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WDW Hollywood Studios: General Discussion

If you're not a resort guest you can "only" reserve 30 days in advance, which means if it's a popular ride/busy time then there's absolutely no chance of getting FP. When we visited 3 years ago one of our group was reserving FP at 5am as that's when they're released - midnight local time. Even then availability on 7DMT, the big new thing at the time, was extremely limited.
 
They are released 7am local time now so it’s noon over here which isn’t so bad. I’ve managed to get pretty much everything I wanted apart from FOP which is just proving impossible
 
Poopoohead said:
You seem very knowledgeable on the Florida parks, I’m going in a few weeks (4th-25th may), all the info i could find suggested it would be moderately busy with some quiet days but busier at weekends, would you agree? I think spring break and all the Easter celebrations are done with and it’s just before the summer season really kicks in. Outside of rides like FOP queues are suggested to be rather quite manageable
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Universal and Disney will be busy every day, perhaps a little busier at weekends. SeaWorld & Busch Gardens should be quite quiet during the week, you shouldn't have a problem getting everything done. You may get a few school trips though. Have fun :)

Mid June is when all the parks start getting crazy busy.
 
Here's another look at Slinky Dog Dash:



I think in all honesty it's going to be a pretty unexciting ride however I am sure that it will be great fun for younger families!

:)
 
Bumping this up to talk Toy Story Land after my recent trip and a bit on Galaxy's Edge too.

Toy Story Land
So, Toy Story Land. I mean...it's nice I guess but certainly not worth the hype for what is ultimately two new rides and an existing one. The lack of shade around the land has been a bugbear for many, and it really showed during our visit. There's temporary parasols that have been put up all over the place in an effort to slightly remedy it, but it's still blisteringly hot in there. They really need some shaded areas (upturned book or something maybe?) and it's clear they've had to cut budget left right and centre.

Slinky Dog is a nice addition, better than I thought it was going and it does look good at night. No it's not particularly exciting, but the train looks great and the launch is better than Icon (well, maybe not but it was our running joke of the trip).

Alien Swirling Saucers felt too short for my liking. If it were coupled with a couple of other flat rides to soak up queues then maybe I wouldn't feel as short changed, but for only the second new ride in a new land, it was just bland.

Galaxy's Edge
Elsewhere with Galaxy's Edge and the associated transport improvements, and Studios is a bit of a building site at present, especially the car park! The theming that can be seen of the new area looks amazing though, and I'm sure it'll be great once it's all finished along with Great Movie Ride's replacements.

However, an article that came out today concerns me over on WDWNT. There's already a fair bit of information on the Millennium Falcon ride, with lots of interactivity being mooted thanks to real time rendering of scenes. Essentially, it's one big video game that everyone in the pod has a part in. Firstly, the bit that really concerns me:

"According to the video, the ride will be able to accommodate 42 guests at a time in seven pods that seat six each"

42 guests at a time? Allowing 5 minutes for loading, unloading and the ride itself that's an insanely low throughput, especially for Disney. I'm hoping it's an error in the video and/or article otherwise that area is really going to struggle!

On the plus side, I'm loving the ability to change the outcome of the ride, and it looks like there'll be cast member interaction too even after getting off the ride:

“If you bring back all the loot and there’s not a scratch on the ship and Hondo is really happy when you bring it back, you might find yourself with some extra Galactic Credits in your account, but do a poor job, you lose the cargo, you smash up the ship, you might come back owing more money than you started with, the bossman might not be too happy and when you roll across to the local cantina the bartender might lean over and say ‘hey, word on the street is your name’s been put on the list of a local bounty hunter, I’d watch out if I were you’ so how well you do on this mission really does have an impact on your overall, land-wide story.”

Galaxy's Edge really looks like it could be amazingly immersive, but I'm really concerned about how they'll be able to manage the crowds, and more importantly whether all visitors will be able to properly experience it in the first place. Even though Toy Story Playland has calmed off, it's still incredibly to get any sort of Fastpass unless you're booking 65+ days in advance (so you'd have to stay on resort for 5+ days) and waiting around til the window opens at midday.

Bassline Tap House
Elsewhere in Studios though, Bassline Tap House just in the road down to where the new entrance to Galaxy's Edge is great if you're a drinker. Relatively quiet with chilled music, nice air con, great pretzels, charcuterie board and a decent beer selection. There's also a really nice cider on tap, and there's a really nice black cherry soda option which includes refills! Shame it won't stay quiet once Galaxy's Edge opens!
 
Craig said:
"According to the video, the ride will be able to accommodate 42 guests at a time in seven pods that seat six each"

42 guests at a time? Allowing 5 minutes for loading, unloading and the ride itself that's an insanely low throughput, especially for Disney. I'm hoping it's an error in the video and/or article otherwise that area is really going to struggle!
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The info that is missing is that from what I understand there are 4 separate ride systems that make up the attraction, each one having 7 pods so in total would be able to handle 168 guests per cycle. Much like mission space, Flight of passage etc have multiple theatres/ride systems. The early construction work showed foundations for what was thought to be the 4 circular ride bases.
 
Yeah there are going to be 4 ride systems as it were, and I assume that it is 7 pods per ride system, so the capacity shouldn't be too much of an issue, although the queue are still going to be insane.

Interesting to read about Toy Story Land, it is a shame that the budget cuts have had such an impact on the area but I am not surprised after seeing how the conecpt art changed. That's Bob Chapek for you (and Avatar going way over budget).

