Fast Passes: Hollywood Studios

Lights, Camera, Action! Planning a day in Hollywood Studios is just as important as planning your day in the other parks as well. By the end of the day, you’ll be exhausted after racing in limousines, playing with your favorite Toy Story characters, and plunging down elevators!

So I have good news, and bad news. I’ll start with the bad news, and that’s that Hollywood Studios participates in the Fast Pass Tier system. As I mentioned in my previous post Fast Passes: Epcot, booking your Fast Pass is a little different than booking Fast Passes in Magic Kingdom. In Hollywood Studios, you can pick one Fast Pass for a “Major” attraction, and then two Fast Passes for “Minor” attractions. This means that the more popular rides you can only choose one of for a Fast Pass. Now, for the good news? You are going to have an amazing time!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

So, a lot of you may say “Hollywood Studios is only a half day park”, this may be somewhat true right now as there’s a lot of construction going on with the preparation of Toy Story Land (opening June 30th!) and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (opening 2019), but there are still a ton of great things that you and your family need to check out, and you can easily spend a whole day here if you plan right. In this post we are going to go over some of the Fast Pass options throughout the Tier levels.

Hollywood Studios Entrance

Tier One is the most popular attractions in the park, which is why you can only pick one. We will start by reviewing these Fast Pass options to help you make your decision!

1 – Toy Story Mania – Let me just start by saying, if you didn’t get a Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania, you might want to bolt your way there immediately when the park opens. Toy Story Mania is the most popular ride in the park, and one for all ages of the family to enjoy! This is a 4D shooting game where you shoot targets with your favorite Toy Story Pals (this ride is similar to Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin except 4D). There are five different shooting games that you and your tram will move through. This is a great one to have a friendly competition with your travelling party to see who comes out with the highest score. The wait time is always long for this attraction, however unlike some rides, the ride’s queue area is full of over sized toys and a lot of fun to see!

Toy Story Mania!

2 – Aerosmith’s Rock n’ Roller Coaster – Get ready to rock out in your super stretch limo! This is my favorite ride in Hollywood Studios, and my favorite part is watching people’s faces as they watch the super stretch limos take off at full speed of 60 miles an hour. This ride is a ton of fun, but only for guests 48 inches (120 cm) tall. This ride is a great thrill, but quick. You get to enjoy the sound of Steven Tyler’s voice in your ear as you fly through neon lights and through a giant donut. This ride is a “must-do” at Hollywood Studios. This ride is extremely popular and a Fast Pass is extremely recommended. If Toy Story Mania isn’t at the top of your to-do list, then this is a great selection for a Fast Pass as its a short ride, and a long queue with not much to look at.

Aerosmith’s Rock n Roller Coaster

3 – Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage –  You’ve seen a tale as old as time on your television screen at home, so why not enjoy it live in front of your very own eyes while visiting Hollywood Studios? Beauty and the Beast is a beautiful stage show that involves singing and dancing right from the Disney classic, as well as your favorite characters from Beauty and the Beast. You’ll be singing and dancing along, but this might not be as Fast Pass worthy as the two above rides. However, it’s a great option if you aren’t into rides, and is still something that you should check out if you don’t get a Fast Pass for it!

Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage

4 – Fantasmic! – Let me just start by saying, I have a huge soft spot for Fantasmic and never grow tired of it. I could watch this night show again and again. This Fast Pass is a great choice if you aren’t into rides (and I would personally choose this over Beauty and the Beast — even though I love that too). Fantasmic is a very unique nighttime show in Hollywood Studios. You are inside the dream of Mickey Mouse himself, as he battles our favorite villains from Disney movies as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. You will see a wide range of characters from villains, to princesses and heroes, to your favorite side kicks! There will be fire, lasers, water projections and so much more. This is definitely a must-see at Walt Disney World, and is only about thirty minutes long. A Fast Pass will get you a great view (seating is limited for this night show unlike other night shows), so make sure you don’t miss it!

Fantasmic!

That’s all for now for Tier One, or is it? It’s important to note some upcoming changes to the Hollywood Studios Fast Pass Tier System. On June 30th, Aerosmith Rock N’ Roller Coaster, Beauty and the Beast and Fantasmic will all be moving to Tier Two attractions, as there will be two brand new additions to the Tier One Fast Passes.  “Slinky Dog Dash” and “Alien Swirling Saucers” in Toy Story Land, so don’t forget to book your Fast Passes! This means that after June 30th, 2018 only Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Mania will be Tier One attractions, all three of which are in Toy Story Land.

