Disney tips & must do's: Hollywood Studios✨
Finally getting around to typing up the 2nd blog post in my Disney World tips & must do's series! My first one was about Magic Kingdom, it's linked here, if you missed it!
Hollywood Studios is definitely the most popular Disney World park right now! There's so many new things at Hollywood Studios :D Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story Land, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway & the Skyliner!! One of my favorite things about Hollywood Studios is the old Hollywood vibe & the old music they play when you walk down Hollywood & Sunset Boulevard!
Star Wars Galaxy's Edge is so cool!! It's definitely a must see. There's plenty to walk around and see even if you aren't going to ride the rides. They have shops & you can even build your own droid & lightsaber.
Toy Story Land is a pretty small area and always seems super crowded but it's definitely a must see even if you don't plan to ride any rides. It's like you are in Andy's backyard and are the size of a toy! It's adorable!! I love that everything is oversized. Look for Andy's foot prints on the ground!
The Skyliner is Disney's new, free transportation system. It's so much fun to ride. You can get on the Skyliner right outside of Hollywood Studios. We usually ride it to Epcot to park hop but it will also take you to some of the hotels nearby.
Tips:
1.) Plan for only getting to ride a few things.
In my opinion HS seems to be the hardest park to be able to ride all of the rides in one day. It feels like most of the rides are big ticket attractions that have long lines. I know I'm listing pretty much all of the rides at Hollywood Studios but realistically you will most likely only get to ride a handful of them if it's crowded. I used to go to Disney World wanting to do ALL THE THINGS in one day and honestly it's just not a realistic mindset to have and it makes for a stressful Disney day. My best advice, learned the hard way-- pick a few must do rides and expect to only be able to do those & if you get to ride more then that's great!! Not to be negative in anyway, but I know what it's like to feel stressed & disappointed when I didn't get to ride something I expected to and it's not fun. Just don't let it ruin your trip!
**Try to get there before the park opens for rope drop! You'll have a better chance at riding more rides while everyone else is sleeping in.
2.) Star Wars Rise of the Resistance is a virtual line only!
In my experience, has been hard to get into the virtual line. I talk about it more in depth below. But this one is unlike pretty much any other Disney ride because there's no stand by line like all of the other rides in the parks. I want to make sure you know that before you go so you don't get side swiped when you get there & try to hop in line.
3.) Mobile ordering is the way to go!
I pretty much always mobile order now! It's so much easier & you don't have to stand in the lines.
My top picks at Hollywood Studios
Food:
(this isn't the full list of places to eat!)
∙The Trolley Car Cafe
Starbucks!! haha :D (FYI: you can get a cup of ice water for free!!) I always like to stop in for a caffeine boost or to get some water. People always rave about the carrot cake cookie but I haven't tried it yet!
∙Docking Bay 7
They have sooo many options and it's so cool inside the restaurant. They have a lot of places to sit. They also have an allergy friendly menu with something for pretty much everyone! I tried their dessert, the "Batuu-bon", and it was yummy!! My friend got the "Felucian Kefta & hummus garden spread", I can't remeber if I tried a bite or not but she said it was pretty good!
∙50's Prime Time Cafe
I love the nostalgia of this pace! You'll love it if you're an old soul like me. :) This place is super fun because it is highly themed! The servers are in even character! I didn't eat all of my food and my server gave me a hard time about it, like you always see in old movies! haha! It's all in good fun though & she didn't take it too far. I've heard if you go to the bathroom, when you come back your server will ask you what color the soap was! lol!! The food is pretty good too! The have a bunch of old classics. I got the meatloaf and wasn't disappointed! Below is a picture of how it looks inside. The tv's are all playing old black and white tv shows!
∙Backlot Express
Nothing fancy, but it's one of the cheapest places to eat. It's my go to when I want something fast, affordable & filling. I like to get the kids chicken tender meal!
∙Milk Stand (in Galaxy's Edge)
Did you even go to Galaxy's Edge if you didn't try the blue or green milk?! The non-alcoholic blue milk is my fave! It has a yummy sweet tart flavor. Both flavors are plant based and dairy free- and kinda pricey, but worth it to try in my opinion! :)
∙Ronto Roaster's
I haven't eaten here but we usually stop by and get a free cup of ice water. It's a pretty neat little spot though & definately at least worth checking out to see the cool droid they have in there.
