Terrible in the summer. I went for summer 16 and finished the park from 9AM just before 12 Left and returned in the final 2 hours. In my mind either the park should be closed since you cant do much at all or discount the ticket price from $100 because it is not a $100 park the way it stands.
Oscar Figueroa summer is clearly the best time, the weather is nice. the only reason lithe prices are high because everyone wants to go in the summer and has time to go. it's better then going during the cold winter.
tbh, in my opinion HS is still a good park right now even with the lack of rides right now. although to be fair, that's mainly for one reason, I am a massive fantasmic fan. see it like 4 times every time I go to Disney lol. but if they moved ToT star tours and fantasmic into other parks, then I would be ok with it getting removed.
Just to put it in perspective to everyone as to why Hollywood Studios is the worst park as of this moment is simple. Hollywood Studios as of today has 5 rides. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Hogsmede, has 5 operating rides as of today. So one theme park has the same amount of rides as one land at Universal Studios....
Adam Capozzoli it's not about how many rides, it's about THE attractions. Hollywood studies has Tower of Terror, rockin rollercoaster, star tours, and fantasmic.
Luke Whitten and Hogsmede has Forbidden Journey, Dueling Dragons, Flightnof the Hipogriff, and Hogsmede express. All of which themed exceptionally. The whole land is better than Hollywood studios as of right now
Adam Capozzoli It's really all about what you are into, like if you love harry potter you love universal, if you love star wars you love Hollywood studios
Luke Whitten because theirs a shitty show and a shitty ride? I'm a Star Wars freak, I have 6 light sabers, and two star was posters in my room and I have all the movies. And I still don't have a desire to go to Hollywood Studios.
I can't believe Disney is still charging full price to get in there. I really think they should speed up the toy story and SW's lands as well, universal doesn't take as long building new areas :(
gissneric 2 years is a fair amount of time to work on something but if you look at pandora or anything else you'll see it took a lot longer than that. Star Wars was announced in 2015. They're fully capable of making something in a short amount of time like they did with frozen in Epcot.
It was definitely the worst park for us. We love the rides, but there aren't enough things to keep you busy right now - we left there at midday due to running out of things to do. That'll no doubt change when the Toy Story and Star Wars lands open
Jackabella I went about to two days ago and it was very boring the toy story land ride took two hours just to get to the entrance and not even on the rides don’t get me started on the tower of terror ride it said that it was a hour wait but ended up staying in line for 4 hours it doesn’t matter if you have a fast past it only works if you make an reservation 30 days ahead also same for the toy story land ride it was a bad experience for me honestly I wouldn’t go so unless your trying to walk In a big loop all day and wait more than 2 hours to get on a ride that’s 45 seconds I suggest you not waste your money
this is prime reason why I hate the new fast passes. if u don't plan your fast passes weeks in advanced you can't get anything for any of the bigger rides. not very friendly of a system anymore.
CeCe Snyder gotta say I agree with this. If you're a local annual pass holder, great. If you're a foreign tourist travelling to the states for a couple of weeks, in most cases you won't be looking to book all your fast passes weeks in advance. I'll be going to the Orlando shortly and will be buying a 2 day Disney ticket. I will then look to get fast passes on the day of purchase. I'm going to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but even still, the magic kingdom is the most popular park by visitor number so fast passes go quickly. At Epcot, the popular rides (Soarin / Frozen) are near impossible to get fast passes for on the day. I much preferred the old system. Realistically though, it's the pass holders who go the most and they're the ones who benefit from the new system the most.
see i find this not to be true. i went just a few weeks ago and still found fast passes the day of for toy story, rock n roller coaster AND tower of terror. just later on in the afternoon of course. so i'm not sure what people are talking about when they say you can't be spontaneous and have fastpasses!!
I tried to book Frozen TWO MONTHS in advance because that's how early it will let you when you're vacationing with them and there was still no FP's left -_- (not that I really love Frozen, but I would have liked to see the new ride) lol.
another awesome video. I look so forward to these. If we lived on Fla my husband and i would be at the parks doing the same thing but not with your unique way of presenting things. you ROCK Tim and Jen
As much as I enjoy what Hollywood Studios has to offer, it's dropped to least favorite for me. It's not a /bad/ park, but right now, it feels kinda empty for some reason. I left early last time I went, and only skipped 2-3 things. Rode other attractions multiple times. It'll be better once the expansions are complete but right now... eh.
Every time I step on board the Great Movie Ride, it's a trip back to Sunday afternoons watching old movies with my dad. I seriously cry my way through that ride, and it's what saves this park for me. But for now, it's a half-day park at most.
To be honest, the parks are no longer (if they ever were) Florida local resident friendly. As someone who likes to just pop in, mostly because we hold annual passes, getting in to rides is very slanted towards people who come for a week and plan months and months in advance. It's become so unfun, and costly with the price hikes, we've had to let our annual passes go last year. Sucked too because we loved all 4 parks.
You guys are so lucky to be able to go to these please! I used to go to disney all the time hoping to be a vlogger like u guys! We used to go to Disney and all of that but sadly my mum lost her job and we can't afford it. Now all I do when I get home is watch u guys! Luv u guys! 💖
This is a good reminder that the tiered Fastpasses mean that you have to seriously plan your day and super early rope drop TSMM or RnRC depending which tier 1 fastpass you want. Never fastpass GMR unless you have an extra magic band laying around to set up an extra day-of fastpass.
You are mirroring my experience last July. It felt that since so much was closed off the crowd was tightly packed and walking through the park was just not that fun. That being said, I did understand that construction was limiting where the crowd could go so I wasn't mad, just frustrated. My wife and I left the park not long after lunch to go back to Animal Kingdom. I look forward to the construction being over.
Tim, I really appreciate your take on the challenges of using FastPass. I see the FastPass reservation process has not gotten any easier. My first experience was 4 summers ago, MagicBands were still new and if you didn't already have a FastPass reservation you were pretty much done for the day because being able to make a change or adding another attraction was practically non-existent. I guess the one rule to follow is to expect the rules to keep changing as Disney tweaks the system. Thanks again.
