Disney Hollywood Studios Attractions
This park is home to a handful of unique rides and attractions. From ones that are based around live action movies to tons of animated fare, it may be cliché to say that there’s “something for everyone” here, but in the case of the Hollywood Studios, I think it’s a surprisingly accurate thing to say.
The attractions listed below will be categorized by their location/area within the theme park.
Galaxy’s Edge
The latest addition to Hollywood Studios, Galaxy’s edge is an entire section of the theme park dedicated to immersing you into the world of Star Wars. You’ll feel like you just walked onto the movie set of the latest Star Wars film, while also being able to eat at amazing restaurants, enjoy awesome rides, and even build your own lightsaber!
1) Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
Does anything beat flying the Millennium Falcon? Live out your biggest childhood fantasies with this incredibly fun, interactive ride that requires a bit of teamwork to succeed.
2) Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Strap in, you’re going to need all the help you can in what will be one of the more impressive attractions to grace all of Walt Disney World!
Animation Courtyard:
1) Encounter Darth Vader at Star Wars Launch Bay: Come meet the Dark Lord of the Sith himself—live and in person.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
(Video by Inside the Magic)
2) Meet Chewbacca at Star Wars Bay: After you see Darth Vader, why not head over to snap a photo with a Wookie?
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
3) Disney Junior – Live on Stage!: Enjoy this puppet-centric show that first features Mickey and Minnie and eventually showcases Disney Junior host Casey, Sofia The First and Doc McStuffins.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
Duration: 24 minutes
FastPass+ Offered
4) Meet Disney Junior Pals: Come meet up with Jake, who sails the seas of Never Land. You can also snap a photo with Sofia and even Doc McStuffins. Don’t forget to ask your new friends for an autograph—so long as you’ve got the pen!
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
5) Voyage of the Little Mermaid: Enter a world in which you sit in a small, intimate theater and watch the world under the sea come to life in beautiful, vivid color. Here, you’ll see Ariel interact with puppets and amazing effects as the show recreates some of the most memorable scenes from the animated classic “The Little Mermaid.”
You can expect to hear songs such as “Part Of Your World,” “Under the Sea,” and of course “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”
The show consists of real human performers, puppets, and even clips from the movie itself.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers, kids and adults
Duration: 17 minutes
(Video by Attractions Magazine)
Echo Lake:
1) Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza: At this outdoor attraction, come face-to-face with Lucille Ball, Walt Disney, Bob Newhart and Oprah Winfrey.
Well, at least face-to-face with their bronze busts, that is.
Here, you get to meet a handful of television legends that have been inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. This is a quick attraction to walk through and will have no line to wait in.
Age of Interest: Adults
2) Star Tours – The Adventure Continues: This is the ride all “Star Wars” fans have been waiting for. Here, you get to hop on board a Starspeeder 1000, as it transports you and your friends and family to worlds like Hoth, Naboo, and Tatooine.
This attraction offers something for all your senses. Not only is this a motion-simulator ride, but it’s a ride that requires 3D glasses, too. You’ll also notice audio animatronics characters decked out throughout the ride queue and you’ll even experience some pretty cool effects that take place within the cockpit, to boot.
The Star Tours attraction was one of the first of its kind to usher in the age of motion-simulation—the idea that a ride can make it feel like you’re blasting into a galaxy far, far away despite the fact that the only thing moving is the vehicle itself (along with the images on the screen). With this newly revamped ride, guests can now embark on a brand new ride and create new memories that will last a generation.
On top of that, the actual memories you make might just be more than you think. This ride utilizes over fifty story combinations, which means your second or third time on this attraction has a great chance of being different than your first.
Height Restriction: 40 inches (102cm) or taller
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens, and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Thrill Level: Motion-simulation, small drops
(Video by Theme Park Worldwide)
3) Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Show Spectacular!: For anyone who not only loves Indiana Jones, but loves knowing about how movies are made, this is the perfect attraction for you.
At this show, you’ll see stunt men and women reenact famous scenes from the “Indiana Jones” movies and then have a “director” who will explain to you how they make the stunts come to life.
Here, watch the boulder chase Indiana Jones down from behind, and then learn how they made that stunt not only come to life in front of your eyes at Disney World, but how they made it happen in the film.
