Next week will mark a huge milestone for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as it will be the end of Disney’s almost 5-year plan to revitalize this park. However, even though all eyes will be on Epcot’s major transformation in the years ahead, its worth noting that Disney’s Hollywood Studios actually has almost half a dozen new attractions still coming in the near future!
1. Disney Skyliner (September 29, 2019)
Image: Disney
Though perhaps this is more of a transportation solution than attraction, Disney has confirmed that on September 29, 2019 the Disney Skyliner gondolas will take flight and officially begin transporting guests around Walt Disney World Resort connecting Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Epcot, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Riveiera Resort, and the Art of Animation and Pop Century Resorts.
If you’ve been to Walt Disney World recently, you’ve probably seen the gondolas flying around Disney’s Hollywood Studios this summer while Disney has been testing this system, and supposedly Cast Members are due to take the first rides on this system any day now. However, regular guests will have to wait just a little longer until next month to experience this fun new transportation option for themselves!
2. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (December 5, 2019)
Image: Disney
Though Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is almost open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests will need to wait just a few more months until December 5, 2019, to experience Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, this new land’s signature attraction! This new ride will be a more traditional dark ride experience, and will be using some amazing technology to bring the world of the First Order to life
According to the several sources, this attraction will have a whopping total of 305 animatronic figures and droids, almost a third of which are expected to be Stormtroopers. In addition, this attraction will have 18 different show scenes that involve 5 different ride systems, making it one of the most (if not the most) technically advanced rides at a Disney park ever.
The entire Star Wars: Ride of the Resistance experience is said to be a half hour long, with three pre-show segments happening before the ride itself, which is said to be less than ten minutes long.
3. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (Spring 2020)
Image: Disney
Though the plan was originally to open Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway alongside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to help give this park some extra capacity, it looks like there has been a bit of a delay, with Disney confirming that this attraction will now open in spring 2020.
This attraction, which will be the first ride EVER to feature Mickey and Minnie will allow guests to literally step “through” a movie screen and join Mickey and his friends on a fun adventure where they will be the star of their own Mickey short where anything can happen. This zany out-of-control adventure will feature surprising twists and turns, dazzling visual effects and mind-boggling transformations that happen before your very eyes, including a forest instantly being transformed into a cityscape, which you can check out here.
4. Roundup Rodeo BBQ restaurant (TBA 2020)
Image: Disney
Though it has only been open a little over a year, Toy Story Land is getting its first expansion with the addition of the new Roundup Rodeo BBQ restaurant, which will be opening sometime next year. This new eatery will be themed to resemble a new “rodeo” play area assembled with cardboard boxes cut and taped together, with multiple dining rooms and plenty of familiar toy characters that have been brought together to create a fun, colorful mashup-atmosphere that only a child could create. This immersive restaurant will surround guests with a kaleidoscope of toys, games, and playsets that will certainly please fans of the long-running Toy Story franchise.
5. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser(TBA)
Image: Disney
Though Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is only just open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, in an effort to extend the Star Wars experience beyond this new land a specialty hotel is being built that will allow fans to experience the Star Wars universe in a whole new way. Instead of just having decor “inspired” by Star Wars (like the movie-based wings of the Art of Animation) guests who stay in this hotel will be able to take part in an immersive experience designed from the ground up to be a living adventure that gives guests the chance to become the star of their own Star Wars Story.
Named Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, this expansion invites guests to embark on a two-night adventure aboard a glamorous starship. During this first-of-its-kind vacation experience, guests will interact with characters and become an active participant in immersive stories that unfold over the course of an unforgettable galactic journey on board the starcruiser (to be called the Halcyon).
No opening dates have been announced yet, but hopefully we’ll know more soon!
