WDW Disney's Hollywood Studios Discussion Thread

[Canobie Coaster]

Speaking of Slinky, does anyone know if they updated that queue line to have shade? I couldn't believe most of the standby queue had none when I rode it last year.

[Kw6sTheatee]

My birthday is August 30. So I’ll have some Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge footage along with Six Flags announcements to look forward to. And hopefully a Six Flags Fiesta Texas visit.

[coasterbill]

Speaking of Slinky, does anyone know if they updated that queue line to have shade?

 

They have not. Luckily it was cloudy while we were in line.

 

That said, we only waited about an hour and we Fastpassed or walked on basically everything for two days straight except for that, River Journey and Frozen Ever After so I can't really complain about the wait.

Edited March 8, 2019 by coasterbill

[Canobie Coaster]

^ That's lucky; I'm still shocked they haven't put shade there.

[A.J.]

Won't the entrance to Star Wars Land require you to go right by Slinky? If the land hits capacity, I see those people possibly hopping to the Toy Story Land rides since they're right there.

As far as we can see, you'll have one entrance from Toy Story Land and one from Grand Avenue. I don't recall if there will be a third one.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Only the two walk-in entrances at this time. Three, if you count the (eventual) Star Wars Hotel being built, with (shuttle?) access to a separate Galaxy's Edge entrance. Disneyland has three walk-in entry points to GE.

 

But - wasn't Disney quoted as 'saying' they wanted the gp to enter the Grand Avenue entry and EXIT via the Toy Story Land opening? Or is this reservation system for entry times their replacement idea? Or was that a total rumor? Just asking.

[robbalvey]

Every once in a while Disney will do something totally unexpected and somewhat unannounced that really takes you by surprise! Such is the case with "Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy" which just opened at Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios. The attraction is located next to Rock N Roller Coaster in a building that used to be more of a "multi-purpose" venue, but now houses this permanent attraction.

 

Outside the building you can find other cars from the Pixar films to take photos with and there is some entertainment for kids while you wait for the next show. It's very cute and well done!

 

The show itself is a fairly quick 12 minutes or so and when you walk into the theater, it kind of seems like one half of a "CircleVision" theater which is kind of exactly what it is. The main star of the show, however, is a very impressive animatronic of Lightning McQueen that is more on the ground level of the theater in front of the audience.

 

The show demonstrates that it takes "teamwork to win" as Lightning McQueen faces one of his competitors via a racing simulation that he has put together to help newbies become better race car drivers in his academy. The whole thing is well done and will be a nice distraction from the very busy Star Wars Land crowds that will soon invade the park later this summer.

 

Take a look at the video below to really see how impressive this new animatronic is! And then of course.... go see the show!

 

Good morning from Disney's Hollywood Studios!

We're here to check out a new attraction which some of you may not know about!

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy has just opened and it can be found right next to Rock N Roller Coaster!

You can meet some of the cars from the Pixar films!

DJ is here to play you music and pose for photos!

And yes, PhotoPass people are out here to take your pics so you don't even have to worry about it yourself!

Loved all the entertainment they had for kids. Here they are playing "car wash" as one of the activities.

As for the attraction itself, this used to be more of a "multi-purpose" venue but how it houses this permanent attraction!

The star of the show is this amazing Lightning McQueen animatronic!

Lightning has to race one of his competitors on his "racing simulator" that he developed for his academy.

Spoiler alert... guess who wins! Be sure to check out this new show next time you are at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

[Taylor Finn]

This looks like a neat little diversion. The parks can always use more attractions like this that are not E-ticket, but serve a purpose and are absolutely worth doing! Sure won't hurt come Galaxy's Edge.

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

I’m blown away by the lightning mcqueen animatronic! I like the show a lot and I can’t wait to check it out for myself when I visit!

 

When was the last time an animatronic show opened at Disney? I recall that Stitch’s Great Escape (attraction or show, up to you) was the last one that opened unless I’m forgetting one?

[better_by_design]

This looks like a neat little diversion. The parks can always use more attractions like this that are not E-ticket, but serve a purpose and are absolutely worth doing! Sure won't hurt come Galaxy's Edge.

 

Totally agree - not every attraction should be an E-ticket.

 

This looks really cool, especially for the hordes of tiny Cars fans out there.

 

And heck... it's air conditioned. If it had seats for the audience, I'd be all in!