Seeing the cost of 'preferred' parking and the complicated Fast Pass system, I can't help thinking Disney sure seems to be making things a lot harder and complicated. Remember when you just bought a ticket? Could get in any park and if you didn't use it, it was good until you come back.
Disney's fast pass suck. We went in October not knowing that fast passes are booked months in advance. Which is really stupid. How do you know what part of the park you are going to be in when your fast pass is due. The system doesn't work at any of the parks. You should not have to book your fast pass in advance. Just go to the fast pass line and skip the long lines, without booking times. Because you still have to wait in line at your time slot.
sjmgwm This is exactly why I haven't booked a vacation with Disney. I'm worried Universal is going to this but I don't like having to plan things out 6 months in advance. Let me wander and change my mind if I want to. :/
So very recently I started working as a character Attendant for WDW on the college program, and I've been watching your channel for a while and I thought it would be cool if I saw you in the parks sometime. WELL it was mind blowing to see myself IN one of your videos! I am the chip and Dale attendant closest to the left!!! Just thought I'd share that with ya!
I was actually at Hollywood Studios the day you posted this! I completely missed you at 3 different parks: this one, magic kingdom (left while vacation club entered), and epcot! darn
Yeah I learned with the fast pass system, you get 1 tier 1, then you have to ride 3 lower tiers and then you get another tier 1 (I think MK and AK were the exceptions to the rule)....also, I found myself sitting down after using a fast pass and just refreshing the fast pass time section (like if it was 5 and I wanted a fast pass for 5:30) over and over and eventually what I wanted would pop up because maybe someone else cancelled or maybe they added more times??? But that worked well for me this past visit. Also I will be getting an AP for Disney here in the next month and hopefully get down there a few more times this year!!! Keep up the great work guys, ya'll are awesome!!!
Disney isn't about the rides, food or characters. It's about having a magical and amazing time with the ones that you love. Hollywood Studios can be fun for a chill day with your family.
Except that's not even the case. Hollywood Studios at the moment has basically nothing left-- not even themed areas to walk around in. There's certainly no chill, by any meaning of the word: it's noisy, crowded, and claustrophobic from irritable tourists and construction; it's invariably hot, humid, and sunny with virtually no shade; there's nowhere to even *sit down* half the time (and the staff yells at you if you try to just sit on the ground), let alone go in the air conditioning just to sit down and stare at the floor (that's a 'luxury' reserved for the pass members). And unless you planned and reserved every second of your day three months in advance, you're going to spend half of your day standing in line for one ride. So basically it's like being at home with nothing to do, except your A/C is broken and you're forced to -sit- stand outside on the driveway and watch your skin burn for entertainment. And you're paying >$100 a person to do it, plus $10 (no joke) for a slice of school cafeteria-quality pizza from the one restaurant left in the park. Honestly, people should just spare themselves the misery and the money and go to SeaWorld for a day.
I'd rather be miserable than watch orcas be miserable, wtf kind of logic are you operating on?? I mean I agree HS sucks but even going to a public library is a better option for entertainment than sea world lmao
I really miss the old fastpass system before it became electronic. The best was getting to the park early to race over to an attraction to get a paper fastpass, and also not having a limit on how many you could get.
It's half term (school holiday) here in the UK which is probably why it's so busy, we normally go last week of Jan/first week of Feb and last year we were coming off Star Tours and walking straight back on, maximum 10 minute wait.
there isn't much to do in Hollywood right now. But the shows and the the few rides they have are by far some of the best in WDW. Tower of terror, rockin roller coaster and star tours!!
You are right TimTracker. My family loves Disney World, and we have been annual pass holders for over 15 years as we live only 80 miles from WDW. Hollywood Studios is a bit wonky right now with all of the construction. It is a definitely a shortened up version of itself. LMA, Backlot Tour, Streets of America, and Osborne Lights are all gone now. I still love the park, but I feel for those who have come from far away for that once in a lifetime trip.
This fast pass system is crazy. it really takes the fun out of going to the park. I remember days of, hey let's go to Disney. And you go have fun, and ride many rides. now, if you don't plan a day weeks or months in advance you're screwed. as a cast member, we can only plan 1week ahead for fp. it makes it hard when people plan theirs so far in advance and take all the good rides. My frozen obsessed daughter has never been able to ride frozen because of this and I refuse to wait more than 60 min for ANY ride.
Yes hollywood studios is the worst for now. 1) Magic Kingdom ( feels the most "disney", has the most rides and all different kinds.. by far the best park) 2) Animal Kingdom ( great park, love what they have but it needs a few more attractions to compete with MK) 3) Epcot (ok maybe I'm just immature but I find it to not have enough rides and a lot of the content boring) 4) Hollywood studios.. (they desperatly need to hurry with the toy story and star wars stuff..) once hollywood studios gets more attractions it will probably at the very least pass epcot for me (which I find to be mostly boring), but for now there just isn't enough to hollywood studios and it is the worst.
11:43 I went there in July on a Sunday and I was able to get Fastpasses for Star Tours, ToT, and Great Movie Ride only 1 day in advance. I was even able to get a 3:30 Toy Story Fastpass only 1 HOUR beforehand. Hollywood Studios probably won't be any worse this summer than it was last summer, and last summer was fine.
I went here on President's Day and waited for Rock 'n Roller Coaster and it shut down. We waited back in line and were about to be the first people on it and it shut down again before we even went on it. They gave us a fastpass for another ride because we waited but, the only thing we did was Muppet Vision, Toy Story Mania (because of the free fastpass from Rock 'n Roller Coaster) and we had a fast pass for the Great Movie Ride that was 55 minutes long. We only spent 3 hours at the park and it's crazy to me because we were there first thing that morning.
As someone who takes lots of spontaneous day-of Disney trips when the mood strikes, I really don't want this fastpass system to be implemented in CA. I'd miss the option of being able to just head on over if I feel like it and still do things.