You’ll see stunt people dressed as the heroes (Indy and Marion) and the villains climb and jump off of buildings, fist fight, use swords, shoot guns, fight atop fighter planes, and run away from explosions. On top of that, the show’s “director” will also ask for adult volunteers to be an actual participant in the show themselves. So if you’re brave enough to not only be a part of a stunt show, but also be in front of a live audience, by all means raise your hand and volunteer!
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens, and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Duration: 30 Minutes
Thrill Level: Big, potentially loud explosions and fist fights.
4) Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple: This is a great show if you have little ones in your group. In fact, at this “training academy,” kids aged four to twelve can learn how to wield a light saber and defeat evil all while dressed in a brown robe that’ll make them feel like Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Kids will then face off against Darth Vader himself, getting the perfect opportunity to defeat the famous Sith villain!
From my time watching this show in person, kids really get a kick out of it.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers, kids, tweens
Duration: 20 minutes
5) For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration: This thirty minute stage show features Elsa, Anna and more of your favorite “Frozen” characters coming together for a sing-along show that is enchanting, funny, and sounds great to the ear.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers, kids, tweens, teens and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Duration: 30 minutes
Hollywood Boulevard:
1) The Great Movie Ride: This is such a simple ride, and yet it’s always been one of my favorites. And yet there’s nothing flashy about it, per se. But if you love movies, and you love being immersed in older movies in particular, then you’ll likely enjoy this.
This ride has a partnership with Turner Classic Movies, so if you enjoy sitting down and watching classic black-and-white films on the couch at home, you’ll immediately feel at home when you see Robert Osborne dawn the screen in the ride’s queue area.
Once you board the ride vehicle, guests are provided with a tour guide that will take you through multiple eras of movies and you’ll get to witness memorable movie scenes via colorful sets and Audio Animatronic figures.
At this attraction, you’ll see the wicked witch terrify the munchkins from “The Wizard of Oz,” James Cagney getting a bit ornery from “The Public Enemy,” and Gene Kelly dancing in the streets from “Singin’ in the Rain.”
You’ll even get to experience a bit of the dread Sigourney Weaver felt when you enter the “Alien” sequence!
The ride then concludes with a short montage of movie classics you can watch on the big screen.
- *NOTE* The Great Movie Ride was officially closed in August 2017. In fact, I recently wrote an article dedicated to all of the permanently closed Disney World rides that I miss terribly, and The Great Movie Ride absolutely made the list.
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens, and adults
Duration: 18 minutes
FastPass+ Offered
Thrill Level: Dark, slow ride. Some scenes may scare children.
2) Citizens of Hollywood: Dressed up as if they just teleported from the 40s and 50s to present day, the Citizens of Hollywood troupe bring high energy entertainment value to Disney guests.
This isn’t a show in the traditional sense, however, as the Citizens will pop up randomly throughout the day on the Boulevard.
And they just might act pretty outlandish and wild, too! Make sure you have your cameras, camcorders, and cell phones out.
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens, and adults
3) Meet Disney Pals: Grab a photo with Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto and more here at Hollywood Boulevard. The characters, which will be dressed for success, will also be willing to sign autographs and give (and receive) a hug or two, as well.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
Mickey Avenue:
1) Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream: How much do you really know about Walt Disney?
Not the company.
Or the business.
I’m talking about the man himself.
That’s what this indoor attraction aims to answer, by presenting guests with not just a fifteen minute film about Disney himself, but also a gallery full of over 400 different artifacts that chronicle the personal and professional life of the man who would go on to create Mickey Mouse.
Come check out Walt Disney’s actual second grade desk, a handful of formerly unseen and unheard film and audio clips of Walt, storyboards, paintings, and even the original Audio-Animatronic figure of Abraham Lincoln that dates all the way back to the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
There’s a lot of history in the One Man’s Dream exhibit, and guests are usually able to walk right in without a line. There’s no FastPass+ offered here, but it’s also not needed by any means.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers, kids and adults
2) Meet a Favorite Star on Mickey Avenue: Now this is the Mickey Mouse everyone wants to meet. Dressed up in his Sorcerer’s robe and matching blue starred hat, Sorcerer Mickey is all decked out to meet his special Disney guests (that’s you!). Located inside Animation Studio (within the comfy confines of the Animation Courtyard), you can be sure to get your necessary photo op with the most popular character in the park.
And unlike most meet and greets with Mickey Mouse, you will not need a FastPass to see him in a reasonable amount of time. In fact, FastPass+ is not even offered here.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
Toy Story Land:
1) Toy Story Mania!: This “4D” adventure combines a moving vehicle, 3D glasses, and you and your family or friends shooting virtual targets. Themed as a carnival gallery adventure, guests will get to play through a variety of different games that involve everything from knocking down barnyard animal targets, popping balloons, and throwing baseballs.