Speaking of Samsung's Star Wars Galaxy Edge though, here is a photo update from Attractions Magazine:

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I've not seen any recent photos of the Disneyland area, but it will be even more advanced in construction! These areas are going to be phenomenal, but hellishly busy.

:)
 
So Galaxy's Edge in Orlando is set to open end of August. :) :) :)

However the Rise of the Resistance Dark ride, which looks head and shoulders the better attraction of the two, looks to be opening a few months later maybe even early 2020. Very interesting decision. I imagine it will hold off the crowds a little because unless you've already booked your trip some might hold back until they can experience the whole land. I probably would tbh.

Can't wait to get over there but got to wait till 2021.

Really hope the Disneyland Paris version is a decent effort too. Obviously it won't be as grand but I'm still expecting big things from it. Hope we get both rides too rather than just the one however I suspect we won't.
 
This two stage opening is smart business. They need to drive resort bookings for people otherwise holding off until GE opens. This will inevitably do that. Once the Rise of the Resistance opens, it will surely drive another boost.

Since the rumours were that it would open much later, it makes sense to focus attention on getting open what they can and/or not allowing one ride not being ready to delay opening of the rest of the area.

Since the unanimous consensus seems to be that this will be an overwhelming success, I wonder how quickly a real phase 2 might be green lit. Past performance would suggest significant delay regardless of success...
 
I have some Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge construction photos that I took on Friday; I thought you guys might like to see them:
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Sorry I couldn't really find a decent angle, but the best places to see the area are places where I physically can't take a photograph! Looks obscene, though!

While I'm here, I may as well mention that Hollywood Studios definitely feels like the Disney park going through the most change at the moment. I'm sure it'll be fantastic once Galaxy's Edge is open, and it's a nice park at the moment, but I'm not sure there's quite enough there to fill a full day.

Toy Story Land is really nice, however; Slinky Dog Dash was a real pleasant surprise! What a fun family coaster!
 
Slinky Dog Dash is a fun family coaster, and offers good views into Star Wars GE.
I expected Alien Flying Saucers to be similar to Cars Race Rally at the Studios park in Paris.... it wasn't close to the fun of the Cars ride. It was a strong contender for worst ride at WDW :-( and is destined for walk on queues long term.
If you enjoy the shows, Hollywood Studios takes a couple of days to do justice. Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy is an OK little show. Not unmissable, but an entertaining diversion that can eat a crowd and is easy to get into.
 
So with Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway now delayed until Spring 2020, I'm worried Studios is really going to suffer once Galaxy's Edge opens. Considering the lack of rides already in there, that's a big chunk of capacity which really needed to return to soak up the extra crowds following the opening of the new land - especially over the Thanksgiving and Christmas period. Coupled with the opening of Rise of the Resistance being delayed, it's all a bit of a mess for Studios at the moment!
 
I wonder if they pulled resources over to GE in order to get it open earlier and that is why Runaway Railway is now delayed.
 
AT86 said:
I wonder if they pulled resources over to GE in order to get it open earlier and that is why Runaway Railway is now delayed.
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I'm assuming so, tends to be the case that other things suffer when the huge projects are delayed/running behind *cough* Shanghai
 
Yes, you are correct. Insiders have said that in order to push for both phases of SW:GE to be open this year, the MMRR teams have been transferred to help on finalising those attractions. It is also being suggested that Studios will be altering their phase closure capacities once SW:GE opens until MMRR is up and running due to the reduced attraction capacities than expected. It really will be a sea of people.
 
I was at the studios a couple of weeks ago. It is still a great park (by UK standards at least), but I do wonder if they will ever manage to make it as immersive as the other parks.

The legacy of those huge studio buildings is stamped all over the place. There is a strange contrast between highly themed areas such as Toy Story Land, the Muppets area (looks great around there now) and Sunset Boulevard vs. the giant blank buildings behind Echo Lake. The external placement of Fantasmic, which is really outside of the main park isn"t ideal: but isn't really fixable now.

The overall parks structure is quite disjointed, and the Star Wars GE isn't going to sort that out. They will need to work on this park for years until it is the full deal. Linking TSL around to Rock n Roller coaster makes sense, so there is flow around the place.

The food also remains the worst of all the 4 parks. Epcot has the most variety, but AK also has novel options, and MK has upped its game... but HS still seems to offer little but burgers and slushies. TSL does surprisingly offer an improvement, and SWGE looks to offer something different... but it has a lot of catching up to do on that front.
 
The food also remains the worst of all the 4 parks. Epcot has the most variety, but AK also has novel options, and MK has upped its game... but HS still seems to offer little but burgers and slushies. TSL does surprisingly offer an improvement, and SWGE looks to offer something different... but it has a lot of catching up to do on that front.[/QUOTE]

For the Quick service restaurants I couldn’t agree more. It was that bad I got food poisoning at the burger counter near tower of terror.
The sit down restaurants on the other hand I found to be very nice.
 
Even the table service offerings are poorer on average than the other parks.
There are a couple of decent options, but compare that to Epcot, MK or AK, where there almost all the table service options are at least OK, or often great. Animal Kingdom Lodge on its own has more good table service restaurants than HS park does.
  • Hollywood and Vine is widely regarded as the worst of the character dining option in the 4 parks.
  • SciFi diner is just more burgers in a nicely themed venue.
  • The Brown Derby has a good reputation, but is at a high end option.
  • Mama Melrose seems popular
  • 50s Prime Time is basically Tesco microwave meal quality and a bit of a performance.
The lineup has also not altered for maybe 20 years (?), wheras all the other parks seem to have invested in refreshing their lineup (AK having done the least, but it was only really weak at the higher end).
 
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