Hollywood Studios Park Hours 2024 | Tips & FAQs

Park hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are not hard to figure out, but you do need to know them before visiting to get the most out of your day. Opening and closing hours can change and therefore you’ll need to adjust your strategy for touring.

In this post, we will cover the Hollywood Studios park hours in 2024 including opening and closing times over the next few months, normal operating hours, early morning opening, and how late you can stay at night.

In comparison to other Disney World theme parks like the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ hours are pretty stable, but there are always variations you need to be aware of. The busier seasons, holidays, and special events can all change the park hours with earlier opening times or later closings.

At the end of the article, we’ll go over what time you should arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which rides you should do early in the morning, and transportation options for getting there on time.

Before we get started here is a list of articles explaining the park hours at the other Walt Disney World theme parks:

• Magic Kingdom Park Hours Guide
• EPCOT Park Hours Guide
• Animal Kingdom Park Hours Guide

Also, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter. There we will update you with the latest Hollywood Studios Park Hours, and share the latest vacation planning tips. You can sign up here: Join our E-Mail Newsletter!

Hollywood Studios Park Hours 2024

Here is a look at the new operating hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios for March, April and May 2024:

• March 18-19: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
• March 20: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm (Disney After Hours: 9:30 pm to 12:30 am)
• March 21-24: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
• March 25-26: 9:00 am – 9:30 pm
• March 27: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm (Disney After Hours: 9:30 pm to 12:30 am)
• March 28-31: 9:00 am – 9:30 pm

• April 1-2: 8:30 am – 9:30 pm
• April 3: 8:30 am – 9:00 pm (Disney After Hours: 9:30 pm to 12:30 am)
• April 4-5: 8:30 am – 9:30 pm
• April 6: 9:00 am – 9:30 pm
• April 7-9: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
• April 10: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm (Disney After Hours: 9:30 pm to 12:30 am)
• April 11-30: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm

• May 1-21: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
• May 22: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm (Disney After Hours: 9:30 pm to 12:30 am)
• May 23-27: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm

Other than an occasional half-hour to difference, the hours throughout Hollywood Studios remain mostly static and unchanged. Some mornings leading up to the spring season start at 8:30 am, while all the rest ofter that start at 9:00 am.

In April almost all of the days open at 8:30 am or 9:00 am and close at 9:00 pm, though we could see that be extended to 9:30 pm or 10:00 pm as we get closer to those dates.

Disney releases the official park hours between 60-75 days prior in advance and it’s always good to check on Disney’s official site just to make sure. They will sometimes adjust times as the dates get closer. 

The hours here at Hollywood Studios have virtually remained unchanged for months, tending to stay the same. Disney After Hours events at Hollywood Studios are thankfully going on right now through the summer, so this means the park schedules will be slightly altered like the other theme parks and they will have the same closing time as normal, but extended hours for the hard-ticketed event.

What are the Normal Hours for Hollywood Studios?

As you can tell in the above schedule, the most common or “normal” hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios tend to be either:

• 8:30 am – 9:00 pm OR
• 9:00 am – 9:00 pm

At times there is a slightly different variance of 30 minutes between the listed openings and closing times. Not only are these the common times during the winter months, but it’s also been the case for most months at Hollywood Studios, even during most of the busier times of the last few years. 

They rarely stray from these times except for the oddities such as during New Year’s Eve in which they stay open until 12:00 am.

What Time Does Hollywood Studios Open?

Disney’s Hollywood Studios almost always opens up every morning at 8:30 or 9:00 am and rarely shutters away from this opening time period. 

Even during some of the busiest days last year and this year, we haven’t seen Hollywood Studios open much earlier than 8:30 am. There were a few times in which they opened at 8:00 am but it was RARE. 

This of course is NOT factoring in Early Theme Park Entry which allows the parks to open 30 minutes earlier. In that case, the park opens at 8:00 am, but we will touch on this more later. 

Right now, we are strictly talking about the standard opening times for ALL guests. 

Always remember to check My Disney Experience to get an exact time for the opening, and remember that oftentimes the parks will allow people in prior to the official park opening time. It’s always best to get there at least 30 minutes earlier than the officially listed opening time, whether it’s the Early Entry time or the regular opening time.

What Time Does Hollywood Studios Close?

While Hollywood Studios rarely alters its opening schedule, they sometimes adjust its closing schedule by 30 minutes or so. 

Disney’s Hollywood Studios almost always closes at either 8:00 pm or 9:00 pm at all times of the year, even during the busy peak periods. 

On slower days they may close at 8:00 pm or 8:30 pm, but for several months now they’ve been open every night until at least 9:00 pm. Even during the historically slow month of January, they were open until at least 9:00 pm every night! 

So to recap, the closing hours for Hollywood Studios will be either:

• 8:00 pm (common in slow times) 
• 8:30 pm (less likely) 
• 9:00 pm (most common) 
• 9:30 pm (common during busy times) 

This is a promising sign of things to come, and we are hopeful they don’t go back to 8:00 or 8:30 pm closing times anytime soon!