Once each game is completed, you (or should I say, your Carnival themed tram vehicle) move onto the next one.
At the conclusion of each ride, you will also have the opportunity to see how many points you amassed. Sure, this ride is all for fun, but who doesn’t want a little bragging rights?
This is one of the most popular rides in all of Disney World, so if you want to get on this attraction, you most definitely will want to go the route of FastPass+.
Height Restriction: None
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Thrill level: A good amount of spinning
2) Meet Buzz Lightyear and Woody: Snap a few pictures with your favorite characters from “Toy Story.” Come grab a hug with Buzz Lightyear or get an autograph from Woody so that you and your kids can have memories that will last to infinity and beyond.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
3) Slinky Dog Dash: Board a fun, kid-friendly rollercoaster based on the popular “Toy Story” character Slinky Dog!
Grand Avenue
1) Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure: This is the ultimate attraction for young kids. Here, at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids movie set adventure, kids can get a sense of what it must feel like to be shrunken down to the size of an ant.
Preschoolers and kids can come here to climb massive anthills and blades of grass, a humongous bumblebee, a leaking water hose, and other great callbacks to one of the more enjoyable kid flicks of the 1990s.
Kids will notice a lot of nods to the movie in the extremely fun interactive playground. It has been open since 1990, and even I have a few memories of running through this adventure set when I was a kid.
Note: This attraction has been closed as part of the Toy Story Land expansion.
Height Restriction: None
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids (Video by DisneyDaybyDay)
2) Muppet Vision 3D: Even if you’re not the biggest Muppet fan, you have to come and check out the Muppet Vision 3D attraction. One of the best 3D attractions that has ever graced Disney World (in my opinion), the show begins with a 12-minute pre-show that features Muppets like Scooter and Gonzo and transitions into a full-on 3D spectacular set in a wonderful, beautifully realized theater with bright red seats (this theater is designed to look like the Muppet theater from the classic TV show).
Once the show begins, you’ll get to see all your favorites in glorious 3D—from Kermit and Miss Piggy to Beaker, Fozzie, Sam Eagle and more (including Waldorf and Statler). And despite this show having opened in 1991, I think it’s still holds up perfectly fine and the 3D is as great as ever.
But, what makes Muppet Vision so entertaining is that this 3D show is not solely a 3D show. You’ll see Muppet characters pop up and physically walk on stage. You’ll even see in-theater practical effects happen all around you (causing you to move your head around the theater to really appreciate everything that’s going on).
Height Restriction: None
Age of Interest: Preschoolers, kids, and adults
FastPass+ Offered
(Video by DarthVader92)
3) Meet Mike and Sulley: Come out to meet the only two monsters roaming the earth that aren’t scary and intimidating. Kids and kids at heart can stop by and snap a picture or shoot some cell phone video footage with Mike and Sulley.
Age of Interest: Kids
4) Meet Phineas and Ferb: Guests can line up to meet stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb as they’re filming a movie about their summer vacation.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
5) Meet the Stars of Cars: In the theme park that features a popular car stunt show, how could you not have the characters from “Cars” pop up somewhere? Well, on the Streets of America, guests can grab a photo with Lightning McQueen and Mater from the popular animated flick.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers and kids
6) Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show: If you love cars, and you love stunts, then this might just be the most thrilling show you can see in all of Disney World. This show, which comes to Disney World from its Paris cousin’s live attraction titled “Mouters…Action!,” features a Mediterranean village in France as its backdrop.
This show helps to illustrate the behind-the-scenes magic of car chase sequences and stunts you see in films. You’ll learn how a car can look “normal” on the outside but be tricked out internally to drive far faster than a regular vehicle.
This show, while a little long (it’s almost a 40 minute show), does its best to thrill and educate guests seated in the massive outdoor theater. The show not only features motorcycle stunts and high speed car chases, but also a massive fiery conclusion that is so grand, you’ll want to get your cameras aimed and ready to capture the moment.
- *NOTE* Lights, Motors, Action! was officially closed in August 2017.
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Duration: 38 minutes
Sunset Boulevard:
1) Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Starring Aerosmith: Who doesn’t want to race through the darkness while on their way to an Aerosmith concert? Well, if you don’t like high speed and big drops, perhaps you might want to sit this one out.
