’s so much to see and do during your day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Make sure you get up early and get going with your day to avoid the crowds and make the most of your time here. We love the immersive experiences here which make you feel like you are in your favorite movies, whether that be Toy Story or Star Wars. Kids and teens will also appreciate the great shows and character meets on offer, which add to the fun of a day in the park.