Epcot is more catered to adults since a lot of it involves food and culture along with its few events that involve alcohol that happen on occasion and it's one of my absolute favorite parks! ~Annual Pass-holder
I just went to Hollywood Studios and I was really disappointed. They had no quick service restaurants with good options for food and the sit downs all had super long waits for food. So we had to leave instead of staying for the fireworks like we planned so we could get food. And all the lines were really long and it was hard to get around the park and find things since everything was in corners and you kept having to go back to the front of the park to get to the other side. Very disappointed in this park and I used to love it. Hopefully when the construction is done the park will get better again.
I agree Tim Hollywood Studios is really starting to fall behind however, it will get better with the new additions. I think that it really started to slack when Disney got rid of the backlot tour (which was a great ride) and lights motors action.
My Fiancé and I went to Hollywood Studios the same day as you. We were both complaining about how unmanageable the park was that day too. We even went earlier in the week to Magic Kingdom and it was pretty busy as well. I am not sure what is going on this year, but usually in my experience the 3rd week in February is usually the best times to go for Florida Residents. I have for sure been proven otherwise this week.
Awe Hollywood Studios is my favorite Park!! I understand your frustrations though Tim, I feel like the park has just hit a rough patch while it's trying to transition and create the new lands.
The least they could do at Hollywood Studios is put some more characters out for meet & greets. Don't know how that would work logistically and with CMs schedules, but it would be a nice addition while the park is limited on attractions.
We went to Disney last March and had a similar problem at HS. I think we could only get one tier one fp (Aerosmith) for all four of us. My five year old and I didn't want to go so we gave our wristbands to my husband and older daughter and they got to go twice. They also went on Tower of Terror. We all went on Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Muppets, and Frozen Sing Along. Had dinner at Brown Derby and then saw the Star Wars fireworks. Toy Story was closed for maintenance but all in all it was still a great day, though crowded. The fp system does need to be fixed. You should be able to pick any 3 any there should not be tiers. I'm sure software can solve the problem of crowd sizes. If there are going to be fp, people need to be able to see more than one of the top rides without having to wait 2 hours. Before fp, everyone was waiting in line and it just wasn't that long. You could be much more spontaneous. I do like fp, but hate the tiered system.
You should have seen the Frozen sing along. The guy who plays "Eric" is hilarious. Most of the jokes go over the kids heads. When I went a few weeks ago there was a guy in the audience that looked like Santa Clause and he was asking him for presents all show long. At the end he ask him for a real job.
Well, I was always afraid of rides but this past summer I finally rode rock n roller coaster and tower of terror. Animal Kingdom is my favorite, however Hollywood is a close second for me because of those rides.
poor studios :( its always hard when a park is under major construction , also i hear with the princess marathon this week the parks are going to be really busy. with only a few rides in the park that can make things tough.
Wow, this is stunning. I haven't gone to WDW in 30 years, but I'm going back the first week of September for 8 nights to celebrate my 50th b-day. In the process of planning now, and truly have no idea how to deal with Hollywood Studios because of stories like yours here. It's obvious that there's not enough there to be worth spending the entire day, and I sort of want to get there at rope drop to do as much as possible before it gets backed up...but yet also would like to see the fireworks. Should I just go in the AM, then leave mid-day to do something else, then come back? Or just go later in the day and hope for the best? If it's this bad in mid-February, that's not a good sign for what's to come.
Hollywood studios use to be my favorit park in like the mid 2000's, but even before construction it was falling behind. Now that half of the park is closed it really kinda sucks.
We went for the first time in June and a cast member was really surprised we managed the whole day there but I loved it - it was one of my favourite parks but we had really decent fast passes and quite a quiet day it seems as wait times were nothing like. I loved fantasmic so much I insisted on going back! Hoping to visit in future when everything new opens x
Moana looks so friendly, haha. I haven't met her yet, since i haven't been to Disney this year. But so far, it does seem like HS is kinda dead. I mean, most rides will be very full because there isn't a balance of rides.
Oh word of advice, you should download the WDW app. You can select up to I think 3 fast passes for a certain park, time and any ride u want. I went to WDW last spring with my brother and dad and every morning the first thing I would do was go on the app, and select the fast passes we wanted and once those were used up, we were allowed to get even more fast passes
I think the Moana that we saw was new ...? When it was our turn to meet her she was saying bye to the last group and said "SEA YOU LATER... GET IT?" and I was the only one that laughed at her attempted pun. We both laughed and she said she was glad I caught that. Then when we left she said, "Ok, have fun... hopefully I can think of more clever puns!" it was the one and only time that any of the meetups went sort of out of character. But she was still adorable!
The Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster has been shut down frequently lately, so with ride closures and until Galaxy's Edge opens, Hollywood Studios has definitely become a half day park.
I believe this week is considered a crowded week because there are some school on winter break (mine included). I bet the crowds will be more manageable next week.
i went in october 2015 with my sister and her family, we took small seminar for 2 hours to get fast passes, then went to this park and they wouldn't let us use them on ANY RIDE so we decided to go to magic kingdom where we still didn't need them anyways cause the park wasnt that packed and the rides would literally be a 10min wait tops. but really, Hollywood studios is a bit annoying on that part.
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The whole idea of fast passes has gone crazy. It used to be fun going to a Disney Park because it wasn't a plan visit, just what it felt a the moment and now its all a plan, a master plan and that takes out all of the experience. Bad system no doubt.
I have personally, along with my family as well, decided to stay away from Hollywood studio's until everything is done. It's just too small a park right now to enjoy anything in it. Even during the off season, like now, it's bad. :(
Hi Tim and Jenn . We are planning a trip to Orlando in July with our 7 year old daughter and thinking of doing Disney world and universal . Which universal park would you recommend ?
