Hollywood Studios has the longest lines and highest average wait times of any park at Walt Disney World. The ride roster is very top-heavy and also very stage show-heavy, the result of which is that you’re bound to skip something at DHS. That’s just a practical reality if you only have a day in the park, as it’s difficult to do everything. This covers the ‘controversial’ attractions that fans often recommend first-timers avoid, along with our perspective on what we skip and when.
When it comes to the Disney’s Hollywood Studios ride roster, there are a few “problems” (air quotes) that make things arguably skippable. Let’s start by addressing those as it’s a bit of a necessary prerequisite to understanding why some fans say you should avoid certain attractions. The first is popularity and wait times.
The reason problem is in air quotes above is because DHS is home to some blockbuster attractions. If we were putting together a new ‘best of’ the last decade ride list for Walt Disney World, we’d put several attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on it–more than any other park. Two of our top 3 all-time attractions at Walt Disney World are in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The reality is that Disney’s Hollywood Studios has an absolutely stacked ride lineup. This is a good problem to have! The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are both Walt Disney World all-time greats. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, and Slinky Dog Dash are a trio of very good (or better) new attractions.
The ride lineup is so strong that it’s easy to forget Star Tours: the Adventures Continue, Toy Story Mania, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. Just a few years ago, this trio was considered incredibly formidable–among the most coveted FastPasses at Walt Disney World. Remember when Walt Disney World’s most popular rope drop dash consisted of running through Pixar Place to Toy Story Mania? Now, Toy Story Mania is almost an afterthought.
Point being, there are at least 8 rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that range from very good to elite all-time greats. We can all quibble about the quality of each, but I think most people would agree that those selections are all “good or better.” That’s better than any other park at Walt Disney World, save for maybe Magic Kingdom.
This is all before we even get to entertainment! Disney’s Hollywood Studios just debuted two new stage shows this year, and before that, they reimagined Fantasmic! Remember when we used to poke fun of that show as being Pocahontasmic and say anyone who has been to Disneyland should just skip the comically-inferior version? Fast-forward a few years, and Fantasmic is not only elite, but it’s the best version of the show and makes the top 10 of our list Ranking All 87 Attractions at Walt Disney World.
The main problem with this is that the lineup at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is entirely top-heavy. Unlike Magic Kingdom, DHS has absolutely no supporting line-up. Disney’s Hollywood Studios doesn’t have any rides that are “just okay” but are relatively easy to experience and a good way to round out your day in the park. It’s E-Ticket or bust. A good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless.
After you get past these 8 rides, Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers a slew of shows and meet & greets. For the most part, these are all one and done, and not offerings that appeal to repeat visitors. That might sound fine if you’re a first-timer visitor–after all, everything is new to you–but the downside is that this means Walt Disney World guests overcrowd the top 8 rides.
The end result is Disney’s Hollywood Studios routinely having a half-dozen attractions that average wait times of an hour or more. This results in guests having to make tough decisions about what to do and what to skip, as it’s difficult to do every single must-do attraction. In fact, as a practical matter, guests “hit a wall” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios more frequently than any other park!
Hence this list. It would be very easy to simply list several stage shows that we skip at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Chances are that a disproportionate number of Walt Disney World diehards reading this list do exactly that, given the one and done nature of many productions. The problem with that, though, is those stage shows offer midday filled that’s exactly what is necessary to avoid hitting a wall, and “surviving” Disney’s Hollywood Studios until evening, when you can enjoy lower wait times at headliners and Fantasmic.
With that in mind, on with the list…
Underrated Attractions We Do NOT Skip
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue – Become old news since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened, Star Tours has (Yoda voice). Understandably, as that land is anchored by Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, one of the best rides in all of Walt Disney World. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is sometimes called “Star Tours on Steroids.”
But is it, really? We love Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and think it’s a better overall attraction from start to finish, with tons of Imagineered depth and detail (all of which matters a lot–see above!) plus the wish fulfillment of stepping into the cockpit and flying the Millennium Falcon.
At least until Mandalorian and Baby Yoda join Smugglers Run, Star Tours is the better ride. The settings are superior, is jam-packed with characters, and has a pretty good start-to-finish packaging of its own with a brilliant queue and pre-show. And unlike Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, the ride portion of Star Tours is not the Star Wars equivalent of being an “interactive” for UPS delivery person.
Every time I do Star Tours, I’m reminded of how good it is. I’m also reminded that it’s routinely a walk-on or has a wait time under 15 minutes, even when Smugglers Run is over an hour. Make the must-do list, Star Tours does. Good midday filler, it is.
