2024 Hollywood Studios Cheat Sheet

Disney’s Hollywood Studios recently underwent a reimagining that fundamentally changed its nature.

The introduction of two themed lands and the world’s first Mickey Mouse ride elevated this park into a premiere tourist destination.

Nowadays, fans show up hours before Hollywood Studios opens as they jockey for position at Rope Drop.

People make this effort due to the sheer volume of E-ticket attractions available at the park.

You’ll love every second of your visit, even though you probably will need to stand in line quite a bit.

So, here’s a cheat sheet for Hollywood Studios, the trendiest park at Walt Disney World.

Must-Do Rides

You probably know that the answer here is “most of them.” That’s not hyperbole.

While I recently discussed how Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers the fewest attractions of any American Disney park, the percentages are staggering.

More than one-third of the rides at Hollywood Studios are legitimately E-ticket attractions.

People can and do wait in line for an hour or more for each of them. The list includes:

• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
• Toy Story Mania!
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Many of those rides would make shortlists of the best overall attractions at Walt Disney World.

Then, we have two other fun options: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! and Alien Swirling Saucers.

I love all nine of these rides. However, it’s important to note that they’re also the only ones at the park.

Rides with the Longest Lines

I just listed them in the bullet points! I’m not even joking about that.

Each week, MickeyBlog tracks the wait times for various Disney World attractions.

At Hollywood Studios, it’s not unusual for seven (!) different attractions to require an average wait of 60+ minutes.

That statement may sound some alarms in your head, but it shouldn’t.

The explanation involves the overriding quality of each attraction.

People wouldn’t stand in line unless they knew that the juice was worth the squeeze.

None of the top seven attractions at Hollywood Studios will disappoint you, and I maintain that’s true of the other two as well.

You’ll probably ride Alien Swirling Saucers and Star Tours at least once each during a visit.

That’s because their 20-to-30-minute waits will seem appealing after you’ve stood in line for a while for something like Slinky Dog Dash.

So, you should accept that an unavoidable part of Hollywood Studios is standing in line.

Fortunately, most of the attraction queues are entertaining in their own right.

For instance, Rise of the Resistance tells an entire story, while Smugglers Run allows you to sit in the lounge of the Millennium Falcon and take pictures!

Attractions with the Shortest Lines

So, I changed my terminology slightly from previous cheat sheets.

That’s because Hollywood Studios came with a different mission statement than other Disney parks.

During its earliest days, it joined the nearby Universal Studios Florida in emphasizing the same premise: riding the movies.

However, Disney adopted a different approach. It highlighted Disney stories via show-based attractions.

To this day, many of them remain, including what’s arguably the park’s oldest attraction: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!.  

You’ll rarely wait any time at all for this attraction, which operates throughout the day and features covered outdoor seating.

Hollywood Studios offers several experiences like this one. The more high-profile shows typically start at scheduled times.

So, you’ll want to arrive early to ensure that you get a seat.

Realistically, unless you’re visiting on an exceptionally busy day, you’ll never lack for seating.

Instead, the bigger concern is that you miss the seating phase.

Disney won’t allow guests to enter once most Hollywood Studios shows begin.

So, the combination of shows plus Star Tours and Alien Swirling Saucers will provide you with plenty of low-wait options.

Best Show Attractions

Now, you’re probably wondering which shows are worth your time.

As a Disney loyalist, I’m inclined to say, “All of them.” However, I’ll go ahead and rank them in case you want to pick and choose.

The best of the best is For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. Disney even updates it for the holidays.

Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy and Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage are the next two in terms of quality.

You’ll likely favor Beauty and the Beast for the music and the story.

Still, I’d warmly encourage you to try the Cars show, as it’s remarkably high-tech, with whizbang action.

Even if you’re a bit too young to appreciate Indiana Jones, you’ll still love Epic Stunt Spectacular! because it shows how impressive movie stunt work is.

Finally, while the show isn’t for most adults traveling without children, Disney Junior Play and Dance is a must-do for parents traveling with kids.

Should You Buy Disney Genie+/Lightning Lane?

Yes, and yes.

I typically equivocate on upsell charges at Disney. That’s because vacation budgets are personal.

However, with Hollywood Studios, there’s a definitive answer to the question(s).

As I mentioned, the best attractions average long waits. You don’t want to spend most of your day standing in line, right?

That’s unlikely to happen at Disney World’s other three parks, but Hollywood Studios works differently.

By buying Disney Genie+, you can probably skip the longer line on half of these E-ticket attractions.

Similarly, Rise of the Resistance is quite possibly the best ride in America. You NEED to experience it during your visit.

Alas, the ride frequently suffers unexpected downtime due to its complexity.

As such, you never know for sure whether you’ll get to ride it unless you Rope Drop it or purchase a Lightning Lane.

So, try to Rope Drop if at all possible. Otherwise, just pay for the Lightning Lane.

A Hollywood Studios visit isn’t complete until you ride Rise of the Resistance.

Best Restaurants

Now, we arrive at the least enjoyable part of the conversation.

While Hollywood Studios may rank first in thrill rides/E-ticket attractions, it’s not as fortunate with its restaurants.

Frankly, this park hosts the worst overall batch of restaurants at Disney World.

That statement comes with the caveat that they’re still better than any other theme park in America.

In fact, my favorite restaurant in the world resides at Hollywood Studios.

Sadly, that’s not the consensus opinion about Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant.

People like the experience but often criticize the food. Conversely, the entrees at 50s Prime Time Café are terrific, but they’re also quite heavy.

Then, we have the character meal at Hollywood & Vine, which I adore. Some question the generic nature of the buffet menu, though.

Perhaps the best one right now is the newest option, Rodeo Roundup BBQ.

Honestly, none of the Table Service restaurants at Hollywood Studios enjoys consensus praise, though.

Similarly, several Quick Service options such as ABC Commissary, Backlot Express, and Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo are…fine.

That’s not my opinion, as I frequently eat at Backlot Express, but it is the overall perception.

At Hollywood Studios, the best two places to eat are probably the cheapest one, Woody’s Lunch Box, and the most expensive option, The Hollywood Brown Derby.

Since the Disney Skyliner just outside the park’s entrance gate will take you to several Disney resorts and EPCOT, you may choose to eat elsewhere.

Lately, that’s been my plan. I’ll have Woody’s Lunch Box for brunch/lunch and then exit the park for dinner.

Overall, the food at Hollywood Studios is the park’s only real flaw these days…and even that complaint is nitpicky.

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