So now we are onto Tier Two. Here you will find lots of options to fill up your Fast Passes for the day, it’s just up to you which types of attractions that suit you! We will take a look at them below to help you in your decision:

1 – Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – You can see it looming over the park from the parking lot. You can hear the screams from every corner of the park. Do you dare to try the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror? This ride definitely isn’t for everyone, my first few trips to Disney I admit that I was too scared to try this one. But now that I have, I love it (and I’m a huge chicken on rides that involve dropping you!) You enter an old 1930’s style hotel, board the elevator and climb up to the 13th floor, where you suddenly enter another dimension. All of a sudden you will find yourself plummeting down the elevator shaft, and back up and down through a series of random drops. The Photo Pass photos that are taken on this ride are by far the best ones, as the expressions are usually pretty priceless! Out of the Tier Two rides, if this ride is up your alley, I recommend using a Fast Pass as the wait time can reach a higher time than other Tier Two rides.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

2 – Star Tours: The Adventures Continue – Every Star Wars fan is going to want to experience this one! Take off to a galaxy far, far away in this adventure. You join C3PO on a Star Speeder and fly through a different scenario every time you ride! This way its something you will want to do again and again as its always a new experience. This is a stimulation ride, so for some that may get sick easily you may want to skip this one. If you are able to however, this is such a fun and exciting ride that you don’t want to miss. The ride now incorporates scenes from Star Wars: A Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. This is an excellent use of a Fast Pass as sometimes the wait time can get long with all of us Star Wars fans anxiously trying to see another version of the ride.

Entrance to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue

3 – Frozen Sing Along Celebration – So, first off I’m just going to admit that I actually haven’t had the chance to experience this attraction yet. My own boyfriend has seen this show and I haven’t, and I’m a huge Frozen fan (don’t judge me!), but I’ll use his experience as an example (and he’s not a Frozen fan!!), he said this is something that I HAVE to do next time, he said it’s a really funny show, and it’s even more fun to watch all the dad’s sing along to all the songs (since they’ve all seen the movie a million times!). Considering he is not a Frozen fan whatsoever, I take this as something I really need to check out next time!

4 – Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular – This is a fun and thrilling stunt show that shows you how some of the famous stunts were done in the Indiana Jones movies. Sit back and relax as you watch some of Indiana’s most exciting fight scenes. Prepare for explosions, gun shots and temple exploring with this amazing show. A Fast Pass isn’t necessary for this show, it will just get you good seats, but you should make sure that you see this show at least once. The stunts are shown and explained to the audience, to help you see the magic behind the movies that you’ve all known to love!

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

5 – Muppet Vision 3D – Who doesn’t want to watch a cute 3D film of all of their favorite Muppets? This is a 3D (and some 4D effects) movie for the whole family to enjoy. You don’t really need a Fast Pass for this, but it is a cute show to enjoy with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Fozzie Bear and all their crazy tricks. Plus the air conditioning will feel great for a few minutes in those hot, Florida days!

6 – Disney Junior Live on Stage! – If you have little ones, this will be a must-do for your day at Hollywood Studios as your kiddo will want to see their favorite Disney Junior television show stars, and sing along with them! I don’t have little ones of my own, but this seems quite popular since you can see popular characters like Sophia the First, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters and Doc McStuffins.

7 – The Voyage of the Little Mermaid – This one, I honestly wouldn’t use a Fast Pass for. The Voyage of the Little Mermaid is a cute stage show, however it doesn’t have the same wow factor that Beauty and the Beast has (or the Lion King in the Animal Kingdom). It’s getting a bit dated, but if you are a Little Mermaid fan you will still probably enjoy this as you get to sing along with your favorite songs. This one usually does not have a huge crowd waiting to see the show so you can get by watching this one without a Fast Pass.

Between the attractions, the shows, the food and all the fun Star Wars activities (see my post Best Star Wars Experiences at Hollywood Studios) you still have lots of fun and exciting things to check out before the opening of Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. There are also tons of fun character greet opportunities in this park to enjoy. Make sure to not skip out on Hollywood Studios!

Let me know some of your favorite attractions in Hollywood Studios below!

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