Villains Unfairly Ever After – This just debuted, so it’s a little too early to deem Villains Unfairly Ever After underrated. But interest did fall off pretty quickly, and even before seeing it, many fans were rightly critical of its reliance on screens and light number of performers (only 3 total!).
My unpopular opinion is that Villains Unfairly Ever After is better than the Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure. Not in a strictly objective sense, as Mermaid is very clearly the marquee production. Villains Unfairly Ever After is more like schedule filler, and it’s objectively inferior thanks to its smaller-scale status. But for what each are, I would say that Villains Unfairly Ever After is the one that punches above its weight.
With the Little Mermaid, you know what you’re going to get–a competent CliffNotes version of the movie. But Villains Unfairly Ever After is a bit more zany and original, and is a pleasant surprise as a result…if that makes sense. It does over-rely on tech and have similar issues as the Little Mermaid musical, but they’re less noticeable. Both are strong, must-see productions, but there’s only “danger” of average guests skipping Villains Unfairly Ever After–so it makes this list.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – With one of the top 5 wait times in all of Walt Disney World, I doubt many fans would argue that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is underrated.
However, many do argue that it’s overrated. That it’s not deserving of the hype, high wait times, high Lightning Lane Single Pass price, or hassles if you have to deal with downtime.
I’m just here to say that the contrarians are wrong. Yes, you will have to make difficult decisions and skip a marquee E-Ticket or two at DHS. Yeah, you’ll probably won’t see it firing on all cylinders, with every effect working. But don’t skip this one under any circumstances, even if you’re not a Star Wars fan. Believe the hype about Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It’s true. All of it.
Attractions We Sometimes Skip
The rest of the list is circumstantial, depending on whether I’m alone for research or we’re visiting together as a family. In the latter scenario, it would be easy to simply eliminate anything with a height restriction; after all, our daughter can’t ride any of that. Rider Switch, useful as it is, still requires spending significant time separated, waiting in line.
That would make for a lame list. Instead, we’re going to pretend that it’s either me visiting solo or the two of us as a couple. After all, that was precisely the dynamic for decades, so we have a pretty good idea of what we’d skip and when in such a circumstance…because it’s what we did for a long time!
Slinky Dog Dash -This is bound to be a controversial pick, but probably not a surprising one to regular readers. We both like Slinky Dog Dash. Really, we do! It’s the rare roller coaster that’s mild enough to not cause Sarah any major motion sickness problems, and I find it cute.
We also both think it’s massively overrated. It’s the most popular Lightning Lane Multi-Pass selection in all of Walt Disney World, and can incredibly difficult to score. Then there’s the standby line, which routinely posts a top 3 wait time in all of WDW. Slinky Dog Dash is good, but not that good. I’d be hard pressed to rank it in the top 5 at DHS, and it doesn’t even crack my top 20 for all of Walt Disney World.
Adding insult to injury, Slinky Dog Dash has one of the most unpleasant queues of major attractions at Walt Disney World. In typical Toy Story Land fashion, it’s entirely outdoors and a series of boring switchbacks. But hey, at least it’s mostly covered, which is more than we can say for Toy Story Land as a whole.
Unless we’re doing Early Entry, testing Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, or going at the very end of the evening, we often skip Slinky Dog Dash. And in two of those scenarios, we almost always prioritize Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance over SDD (it’s tough to do both).
Again, we enjoy Slinky Dog Dash. But it’s just not “worth it” to us in normal circumstances. Because of that, Slinky Dog Dash has become our most-skipped major attraction not just at DHS, but in all of Walt Disney World.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster – It’s very rare for me to skip Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster when by myself. Even though the average wait time is on the higher side, there are just so many ways to beat the line here.
Although I don’t keep track, I wouldn’t be surprised if RnRC is the ride that I do most or second-most at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s really that easy; a low friction attraction, especially in the morning or at night. Looping it is an easy way to pad my stats at the beginning or end of the day.
It’s a totally different ballgame when it’s the two of us. Sarah can’t do RnRC, and I don’t like it that much to hassle with it then. (It ranks #33 for me, so worse than Slinky Dog Dash–it really is all about ease.) This will definitely change once it’s reimagined to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets.
As much as I like Aerosmith, RnRC will likely become a nonnegotiable must-do once that debuts. Here’s hoping the distinguished scientists from all over the world who work at Muppet Labs come up with a cure for motion sickness by then. Clock’s ticking!
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – This one might subvert expectations. The common complaint you’ll probably hear from diehard Disney fans is that Smugglers Run isn’t fun as a Single Rider, or any time small children are pilots.
I couldn’t disagree more. In fact, whenever I end up as pilot, I offer up the position to someone else. Usually, the parents of the youngest guests in the crew. About half the time, they’re apprehensive that their kids will be able to navigate the ship (rightly so), to which I offer reassurance that it’s just a ride. We’ll survive. And it’ll mean a whole lot more to them than it will to me.
