WDW Disney's Hollywood Studios Discussion Thread

[teacherkim]

On 11/22/2021 at 8:43 AM, coasterbill said:

That's not true but they also don't communicate that very well. I also wrote the wrong times on my last post but edited it.

Book slinky at 7, book Falcon at 9. You can make another reservation either 2 hours after you make your reservation, or once you use your Lightning Lane reservation, whichever is first. There is no way to get Rise most days unless you're staying on property. There's nothing you could have done there because you can't buy the single skips until 9am if you're not a resort guest but you can reserve the first normal LL ride at 7.

Hang on. I get that you can book at 7 but I thought the two hour window did not start counting until park open, so if you book Slinky at 7 you wouldn't be able to book Smugglers Run until you use Slinky OR 11 whichever comes first. (assuming a 9 am park open) Am I confused on that?

We are staying on property Dec 13-17 with multi gen family members. They don't care about Slinky but want to see GE and do the stuff there. So I think we will book the ILL for Rise and regular LL for Smugglers at 7 (2 people on 2 phones should be able to do it) and then my son and I will use early entry to standby Slinky. We're staying at CBR so can hop the skyliner and be in before 7:30 for an 8 am regular opening. Geez. This is why I don't do Disney very often so f***ing complicated.

[coasterbill]

On 11/28/2021 at 1:53 PM, teacherkim said:

Hang on. I get that you can book at 7 but I thought the two hour window did not start counting until park open, so if you book Slinky at 7 you wouldn't be able to book Smugglers Run until you use Slinky OR 11 whichever comes first. (assuming a 9 am park open) Am I confused on that?

After using it, yes you are correct. I was wrong.

Optimal strategy (for everyone else, not necessarily you since not everyone cares about Slinky in your group) at Hollywood Studios is to book Slinky at 7 (it will be gone by 7:01 on busy days), then book Falcon at 11 (assuming a 9am open) or sooner if you snagged an amazing time. The app will tell you when you can make another reservation if you go and try to do it and it won't allow it.

Personally, our strategy was to not book Slinky and book Falcon at 7. I feel like I'm sucked into the hype of Slinky, but really, it's probably my 5th-or-so favorite ride in that park.

Note: For resort guests who want Slinky, ideally you want two people up at 7am if you want Slinky... one to book slinky and one to book Rise. If one person is doing everything, they should grab Slinky first. There's not as much demand for Rise right at 7 because EVERYONE can book Slinky at 7 but only resort guests can book Rise. Then if you get there at resort guest early entry, also rope drop rise (or Slinky if you'd prefer for some reason).

[teacherkim]

Our main goal for Slinky is to get the credit  But hopefully it's a fun little coaster as well. Which is why my son and I will just utilize early entry and try to rush Slinky first. Which will allow us to book ROR and SR at 7 for the whole group. However, the other day my son downloaded the app and tried to link everyone in the group and it wouldn't let him since I already had everyone linked to mine, so I'm wondering if you can even do two people in the group booking now. I'll find out when I'm down there and report back.

[SharkTums]

^Does your son have his own account or do you 'manage' his account? Anyone with their own account can link up, but if it's a managed account you cannot. 

[teacherkim]

Ok, thanks, that makes sense. I'm sure that was the problem. I'll have him work on it when he gets home, in fact that will be one of his jobs tomorrow while I am trying to pack to give him something to do!

[KBrylczyk]

On 11/22/2021 at 8:31 AM, coasterbill said:

You don't have to actually buy Lightning Lane to access the single use passes I don't think. I think optimal strategy is to scoop up Slinky or Falcon at 7 and then the other at 9 sharp.

I know I'm late to the party, but imagine spending extra money to ride Smuggler's Run.  It hurts me to even think about that.  Spend the coin on something worthwhile like Small World.

[teacherkim]

Just a follow up for everyone now that we are back home. Ummmm, Bill you were so correct, SDD kind of blows. Our expectations were not even that high and it still was kind of a disappointment, massively overhyped for us, a one and done. We actually had way more fun on Seven Dwarves. That being said with a multi generational family group, not all the members being regular theme park fans; the strategy of doing ILL for Rise and regular Genie + LL for Falcon and then the two of us just rope dropping Slinky worked like a charm. 

