Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida Park has seen a lot -and we really mean a lot – of changes in recent years. As a result, some of the most popular lands and rides of any Disney park are now located in Hollywood Studios.
That means, the Disney Hollywood Studios park also requires the most planning to visit, if you’d like to fit in all the top rides in one day without long waits.
To help you prepare, we’ve got all you need to know about Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida below.
Table of contents
Visiting the Many Lands of Hollywood
Disney Hollywood Studios was originally concepted as a working film studio. It was called MGM Studios at the time and featured a real film set, wardrobe shop and a backlot tour where guests could experience the sights and sounds of film making.
Eventually, filming in the midst of a theme park became problematic and the relationship with MGM wore thin, prompting a reboot of the Hollywood Studios theme. At best, it can now be described as a park that celebrates the magic of film making, a concept that is best described through the park’s new lands.
Disney Hollywood Studios Toy Story Land
Toy Story land is one of the newer lands inside of Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida. It started with Toy Story Mania, a 3D carnival game combined with a dark ride. Toy Story Mania opened a few years prior to the rest of Toy Story Land, and guests loved it.
Soon, the remainder of Toy Story land debuted, and gave guests the opportunity to shrink down to the size of a toy and visit Andy’s backyard.
In this land you’ll find the above mentioned Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Slinky Dog Dash. In the Swirling Saucers ride, you’ll join the aliens on a fast-paced swirling adventure. In Slinky Dog Dash, guests board Slinky to traverse a coaster built by Andy using his toys.
For dining in this land, you can stop by Woody’s Lunch box, or Roundup Rodeo BBQ.
Travel to a Space Outpost
The flagship land of Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Galaxy’s Edge brings the world of Star Wars to life and allows visitors to set foot on the planet of Batuu.
While on Batuu, you can build your own droid at the Droid Depot, or a Lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop. After you’re armed with your lightsaber and your new droid friend, we recommend heading to the Milk Stand for some galactic refreshment before shopping at the many shops around Batuu.
If you’re hungry while on Batuu, Docking Bay 7, (which we discuss in detail later,) serves quick service dining for lunch and dinner. Ronto Roasters is a snack stand on Batuu that serves up small bites for breakfast, and lunch.
If you’d like an exotic drink with the locals, Oga’s Cantina is a must try. Oga’s Cantina inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios park has the most eccentric drinks in all of the resort. Cocktails bubble mysteriously, and drinks come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, all while a droid DJ blasts music in the background.
Batuu is not just shopping and eating though, there is endless adventure to be found. In the far corners of the planet, you will find the Millennium Falcon and even get the chance to fly it in Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run.
If you’d like more adventure, you may even consider the daring task of joining the resistance on Rise of the Resistance. But be careful, you may just get captured by the first order.
Before you depart from Batuu to head back to Earth, take some time to look for familiar faces. If you’re lucky, you may spot Chewbacca, and get a chance to speak to him.
Hollywood Studios Attractions
When it comes to number of thrill rides in one park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida has more than any other park in the Walt Disney World resort. In fact, almost all of the rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park would fall on a list of most popular rides at Disney World.
Let’s discuss those popular rides:
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida is one of the most intricate, well done, thrilling, and suspenseful rides at Disney World. In the ride, guests join the resistance and are captured by the first order. After being placed in a first order interrogation room, the resistance comes to rescue you and a droid escape pod takes you the wrong way through the ship as a chase ensues.
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
Smuggler’s Run is the modern version of Star Tours, but even better. In Smuggler’s Run, guests pilot the Millennium Falcon on a mission to collect supplies. Yes, you heard that right, guests actually pilot this simulator ride. Additionally, guests can act as engineer to “repair” the ship, or man the guns. The impressive simulator reacts to guest controls, creating a different ride experience each time.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
This is another newer ride inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida, and takes you into a Mickey and Minnie cartoon. In the ride, Goofy tries to take guests on a relaxing train excursion through the park, when the train jumps the track and each train car goes on an adventure all it’s own. Seeing the trouble as it occurs, Mickey and Minnie set out on the rescue and manage to capture the trains and return them to the park. This ride is a trackless ride, and each car follows its own path, changing each time you ride.
Slinky Dog Dash
Slinky Dog Dash is a low thrill yet fun roller coaster for most ages. Guests board Slinky himself as he traverses a coaster built by kids in Andy’s backyard. The coaster features a fast-speed launch and fun rolling hills.
Tower of Terror
Tower of Terror is an older Hollywood Studios ride that has stood the test of time. It was the first thrill ride at the park, way back when it was called MGM Studios. In this attraction, you enter an abandoned old Hollywood Hotel where previous guests had met their demise on the elevator during a lightning strike. You then board the service elevator and enter the Twilight Zone and experience a randomized series of drops as high as 13 stories, as well as upward launches.
Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster
This Rockin’ Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida stars Aerosmith in preshow and soundtrack. When guests enter the preshow, they’ll see Aerosmith inside the recording studio before they head to their concert that night. Guests are soon invited to the concert, but they’ll need a ride! Very fast super stretch limos are the answer. The limos begin with a high-speed launch before traversing a loop and corkscrews. It is the only coaster at Walt Disney World that contains inversions.
Hollywood Studios Shows
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park is not just for those who love thrill rides. The park is full of shows and character interactions for all types of Disney fans.
Character Interactions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida has a reputation for featuring fewer characters than the other parks like Magic Kingdom, and I am here to tell you that is simply untrue. Hollywood Studios has many character interactions, if you know where to look.
