Disney’s Hollywood Studios remains Walt Disney World’s most popular park—fortunately, it is no longer also its most unpredictable one.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has gone through a lot of changes since 2020 arrived. It went from being one of Disney’s least-visited parks to its most-visited one, even surpassing Magic Kingdom when Walt Disney World reopened after lockdown.
While Magic Kingdom is finally starting to catch up in terms of attendance, Disney’s Hollywood Studios continues to run strong. Hype around Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance continues to draw droves of guests, and the park has become a much more appealing family destination with the addition of Toy Story Land and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. If Disney can make good on their goal to bring back shows and entertainment soon, the park will once again feel like a proper full-day destination.
Our last update for What to Expect at Disney’s Hollywood Studios took place all the way back in December of 2020. Many things have not changed much: the park is still consistently busy, the new virtual queue system for Rise of the Resistance is working well, and you can still expect lots of plexiglass on rides.
What does the park look like now, though, with Spring Break having arrived?
Our most recent visit took place on Thursday, March 18th, 2021—a max capacity day with 35% crowds plus park hoppers after 2PM. Here’s what we found…
1. Pretty much every day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a max capacity day
We started figuring this out back in Fall 2020, but it has held true—it’s pretty rare to find a day where Disney’s Hollywood Studios isn’t at max capacity anymore.
Disney’s other three parks have seen some unique shifts in crowd trends since Spring Break season arrived—Magic Kingdom feels noticeably crowded with frequent max capacity days, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has increased its hours, and even Epcot is starting to see regular max attendance days. Really, if you plan to visit Walt Disney World any time in the next few weeks, you should expect all parks to be at full 35% capacity.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been much more stable—while the park enjoyed some pockets of medium-capacity attendance early in the pandemic, since the arrival of 2021, it’s almost always at maximum capacity. The park fortunately has good crowd control in place, so social distancing hasn’t been too big of a problem, but it definitely no longer feels empty or even light on crowds. Unusually long lines (due to social distancing) amplify this effect and occasionally lead to strange scenes, like this portal into the backwater of Batuu Disney had to open to accommodate potential crews for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Where Hondo keeps his perfectly legitimate cargo stores…
On top of this, park hopping is back as of the start of 2021. Guests with an annual pass or park hopper option on their ticket can move freely between all four Disney parks after 2:00 PM (within park hopping capacity limits). Naturally, Disney’s Hollywood Studios can prove quite the magnet for park-hoppers wanting to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the park’s other new attractions, particularly with Disney Parks Pass reservations becoming harder to come by. So far, this hasn’t made DHS feel too packed, but it is something to remain aware of.
2. Improvements for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are paying off
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has gone through quite the history of controversy. As soon as it opened, it became Walt Disney World’s most popular attraction, and that popularity led to quite the lengthy battle trying to figure out the best way to manage the park’s unique virtual queue. You could easily say the most unMagical moment for many Walt Disney World guests is the moment this sign comes out…
They keep it pristine by washing it in our tears…
As of 2020, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has finally landed on a solid system for dealing with the ride’s virtual queue, and not much has changed since our last update. Guests who have a Disney Parks Pass Reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios (sorry park hoppers) can try for a Boarding Group for the ride at 7:00 AM from wherever they are via the My Disney Experience app—even outside Walt Disney World. If you don’t get a group, you can try again at 1:00 PM from inside the park (some guests have reported good luck attempting this from near the Guest Experience tent).
The system works, and in truth, it’s easier than ever to get a Boarding Group for the ride since attendance is still capped at 35%–meaning less competition. While it is still possible to strike out, the chances are significantly better than before. We also noticed a nice adjustment to the Boarding Group screen itself—guests are now given an Estimated Return Time. While that time can shift, it was really nice to have a general idea how long you might have until that crucial hour when your group is called.
As for the ride itself, Rise is operating at consistently high capacity. While the ride still has breakdowns, Disney continues to get through high numbers of boarding groups, and the choice to add plexiglass into the ride increased its capacity significantly.
Does the plexiglass ruin the ride? No—though it can make for some weird angles during the pre-show and some bizarre effects on camera. Here’s what the ride looks like behind plexiglass:
Video: YouTube, Jett Farrell-Vega (@My Kingdom For a Mouse – Glimpses of Disney)
3. Lines are staying long throughout the day (with rare exceptions)
Long waits are once again becoming an unavoidable part of the Walt Disney World experience—it feels a bit like being launched back into the 90’s when veteran parkgoers would skillfully strategize how to hit the lowest lines. The tradeoff is that the parks are ultimately less crowded-feeling, which is good, but it does mean a lot more standing in queues than some longtime guests might be used to.
It remains challenging to identify a specific strategy for reducing waits at Disney’s Hollywood Studios–I was rather surprised to see wait times for Slinky Dog Dash blast up to 75 minutes as soon as the park opened at 9AM. While guests who arrive well before opening gate are able to enjoy very short waits for major rides like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, other rides like Slinky Dog Dash and Tower of Terror draw crowds quickly, blowing up to long waits within the first ten minutes of the park opening.
In short, if hitting opening gate to reduce waits is a high priority for you, you’ll need to arrive earlier than you probably think to completely reduce wait times.
The park continues to follow a fairly predictable curve for queue times–most attractions peak between 10 and 11AM. Slinky Dog Dash and Tower of Terror clocked in with the longest waits of the day at 80 minutes—both tend to stay busy all day, only slightly tapering off as the hours pass.
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster tend to fluctuate times throughout the day, usually starting to taper off in the evening. The one ride that seems to consistently see lower waits the longer the day goes is Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway—this trend has been so consistent that we personally recommend waiting until later in the day to hit this one. So many families head straight for it when the park opens that it just isn’t worth it if you can wait until 5 or 6 PM and enjoy a 25 minute queue.