Also, fyi, on a second morning just the two of us rope dropped Rise. If you are experienced and know what you are doing, like everyone here on the forum, and are willing to get going early.....you can totally rope drop Rise and then Falcon with almost no wait (in fact we also did Rock n Roller Coaster single rider and were back at the resort by 9:45) BUT that is with the caveat that we were staying on property and they let us in over an hour before park open and started running Rise that day a good 45-50 min before park open. Your only chance if not on property would be to line up at the gate like two hours early so you would be the first of the "regular" guests in.

[teacherkim]

Oh and I have to add that I soooo regret not being able to record my 76 year old mother yelling at my 77 year old dad (and this is a direct quote) "KEEP PUSHING THE F**KING BUTTON" while they were doing the part of the gunners on Falcon 

[coasterbill]

On 12/27/2021 at 1:24 PM, teacherkim said:

Just a follow up for everyone now that we are back home. Ummmm, Bill you were so correct, SDD kind of blows. Our expectations were not even that high and it still was kind of a disappointment, massively overhyped for us, a one and done. We actually had way more fun on Seven Dwarves. That being said with a multi generational family group, not all the members being regular theme park fans; the strategy of doing ILL for Rise and regular Genie + LL for Falcon and then the two of us just rope dropping Slinky worked like a charm. 

Also, fyi, on a second morning just the two of us rope dropped Rise. If you are experienced and know what you are doing, like everyone here on the forum, and are willing to get going early.....you can totally rope drop Rise and then Falcon with almost no wait (in fact we also did Rock n Roller Coaster single rider and were back at the resort by 9:45) BUT that is with the caveat that we were staying on property and they let us in over an hour before park open and started running Rise that day a good 45-50 min before park open. Your only chance if not on property would be to line up at the gate like two hours early so you would be the first of the "regular" guests in.

I feel like Disney sometimes builds perfectly good rides that people don't like because their guests (though no fault of their own) overhype the sh*t out of them and the wait times are so insane that nobody will get off of those rides feeling good about what they had to go through to ride them.

I feel that way about Slinky, Navi River Journey and Mine Train for sure. They'd all be nice rides if the line were ever 20 minutes for them. I even had to catch myself with Slinky falling into the trap of feeling like I needed to wake up at 6:55 AM to make sure I secured my spot on the worst non-kiddy coaster on WDW property that's popular simply because everyone decided that it should be.

Note; I was tempted to include Peter Pan on the list but I didn't because I actually just think that ride sucks.

[teacherkim]

5 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I feel like Disney sometimes builds perfectly good rides that people don't like because their guests (though no fault of their own) overhype the sh*t out of them and the wait times are so insane that nobody will get off of those rides feeling good about what they had to go through to ride them.

I feel that way about Slinky, Navi River Journey and Mine Train for sure. They'd all be nice rides if the line were ever 20 minutes for them. I even had to catch myself with Slinky falling into the trap of feeling like I needed to wake up at 6:55 AM to make sure I secured my spot on the worst non-kiddy coaster on WDW property that's popular simply because everyone decided that it should be.

Note; I was tempted to include Peter Pan on the list but I didn't because I actually just think that ride sucks.

It's funny that you mention Peter Pan. We are casual Disney goers, we go once in a while and never were willing to wait for Peter Pan because we couldn't imagine it would be worth it. So we went this year just because we were there with a larger family group for Christmas and since it is probably the only time that will happen we did the Magic Kingdom after hours party (worth it to me for the lines alone but admittedly ridiculously priced) So during the party PP was only about a 10 min wait so we hopped on just to see and I still don't get it, nostalgia I guess, which is a lot of what the Disney faithful are really fans of I think. The fact that 7 Dwarfs was only about a 20 min wait during the party probably made it more fun than it was; along with the fact that you could walk around the park and watch the fireworks in a reasonable crowd not the normal Disney crush of humanity.

The thing that gets me about a Disney visit is the tedious amount of pre-planning and reservations that you have to do ahead of time. Annoying.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Also, it was/is the novelty of PP using a suspended rail type system, which a lot of the GP (including myself at times) back then hadn't ridden before. And it's built up it's "legendary status" since then.

Personally I still enjoy (and will wait in line for) "Alice in Wonderland" as the best of the dark rides at DL, because it is so unique, from the vehicles, to how it starts and ends outside. I am still curious why a copy never went to WDW, etc. And I have no interest in a version of the Tim Burton AiW franchise.

And yes, I totally agree on what one has to do nowadays, to go to any Disney park in the States. Too - much - pre-planning involved. It's too exhausting! And ... cell phones are usually needed, which we don't own. Lucky us, huh?

(Pardon the detour into Peter Pan space, lol.)