So, for Hollywood Studios, last time, we got in early (made a breakfast reservation before park opening). We had our fast passes booked early. Had a long lunch (slow service) at Mama Melrose. Got on Toy Story Mania twice... Had to leave the park a little before 3 pm because we had a flight to catch, but we went on everything and met several characters... We would have been done with the park anyway. *My plan for our next visit* is to leave the park for a late lunch or early dinner at Disney Springs or one of the resort hotels, and then return for Fantasmic! It was ambitious of them to level so much of that park at once. Hard to spend a full day there now...
Im curious, when do you go to the park? Ive seen a couple of your videos and the parks always seems to be packed and you got all these long lines. Whenever I go to ANY park, lines are NEVER 60 mins long or even 30 mins for that matter. 25-30 might be the longets I ever wait and thats for like one ride like Toy Story Mania for some reason. I only go during the week and when kids are in school, never during the summer.
So is this filmed around President's Day weekend? I've always heard that time is a bad/busy time to visit. We always plan our annual trip after MLK Day and make sure we are gone before the PD's crowds come in.
Hollywood Studios is extremely frustrating to me as well... because there are so few things to do, you don't really get a chance to ride rides unless you're willing to wait over an hour. Just doesn't seem worth it. Maybe it will be better once Toy Story land and Star Wars land open up.
I must have picked a good day I had the best time at Hollywood studios, probably because I booked my fast passes ahead of time and used the single rider line for the coaster. I found the ride lines the day I went to be around 30 mins. But I had planned ahead of time where to go first etc.
I never go to Hollywood Studios. I have been to Disney twice in the past year and half and I do everything but Hollywood Studios. I only like Twilight Zone and the Drive in Dinner place but not going to pay 100 dollars for those two things. I just feel like it doesn't have a lot and rather go elsewhere.
I actually love Hollywood Studios cause I'm a Star Wars geek. My favorite thing is the march of the first order. Very excited about all the new upcoming Star Wars stuff.
Lori McTigue I believe he works early mornings and probably has an all over the place schedule. With my job, I work days and shifts most people don't it might be the same with him.
I went the day before you uploaded this with my school and didn't have the greatest time either because i had to stay with my group and it was a hot day for us Hendricken Hawks being from Rhode Island, I was so sad that the back lot tour and the Fantasia hat were gone as well
With Toy Story land and Galaxy's edge coming, it'll definitely be one of my favorite parks! Also, it has fantasmic and Tower Of Terror, so it's all good! Ahah
yeahhh, it's kinda ridiculous rn with the construction. my dad actually works at that park. I went Sunday and it was 150 minute wait for tower of terror 🙃
I was a CP last spring and I worked on the Streets of America (before they closed) and the back of the park. The park is unbelievably tiny right now and it sucks, but I just know it's something everyone is gonna have to bare until the new lands open up. it was just the result of poor planning in my opinion.
+LifeIsRandom14 I agree! I don't think they should have closed down as much area. Maybe close down the section for Toystory first then start on Star Wars once Toystory is open.
I love Hollywood studios. It's my. Favorite out of all the parks. Just he way it's set up with all the movies and the Hollywood aspect of it on the other side. And I love me some Star Wars so that makes it even better. I'd probably have to say my least. Fav is animal kingdom. I mean I like the park a lot too because of the different types of lands you can visit. But it's still a park I would visit the least
+TheTimTracker Who do you think executed the wild river ride better. Disney's Kali River Rapids in the Animal Kingdom or Universal Orlando's Popeye & Pluto's Bilge-Rat Barges.
Early 90s MGM Studios was the greatest theme park on planet earth. I live in the past and always will about they particular place
adamthewoo so true Adam!
old Backlot Tour was my favorite
adamthewoo you are absolutely right. Back in the day MGM STUDOS was the best. Worth flying 5000 miles from the UK from!!!!
do they do the wild west version anymore on the great movie ride? it seems the last 8 years I've gone I always get the gangster
I liked early 90's Epcot. World of motion, original journey into imagination. The living sea.
A bad day at Disney is still better than a good day elsewhere.;)
Agreed!
So true!!
Yes! I'd rather that than go to work ... plus I'd just hang out in the Star Wars area - I'd be perfectly happy
+Susan Burris Agreed!
I'd Second THAT!!!!
A grown man with a big mustache and tattoos goes alone to see Moana.
*sighs* demigods
LIN
BRRAHHH BRRAHHH I SEE LIN
LIN
which is kinda cute.
Terrible in the summer. I went for summer 16 and finished the park from 9AM just before 12
Left and returned in the final 2 hours. In my mind either the park should be closed since you cant do much at all or discount the ticket price from $100 because it is not a $100 park the way it stands.
Oscar Figueroa summer is clearly the best time, the weather is nice. the only reason lithe prices are high because everyone wants to go in the summer and has time to go. it's better then going during the cold winter.
tbh, in my opinion HS is still a good park right now even with the lack of rides right now. although to be fair, that's mainly for one reason, I am a massive fantasmic fan. see it like 4 times every time I go to Disney lol. but if they moved ToT star tours and fantasmic into other parks, then I would be ok with it getting removed.
I recognize what you are experiencing, we only went to this park for one day during our 14 day stay at the resort
To be honest, I'm an annual passholder and I love just about every park. My favorite is animal kingdom, just by how easy going it is.
Scott Hoying Trash mine too, they also have better rides
Just to put it in perspective to everyone as to why Hollywood Studios is the worst park as of this moment is simple. Hollywood Studios as of today has 5 rides. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Hogsmede, has 5 operating rides as of today. So one theme park has the same amount of rides as one land at Universal Studios....
Adam Capozzoli it's not about how many rides, it's about THE attractions. Hollywood studies has Tower of Terror, rockin rollercoaster, star tours, and fantasmic.
Luke Whitten and Hogsmede has Forbidden Journey, Dueling Dragons, Flightnof the Hipogriff, and Hogsmede express. All of which themed exceptionally. The whole land is better than Hollywood studios as of right now
Adam Capozzoli It's really all about what you are into, like if you love harry potter you love universal, if you love star wars you love Hollywood studios
Luke Whitten because theirs a shitty show and a shitty ride? I'm a Star Wars freak, I have 6 light sabers, and two star was posters in my room and I have all the movies. And I still don't have a desire to go to Hollywood Studios.
