How to Plan an Itinerary for Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World
One of the best ways to make your Walt Disney World vacation extraordinary is with smart itinerary planning. Planning a good itinerary in advance is the best way to experience the many attractions of the parks with less time waiting in line. Hollywood Studios has many must-see attractions and shows, and with careful planning, guests can see most of what the park has to offer in one day.
First, guests should make sure they purchase Disney’s FastPass + system. A FastPass will give guests entry to a separate queue from the waiting line, allowing for a much shorter wait to ride. Guests can select 3 FastPasses in a park per day prior to arrival. Additional FastPasses can be earned after the first 3 have been used. Please note that Hollywood Studios has a tiered FastPass + system, which means that the park’s eligible FastPass + attractions are divided into two groups. Guests can choose 1 attraction from the first group and 2 from the second. Group 1 attractions include: Fantasmic !, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, The Big Movie Ride, and Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage. Group 2 attractions include: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Disney Junior – Live on Stage, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, MuppetVision 3D, For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration , and lights! Motor! Action! Extreme stunt show.
One of the most challenging aspects of planning an itinerary for Hollywood Studios is fitting in in all the shows, because this park has so many of them. For the most part, I wouldn’t recommend using FastPasses for shows, unless you plan to skip most of the other FastPass eligible rides. The theaters for these shows are quite large and you are unlikely to miss a show if you arrive at least 15 minutes or more before it starts. Most shows, such as Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage, Disney Junior – Live on Stage, and Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular have screenings from morning until late afternoon. The first and last shows will be the least crowded. Note that Lights! Motor! Action! it usually only has two shows in the afternoon. Check show times and plan your FastPasses and meals around the shows you want to see.
My picks for FastPasses are Toy Story Midway Mania from group 1 (You can also use it for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster if you plan to visit Toy Story first thing in the morning or don’t plan to ride it, but wouldn’t pick any other attraction from this group at the expense from one of these two attractions), and Star Tours and the Tower of Terror from group 2. All other eligible attractions typically don’t have long waits or are shows that don’t really need FastPasses. If you don’t plan on riding the more intense rides and have kids in your group, other FastPasses you might consider include Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. FastPasses may not be necessary, but you should choose 3 when making your FastPass selections (and the Frozen Sing-Along Celebration has been very popular, especially if you have little Frozen fans in your family).
Plan to arrive about 30 minutes before the park opens. Your first stop, depending on your FastPass selections and what your family wants to do, should be Toy Story Midway Mania or the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Other attractions to visit early include the Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, and Star Tours. Spend the late morning and afternoon visiting shows and using the rest of your FastPasses.
Hollywood Studios’ nighttime show is Fantasmic !, performed on a stage beyond the end of Sunset Boulevard. This is a popular show and its hours vary as well. Depending on the season, Fantasmic! you may not have a show every night; be sure to visit on the day it’s scheduled. Sometimes there will be two screenings scheduled, and in this case, the later screening is much less crowded. If there is only one performance, plan to queue 40-50 minutes before show time. If you want to have guaranteed good seats for the show, consider reserving the Fantasmic! Dining package, including a central seating area reserved for the show and lunch or dinner at select Hollywood Studios restaurants.