[bert425]

Love Peter Pan. . and always ride it and wait in line for it.

rode it multiple times at TDL too

but then again, I love carousels too . . so not really surprising I love the "gentle" ride of Peter Pan

[tuxedomask5432]

1 hour ago, Nrthwnd said:

And yes, I totally agree on what one has to do nowadays, to go to any Disney park in the States. Too - much - pre-planning involved. It's too exhausting! And ... cell phones are usually needed, which we don't own. Lucky us, huh?

(Pardon the detour into Peter Pan space, lol.)

So I’ve been a little more adventurous since moving here to Orlando, and we both went to Magic Kingdom with only one cell phone. Which we tried to avoid using one day, for fun, in early December after Thanksgiving.

We rope dropped MK and stayed until 4:30. Managed to get on 10 different attractions, including all three mountains, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Jingle Cruise, Small World, Pirates, People Mover, and Speedway. 

Also managed to snag a couple of meals, and a snack too. Some of the locations were a little perplexed about us not wanting to mobile order, so we had an easy out: “dietary restrictions.”

But gotta say had so much fun not staring at the phone constantly. And the wait times on the App? Well a couple were wildly off, compared to what we actually experienced. We passed by Peter Pan which posted a 45 minute wait. We waited 25.

Passed by a “15 minute” Small World queue which was spilling out onto the midway, because I thought it was way longer than that. Then came back later to a 35 minute posted queue that was inside the building and was only a 5 minute wait.

And since we weren’t staying on property, we couldn’t get early entry. So we rope dropped Jingle Cruise because the lines were already pretty long for Fantasyland/Tomorrowland. So we avoided a 95 min wait for Jingle Cruise, a 60 min wait for Big Thunder, and a 120 min wait for Splash. 

If you go to WDW often enough, give a mobile free day a try. You will be surprised and have a magical time. 

[teacherkim]

18 hours ago, tuxedomask5432 said:

So I’ve been a little more adventurous since moving here to Orlando, and we both went to Magic Kingdom with only one cell phone. Which we tried to avoid using one day, for fun, in early December after Thanksgiving.

We rope dropped MK and stayed until 4:30. Managed to get on 10 different attractions, including all three mountains, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Jingle Cruise, Small World, Pirates, People Mover, and Speedway. 

Also managed to snag a couple of meals, and a snack too. Some of the locations were a little perplexed about us not wanting to mobile order, so we had an easy out: “dietary restrictions.”

But gotta say had so much fun not staring at the phone constantly. And the wait times on the App? Well a couple were wildly off, compared to what we actually experienced. We passed by Peter Pan which posted a 45 minute wait. We waited 25.

Passed by a “15 minute” Small World queue which was spilling out onto the midway, because I thought it was way longer than that. Then came back later to a 35 minute posted queue that was inside the building and was only a 5 minute wait.

And since we weren’t staying on property, we couldn’t get early entry. So we rope dropped Jingle Cruise because the lines were already pretty long for Fantasyland/Tomorrowland. So we avoided a 95 min wait for Jingle Cruise, a 60 min wait for Big Thunder, and a 120 min wait for Splash. 

If you go to WDW often enough, give a mobile free day a try. You will be surprised and have a magical time. 

 

20 hours ago, Nrthwnd said:

^ Also, it was/is the novelty of PP using a suspended rail type system, which a lot of the GP (including myself at times) back then hadn't ridden before. And it's built up it's "legendary status" since then.

Personally I still enjoy (and will wait in line for) "Alice in Wonderland" as the best of the dark rides at DL, because it is so unique, from the vehicles, to how it starts and ends outside. I am still curious why a copy never went to WDW, etc. And I have no interest in a version of the Tim Burton AiW franchise.

And yes, I totally agree on what one has to do nowadays, to go to any Disney park in the States. Too - much - pre-planning involved. It's too exhausting! And ... cell phones are usually needed, which we don't own. Lucky us, huh?

(Pardon the detour into Peter Pan space, lol.)

Nrthwnd, I do understand the historical aspect/nostalgia of it. I didn't particularly mind the phone so much but didn't have to use it at MK since we did the party. Booking Genie + rides at the other parks was just a minute or two on the phone each time but I totally get not wanting to mess with it. Personally I preferred the phone to the running of the fastpass kiosks at rope drop. Although it would be helpful if it didn't glitch on Disney's end. I found the wait times are often exaggerated closer to closing time for obvious reasons. I think one of the things that annoys me about Disney more than booking ride times/fastpass is the dining situation. I loathe having to try to pinpoint where and when you might want to eat months ahead of time but risking no chance at some of the better restaurants if you don't. I would much prefer if everything was just walk up with no reservations. I mean if something is a long wait you are in a theme park, it's not like you can't entertain yourself while waiting for a table.

