Why Hollywood Studios is still not worth your money, yet
By Brian Miller
Disney World’s Hollywood Studios has been the ugly stepchild of the Disney Orlando parks for years but that is starting to change. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to entertaining parks at Disney World, Hollywood Studios is still bringing up the rear but it won’t last long.
Right now, you can avoid Hollywood Studios, unless, you only have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit. The 4th best park out of four parks in Orlando is steadily gaining steam but make no mistake, what once was a forgotten sidenote to a Disney vacation, it is starting to develop into something more.
As the title of this article suggests, Hollywood Studios is still not worth the $130.00 plus price tag for admission. Not yet, but it will get there. What is funny is that if you look at attendance swings, HS is the one park that is consistently booked to the hilt. Void of availability for blackout days, and has the longest wait times of any park in Orlando, Disney or otherwise.
We can blame one ride on this, Rise of the Resistance. At rope drop you can consider yourself a millionaire if you land a coveted time slot for the ride. Reality is very simple, the draw at Hollywood Studios is Galaxy’s Edge and the Star Wars-themed world is everything you would want and more. That also means you won’t get to do much unless you plan ahead.
There is a lot to do at HS that isn’t Star Wars related. A Little Mermaid ‘live action’ sing-along, a meet and greet with characters from Disney’s sub-programming like Doc McStuffins, as well as a Frozen sing-a-long, First Time in Forever.
There is the Rockin Rollercoaster, an Aerosmith-themed internal speed coaster that is pretty awesome and the Hollywood Tower of Terror which features an elevator gone amok. No matter what you think you are there for, Galaxy’s Edge is the supreme draw and brings in the crowds. Even the new Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railroad pales in comparison.
Star Wars is still all so new and because of that, you will be relegated to attempts at enjoying other features of the park that simply are rather boring and outdated. You may enjoy the Slinky Dog Dash rollercoaster back in Toy Storyland which is a fun ride but the rest of that area is kind of, “meh”.
The park is building though and it is only going to get more out of control with the addition of the Star Wars-themed hotel and immersive stay that will open in the next couple of years. Maybe in that vain, it might be a good idea to go now rather than later…then again, be ready to deal with a lot of crowds.
When it comes down to it, there just isn’t enough hours in the day to spend at HS without getting bored and I’m not sure that will ever change.