∙Oga's Cantina (in Galaxy's Edge)
I actually havent been inside because it can be hard to get into. You arent allowed to go in just to look around (you can book a reservation on the disney app). I've heard from some friends that it's really neat inside! I know that they have a few fun non alcoholic drinks on the menu that I want to try! (They have several alcholic too). I'm hoping to go on my next trip!
∙Sci-Fi Dine in restaurant
I wana go here sooo bad!!! I snuck inside one time!! haha! It's so cute! It looks like you are outside at a drive in movie. Your booth is actually an old car!!! I've heard that the food isn't that good though. :( You are more paying for the experience. I'm still going to check it out for myself one of these days! You can book a reservation on the Disney park app!
Rides: (in order-ish)
This is sooo hard!!!! There's so many good rides at HS and they are all good for different reasons! None of these rides are bad, so just because it's at the bottom of the list don't feel like it's not good. It's just sooo hard to choose. :)
∙Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
Seriously the cutest ride EVER!!! I love it so much!! I'm not going to share too much about it because you just need to experience it for yourself! This one is 100% worth the wait in my opinion.
**My tips- I would either ride this ride first thing, or you can wait until the end of the night and get in line before park closing! They let everyone in line go through as long as you got in line before the park closes. In my experience, it does tend to have techincal difficulties at times, so if you don't want to chance it, you might just try to ride it first thing.
∙Star Wars Rise of the Resistance ( in Galaxy's Edge)
One of the coolest, most immersive rides EVER!! You literally feel like you are inside the movies!!! This ride has a virtual queue line only! You HAVE to get in the virtual queue line (a boarding group) through the myDisney app to be able to ride it. As of right now you can log into the app at 7 am and 1 pm to try and snag a place in line. In my experience the tickets go so fast. You literally have to be on your app at 7 am because the tickets often get taken before 7:01 am! For the 1 pm ticket distribution you must be inside the park. You'll then get a boarding group number and have a time slot to come back & be able to hop in line. You can read more about it here. There's a tiny sneak peek below!! :D
** My experince has been that this ride tends to have more technial difficulties than most rides, so you might get stuck in line a little longer than you expected...but honestly it's worth it. If you were lucky enough to snag a boarding pass I wouldn't get out of line! I would totally wait it out.
∙ToyStory Mania
I used to always skip this ride but it's so much fun!! You shoot at targets inside a ride vehicle & I'm totally the reigning champion!! :P haha!
∙The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
For the longest time I was too scared to ride this!! I HATE drop rides, but I'm telling you, this is unlike any drop ride out there!! It's super fun and totally one of my fave rides at Disney World! It's more like a bouncy drop ride if that makes any sense at all! haha! You've gotta put your hands up too!! It's so much more fun. I love the old creepy hotel vibe of the queue line too!
My hubby thinks this is the most hilarious picture ever LOL (we are in the bottom left).
∙Rockin' Rollercoaster
This is currently the only ride that really feels like a legit rollercoaster at Disney World!
It's really fun and is the only rollercoaster that goes upside down in all the parks! It usually has a single rider line too.
∙Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run (in Galaxy's edge)
Such a fun interative ride! Everyone has a part to play. Being the gunner or the pilot are the best in my opinion because you get to do the most during the ride.
∙Slinky Dog Dash
Cute little kiddie coaster! The queue line is super cute! It looks like you are in Andy's backyard and are the size of a toy!
∙Muppets Vision 3D
You sit inside a 3D theater and watch a muppets show with special effects! It's cute if you like The Muppets.
∙Star Tours
It's a fun 3D Star Wars ride outside of Galazy's Edge & it's line ususally isn't too long at all!
∙Alien's Swirling Saucers (I actually haven't had a chance to ride this one yet!)
I hope this was helpful!!! If you have an upcoming Disney trip I hope you have the best time!! :D I'd love to hear from you if you have questions!
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