[teacherkim]

20 hours ago, bert425 said:

Love Peter Pan. . and always ride it and wait in line for it.

rode it multiple times at TDL too

but then again, I love carousels too . . so not really surprising I love the "gentle" ride of Peter Pan

Bert I love ya, but I still don't get waiting in line more than 15 minutes for it, unless MAYBE you had many days scheduled and had lots of time to kill!! Of course we waited 2 hours 2 days in a row for them to get Hagrid's up over at Universal the year it opened so.........to each their own and thank goodness for variety being the spice of life 

[mikeykaise]

I agree about having to be on your phone all the time at any Disney property would suck, that's supposed to be quality family time not play on your phone, but then again anytime you go out to eat everyone around you is usually on their phones instead of spending time as a family.

[Nrthwnd]

I will admit, that during the time before visiting Disney Paris, I had all the right 'coupons' and reservations for food done and printed out in advance. And for the dining stuff, I could do it two months, by phone, before we arrived there. I can assume this system has probably changed? But for now, I won't concern myself with such stuff. Until we're allowed to go back to Europe, what's the point of worrying about pre-planning, outside of and within Disney Paris? 

[Lucas The Drummer]

What's the strategy for riding ROTR if youre not staying at a resort hotel? Planning to go on either February 2nd or 3rd, and not sure what the crowds will even be like at that point.

[Haymaker]

4 hours ago, Lucas The Drummer said:

What's the strategy for riding ROTR if youre not staying at a resort hotel? Planning to go on either February 2nd or 3rd, and not sure what the crowds will even be like at that point.

 Rope drop or wait till then end of the day

[coasterbill]

Queue Times shows that wait times drop off almost every day as the day goes on (It's pulling data right from the Disney app).

The shortest line will be at park close, but this isn't Flight of Passage where there's virtually zero chance of the ride going down. People can and have been screwed attempting this. If you only have one day and it's a must for you then I probably would rope drop it but with all of the hotel guests beating you there you're going to wait awhile and if you're not near the front of the line for day guests I wouldn't even bother until later.

Also, check the app and refresh a lot early in the day. The odds of you getting a chance to buy a LL for it are extremely low, but it's the Disney app and stranger things have happened.

[teacherkim]

5 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Queue Times shows that wait times drop off almost every day as the day goes on (It's pulling data right from the Disney app).

The shortest line will be at park close, but this isn't Flight of Passage where there's virtually zero chance of the ride going down. People can and have been screwed attempting this. If you only have one day and it's a must for you then I probably would rope drop it but with all of the hotel guests beating you there you're going to wait awhile and if you're not near the front of the line for day guests I wouldn't even bother until later.

Also, check the app and refresh a lot early in the day. The odds of you getting a chance to buy a LL for it are extremely low, but it's the Disney app and stranger things have happened.

 

11 hours ago, Lucas The Drummer said:

What's the strategy for riding ROTR if youre not staying at a resort hotel? Planning to go on either February 2nd or 3rd, and not sure what the crowds will even be like at that point.

Having just been there, I agree 100% with Bill. And if you do rope drop get there early so you can be one of the first regular guests in, entrances to the left are closest to where you need to go. You want to go past Star Tours and into that entrance of GE as ROTR is right there. Don't go all the way around through Toy Story land.

[KBrylczyk]

I've only been on ROTR at Disneyland once and that was with the boarding pass system still in place.  IIRC, though, that ride pumps people through unlike any other ride I've seen, Disney or otherwise.  It's a people eater of the tallest order.  When I used my boarding pass I walked through the queue to the third-to-last room before the Rey preshow and only waited ten minutes.  Barring a long breakdown I can't see a full queue being exceptionally long, time-wise, but like I said I've only ridden with the boarding pass system in place.  We had to do child-swap and they sent my wife up the Lightning Lane entrance.  That let her walk from the gate directly into the preshow with zero wait, the lucky duck.

I don't recall seeing a single rider line, but then again I wasn't looking for one since it wouldn't have been open anyway.  Millennium Falcon has one, though, and we both walked right on the ride and got on the same group that was loading when we got to the top of the stairs.  Neither of us stopped walking until we were watching the video from Hondo outside of the cockpit.

