Hollywood Studios: The Best and Worst Park at Walt Disney World

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the most uneven park at Walt Disney World, with two genuinely extraordinary areas and several others that feel like filler. Knowing which is which before you arrive helps considerably.

Galaxy’s Edge

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge occupies the back third of the park and is, setting aside the IP, one of the most impressive physical environments Disney has built. The Black Spire Outpost village is detailed at a level that repays looking closely at it. The Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run puts six people inside a physical replica of the cockpit and is interactive — the pilot controls actually affect what you see and your score. Rise of the Resistance is a 20-minute attraction combining pre-show, transport, set walkthrough, and ride sequence; the central sequence inside a Star Destroyer is technically impressive. Both rides are worth the wait.

Oga’s Cantina nearby does themed cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks in a small capacity bar with a legitimate cast of alien characters projected around the room. Only takes 30-40 people at a time; book dining reservations in advance if you want more than 45 minutes.

Toy Story Land

The other genuinely good area — Toy Story Land puts you at the scale of a toy in Andy’s backyard. Slinky Dog Dash is a family coaster with unusually good theming and acceptable wait times in the morning. Alien Swirling Saucers is a spinner for younger children. The land works for families with kids 4-10; less essential for everyone else.

What’s Overrated

The Chinese Theatre at the park entrance is the visual centrepiece. The Theatre itself is a reproduction of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The attraction inside (Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway) replaced The Great Movie Ride in 2020; the ride system is technically impressive but the content is thin. Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an indoor coaster from 1999 that has aged: the sound system remains good, the ride is short, the Aerosmith content means nothing to anyone under 35.

Practical Notes

Rope drop strategy: Be at the entrance when the park opens (usually 9am, earlier for on-property hotel guests). Walk directly to Rise of the Resistance if you don’t have Lightning Lane. Walk back to Slinky Dog Dash next. This sequence in the first 90 minutes avoids the day’s longest queues.

Dining: Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater (booths inside cars, facing a screen showing 1950s sci-fi B-movie clips, milkshakes available) is an experience worth having once. Food is ordinary; the context is not. 50’s Prime Time Café is similar nostalgia-themed food in a 1950s TV set environment. Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo inside Galaxy’s Edge does the most thematically appropriate food — Ronto Wraps and the Ronto Morning Wrap are the better items.

Getting there: Hollywood Studios is on the western side of the Walt Disney World property, served by the Disney Skyliner gondola system (connects to Epcot and the Caribbean Beach and Art of Animation hotels — a genuinely useful and pleasant transport option). Also bus service from all Disney hotels and the Disney Springs parking area.