But for everyone else that’s a bit more brave, the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster features a stretch limo vehicle that guests board. Once everyone is safely in their seats, you blast off at 60 miles per hour and whip past memorable landmarks like the Hollywood sign and experience what Los Angeles would look like if you blew through it in the night at warp speed.
Guests who enjoy a little variety in their roller coasters should prepare for two rollover loops and a corkscrew. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Some quick advice: try not to eat a big meal before boarding this attraction!
With this being an Aerosmith inspired attraction, you can expect to hear songs like “Walk This Way” and “Dude (Looks Like a Lady).”
Height Restriction: 48 inches (122 cm) or taller
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Thrill Level: Big drops, high speed and loud
(Video by TheCoasterViews)
2) The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Based on the fantastic and mind-bending show “The Twilight Zone,” the “Tower of Terror” attraction blends creepiness and pure terror perfectly.
The story behind this attraction is the following: In 1939, five people perished in the Hollywood Tower Hotel’s elevator.
As you enter the hotel in present day, you notice the realities of an abandoned hotel—weeds, spider webs, a lobby full of dust.
At some point, do you meet the lost souls from 1939? Well, you’ll just have to venture further into this attraction to find out.
This ride features guests arriving to the 13th floor of the hotel and being dropped down the elevator shaft! As you shriek in terror, you’ll find you’re being raised up the shaft only to be dropped once more.
So soak in the view from the 13th floor when you get it. Because it’ll be brief. And it’s a long way down.
Height Restriction: 40 inches (102 cm) or taller
Age of Interest: Kids, tweens, teens and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Thrill Level: Big drops, dark, scary
3) Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage: Easily one of my favorite live stage shows that’s offered at Disney World, “Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage” is such a well done production considering its running time (under thirty minutes), that you’ll be shocked at how they’re able to pull off something so great multiple times a day.
The stage show essentially covers the entire story of Belle and Beast in under 30 minutes, as we see how a man gets transformed into a beast and witness Gaston’s smug charm live and in person. We also see Belle turn from a doe-eyed bookworm into a woman experiencing the thrill of seeing a beautiful mansion stocked full of talking plates, teacups and utensils.
The show features all your favorite songs from the film, along with a large cast of performers singing and dancing in colorful costumes. There’s a lot of interaction between characters on stage in this show, and a lot of the dancing and other theatrical performances are done in synchronization with one another, making for a show that’s really a whole lot of fun to witness.
The show takes place inside the Theater of the Stars, which seats 1,500 guests.
Age of Interest: Preschoolers, kids, tweens and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Duration: 25 minutes
(Video by Crazy About Disney)
4) Fantasmic!: This is such a special night show, it’s hard to do it justice in such a limited space here. You really must see it for yourself.
Essentially, Fantasmic is a show that features pyrotechnics, incredible water and laser effects, and even some amazing high wire acts.
Oh, did I forget to mention boats full of characters wearing illuminated costumes that change colors?
“Fantasmic!” is a delight for anyone that loves classic Disney villains, as they unite to invade Mickey Mouse’s dreams and turn them into sheer nightmares.
The show–which features images from classic Disney films projected onto gallons of water shooting into the air–manages to cram in dozens and dozens and dozens of popular characters and not feel too overcrowded (there are, in fact, over fifty costumed characters that will appear throughout this entire show).
And you’ll certainly be impressed with some of the Disney magic Mickey Mouse himself manages to dole out to villains like Ursula, Jafar, Maleficent and more.
The classic Disney movies, among others, that are featured in this unique show are “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Cinderella,” “Peter Pan,” and more.
Do note: You can acquire reserved seating for “Fantasmic!” if you eat at one of the three restaurants that are part of the Fantasmic! Dining Package. Those three restaurants are:
–The Hollywood Brown Derby
-Hollywood and Vine
-Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano
Seating begins 90 minutes before the show starts.
Age of Interest: Kids, teens, and adults
FastPass+ Offered
Duration: 30 minutes
5) Symphony in the Stars: A Galactic Spectacular: End a night of fun with an amazing fireworks display set to the music of John Williams’ memorable Star Wars themes. This fireworks display, like “Fantasmic” will be available on certain nights and is also subject to change or cancellation due to weather. You can even buy Made with Magic items (like hats, for example) that will glow in sync with the “Symphony” fireworks music and night show!
Age of Interest: Preschoolers, kids and adults
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