There's more than the show and the ride
I can't believe Disney is still charging full price to get in there. I really think they should speed up the toy story and SW's lands as well, universal doesn't take as long building new areas :(
You're right. I don't understand why it takes them as long as it does.
Because they're perfectionists.
gissneric 2 years is a fair amount of time to work on something but if you look at pandora or anything else you'll see it took a lot longer than that. Star Wars was announced in 2015.
They're fully capable of making something in a short amount of time like they did with frozen in Epcot.
Riley Bankovic Toy Story land is falling apart already.
It was definitely the worst park for us. We love the rides, but there aren't enough things to keep you busy right now - we left there at midday due to running out of things to do. That'll no doubt change when the Toy Story and Star Wars lands open
+Jackabella My thoughts exactly.
yeah planing hollywood studio day to be 2nd disney springs day, def have time for both I feel in a day.
Jackabella I went about to two days ago and it was very boring the toy story land ride took two hours just to get to the entrance and not even on the rides don’t get me started on the tower of terror ride it said that it was a hour wait but ended up staying in line for 4 hours it doesn’t matter if you have a fast past it only works if you make an reservation 30 days ahead also same for the toy story land ride it was a bad experience for me honestly I wouldn’t go so unless your trying to walk In a big loop all day and wait more than 2 hours to get on a ride that’s 45 seconds I suggest you not waste your money
this is prime reason why I hate the new fast passes. if u don't plan your fast passes weeks in advanced you can't get anything for any of the bigger rides. not very friendly of a system anymore.
CeCe Snyder gotta say I agree with this. If you're a local annual pass holder, great. If you're a foreign tourist travelling to the states for a couple of weeks, in most cases you won't be looking to book all your fast passes weeks in advance. I'll be going to the Orlando shortly and will be buying a 2 day Disney ticket. I will then look to get fast passes on the day of purchase. I'm going to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but even still, the magic kingdom is the most popular park by visitor number so fast passes go quickly. At Epcot, the popular rides (Soarin / Frozen) are near impossible to get fast passes for on the day. I much preferred the old system. Realistically though, it's the pass holders who go the most and they're the ones who benefit from the new system the most.
Make use of the My Disney Experience app.
Only so much left on the app if u wait til day of, or even a week prior.
see i find this not to be true. i went just a few weeks ago and still found fast passes the day of for toy story, rock n roller coaster AND tower of terror. just later on in the afternoon of course. so i'm not sure what people are talking about when they say you can't be spontaneous and have fastpasses!!
I tried to book Frozen TWO MONTHS in advance because that's how early it will let you when you're vacationing with them and there was still no FP's left -_- (not that I really love Frozen, but I would have liked to see the new ride) lol.
another awesome video. I look so forward to these. If we lived on Fla my husband and i would be at the parks doing the same thing but not with your unique way of presenting things. you ROCK Tim and Jen
As much as I enjoy what Hollywood Studios has to offer, it's dropped to least favorite for me. It's not a /bad/ park, but right now, it feels kinda empty for some reason. I left early last time I went, and only skipped 2-3 things. Rode other attractions multiple times. It'll be better once the expansions are complete but right now... eh.
Every time I step on board the Great Movie Ride, it's a trip back to Sunday afternoons watching old movies with my dad. I seriously cry my way through that ride, and it's what saves this park for me. But for now, it's a half-day park at most.
Hollywood studios is the best! It might be small but has the most amazing rides by far. Once they finish updating the park I can't wait to go back
To be honest, the parks are no longer (if they ever were) Florida local resident friendly. As someone who likes to just pop in, mostly because we hold annual passes, getting in to rides is very slanted towards people who come for a week and plan months and months in advance. It's become so unfun, and costly with the price hikes, we've had to let our annual passes go last year. Sucked too because we loved all 4 parks.
I saw the stormtroopers marching down the street and it really gives you chills when you are actually there.
You guys are so lucky to be able to go to these please! I used to go to disney all the time hoping to be a vlogger like u guys! We used to go to Disney and all of that but sadly my mum lost her job and we can't afford it. Now all I do when I get home is watch u guys! Luv u guys! 💖
This is a good reminder that the tiered Fastpasses mean that you have to seriously plan your day and super early rope drop TSMM or RnRC depending which tier 1 fastpass you want. Never fastpass GMR unless you have an extra magic band laying around to set up an extra day-of fastpass.
You are mirroring my experience last July. It felt that since so much was closed off the crowd was tightly packed and walking through the park was just not that fun. That being said, I did understand that construction was limiting where the crowd could go so I wasn't mad, just frustrated. My wife and I left the park not long after lunch to go back to Animal Kingdom. I look forward to the construction being over.
Tim, I really appreciate your take on the challenges of using FastPass. I see the FastPass reservation process has not gotten any easier. My first experience was 4 summers ago, MagicBands were still new and if you didn't already have a FastPass reservation you were pretty much done for the day because being able to make a change or adding another attraction was practically non-existent. I guess the one rule to follow is to expect the rules to keep changing as Disney tweaks the system. Thanks again.
Seeing the cost of 'preferred' parking and the complicated Fast Pass system, I can't help thinking Disney sure seems to be making things a lot harder and complicated. Remember when you just bought a ticket? Could get in any park and if you didn't use it, it was good until you come back.
They should add a Debbie Reynolds animatronic to the singing in the rain scene in the great movie ride in tribute to her
Such a great video Tim . you guys always make great content. Tim and Jen you guys are my favorite youtubers. keep up the great work
+Nick Lafleur Thank you so much!!!
I was there yesterday too! I watch so many of your videos and actually looked for you. Sorry I missed you. Back in chilly Boston now.