Here’s a glimpse at some actual wait times from throughout the day—note that we supplemented this list with data from TouringPlans.com due to a bug with some of our My Disney Experience screenshots:
9:10 |
10:00 |
10:30 |
11:00 |
12:30 |
2:00 |
5:00 |
6:00 |
7:00 |
7:30 |
|
Slinky Dog Dash |
80 |
70 |
80 |
80 |
70 |
60 |
60 |
50 |
60 |
40 |
Tower of Terror |
65 |
80 |
70 |
65 |
55 |
50 |
55 |
50 |
40 |
35 |
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster |
30 |
45 |
Closed |
60 |
50 |
40 |
55 |
35 |
30 |
20 |
Millennium Falcon |
35 |
65 |
70 |
65 |
60 |
55 |
60 |
40 |
55 |
45 |
Mickie & Minnie’s RR |
35 |
65 |
65 |
55 |
45 |
40 |
25 |
35 |
20 |
25 |
Star Tours |
10 |
50 |
40 |
50 |
25 |
20 |
30 |
20 |
15 |
10 |
Toy Story Mania |
20 |
40 |
40 |
50 |
30 |
30 |
25 |
20 |
15 |
15 |
4. It’s starting to get hot in Florida. Be prepared!
Florida can be a hot, sticky place, and steamy weather is on the rise.
You will definitely want to wear the right clothing and stay hydrated during upcoming trips to Walt Disney World—Spring is here, and it’s getting warmer. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is one of the easiest parks to do this at since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has multiple water bottle filling stations. You can see some good choices for portable bottles over at our exploration of unusual tips and hacks to beat the heat on your next Disney vacation. Also remember that you can get water for free at any counter service location that serves fountain drinks, or ask for a drink to go from any sit-down restaurant.
The other factor to keep in mind as the weather heats up is to be mindful of your mask. I could not believe what a positive difference having the right mask made on enjoying my Disney days. Early in the pandemic, I used a DIY mask made from a bandana or a paper medical mask, and both options were miserable at Disney.
Things improved immediately when I opted for a simple multi-layer cotton mask. I recommend keeping a spare on hand in case your mask gets dirty or wet. I changed gears on this last trip and have been fairly impressed with Under Armour’s sports mask (see above) thanks to its breathability and the way the design keeps the mask off your mouth. You can pick them up online or even at any Outlet mall with an Under Armour factory store.
In short, be smart what mask you pick, and don’t hesitate to use the park’s relaxation zones at The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and Star Wars Launch Bay (where you can take off your mask while stationary/distanced). Both are great choices, but Star Wars Launch Bay is our favorite in all of Walt Disney World.
5. Merchandise locations are still hit-or-miss for being open
One confusing trend we’ve noticed since reopening is that it is really hard to tell which DHS merch locations will be open at any given time. Keystone Clothiers, for example, was previously really difficult to catch open on weekdays—a problem since that’s the park’s top location for general Star Wars merch.
While more shops are staying open consistently, we did notice some locations are either still closed or only open intermittently. Indiana Jones fans are unfortunately out of luck as the Indiana Jones Adventure Outpost is still closed (likely due to the continued closure of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular). While the store seems to indicate Indy merch is available elsewhere, this only applies to toys—we couldn’t find Indy fedoras, for example, anywhere in the park.
In Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we noticed that First Order Cargo was not open at all the day of our visit. This may have been because it was a weekday, but that’s a rather strange policy considering DHS is always at max capacity these days.
A final note to keep in mind: while we were unable to confirm if this is still taking place, in recent months, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been closing many shops an hour before the park closes—especially in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, including popular stops like Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. Until there is some consistent proof Disney is leaving all shops open, we wouldn’t recommend waiting until the end of the day to grab any merch in DHS.
6. Lightning might shut down attractions, the Skyliner, and friendship boats
We’re creeping into that “April showers bring May flowers” time of year…
While getting ready to depart from a park hop over to Epcot during this visit, I noticed the sky growing dark late in the afternoon. I kept hearing a phrase pass among cast members throughout World Showcase—“Have they called 101 yet?”. Within the minute, I heard a follow-up, “They’ve called 101.”
All around me, booths and outdoor shops immediately started shutting down. For those who keep up with cast member lingo, 101 usually indicates attraction or shop closures—in this case due to nearby lightning strikes. I sped up, trying to exit the park quickly as I was trying to get back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but as I approached the International Gateway, a crowd of guests appeared headed my way. The Skyliner and Friendship Boats had been shut down and all guests looking for transportation were being diverted onto busses at the front of the park.
Let’s just say that getting back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios proved interesting…
We are getting into the time of year when Florida starts getting a little more temperamental with its weather. While lightning doesn’t have quite as exasperating effects at Walt Disney World as it does at Universal Orlando Resort (the latter has more rides with outdoor components), storms can still throw off carefully laid plans at Disney.
In the case of park hopping, it can leave you stuck at a particular park with few options but long waits for busses.
In my case, I took the risky route and speed-walked the whole distance from Epcot to Disney’s Hollywood Studios with one stop at the Yacht & Beach Club to wait for the worst of the storm to pass. I would not recommend that tactic—if you see lightning on the way, adjust plans accordingly and be aware that busses may become your only option if you don’t want to risk walking under dubious conditions.
In conclusion, Disney’s Hollywood Studios remains a solid park to visit right now thanks to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. You will likely face some semi-long queues, but the worst of the waits can be avoided if you arrive early and stay late.
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