WDW Disney's Hollywood Studios Discussion Thread

[throatytoast]

Am I the only one that's starting to get worried about how many simulator rides Disney is doing now? The main Avatar ride and the Millenium Falcon ride are both pure simulation, and this one has quite a bit of simulation too. I really don't want Disney to go do the same path as Universal.

[A.J.]

I decided to get up early and go to Hollywood Studios this morning, and Rise of the Resistance is pretty spectacular. It's an excellent mix of trackless movement, practical effects, animatronics, and screen-based effects and when it's all working (as it was today), it just clicks. Add in an extended pre-show and a jaw-dropping set piece in the First Order hangar, and it's nothing short of a must-do, even if you don't like getting up early in the morning, and even if you're not the biggest Star Wars fan.

 

 

I'd go so far as to compare Rise of the Resistance to a new-for-2019 version of Indiana Jones Adventure just based on ambition. It's certainly up there on my favorites list with Indiana Jones and Spider-Man, and it's certainly the best dark ride on Walt Disney World property by far.

 

For those who like to plan, I was there earlier than I probably should have been. I would guess that if you are through security by, say, 6-6:15 AM, you will have plenty of time to get your way through the turnstiles and in the park before boarding opens to all guests at 7 AM. After that it's a game of fastest finger. I got group 29 which meant that boarding opened to me at 8:45 AM, and I was off the ride in about 40 minutes.

[necoastergp]

Am I the only one that's starting to get worried about how many simulator rides Disney is doing now? The main Avatar ride and the Millenium Falcon ride are both pure simulation, and this one has quite a bit of simulation too. I really don't want Disney to go do the same path as Universal.

 

Yes. Rise, Runaway Railway and Ratatouille are all trackless dark rides. Tron and Guardians are coasters. I count 0 simulators out of the 4 major attractions under construction at WDW. Also even Universal has slowed down on simulators with Hagrids, the rumored JP coaster, Bourne stunt show and early rumors of nintendo and epic universe. So I dknt think anyone else is worried. Also Flight of Passage is amazing and Smugglers is not a bad ride at all.

 

 

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[Nrthwnd]

^ I'm wondering if he mainly means "screen based" attractions, more so than simulator ones. With the dark rides you posted there, they all have some screens involved. Guardians and TRON may have screens, too. Especially Guardians with the rotating cars and all? Maybe?

 

If so, it really looks like Disney is still thankfully integrating screens with actual sets in their current and future attractions. Even the update on Alice In Wonderland in DL, and The Little Mermaid in DCA, used small screens where needed.

 

Midway Mania being the exception to me, being all screens.

[Canobie Coaster]

I decided to get up early and go to Hollywood Studios this morning, and Rise of the Resistance is pretty spectacular. It's an excellent mix of trackless movement, practical effects, animatronics, and screen-based effects and when it's all working (as it was today), it just clicks. Add in an extended pre-show and a jaw-dropping set piece in the First Order hangar, and it's nothing short of a must-do, even if you don't like getting up early in the morning, and even if you're not the biggest Star Wars fan.

 

I'd go so far as to compare Rise of the Resistance to a new-for-2019 version of Indiana Jones Adventure just based on ambition. It's certainly up there on my favorites list with Indiana Jones and Spider-Man, and it's certainly the best dark ride on Walt Disney World property by far.

 

For those who like to plan, I was there earlier than I probably should have been. I would guess that if you are through security by, say, 6-6:15 AM, you will have plenty of time to get your way through the turnstiles and in the park before boarding opens to all guests at 7 AM. After that it's a game of fastest finger. I got group 29 which meant that boarding opened to me at 8:45 AM, and I was off the ride in about 40 minutes.

 

Thanks for an update how the boarding pass system is working and what times you recommend arriving.

[ArgoZ]

Thanks for an update how the boarding pass system is working and what times you recommend arriving.