Disney's fast pass suck. We went in October not knowing that fast passes are booked months in advance. Which is really stupid. How do you know what part of the park you are going to be in when your fast pass is due. The system doesn't work at any of the parks. You should not have to book your fast pass in advance. Just go to the fast pass line and skip the long lines, without booking times. Because you still have to wait in line at your time slot.
You should come visit Disneyland, our fastpasses work the way you said. :)
headfangs
For now
sjmgwm This is exactly why I haven't booked a vacation with Disney. I'm worried Universal is going to this but I don't like having to plan things out 6 months in advance. Let me wander and change my mind if I want to. :/
So very recently I started working as a character Attendant for WDW on the college program, and I've been watching your channel for a while and I thought it would be cool if I saw you in the parks sometime. WELL it was mind blowing to see myself IN one of your videos! I am the chip and Dale attendant closest to the left!!! Just thought I'd share that with ya!
I love shooting it up Toy Story so excited for Star Wars land!
I think Hollywood studios needs more rides. The lands will help.
+Collin Cheema Agreed.
I was actually at Hollywood Studios the day you posted this! I completely missed you at 3 different parks: this one, magic kingdom (left while vacation club entered), and epcot! darn
Can't wait to see your vlog from the new volcano bay!! I'm counting down the days until I get back to Orlando!
I smiled when you opened Pokemon go. I still play it and it's nice to see other people still play it too. Love your channel man! Very fun too watch.
Yeah I learned with the fast pass system, you get 1 tier 1, then you have to ride 3 lower tiers and then you get another tier 1 (I think MK and AK were the exceptions to the rule)....also, I found myself sitting down after using a fast pass and just refreshing the fast pass time section (like if it was 5 and I wanted a fast pass for 5:30) over and over and eventually what I wanted would pop up because maybe someone else cancelled or maybe they added more times??? But that worked well for me this past visit. Also I will be getting an AP for Disney here in the next month and hopefully get down there a few more times this year!!! Keep up the great work guys, ya'll are awesome!!!
Disney isn't about the rides, food or characters. It's about having a magical and amazing time with the ones that you love. Hollywood Studios can be fun for a chill day with your family.
Except that's not even the case. Hollywood Studios at the moment has basically nothing left-- not even themed areas to walk around in. There's certainly no chill, by any meaning of the word: it's noisy, crowded, and claustrophobic from irritable tourists and construction; it's invariably hot, humid, and sunny with virtually no shade; there's nowhere to even *sit down* half the time (and the staff yells at you if you try to just sit on the ground), let alone go in the air conditioning just to sit down and stare at the floor (that's a 'luxury' reserved for the pass members). And unless you planned and reserved every second of your day three months in advance, you're going to spend half of your day standing in line for one ride. So basically it's like being at home with nothing to do, except your A/C is broken and you're forced to -sit- stand outside on the driveway and watch your skin burn for entertainment. And you're paying >$100 a person to do it, plus $10 (no joke) for a slice of school cafeteria-quality pizza from the one restaurant left in the park. Honestly, people should just spare themselves the misery and the money and go to SeaWorld for a day.
I'd rather be miserable than watch orcas be miserable, wtf kind of logic are you operating on?? I mean I agree HS sucks but even going to a public library is a better option for entertainment than sea world lmao
Hello my friend, i just love love love when you do the parks..Please keep the vlogs coming, very much enjoy !!!!!!
Gosh, we will be there next Thursday!! Didn't think the lineups would be that intense in the morning!!
Love how Moana stays in character and how energetic she was, hopefully she will come back so I can go see her
I really miss the old fastpass system before it became electronic. The best was getting to the park early to race over to an attraction to get a paper fastpass, and also not having a limit on how many you could get.
It's half term (school holiday) here in the UK which is probably why it's so busy, we normally go last week of Jan/first week of Feb and last year we were coming off Star Tours and walking straight back on, maximum 10 minute wait.
there isn't much to do in Hollywood right now. But the shows and the the few rides they have are by far some of the best in WDW. Tower of terror, rockin roller coaster and star tours!!
+Guppy Agreed, but it stinks when all the fun rides have such a long wait.
You are right TimTracker. My family loves Disney World, and we have been annual pass holders for over 15 years as we live only 80 miles from WDW. Hollywood Studios is a bit wonky right now with all of the construction. It is a definitely a shortened up version of itself. LMA, Backlot Tour, Streets of America, and Osborne Lights are all gone now. I still love the park, but I feel for those who have come from far away for that once in a lifetime trip.
This fast pass system is crazy. it really takes the fun out of going to the park. I remember days of, hey let's go to Disney. And you go have fun, and ride many rides. now, if you don't plan a day weeks or months in advance you're screwed. as a cast member, we can only plan 1week ahead for fp. it makes it hard when people plan theirs so far in advance and take all the good rides. My frozen obsessed daughter has never been able to ride frozen because of this and I refuse to wait more than 60 min for ANY ride.
Yes hollywood studios is the worst for now.
1) Magic Kingdom ( feels the most "disney", has the most rides and all different kinds.. by far the best park)
2) Animal Kingdom ( great park, love what they have but it needs a few more attractions to compete with MK)
3) Epcot (ok maybe I'm just immature but I find it to not have enough rides and a lot of the content boring)
4) Hollywood studios.. (they desperatly need to hurry with the toy story and star wars stuff..)
once hollywood studios gets more attractions it will probably at the very least pass epcot for me (which I find to be mostly boring), but for now there just isn't enough to hollywood studios and it is the worst.
11:43 I went there in July on a Sunday and I was able to get Fastpasses for Star Tours, ToT, and Great Movie Ride only 1 day in advance. I was even able to get a 3:30 Toy Story Fastpass only 1 HOUR beforehand. Hollywood Studios probably won't be any worse this summer than it was last summer, and last summer was fine.