[teacherkim]

5 hours ago, KBrylczyk said:

I've only been on ROTR at Disneyland once and that was with the boarding pass system still in place.  IIRC, though, that ride pumps people through unlike any other ride I've seen, Disney or otherwise.  It's a people eater of the tallest order.  When I used my boarding pass I walked through the queue to the third-to-last room before the Rey preshow and only waited ten minutes.  Barring a long breakdown I can't see a full queue being exceptionally long, time-wise, but like I said I've only ridden with the boarding pass system in place.  We had to do child-swap and they sent my wife up the Lightning Lane entrance.  That let her walk from the gate directly into the preshow with zero wait, the lucky duck.

I don't recall seeing a single rider line, but then again I wasn't looking for one since it wouldn't have been open anyway.  Millennium Falcon has one, though, and we both walked right on the ride and got on the same group that was loading when we got to the top of the stairs.  Neither of us stopped walking until we were watching the video from Hondo outside of the cockpit.

Yeah we rode it at DL when boarding pass still in place, but that helped space out the crowd immensely; at WDW there was a massive overflow queue and you are talking between 1 and 2 hours just to get to the point of the start of the normal queue. Completely different animal when your only choice is standby or buy ILL. And one morning it was down until just after park open which totally screwed the standby rope drop people.

[A.J.]

Disney has announced that Fantasmic will be returning to Disney's Hollywood Studios on November 3rd, 2022!

https://wdwnews.com/releases/fantasmic returns-nov-3-to-conjure-up-magic-and-delight-audiences-nightly-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/

Forces of good and evil will once again battle it out in Mickey’s dream as the long-awaited return of Fantasmic! debuts Nov. 3 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. The legendary nighttime spectacular invites guests into Mickey’s imagination for a larger-than-life show painted on a grand canvas of dancing water overflowing with silly and suspenseful surprises.

The elaborate 29-minute nighttime spectacular takes place nightly – a kaleidoscope of entertainment featuring thrilling stunts, dazzling special effects and a rousing score based on classic Disney animated films. Fantasmic! is just one of many new and returning live-entertainment experiences guests can enjoy during the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration.

“Fantasmic! is a show that will take you on a journey to see so many characters, so many villains and heroes,” says Melanie Gagne, entertainment proprietor for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. “It’s one of our biggest shows, and many guests will plan their day or their entire vacation around Fantasmic!

The return of Fantasmic! will include the debut of an all-new sequence that will bring to life heroic moments from Disney stories such as “Moana,” “Mulan,” “Aladdin,” “Pocahontas,” and “Frozen 2.”

“In bringing Fantasmic! back, we have a brand-new scene that we’re calling our Disney Heroes scene,” says Matthew Hamel, show director for Disney Live Entertainment. “We get to see some new characters introduced to Fantasmic!, and we get to show their stories in a new, unique way utilizing a combination of projections, lasers and new lighting.”

Eye-Catching Visuals, Immersive Storytelling

The show combines live performers with stunning special effects, colorful pyrotechnic explosions, animation and dancing waters synchronized to the melodies of timeless Disney classics.

“It was extremely exciting to take advantage of technological enhancements that didn’t originally exist when the show opened in 1998,” says Katrina Mena Rick, broadcast creative producer for Disney Live Entertainment. “So, we [worked] with other disciplines such as special effects, lighting, lasers and music to ensure that our visual content was as exactly seamless and as beautiful as it could be.”

A Journey Beyond Guests’ Wildest Imaginations

Audiences are transported into a fantastical adventure with Mickey Mouse where his magic creates dancing waters, shooting comets, animated fountains, swirling stars, balls of fire and other amazing wonders. When Disney villains intrude on Mickey’s fantasy and turn his dreams into nightmares, he uses the powers of good to triumph over evil.

“Bringing back Fantasmic! here at Disney’s Hollywood Studios means so much to our guests,” says Mena Rick. “It was a task to not only preserve the legacy of the show but also introduce new characters for the next generation.”

[YoshiFan]

Looking forward to seeing the show return. Hollywood Studios doesn't feel the same without it. For the days I don't see Fantasmic, I also hope it will take people away from the ride lines towards the end of the night. When I last visited 2 weeks ago, even smaller rides like Alien Swirling Saucers had a posted 50 minute wait at some parts of the day and more popular rides like Rock N Roller Coaster were up to 100 minutes (single rider took 20).