 

To add my experience: My party visited last week, dedicating 2 of our days to the Studios to ensure we rode. We arrived at 6am for 7am opening both days. Inside the park around 6:30am and the boarding groups opened on time at 7am. First day we got group 88 and rode around 2pm. Ride made 167 groups that day! Second day we received backup group 132 and did not get called, as the ride had a terrible day making it only to group 94. I wasn’t as distraught as many other guests by knowing what I was getting myself into, but be warned, getting on this ride is not guaranteed. Simple math really. I estimate it cycles 10000 or so guests in its present state, so if the park is slammed with 50 000 guests during holidays, most won’t be riding.

 

Disney claims that the ride runs 1700/h once fully operational. Even with those numbers, it’s going to take quite a while before standby and FP lines can be manageable enough to open.

 

I feel lucky to have experienced the ride. The best animatronics I have ever seen, which I prefer to mostly screen based rides.

[SharkTums]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. We're going to be heading back in a week or two with some guests and are starting to prepare!

[Canobie Coaster]

I also know these past few weeks are some of the busiest of the year, so I'm interested to see how quickly these groups disappear during a regular day in January.

[A.J.]

If so, it really looks like Disney is still thankfully integrating screens with actual sets in their current and future attractions. Even the update on Alice In Wonderland in DL, and The Little Mermaid in DCA, used small screens where needed.

In Rise of the Resistance, screens are pretty much only used for spaceship windows, a few animated sequences, and where a screen would actually be found on a ship's control panel. Everything else is either practical or a large set piece. There's a sequence kind of two-thirds of the way through the ride that is a very impressive and scary practical effect.

 

Thanks for an update how the boarding pass system is working and what times you recommend arriving.

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. We're going to be heading back in a week or two with some guests and are starting to prepare!

You're very welcome! Let me just put it in general context for those who might be reading this later:

 

• If you get through security 45 minutes to an hour before park opening (7 AM at time of writing), you should be able to get through the turnstiles with plenty of time to stretch your legs, walk around, etc.. When I visited, they allowed guests through the turnstiles starting about a half hour before opening.
  
• When you get in the park, you are directed to either stay in the plaza, or queue up for your desired land. For example, by park opening, the queue for Toy Story Land stretched all the way past Walt Disney Presents. The lands won't open until the park opens. Where you are in the park does not matter so long as you are in.
  
• When you are through the turnstiles, completely close and reopen the My Disney Experience app so it knows you've been admitted into the park.
  
• If you're traveling with guests (Elissa), you'll need to make sure that everyone's tickets are linked to the person who will be doing the reservation.
  
• About five minutes before park opening, check your boarding status for the ride on the app.
  
• At approximately park opening (not earlier, but possibly a minute or two later), boarding groups will open, keep refreshing your status screen until you can tap the button to enter a boarding group. Keep in mind that it's a free-for-all, so even though you might have been in the park earlier, someone who just entered the park a few minutes ago may still get a boarding time before you.
  
• Select your party, and good luck!
  
• If you have push notifications enabled, you'll get one when it's your time to board. Your boarding group is a two-hour window.
  
• There are 125 "normal" groups, any reservations after those are gone are "backup" and aren't called unless there's excess capacity at the end of the day. Reservations may completely run out in as little as a half hour.
  
• Depending on crowds you may get through the entire ride experience in less than 45 minutes. The ride is Indiana Jones-level good but also Indiana Jones-level complex, and can experience significant downtime for any reason without warning.
  
• When I rode, red / blue got the "good" side of the AT-AT room. If you've been on the ride before you'll know what I'm talking about.

 

I also know these past few weeks are some of the busiest of the year, so I'm interested to see how quickly these groups disappear during a regular day in January.

Obviously you should be doing this on a weekday. Weekend park days are the unfortunate consequences of a typical architecture office job, so, yeah.

[Canobie Coaster]

Probably an obscure question, but were you using your mobile data or WiFi? I'm guessing data is probably safer with everyone in the park all at once.

[A.J.]

Probably an obscure question, but were you using your mobile data or WiFi? I'm guessing data is probably safer with everyone in the park all at once.

That is not an obscure question and running off of cellular data is the better option.

[SharkTums]

^Agreed on Data.

 

I've also heard conflicting reports on whether you should refresh or not? Some are saying that if you refresh right before opening it won't actually refresh you for two plus minutes and you'll be behind!?

[A.J.]