I went here on President's Day and waited for Rock 'n Roller Coaster and it shut down. We waited back in line and were about to be the first people on it and it shut down again before we even went on it. They gave us a fastpass for another ride because we waited but, the only thing we did was Muppet Vision, Toy Story Mania (because of the free fastpass from Rock 'n Roller Coaster) and we had a fast pass for the Great Movie Ride that was 55 minutes long. We only spent 3 hours at the park and it's crazy to me because we were there first thing that morning.
As someone who takes lots of spontaneous day-of Disney trips when the mood strikes, I really don't want this fastpass system to be implemented in CA. I'd miss the option of being able to just head on over if I feel like it and still do things.
Epcot is more catered to adults since a lot of it involves food and culture along with its few events that involve alcohol that happen on occasion and it's one of my absolute favorite parks! ~Annual Pass-holder
I just went to Hollywood Studios and I was really disappointed. They had no quick service restaurants with good options for food and the sit downs all had super long waits for food. So we had to leave instead of staying for the fireworks like we planned so we could get food. And all the lines were really long and it was hard to get around the park and find things since everything was in corners and you kept having to go back to the front of the park to get to the other side. Very disappointed in this park and I used to love it. Hopefully when the construction is done the park will get better again.
I agree Tim Hollywood Studios is really starting to fall behind however, it will get better with the new additions. I think that it really started to slack when Disney got rid of the backlot tour (which was a great ride) and lights motors action.
My Fiancé and I went to Hollywood Studios the same day as you. We were both complaining about how unmanageable the park was that day too. We even went earlier in the week to Magic Kingdom and it was pretty busy as well. I am not sure what is going on this year, but usually in my experience the 3rd week in February is usually the best times to go for Florida Residents. I have for sure been proven otherwise this week.
We went to Magic Kingdom monday. We got there when it opened and by 10 am you couldnt move. I am pondering if we should renew our annual passes.
Awe Hollywood Studios is my favorite Park!! I understand your frustrations though Tim, I feel like the park has just hit a rough patch while it's trying to transition and create the new lands.
The least they could do at Hollywood Studios is put some more characters out for meet & greets. Don't know how that would work logistically and with CMs schedules, but it would be a nice addition while the park is limited on attractions.
The person I sit next to in maths is the great grandson of Gene Kelly. He also brought in some history of how!!!
+Gem Stone Whoa! That's pretty awesome!
I love all of them but if I had to rank them:
1. Magic
2. Epcot
3. Hollywood
4. Animal
We went to Disney last March and had a similar problem at HS. I think we could only get one tier one fp (Aerosmith) for all four of us. My five year old and I didn't want to go so we gave our wristbands to my husband and older daughter and they got to go twice. They also went on Tower of Terror. We all went on Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Muppets, and Frozen Sing Along. Had dinner at Brown Derby and then saw the Star Wars fireworks. Toy Story was closed for maintenance but all in all it was still a great day, though crowded. The fp system does need to be fixed. You should be able to pick any 3 any there should not be tiers. I'm sure software can solve the problem of crowd sizes. If there are going to be fp, people need to be able to see more than one of the top rides without having to wait 2 hours. Before fp, everyone was waiting in line and it just wasn't that long. You could be much more spontaneous. I do like fp, but hate the tiered system.
You should have seen the Frozen sing along. The guy who plays "Eric" is hilarious. Most of the jokes go over the kids heads. When I went a few weeks ago there was a guy in the audience that looked like Santa Clause and he was asking him for presents all show long. At the end he ask him for a real job.
Well, I was always afraid of rides but this past summer I finally rode rock n roller coaster and tower of terror. Animal Kingdom is my favorite, however Hollywood is a close second for me because of those rides.
poor studios :( its always hard when a park is under major construction , also i hear with the princess marathon this week the parks are going to be really busy. with only a few rides in the park that can make things tough.
I have been to Hollywood studios loads of times and didn't know that great movie ride was actually a ride ! LOL
Wow, this is stunning. I haven't gone to WDW in 30 years, but I'm going back the first week of September for 8 nights to celebrate my 50th b-day. In the process of planning now, and truly have no idea how to deal with Hollywood Studios because of stories like yours here. It's obvious that there's not enough there to be worth spending the entire day, and I sort of want to get there at rope drop to do as much as possible before it gets backed up...but yet also would like to see the fireworks. Should I just go in the AM, then leave mid-day to do something else, then come back? Or just go later in the day and hope for the best? If it's this bad in mid-February, that's not a good sign for what's to come.
Hollywood studios use to be my favorit park in like the mid 2000's, but even before construction it was falling behind. Now that half of the park is closed it really kinda sucks.
We went for the first time in June and a cast member was really surprised we managed the whole day there but I loved it - it was one of my favourite parks but we had really decent fast passes and quite a quiet day it seems as wait times were nothing like. I loved fantasmic so much I insisted on going back! Hoping to visit in future when everything new opens x
Moana looks so friendly, haha. I haven't met her yet, since i haven't been to Disney this year. But so far, it does seem like HS is kinda dead. I mean, most rides will be very full because there isn't a balance of rides.
Oh word of advice, you should download the WDW app. You can select up to I think 3 fast passes for a certain park, time and any ride u want. I went to WDW last spring with my brother and dad and every morning the first thing I would do was go on the app, and select the fast passes we wanted and once those were used up, we were allowed to get even more fast passes
I think the Moana that we saw was new ...? When it was our turn to meet her she was saying bye to the last group and said "SEA YOU LATER... GET IT?" and I was the only one that laughed at her attempted pun. We both laughed and she said she was glad I caught that. Then when we left she said, "Ok, have fun... hopefully I can think of more clever puns!" it was the one and only time that any of the meetups went sort of out of character. But she was still adorable!
I use to work at Studios. I use to work at Trolley Car Cafe (Starbucks). Starring Rolls has been closed for a while now.
The Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster has been shut down frequently lately, so with ride closures and until Galaxy's Edge opens, Hollywood Studios has definitely become a half day park.
cool thank you for your video. I am going in April with my family. btw love your mustache
the side bag check is still open!! it may have just been closed that day because they were doing construction right by it!
