The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

This guide shares our most popular planning information for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We begin with a brief overview highlighting the park’s history. We then discuss each section of the park, attractions, entertainment, characters, dining, and other planning aspects. You can select any highlighted link to learn more about any topic.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios History

Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened on May 1, 1989. It was formerly called Disney-MGM Studios. The park is themed to the Golden Age of Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. In 2008, the park was renamed Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood Studios Lands

Hollywood Studios can be broken down into several lands:

• Hollywood Boulevard
• Sunset Boulevard
• Animation Courtyard
• Pixar Plaza
• Commissary Lane
• Echo Lake
• Grand Ave
• Galaxy’s Edge
• Toy Story Land

You might enjoy the following touring guides for specific sections of the park:

• Toy Story Land Guide
• Galaxy’s Edge Guide

Hollywood Studios Attractions

Here is a list of attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Walt Disney World Resort and select other hotel guests can participate in early entry to Disney’s Hollywood Studios each day. The park opens 30 minutes before the scheduled opening. We have a list of eligible hotels for early theme park entry.

Looking for a cheat sheet? Make sure to get a copy of our free Hollywood Studios ride spreadsheet. It has a tab for the other three parks and will help you with the planning process.

Click Here for Disney’s Ride Refurbishment Calendar (This will give you an idea of whether or not any attractions will be closed during your vacation.)

Learn More>> The Complete Guide to Disney’s Hollywood Studios Attractions, Rides, and Entertainment

Attractions with a Height Requirement at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Alien Swirling Saucers (32″)
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (38″)
Slinky Dog Dash (38″)
Star Tours: The Adventure Continues (40″)
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (40″)
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (40″)
Rock’ n’ Roller Coaster (48″)

Attractions with Lightning Lanes

The following attractions require an individual Lightning Lane (Single Pass) purchase. (You can also ride via the standby queue. Disney’s Hollywood Studios does not have a virtual queue attraction.)

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

The following attractions are part of Lightning Lane Multi Pass:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
• Disney Junior Play & Dance!
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Toy Story Mania!

Learn More>> Disney World Lightning Lane Guide

Where Should We Head First?

This decision will largely be based on your travel party. Most guests head straight to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Slinky Dog Dash first thing in the morning at rope drop. After that, you’ll want to have a solid plan for which attraction you will want to experience next. We generally recommend touring the area nearest your starting point instead of jumping around the park. However, if you encounter a significant line, it might be best to skip it and return later.

Entertainment Offerings

Hollywood Studios is a park known for its entertainment offerings. Make sure to incorporate some or all of the performances into your schedule.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular: This 30-minute show is an original, action-packed performance you don’t want to miss. Watch as stunt doubles reenact three scenes from the Raiders of the Lost Ark film.

Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage: Fans of Beauty and the Beast or the theater will love this condensed version of a tale as old as time. See favorite characters in the Theater of the Stars down Hollywood Boulevard.

For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along: This comedic performance shares the story of sisters Anna and Elsa through a condensed version of the original Frozen that highlights popular songs and asks the audience to sing along.

Fantasmic!: Don’t miss this nighttime spectacular, offered nightly at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Those who love characters will want to plan to see Fantasmic!, the nighttime spectacular for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We love this performance and have a separate guide with all the characters you can expect to see. (Learn More>> List of Fantasmic! Characters)

First Order Searches for the Resistance: Star Wars fans will love this character interaction with Kylo Ren and the commanding officers of the First Order. Check for times in the entertainment section of the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit.

Green Army Drum Corps: Is that the sound of a beating drum? If you’re in Toy Story Land, it’s likely the Green Army Men and their drum corps. Several performances are offered daily.

Wonderful World of Animation: This end-of-the-evening projection show takes place in front of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. It’s pleasant to see if you’ve done everything else, but it’s not a deal breaker if you miss it.

Characters

Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers the opportunity to meet a few distinctive characters you can’t meet elsewhere, including Star Wars Characters and Toy Story Characters. Our Hollywood Studios Character Guide covers the meet-and-greets throughout the park extensively.

Dining at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Table Service Restaurant options include:

• Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater Restaurant
• Disney’s Hollywood Brown Derby
  • Hollywood Brown Derby Review
    • Brown Derby Lounge
      • Brown Derby Lounge Review
• 50s Prime Time Cafe
• Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
• Hollywood & Vine (Character Dining)
• Roundup Rodeo BBQ
  • Roundup Rodeo BBQ Review

Quick Service Restaurants include:

• Woody’s Lunch Box
• Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo
• Ronto Roasters
• PizzeRizzo
• Baseline TapHouse (Beer, Wine, Pretzels)
• Backlot Express
• ABC Commissary
• Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner
• The Trolley Car Cafe
• Anaheim Produce
• Epic Eats
• The Market
• Rosie’s All-American Cafe
• Catalina Eddie’s

Tickets, Transportation, and Parking

Tickets for Disney’s Hollywood Studios can be purchased online or through an authorized travel agent or reseller. We use Firefly Travels for all of our reservations. If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, you might prefer to book a room + ticket package instead of purchasing individual tickets.

Bus, monorail, Skyliner, or boat transportation is provided from Disney World Resort Hotels to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Bus service is also offered from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom (after 10:00 a.m.). Guests will need to walk, boat, or take the Skyliner from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Epcot.

You cannot take a bus from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Disney Springs. However, you can visit a nearby resort and then take a bus from there to Disney Springs. We would likely walk or take a Friendship Boat from Hollywood Studios to one of the Epcot area resorts and then take a bus from there to Disney Springs.

Annual Passholders and guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort can enjoy complimentary parking at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Other guests will have to pay for parking. You can read more in our guide to parking at Walt Disney World. Courtesy trams are provided from the parking lot to Hollywood Studios main entrance. Don’t forget to take a photo of where you parked or use the car locator in the My Disney Experience app.

Preview>>Disney’s Hollywood Studios Transportation Map

More Planning

Are you planning a Walt Disney World vacation? You might benefit from some of our other popular planning resources. You can sign up for our 5-lesson quick start course below or browse all of our complimentary courses on the Resorts Gal Roadmap.

We specialize in covering the resort hotels at Walt Disney World and have extensive coverage of almost every aspect of each resort. You’ll find everything from photos of what’s available in the resort gift shop to pictures of the pools and rooms.

Our Disney World Dining Handbook offers a complete overview of everything you need to know about dining upfront. It also links to guides that discuss the Disney Dining Plan, best dining spots, and subjects like character dining in more detail.

Our most popular guides fall under the Disney World Transportation category. We have a transportation guide for every resort hotel at Walt Disney World and extensive guides that discuss using the monorail, boats, buses, and the Disney Skyliner.

Lastly, if you’re hoping to meet characters at Disney World, we have you covered. We have photos of all the characters who meet regularly in the parks and a few rare ones! Or you might just like to browse our Disney World Park Guide to learn more about what’s available in each of the four parks.