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How To Fit 15 Activities At Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios In One Day

Photo Credit: Disney

A visit to Disney World Resort isn’t complete without a visit to Hollywood Studios. That said, we know that sometimes time is limited. In these cases, it’s important to squeeze as much as you can into each day, and considering how much is currently going on in Hollywood Studios, that can lead to a very long day in this fabulous park. Luckily, with a lot of planning and a little bit of luck you will be able to see all of Hollywood Studios in that one very long day. This leaves you the rest of your vacation to enjoy the other three parks.

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Wondering where to begin with your planning? Not to worry! We have it all figured out. This article outlines a wonderful one-day plan that ensures you see the following 15 highlights of Hollywood Studios:

  1. Slinky Dog Dash
  2. Alien Swirling Saucers
  3. Toy Story Mania
  4. Tower of Terror
  5. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
  6. Lunch at Woody’s Lunchbox
  7. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
  8. Star Wars Launch Bay
  9. For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
  10. Disney Junior Live On Stage!
  11. Voyage of the Little Mermaid
  12. Dinner at 50’s Prime Time Café
  13. Muppet*Vision 3D
  14. Star Tours
  15. Fantasmic!

Read on to learn how it’s possible to squeeze all that fun into one day!

1. Schedule FastPasses

Long before you ever leave for vacation, you’ll need to schedule your FastPasses. Currently, these passes are split into two tiers, and guests are allowed to pre-schedule one pass from Tier 1 and two from Tier 2. Our suggestion for Tier 1 is to snatch up a pass for Slinky Dog Dash if at all possible. If not, a pass for Toy Story Mania is next in line, with Alien Swirling Saucers being our last pick. For Tier 2, It’s best to grab a pass for Tower of Terror and one for Star Tours. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is also an acceptable choice, but because this attraction offers a single-rider line, FastPass isn’t always necessary. Finally, we should note that for this plan to work well, it’s best to choose a time around 3pm for your first FastPass, and to book all three passes back-to-back.

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2. Make a Dining Reservation

You’ll also want to make your dining reservation long before your trip. In fact, you should be able to make reservations at your restaurants of choice 180 days before your trip begins. Go ahead and take advantage of this in order to ensure you get exactly what you want, which in the case of our dream itinerary is a 6:30pm reservation at 50’s Prime Time Cafe.

3. Eat Breakfast on the Way

On the day of your Hollywood Studios visit, be sure to eat breakfast so you have plenty of energy for the fun ahead. However, don’t waste time eating at the resort food court or stopping at an eatery in the park. Instead, eat something on the way to the park.

4. Arrive Early

Any time you’re trying to fit a lot into one day, arriving early is a must. Be in line at least 45 minutes before the posted opening time. Disney parks have been known to open their gates a bit early, and even if they don’t, doing this ensures you’re one of the first people in line for the most popular rides.

5. Head Straight to Toy Story Land

Once the gates do open, head straight for Toy Story Land without stopping, and get in line for either Slinky Dog Dash or Alien Swirling Saucers—whichever you don’t have a FastPass for. Don’t have a FastPass for either one? Ride Slinky Dog Dash first, as this line tends to be the longer of the two. Ride anything in Toy Story Land that you don’t have a FastPass for as soon as possible. The earlier you’re in line, the less time the line will have to build up.

6. Sing Along With Frozen Friends

After riding anything in Toy Story Land that you don’t have a FastPass for, head over to the opposite side of the park to cool off and enjoy a showing of “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration”.

7. See Muppet*Vision 3D

Muppet*Vision 3D is up next. It isn’t too far from the Frozen show, and because the wait is always so short, you should be in and out before you know it. That said, it’s a lot of fun and well worth seeing.

8. Hit Star Wars Launch Bay

Now you’ll need to head to the other side of the park once again and make your next stop at Star Wars Launch Bay. Here, you’ll be able to meet two or three Star Wars characters, snapping photos and getting autographs to remember them by.

9. Grab a Quick Lunch

At this point you’ll likely be getting hungry again. Stop in for a super quick lunch at Woody’s Lunchbox back in Toy Story Land before moving on. The delicious yet quick options here are filling and perfect for fueling up for the next round.

10. See the Other Shows

After lunch, you’ll want to hit the rest of the live shows. All of the live shows stop playing fairly early in the evening, meaning you have a semi-limited amount of time to see the last three. Still, if you start around noon and check the times guide in order to ensure everything lines up correctly, you should be able to catch everything before your first FastPass slot ends.

11. Use Your First Two FastPasses

If you scheduled your FastPasses to begin around 3pm as we suggested, you should be able to catch the tail end of your first FastPass slot as soon as your show lineup has ended. Use that first FastPass and the second one in quick succession. This will leave an hour and a half or so before the third one must be used.

12. Hop in the Single-Rider Line

Making good use of this gap between FastPass times, your next stop is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster to hop in the single-rider line, which should be quite a bit shorter than the regular line. That said, if you already used a FastPass on Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, you’ll want to skip this ride and head instead for Star Tours or Tower of Terror, whichever you did not secure a FastPass for.

13. Use Your Final FastPass

Before dinner, you’ll want to use your third and final FastPass. You should be able to catch the end of the FastPass slot fairly easily.

14. Have a Delicious Dinner

At around 6:30pm you’ll be feeling pretty ready for dinner. Luckily, you planned ahead with a reservation at 50’s Prime Time Café. Enjoy your meal, but try not to dawdle. If you can get out by 8pm, you’ll be doing good.

15. Find a Seat for “Fantasmic!”

Last, but not least, you’ll want to claim a seat for “Fantasmic!” at least 45 minutes before the show. Fortunately, the show has recently been showing at 9pm rather than 8pm, so this is definitely possible if you’re willing to make your way across the park quickly. If you do happen to miss the first showing, keep in mind that “Fantasmic!” has been showing two times each night lately, so you might still be able to see the show at the later time.

About Chelsea Gonzales