I kind of went back and forth between the app home screen, the "find out more" screen and the "my status" screen, and the "join boarding group" button eventually lit up like it was supposed to.

 

I suppose it might be prudent to wait until exactly 7 AM to hit that "find out more" button, but I'm not sure I saw a difference either way. Some people near me had problems, others didn't.

[cfc]

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. We're going to be heading back in a week or two with some guests and are starting to prepare!

 

I'm very curious about how this all works, as I'll be trying to ride Rise on my birthday (Feb. 16).

[ArgoZ]

It seems everyone had their strategy for getting a boarding pass, but there is really no rhyme or reason to anything. The second day it took forever for me to get the button to light up, hence we missed out. A lot of other AT&T users around me were in a similar situation and many blamed the carrier as Verizon users seemed better. Who’s to say the roles wouldn’t be reversed next time?There’s 10000 people all trying to log in at once, I’m surprised the whole system doesn’t crash. Disney did give 1 day tickets to whoever had a guarantee boarding group (125 and under) that didn’t ride. Guest services was quite full of irate people. Poor cast members. I don’t see any other way of doing things at present time. Perhaps giving out groups at various times would be better. Any other solution is going to create 10h+ lines, which nobody wants.

 

Some ideas I do agree with.

-Park hopper allows you to try for a group every day, (this doesn’t affect any FP plans) and go to another park of your choice.

-Multiple phones (with everyone in the same party), with multiple providers works well. Whoever gets in first will cancel everyone else’s.

-Come back when this craziness is over. If your going to be crushed not riding (who isn’t after spending hundreds on tickets?), don’t put yourself through the stress. The ride will be here for years.

[Garet]

All these experiences of people leaving their homes to be at parks by 6 A.M and the ride seemingly sold out almost just after park opening. Is this the same Galaxy's Edge the internet was calling a failure and a ghost town and not bringing in the people?

[A.J.]

It seems like most people who see the new land as a failure really only look at how Disneyland's land is performing. You go to Hollywood Studios and it's just as popular and crowded as Toy Story Land.

 

A lot of people also like to complain about how there were supposedly a lot of cuts made compared to the original vision (like roving character experiences), and that the land takes place in the sequel trilogy rather than the original. I enjoy Star Wars and thought the sequel films were fine, and I don't consider myself a hardcore fan - but I get completely into it while riding both attractions, and they're ridiculous fun.

[cfc]

When I was at WDW in October, Galaxy's Edge was booming, but it handles crowds well.

[KBrylczyk]

^ Sounds like my ex.

 

[cfc]

[Ape]

Not going to do a big review this time around for our trip.

 

Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge were amazing and it cemented Hollywood Studios as our favorite.

 

We were there on Friday the 17th on what was by far the worst day for downtime. We had group 33. 3 hour wait in the queue at one point and it took 4 tries to finally ride at 7:30pm. On Saturday I went back by myself and pulled group 9 and pretty much walked right on the ride at 7:14 am. The ride is phenomenal. Even with all the hype and anticipation I had it still blew me away.

[Canobie Coaster]

Smuggler's Run is getting FastPass starting on February 19.

 

It also rearranges the tiers at Hollywood Studios. Now only Smuggler's Run and Slinky Dog will be in Tier 1. That beats the current set-up where every ride except Star Tours is Tier 1.

[coasterbill]

Alternate headline: The endless supply of immediate, 1 refresh Tower of Terror fastpasses all day long ends 2/19.

 

In all seriousness, this is great news because the current system definitely isn't the best. A tier 1 of Smuggler's Run, Runaway Railway (if it opens on Fastpass) and Slinky makes the most sense.

[A.J.]

In all seriousness, this is great news because the current system definitely isn't the best. A tier 1 of Smuggler's Run, Runaway Railway (if it opens on Fastpass) and Slinky makes the most sense.

I think Runaway Railway will open with FastPass. Then, once Rise of the Resistance gets FastPass enabled in like... one hundred years, Smuggler's Run will probably be dropped to Tier 2.

[Canobie Coaster]

I think this is great for people planning trips in advance, but I agree it will probably make it less common to get great 4th or 5th fastpasses.