Your guide to all the rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios {2024}

Each of Disney’s parks around the world has its own unique rides and attractions to delight visitors — it’s hard to pick a favorite! But Disney’s Hollywood Studios ranks pretty high on our list, and it’s where you’ll find some of the absolute best themed lands of any park.

If you’re planning a trip to Orlando that includes time at Disney World, we recommend spending a full day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You’ll be able to hit all the big rides, if not every ride, and fit in a show or two, along with a relaxing meal.

In this post, we’ll share our list of Hollywood Studios rides, including height requirement, thrill level, and a quick description. We’ll let you know the best order in which to ride the Hollywood Studios rides, and then we’ll also share some additional information on the best food, shows, and special events at Hollywood Studios.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Rides

Hollywood Studios consists of seven named areas. It’s one of the smaller parks, so it’s not too difficult to navigate and shouldn’t tire you out too quickly.

You’ll enter the park by walking along Hollywood Boulevard. Then, you can turn right and head down Sunset Boulevard, head straight into Animation Courtyard, or turn left into Echo Lake. To the left of Animation Courtyard, you’ll find Commissary Lane, and from there you can go either direction around a circular path that will take you to, in clockwise order, Grand Avenue, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, and back down to Animation Courtyard.

Hollywood Boulevard Rides & Attractions

Hollywood Boulevard is a bit like Main Street U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom — you’ll find shops, services, and food along the way.

It’s also the best place to snap an iconic picture of Disney’s replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, now the home of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and previously the home of The Great Movie Ride.

Guests are taken on a wild and unpredictable journey through a series of colorful and zany scenes that feel like they are straight out of an animated short.

On this ride, you’ll feel like you’ve ridden right into a classic cartoon, with lots of fun and exciting surprises along the way, blurring the line between reality and animation. It’s a perfect attraction for the whole family!

This ride is perfect if: You have a mix of ages and thrill preferences in your group, but everyone loves Mickey and Minnie!

Sunset Boulevard Rides & Attractions

One hallmark of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is how fast it starts. You’ll go from 0 to 57 miles per hour in just 2.8 seconds, then experience numerous inversions, loops, and corkscrews as you speed by some of Hollywood’s iconic landmarks.

This ride is perfect if: You love fast coasters and rock ‘n’ roll music and are okay with being jostled around a bit (it’s not the smoothest coaster ever)!

Throughout the experience, guests are treated to a series of special effects and surprises before being dropped. The drop pattern is random, which means it’s different every time you ride!

This ride is perfect if: You’re a fan of spooky thrills, suspense, and don’t mind a freefall!

This attraction is good for all ages and will be most enjoyed by kids who love the Cars movies. Older kids and adults who are more interested in thrill rides could skip this one without missing much.

This ride is perfect if: You adore Cars and racing.

Animation Courtyard Rides & Attractions

The film, called “One Man’s Dream,” tells the story of Walt Disney’s life and career. The film features rare footage and interviews with Walt Disney, as well as his family members, friends, and colleagues who worked with him throughout his life.

This attraction is perfect if: You want to learn more about the man behind the mouse!

During the 25-minute show, the audience is encouraged to get up and dance to fun, familiar music, alongside colorful visuals and special effects that will dazzle the youngsters, and maybe the adults too!

This attraction is perfect if: Your little ones are regular Disney Junior watchers.

Echo Lake Rides & Attractions

We love Star Tours and have been known to ride many times in a row, to see how many different combinations we can get. Not for those with motion sickness!

This ride is perfect if: You love Star Wars and want to be part of the action — and you have a strong stomach!

Grand Avenue Rides & Attractions

The show will likely entertain adults who have fond memories of the Muppets from their childhood, as well as kids who will enjoy the songs and jokes. It provides a nice break from some of the more thrilling rides and gives you a chance to sit, relax, and be entertained for a while!

This ride is perfect if: You’re a Muppets fan or in the mood for a laugh.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Rides & Attractions

As a member of the resistance, you’ll enter the secret base and board a resistance transport ship. Unfortunately, that ship gets captured by the First Order and you end up on a Star Destroyer. From there, you’ll board a trackless vehicle and attempt your escape.

The ride successfully combines special effects, realistic animatronics, a variety of ride mechanics and elements, and cast member interaction to create a one-of-a-kind experience. And maybe best of all, the whole family can enjoy it!

This ride is perfect if: You are a Star Wars fan and want to feel like the star of the next Star Wars movie while enjoying an exciting ride!

In groups of six, riders will take on the roles of pilot, gunner, or engineer (two of each) as you attempt to complete a smuggling mission. The ride is interactive, with each guest’s actions affecting the outcome of the mission.

This ride is perfect if: You’ve always wanted to fly the Millennium Falcon and you enjoy interactive rides where your actions determine the ending.

Toy Story Land Rides & Attractions

The ride’s design and queue include bright colors and oversized toys that make you feel like you’ve stepped into the world of Toy Story. Once on the ride, you’ll enjoy several twists, turns, and drops, as well as a fun launch section.

This ride is perfect if: You love Toy Story and enjoy a medium-level thrill, or if you’re traveling with a group of mixed ages and thrill tolerances.

Toy Story Mania is a fan-favorite thanks to its fun gameplay and nostalgic theming. Anyone can ride, making it a popular choice for families. Little ones may struggle with the shooter, but they can also just sit back and enjoy the ride.

This ride is perfect if: You enjoy interactive game rides where you can compete against your friends.

Alien Swirling Saucers is similar to a tea cup style ride, but the ride vehicles themselves don’t spin in circles. Rather, they follow a circular track and “whip” the riders from side to side at times. If you don’t do well with spinning rides, you may still be able to tolerate this ride. It’s the same design as Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree in Cars Land at Disney’s California Adventure.