I believe this week is considered a crowded week because there are some school on winter break (mine included). I bet the crowds will be more manageable next week.
What a perfect ad for these videos
The moana called me a
Demigod...and I kind of liked it, had my wife audibly cracking up!
i went in october 2015 with my sister and her family, we took small seminar for 2 hours to get fast passes, then went to this park and they wouldn't let us use them on ANY RIDE so we decided to go to magic kingdom where we still didn't need them anyways cause the park wasnt that packed and the rides would literally be a 10min wait tops.
but really, Hollywood studios is a bit annoying on that part.
The whole idea of fast passes has gone crazy. It used to be fun going to a Disney Park because it wasn't a plan visit, just what it felt a the moment and now its all a plan, a master plan and that takes out all of the experience. Bad system no doubt.
I have personally, along with my family as well, decided to stay away from Hollywood studio's until everything is done. It's just too small a park right now to enjoy anything in it.
Even during the off season, like now, it's bad. :(
Man those fans are so synchronized. It's surprisingly very visually appealing.
Hi Tim and Jenn . We are planning a trip to Orlando in July with our 7 year old daughter and thinking of doing Disney world and universal . Which universal park would you recommend ?
I love how Moana's a fast talker just like in the movie. Good touch, Disney.
So, for Hollywood Studios, last time, we got in early (made a breakfast reservation before park opening). We had our fast passes booked early. Had a long lunch (slow service) at Mama Melrose. Got on Toy Story Mania twice... Had to leave the park a little before 3 pm because we had a flight to catch, but we went on everything and met several characters... We would have been done with the park anyway. *My plan for our next visit* is to leave the park for a late lunch or early dinner at Disney Springs or one of the resort hotels, and then return for Fantasmic! It was ambitious of them to level so much of that park at once. Hard to spend a full day there now...
+Lisa Secula Agreed! If I had set up fast passes I would have been able to do a lot more, but still not that many experiences.
Im curious, when do you go to the park? Ive seen a couple of your videos and the parks always seems to be packed and you got all these long lines. Whenever I go to ANY park, lines are NEVER 60 mins long or even 30 mins for that matter. 25-30 might be the longets I ever wait and thats for like one ride like Toy Story Mania for some reason. I only go during the week and when kids are in school, never during the summer.
So is this filmed around President's Day weekend? I've always heard that time is a bad/busy time to visit. We always plan our annual trip after MLK Day and make sure we are gone before the PD's crowds come in.
Hey Tim and jenn I was wondering what you guys are planning for Saturday I'm gonna have some fun at magic kingdom
Hollywood Studios is extremely frustrating to me as well... because there are so few things to do, you don't really get a chance to ride rides unless you're willing to wait over an hour. Just doesn't seem worth it. Maybe it will be better once Toy Story land and Star Wars land open up.
I must have picked a good day I had the best time at Hollywood studios, probably because I booked my fast passes ahead of time and used the single rider line for the coaster. I found the ride lines the day I went to be around 30 mins. But I had planned ahead of time where to go first etc.
I never go to Hollywood Studios. I have been to Disney twice in the past year and half and I do everything but Hollywood Studios. I only like Twilight Zone and the Drive in Dinner place but not going to pay 100 dollars for those two things. I just feel like it doesn't have a lot and rather go elsewhere.
+KitschyTravels That is a reasonable assessment.
The Moana meet and greet was amazing.
I actually love Hollywood Studios cause I'm a Star Wars geek. My favorite thing is the march of the first order. Very excited about all the new upcoming Star Wars stuff.
Is Tim on vacation lately? It seems he's been home during the day during the week more.
Lori McTigue I believe he works early mornings and probably has an all over the place schedule. With my job, I work days and shifts most people don't it might be the same with him.
It was a holiday weekend, so maybe he took some extra time off.
Oh no! Not the ice cream cone! That was a really fun decoration :(
The fact that the parks are super busy makes me feel less sad that a year ago today I was in Disney World :(
I went at the end of March and had the same issue getting fastpasses for the Rock n Rollercoaster & Tower of Terror. Unavailable until after 9pm
Oh for the paper fast pass ticket days. I still have an un-used Tower one.
I went the day before you uploaded this with my school and didn't have the greatest time either because i had to stay with my group and it was a hot day for us Hendricken Hawks being from Rhode Island, I was so sad that the back lot tour and the Fantasia hat were gone as well
I hadn't been in MGM for nearly 8 years not knowing that the back lot tour was gone, I just hope they kept Walt Disney's plane
"she called me a demi-god, so i kinda liked it"- tims quote of the year haha
With Toy Story land and Galaxy's edge coming, it'll definitely be one of my favorite parks! Also, it has fantasmic and Tower Of Terror, so it's all good! Ahah
yeahhh, it's kinda ridiculous rn with the construction. my dad actually works at that park. I went Sunday and it was 150 minute wait for tower of terror 🙃
You gotta feel that when SWL and TSL open the wait times will obviously spread out a little more. However, probably more people anyway
I was a CP last spring and I worked on the Streets of America (before they closed) and the back of the park. The park is unbelievably tiny right now and it sucks, but I just know it's something everyone is gonna have to bare until the new lands open up. it was just the result of poor planning in my opinion.
+LifeIsRandom14 I agree! I don't think they should have closed down as much area. Maybe close down the section for Toystory first then start on Star Wars once Toystory is open.
I love Hollywood studios. It's my. Favorite out of all the parks. Just he way it's set up with all the movies and the Hollywood aspect of it on the other side. And I love me some Star Wars so that makes it even better. I'd probably have to say my least. Fav is animal kingdom. I mean I like the park a lot too because of the different types of lands you can visit. But it's still a park I would visit the least
+TheGameSlasherZ I use to really like DHS, but it has become a shell of what it once was.
+TheTimTracker Who do you think executed the wild river ride better. Disney's Kali River Rapids in the Animal Kingdom or Universal Orlando's Popeye & Pluto's Bilge-Rat Barges.