Hollywood Studios is one of my favorite parks to visit. All of the rides are built around DIsney movies, so it’s a great place to see your favorite characters from Toy Story, Star Wars, Cars, etc.
If you only have one day in Hollywood Studios, I strongly suggest you try for as many attractions as possible and eat from the fast-food areas in between. It’s quite possible to do most, if not all, Hollywood Studios rides in one day if you move quickly from attraction to attraction.
If you have two or more days (lucky you!) in Hollywood Studios, then you can slow down and squeeze in a sit-down lunch or dinner. Or you could be like me and run Toy Story Mania! three or four times!
Must-Do Rides
Hollywood Studios has tons of terrific attractions; all of them are great in their own way. But there are some rides that are famous, or use unusual tricks/technology, or are just simply signature Disney experiences – your Disney vacation isn’t complete without riding them! Here is my list of must-do Hollywood Studios rides:
- Smuggler’s Run – in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge
- Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Rise of the Resistance – Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge
- Toy Story Mania! – Toy Story Land
- Slinky Dog Dash – do this only if the wait time is 30 minutes or less; skip if the line is too long. Toy Story Land
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad – Hollywood Boulevard
- MuppetVision 3D – Grand Avenue
- Star Tours – Echo Lake
- For The First Time In Forever A Frozen Singalong Celebration – Echo Lake
- Tower of Terror – Sunset Boulevard
- Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage – Sunset Boulevard
This list is a good base to start with; feel free to personalize it by adding and removing rides. If you love roller coasters for example, you may want to swap out Beauty and the Beast for Rock n’ Roller Coaster.
This list is built out of reviews and comments Disney World guests have left on our surveys. Do you disagree with this list? Leave a comment here!
Important Note! Hollywood Studios is a big theme park! On a crowded day or if you have slow walkers in your party, it can easily take 20-30 minutes to get from one corner of Hollywood Studios to another. When planning your day, see which rides are close together and ride them before moving to the next area of the park.
it’s easy for first-time visitors to waste all of their time going from one end of the park to the other. Know which rides you want to go on before visiting the parks.
Do If You Have Time
- Rock n’ Roller Coaster – Sunset Boulevard. This is a fun ride, and mandatory if you love Aerosmith. It’s listed here because while it’s a fun ride, there are other rides that are more “signature” to Hollywood Studios.
- Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy – Sunset Boulevard. A fun attraction for those who love the Cars franchise.
- The Walt Disney Theater – Animation Courtyard. Shows a short film about Walt Disney and has a showcase of interesting historical Disney items.