This ride is perfect if: You want a small thrill or have children in your travel party.

The best order to ride Hollywood Studios rides

I think Hollywood Studios, in particular, is the hardest park to give a definitive recommendation for ride order to avoid a long wait. You really just need to prioritize and go to your top picks first.

The rides in Galaxy’s Edge are very popular, as are the rides in Toy Story Land, as are Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n Roller Coaster, as is Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway! I’d suggest ordering those four areas according to your priorities, then fitting in the rest of the rides when you’re nearby.

Can I ride every ride at Hollywood Studios in one day?

Yes, you can ride every ride at Hollywood Studios in one day, if all goes according to plan. If you also want to meet characters, watch shows, and enjoy sit-down meals, you may have to pick and choose rides.

You’ll give yourself the best chance of maximizing your ride time if you visit during a less busy time of year (January, September, and the first half of November are our picks), go on a weekday, go on a day when the park is open early and closes late, and go early!

Arrive an hour before the posted opening time, at least. You’ll wait a little bit at the park entrance, but once you’re inside you’ll be able to get right on your first few rides, and you’ll be ahead of everyone else piling into the park a little later in the morning. If you are staying onsite and can get into the park an hour early, that’s a huge advantage so take it!

Go to the most popular rides first. Those lines will get long quickly and usually stay long throughout the rest of the day. 

Sometimes it’s a good strategy to go to a big ride right at the end of the day, because Disney will let you get into line right up until closing time, which means you could be in the park (in line and on the ride) well after the official close time. But I like to save this tactic for reriding a favorite ride. That way, if it doesn’t work out, we still got to ride it.

FastPass, Genie+, Lightning Lanes, & Virtual Queue

Oh my.

Disney has changed up their ride reservation system a lot over the past few years, and it’s hard to keep up! I’ll explain what I know and do my best to keep this updated, but I strongly recommend researching the latest offerings and procedures directly from the Mouse’s mouth (a.k.a. check the WDW website).

FastPass and FastPass+ are gone. Kiss ‘em goodbye. Unlearn those words.

Disney Genie is a virtual planner in the My Disney Experience app that helps you schedule your day and ideally do everything you want to do with minimum wait times. It’s free, but it doesn’t allow you to schedule any ride reservations. That’s where Disney Genie+ comes in.

Disney Genie+ is a paid service that allows you to schedule reservations for certain rides and attractions throughout the parks. When you arrive at your reservation time, you’ll use the Lightning Lane to get on the ride quickly.

Not every ride has a Lightning Lane, but many do. You can book additional reservations after you’ve redeemed your most recent reservation, or 120 minutes after you’ve scheduled your most recent reservation.

Some of the most popular rides open up a Virtual Queue on the My Disney Experience app at certain times of day. This allows you to secure a spot in a boarding group that will get called to ride the ride at some point that day. These are free, but you have to have fast fingers to snag one!

At Walt Disney World in January 2024, the only rides using Virtual Queue are Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot and TRON Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom Park.

Lastly, some attractions have Individual Lightning Lanes. These are popular rides that are not included in the Genie+ reservation system. Instead, you have to purchase an a la carte Lightning Lane reservation, and you’re limited to two per day.

The good news here is that if you aren’t able to get a Virtual Queue boarding pass for the ride you were just dying to experience, you might be able to buy your way on.

Exhausted yet? Well now you just have to remember that there are even more rules for when and where you can purchase/reserve these various ride reservations. For some you have to be in the park, some require the park to be officially open first, others you can book in the early morning before the park opens… It takes some research, but if you want to do all the things, it’s worth spending the time. You just read this overview, so you’re well on your way!

Enough of that nonsense — on to the ride order!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios ride order 2024

Below you’ll find what we consider to be the best order of rides & attractions in 2024, but there are so many factors that come into play that you’ll need to stay flexible. You may have different ride priorities, your Lightning Lane or Genie+ reservations may cause you to switch things around, you might want to eat meals in certain locations that affect where you are and when, and line wait times and ride down times are never completely predictable.

This order puts the very popular Galaxy’s Edge rides first, when wait times will be at their lowest, and it may also have you hitting Toy Story Land while many people are at the first Fantasmic show, which should reduce your wait time at those rides.

What to do other than rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

There are plenty of things to do at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that cater to a wide range of interests and ages. Beyond the rides and attractions, guests can explore the themed lands, catch live shows, meet iconic characters, and enjoy delicious food and beverages.

Hollywood Studios entertainment

Hollywood Studios is home to some of the best stage shows at Disney World. One of the most popular shows is Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage, which is an impressive musical production.

Fans of Frozen will definitely want to catch For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, where they can sing along to their favorite songs from the movie while watching a retelling of the story.

The park also features the stunning Fantasmic! nighttime show, where fireworks, lasers, and water effects combine to create a magical spectacle.

And don’t forget to catch the Wonderful World of Animation projection and fireworks show to finish your day at Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood Studios activities

Star Wars fans will love the immersive quality of Galaxy’s Edge, plus there are two special activities you can participate in there. Make your own droid at the Droid Depot, or assemble a custom lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop.

Hollywood Studios food

You’ll find lots of great restaurants and food at Hollywood Studios. Here are a few of our favorites:

Woody’s Lunchbox is the first place we ever had “Totchos”, which now we make at home all the time!

We haven’t yet tried the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre Restaurant, but it sounds like a ton of fun to eat while sitting in a “car” and watching classic movies.

And finally, we really enjoy the food at the ABC Commissary, especially the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Pork Carnitas Tacos.

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Ready to buy your tickets?! I hope this post has helped you plan the perfect day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I wish you great weather, short lines, and a ton of Hollywood-themed Disney fun!