Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios) was the third theme park built at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida. The park was opened on May 1, 1989. Originally the park also acted as an operating production studio.
At one point there were active TV and Film production services. Also a functioning backlot and an animation facility branch. Slowly all of those started to disappear.
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In the 2010s all but a few of the production services were removed along with the only two rides that were available opening day. Those rides were the Great Movie Ride and the Studio Backlot Tour. Those among other reasons are what suck about Hollywood Studios. It can’t all be bad though. Right…… RIGHT?
RIDES
Don’t get me wrong the few rides they do have are great. Probably some of the best on property. Tower of Terror, Rock N’ Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog Dash, Smugglers Run and of course Rise of the Resistance are all good rides. Great rides even.
However, with so few rides the wait times can be crazy. Just don’t me starting on the boarding pass either.
I’ll bypass a great ride if the posted time is over 30 minutes. All of these rides usually have a 45 minute or longer wait time. Even with the recent addition of Galaxy’s Edge and Smuggler’s Run and Rise of the Resistance, those wait times don’t seem to be going down.
Rides are one of the things that suck about Hollywood Studios. Not the quality but the quantity of them. Currently you have 3 in Toy Story Land. two in Galaxy’s Edge and 3 in the rest of the park. All other attractions are just shows.
Even when you add the two new rides coming. The total ride count for Hollywood Studios will be 9.
Sure all 9 rides are pretty good rides. But it’s only 9. You can find more places to eat here than rides to ride.
FOOD
Anywhere you check, people are always asking where to get food at Hollywood Studios. Nowhere in this park is a must see. You won’t be talking about the food months later.
You may talk about the atmosphere some of these places have. From watching movies while eating in a car. To getting yelled at while having your elbows on the table.
Some of the theming is fantastic. The food however, is pretty so-so. You won’t be posting pictures on Facebook or Instagram about the fabulous food you just ate. You may talk about the shakes. But not about the food.
Don’t get me wrong the food is not bad. It’s just okay, like I said nothing to write home about. It kind of even goes with the quick service locations too not just the table service. Check out our rankings on the quick service locations at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
FASTPASS
Recently Disney changed how the FastPass+ works at Hollywood Studios. Instead of the 3 rides at Toy Story Land being the only tier one rides. Now all the rides are tier one.
This means you can only pick one of those rides (Slinky Dog Dash, Alien Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rock N’ Roller Coaster). Smugglers Run in Galaxy’s Edge is not even available with the FastPass system. Hopefully they learned their lesson and change this again in the near future.
It almost seems like you have to waste a FastPass day to book 1 ride and 2 so-so shows. Of course Star Tours is a tier 2 ride. Star Tours is worth the FP+ use. Other tier 2 attractions are a handful of shows. I never cared for the shows and never saw a need for a FastPass for them.
Not even for Fantasmic!. Mainly that is because Fantasmic is at the end of the night and I am trying to get as many FP+ a day that I can. Using a FastPass on the Frozen Sing-a-long or Beauty and the Beast Stage show is a waste. You can always get a seat with no problem.
Currently there are no FastPass+ at Walt Disney World due to the current state of the world (2020). Before everything happened the top attraction (Rise of the Resistance) you would have to arrive at least a half hour early to be INSIDE the park at 7am to hopefully score a boarding pass to get onto the ride.
The boarding passes were usually gone by 7:01am. Hopefully they find a better way.
GALAXY’S EDGE
So this might be hard to hear for some. Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, I was not really excited about it. Plus I’m still not.
I love Star Wars. I even liked Episode 8 The Last Jedi (as a stand alone movie not part of the Skywalker trilogy). But there is just something about it that puts me off. Maybe it’s the cash grab Disney tried.
The land looks amazing. You can tell they put a lot of time into the place. I have friends who have gone and some have loved it while other’s didn’t care for it. I just think Disney should have built a place we already know. Not cram this new age Stars Wars down our throats.
The older movies are embedded into our culture. If they would have recreated Tatooine or even Naboo. The guest would have come (even more than already do). Just picture both Disney World and Disneyland having two different worlds to check out. They could have the same rides but different planets to visit. Ones from the old trilogy.
Let’s not forget that only one ride opened with the land. Disney was more worried about a cash grab than having a full guest experience.
Pandora was a hit over in Animal Kingdom because it was a complete land.
Even if most people forgot the movies. The theming and experiences were all there.
When Galaxy’s Edge first opened it was just have of the experience. It was and is just a complete cash grab. Most Star Wars fans never asked for it. A ride that (while amazing) breaks down a lot and most people can’t even ride.
There are a few things that make Hollywood Studios a good park. But there are more that makes Hollywood Studios sucks. Currently it is my least favorite park in Disney World. If I would only be going for two or three days I would easily still pick this park to skip. From the long lines for the rides to the lackluster food. It would have to be a skip.
But it does have a few of my favorite rides. I still consider Hollywood Studios a half day park. I would only spend time in Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge.
What are your feelings on Hollywood Studios? What do you think makes Hollywood Studios suck? Or do you think it is the greatest theme park? Let us know in the comments below. Be sure to stay up to date with Kozmophotos. Check out below for all of our post on What sucks about and What’s great about.
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