 

Love that it's right beside the two big draws on that end of the park - will provide some nice balance to RnRC and ToT.

[cfc]

Putting it next to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror was a wise move. Parties can easily split up and give those who don't care for intense rides something to do while others ride the coaster or ToT.

[RoxasBraveheart]

Wait a second, an air-conditioned indoor show that's not an add-on to a billion-dollar land? We're talking about the same Disney, right? I love that they did this! I think that they should make one in California within Cars Land, from the videos I saw. (Maybe even place it in the Radiator Springs town hall next to the Racers entrance?) That would definitely help with some of the lack of indoor "rest stops" at DCA.

[CaptainUnknown]

That animatronic though.

[BlahBlahson]

^ #retiredgifs

 

 

This looks really cool, especially for the hordes of tiny Cars fans out there.

 

And heck... it's air conditioned. If it had seats for the audience, I'd be all in!

 

 

You're in Luck. There are Bench Seats!

 

I love this addition as well. This is exactly the kind of thing that had been going extinct at DHS and Epcot for the last decade+, IE random extras that you don't have to do on every visit but remain fun and delightful.

[SharkTums]

^Yeah, I was just going to post you totally sit down!

 

Air Conditioned and sitting down! Very nice in Orlando most of the year.

[Too Fast For Comfort]

This looks like a neat little diversion. The parks can always use more attractions like this that are not E-ticket, but serve a purpose and are absolutely worth doing! Sure won't hurt come Galaxy's Edge.

 

Totally agree - not every attraction should be an E-ticket.

 

This looks really cool, especially for the hordes of tiny Cars fans out there.

 

And heck... it's air conditioned. If it had seats for the audience, I'd be all in!

 

Love that it's right beside the two big draws on that end of the park - will provide some nice balance to RnRC and ToT.

 

I like the idea of erring more on the side of putting stuff on FP+ rather than not having it. It allows people who can't book early enough or don't know about the Pound the App trick (or don't have the patience for it) to stay productive, and not be frustrated that their only FP+'s are for total walk-ons. The more reserved and planned the day is, the less that everyone has to spend waiting around doing nothing for a ride. The wait is outside of the queue being productive or relaxing.

[Dombot]

That animatronic is next level cool.

[robbalvey]

We were at the world premiere for the new Wonderful World of Animation nighttime show at Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios tonight!

 

COMMENT BELOW

your thoughts on this show!

[Garet]

I realize the parks themselves, characters walking around or the attractions are all part of celebrating the Disney movies, but I'm an absolute sucker for anything involving footage straight out of the movies with the music (I think one of my earliest Disney memories is the montage in the Disney Animation attraction at the studios in Paris), they always feel like the biggest tribute to the films at least for me when I'm in the park, which is why Disney is one of the few places I will catch the shows over extra rides.

 

They've really outdone themselves with how many there are in this. I'm not sure if people prefer the shows that dedicate to a couple of the movies for bigger segments but I love this rapid-fire style of how many films get a quick glimpse or moment in 10 minutes.

[robbalvey]

So I got to go "Behind The Wall" at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge yesterday!!! The new land looks INCREDIBLE!!! Think "Pandora" but on an even MORE immersive and impressive level! While I was not allowed to take any photos or video of what we saw, Disney did provide us with some pretty good images. I was allowed to record audio so in this video, you have about a minute of 100% *REAL* land images (not concept art) and then in the audio portion of the video there is a mix of concept and real images. Enjoy!

 

 

POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!

 

EDIT: Here's a few images to check out... These are all REAL PHOTOS!!! Not concept art!!!

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by robbalvey

[coasterbill]

Holy sh*t

 

Sorry if that's not the most articulate comment ever but that's the phrase that comes to mind.

[mikeykaise]

wow, is all I can say... just wow.

[Waltrane]

It’s is going to be absolutely amazing. After seeing the Galaxy’s Edge panel at Celebration I don’t think I can spend less than two days just in this section. I literally teared up watching the panel. I’m so glad you got to go in and confirm how awesome it is. Now all I’m waiting for is the “We are on Batuu” song (sung to the melody of “We are on a Log Flume.”

[Dombot]

 

[bert425]

looks incredible, and I totally get why they are talking so much about timed arrivals into this -- I can see how claustrophobic is can get when it's slammed with people.

 

but the amount of detail in this? wow. Not a huge Star Wars fan, but I'm super impressed with how immersive this looks!