Not to stray too far off the point, but it boggles my mind that this isn’t the prevailing perspective among fans–wanting to share the magic or whatever you want to call it. I’ve done MFSR more times than I can count. The gameplay isn’t great, and I don’t remember most individual experiences at this point. The lone exception is the ‘so bad it was good’ ones piloted by children or navigationally-challenged adults. Those have turned into a hoot, with communal energy that’s almost always better than the “successful” missions.
When it’s just the two of us, we often skip Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run for this exact reason. The possibility of poor piloting risks a ruined day for Sarah. Not because she really wants to earn a bunch of fake Star Wars bucks from Hondo, but due to motion sickness. So counterintuitive as this all might sound on the surface, hopefully that makes sense of it!
Alien Swirling Saucers – The little green aliens pilot spaceships that spin and whip around guests in an attraction that is very similar to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree at Disney California Adventure. This is basically the tea cups at Magic Kingdom, except with guests in freely moving trailers attached to the tea cups instead of in the cups themselves.
Alien Swirling Saucers is a cute and fun attraction, but it’s nothing special. It lacks the quirkiness and personality of Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree or the Happy Ride with Baymax, and falls a bit flat. My favorite thing about the ride is its acronym, because I have the comedic sensibilities of a 7-year old, I guess.
Add to that spending more time in Toy Story Land and what’s often a wait time above 20 minutes, and this is an easy skip for both of us. We’d rather do Toy Story Mania a second time, even if the wait time is double A.S.S.
Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage — This stage show retelling Beauty and the Beast in condensed form is literally as old as the animated movie itself. It’s enjoyable, doing an adequate job with choreography, performances, and dramatic styling. And in fairness, not every theatrical production needs to be edgy or envelope-pushing to grab guests’ attention. Sometimes simple-but-good is sufficient.
Those are fair points, but this just feels old. I can’t quite articulate why or how, but pretty much everything about it just gives off 1990s vibes. And since it’s been around for so long, we’ve seen it many times.
Given that and the high number of stage shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we have to skip something. Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage is the easy pick.
Frozen Sing-Along Celebration – We actually like the Frozen Sing-Along! I would go as far as to argue that the presentation here punches above its weight, with humor that’s aimed at adults and will go over the heads of children. The Royal Historians of Arendelle can be quite amusing as they weave together songs for a loose retelling of Frozen.
With that said, Frozen Sing-Along is, in fact, a sing-along based on an animated film with a target audience of young families. That makes is a questionable and uncomfortable choice for a solo middle-aged male.
It’s a somewhat similar story when we’re together, although Sarah is a legitimizing factor. Even then, the issue is too many stage shows at DHS. Something has to be skipped (more like a few things), and this seldom makes the cut.
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular – Despite its age, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular holds up. It features a variety of different stunt styles, offers humor, and engaging narrative scenes that just work. As far as action-oriented shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this is by far the best.
Honestly, I could watch Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular again and again. I’ll be sad when it’s eventually retired (the end of an era as one of the final remaining Disney-MGM Studios attractions), while acknowledging that it had a great run.
The only reason Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular makes this list is timing. For whatever reason, we seldom manage to make the time for Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular; it’s just a big chunk of the day, and showtimes are spread out. I’m not sure if it counts as something we “skip” if it’s happening unintentionally, but either way, we miss this show more often than we see it.
Wonderful World of Animation & Movie Magic – There are two different projection shows celebrating movies at DHS that are very similar in nature. Disney Movie Magic is mostly live action, including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Book, and TRON.
Wonderful World of Animation features a variety of Disney animated films, including some unheralded ones. Neither are fully-fledged fireworks shows; they used to be pre-shows for Star Wars fireworks, but those are no longer presented.
I think Wonderful World of Animation is the one that’s usually presented now. These are just nothing special, and once you’ve seen them a few times, the luster wears off. Honestly, even the first time, you might have a “that’s it?” reaction, as these are best treated as pre-shows (except to nothing) as opposed to fully-fledged nighttime spectaculars.
As a whole, this list of attractions to avoid and not skip at Disney’s Hollywood Studios comes down to setting expectations. From the above descriptions, hopefully you have a better idea of which “borderline” attractions are and are not right for you. There’s no one size-fits-all answer to any of this, but hopefully the above gives you a better idea of what might “click” for you and what definitely won’t, and you can make personalized judgment calls on that basis!
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Your Thoughts
Which attractions do you skip at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Are there are rides that you recommend first-timers to DHS don’t do or actively avoid? Do you see every single stage show at DHS, or do you usually skip one…or a few? Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