First, many character interactions happen spontaneously. There are mini parades that occur throughout the park and feature various characters such as the Toy Story army men, Pixar characters and more. Woody, Buzz, and Jessie can be met inside Toy Story Land, near the entrance, and in Galaxy’s Edge, Star Wars characters often emerge from the platform across from the Droid Depot. Additionally, a Chewbacca meet and greet takes place inside of the Star Wars Launch Bay.
Across from the Backlot Express restaurant, two meet and greets take place inside: Olaf, and Mickey and Friends greet guests in red carpet attire, while Ariel from the new The Little Mermaid film visits her fans inside the Walt Disney Presents building. And lastly, guests can sing along with Elsa, Anna and Kristoff at the Frozen Sing Along experience directly across from Echo Lake.
Stage Shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park
First, we should go over the elephant in the room when it comes to shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida. The Voyage of the Little Mermaid show has never reopened post Covid. Disney has not officially released a reason for this, but rumors exist that the building is full of mold and the show will never return. The webpage for the show has been removed from the Disney site, but the show building, complete with the official name still exist on the map, so we are including it here in the off chance it does reopen.
Next, we have the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. In this show, guests watch Indiana Jones and Marion perform stunts and avoid villains, all while learning how these stunts are safely performed.
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage is the most beloved daytime show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida. In this Broadway inspired show, lavish stage sets and bright and detailed costumes are used to bring the story of Beauty and the Beast to life. The show lasts 30 minutes and recounts the story of Belle, with many of your favorite songs included.
To round out this section on the shows of Disney’s Hollywood Studios park, we have the crown jewel of Disney shows: Fantasmic.
Fantasmic combines beloved Disney characters, pyrotechnics, stunts, water and lighting effects, and a 40-foot-tall dragon to create an immersive show beloved by all. Guests enter Mickey’s dream and watch as good battles evil, and as Mickey battles a dragon!
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Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida Dining
When it comes to Disney World parks, Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida is not always touted for great dining. It has thrill rides, features some of the most beloved IPs and attractions in the whole resort, but not always the best restaurants. Of course, the Hollywood Brown Derby is the exception.
While not known for some of the best culinary experiences, what restaurants at Hollywood Studios tend to offer is an experience. You can go back in time to dinner at a 1950s family table, watch sci-fi films at a drive-in or dine in a traditional Italian restaurant.
With that in mind, let’s discuss some of the best dining offerings at Hollywood Studios in Florida.
Disney Hollywood Studios Breakfast
When we head to Disney’s Hollywood Studios park, we arrive early, utilizing Early Theme Park Entry, and hit the rides hard. This often doesn’t give us time for breakfast before we leave the resort, so we opt for a late breakfast in the park after riding all our favorites with little wait.
One of our favorite spots in Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida closed a few years back, so we have spent the last few trips scoping out new breakfast spots.
One of our favorites is Woody’s Lunchbox in Toy Story Land. It is a quick grab and go spot, that offers mobile ordering. Breakfast offerings include breakfast bowls with a tater tot base, eggs, and breakfast gravy. Here, you can also get a “lunch box tart” which is Disney’s homemade version of a high end, and yummy Pop-Tart.
For a sit-down breakfast experience, Hollywood and Vine is a great option. Their breakfast is a character buffet experience. This means the expansive breakfast buffet is all you care to eat, and characters will be found doing meet and greets throughout the restaurant.
At Hollywood and Vine, the breakfast buffet serves pastries, chicken and waffles, French toast, assorted breakfast meats, eggs and omelets, and much more. This restaurant also serves lunch and dinner. At breakfast, you’ll see popular Disney junior characters, while at dinner and lunch, you’ll see Minnie and friends.
For quick items and breakfast sandwiches, you can always head over to The Trolley Car Café, but don’t let the name fool you. This is Starbucks, so the lines are likely to be long as guests queue up for their morning cup of Joe.
Best Places to Grab Lunch and Dinner
If you have a full day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida, you’ll need to plan a lunch and dinner option as well. For lunch, we love to keep it simple and quick, so we can get back to the rides quickly. Our favorite quick service lunch options in the park are ABC Commissary or Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo.
Docking Bay 7 serves up Asian inspired dishes like poke, pork ribs, stir fries, and glazed chicken and rice. ABC Commissary has many options including chicken sandwiches, salads, and tacos.
For dinner, it can be nice to sit down and unwind after a long day exploring the galaxy and old Hollywood. Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida is home to one of Disney’s premiere dining experiences.
The Hollywood Brown Derby serves up fine dining options in a replica of Hollywood’s real Brown Derby restaurant. Food offerings are described as “contemporary American.”
The dinner menu has a list of fine dining options like lamb shank, seafood cioppino, and filet mignon. Additionally, there are delectable desserts, hand crafted cocktails, and drink flights to enhance your meal.
Closing Thoughts on Disney’s Hollywood Studios Florida
Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park is not only a must do, but is a must do best accomplished with some advanced planning. With all the headliner attractions jam packed into this park, you will want to arrive early, and prioritize your favorites. If not using Lightning Lane Multi Pass, there just may not be enough time in the day to fit them all in, especially if it is a busy day with long lines.
Also, be sure to plan ahead on dining. For quick service dining, you’ll want to use mobile ordering to minimize lines and wait times. If you’d like to sit down for table service, advanced dining reservations are not only highly recommended, but almost required. There are not many table service restaurants inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so be sure to plan accordingly.
In the end, Hollywood Studios may be a two-day park for your family, so you can enjoy everything it has to offer.
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