Attraction Hours

More so than the other Disney Parks, at Hollywood Studios not all of the specific attractions open and close at the same time as the park.

For example, attractions such as Muppet Vision 3D, Star Wars Launch Bay, and the character meets and greets typically don’t begin until slightly after the park opening. 

Disney’s Hollywood Studios adjusts its park hours to accommodate particularly busy time periods much less often than the other Disney Parks do. While they haven’t done this much yet in 2024, we are hopeful they will do it more in the coming busier time periods. 

When MIGHT they extend and add additional hours? Here are some expected times they could do it, based on Disney World historically being BUSY:

• Spring Break
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving 
• Christmas
• New Years
• 3-Day Holiday Weekends (Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day) 

While we don’t expect them to extend and significantly add hours or even an hour to the park schedule, the most common thing Hollywood Studios does is bump their closing time back to 9:30 pm. 

We wish they would give us 10:00 or 11:00 pm closing times occasionally, especially without many ‘Extended Evening Hours events happening right now, but unfortunately, they haven’t changed them. We hope closing times are pushed back soon, especially during the busiest days and the holiday seasons.

Hollywood Studios Closing Info

Unlike any of the other Disney Parks currently, Hollywood Studios’ closing is vastly different. One main reason is that it has three nighttime shows! With two performances of Fantasmic! on most nights and a performance of the Wonderful World of Animation, the park tends to clear out a little bit later than the other parks. 

The 2nd showtime for Fantasmic usually falls directly in line with the closing time for the park each day, causing thousands of guests to be filtered out of the park 30-45 minutes AFTER the official park closing time. Sometimes the 2nd showtime is even later than the park closing time, which means even later! 

We like these scattered departures at Hollywood Studios and multiple nighttime performances due to the fact that it allows guests to leave at significantly different times.

More so than the other parks, guests tend to leave Hollywood Studios in the afternoon or early evening if they’re not attending one of the nighttime spectaculars. 

If you’re NOT attending one of the fireworks shows, you’ll have little waits for some of the main attractions. This is usually one of our favorite times to get on attractions such as Rise of the Resistance or Smugglers Run! Ignore the posted ‘wait times’, they’ll likely be a small fraction of what the listed time says. 

You won’t typically get insane lines for Disney Transportation at the end of the night nor the long backed-up parking lots attempting to leave if you’re driving, and that’s a major plus! 

We love Hollywood Studios at night, it’s got a fun and great vibe, utilize the time in the evenings to the best of your ability. We just hope Disney will extend the nighttime hours more so in the future.

Does Hollywood Studios Ever Close Early?

Unlike the Magic Kingdom, it’s rare to see Hollywood Studios close early! There has been an occasional, and I do mean an occasional day in which Hollywood Studios in the last few years would close its doors at 5:00 pm. This was typically due to some Cast Member event. 

Starting in recent years, you now find holiday parties here, causing the parks to close early. However, at Hollywood Studios After Hours events, the park times remain the same, not causing them to be adjusted at all! 

At times it will close as early as 8:00 pm, although they didn’t close at 8:00 pm at all in 2023 and there are no plans to do so in 2024 so far! And that’s a very very good thing. 

In years past it was quite common for Hollywood Studios to close at 7:00 pm but thankfully we haven’t seen that in quite some time either. We hope this continues and if anything, they give us more late-night evenings!

Staying Late in the Park

Less so than EPCOT and Magic Kingdom, it’s not easy to stay late in Hollywood Studios. Why? Because there is rarely any chance to stay late! With practically zero Extended Evening Hours nights (An odd one here and there) and rarely being opened past 9:30 pm, getting a chance to enjoy late nights in Hollywood Studios is rare, if ever. 

While we might not have time on our side in Hollywood Studios, we still can take advantage of the last few hours of the opening times no matter what time the park closes each night. And just because the park closes at a particular time, it doesn’t mean you NEED to be out of the park gates by that time. 

And with the 2nd performance of Fantasmic! running anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour past official closing time on most nights, cast members at Hollywood Studios don’t rush you out the door. You’ll have time to enjoy it even after the park closes. 

But BEFORE the park closes, if you’re not seeing Fantasmic! or the Wonderful World of Animation, take advantage of the last hour or so of the official park hours. This is when you should do something or multiple things you missed during the day, provided it’s still open. Consider this an extra bonus!

Remember as we said earlier, ALWAYS check the ride or attraction hours on My Disney Experience to help you plan out your last hour of the day correctly, and you don’t end up wanting to ride an attraction that is going to be closed. 

Shopping is also possible late in the evening. While many stores will close at or around the official park closing time, the stores on Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard generally stay open long after the official park closing to account for the stragglers that will continue exiting the park for a while. 

Some restaurants, such as Oga’s Cantina, will take reservations even after the park closes! This is a nice hidden gem if you want to truly enjoy Galaxy’s Edge in the late hours all to yourself! 

Don’t worry about missing your bus or not getting out of the park in time for closing. While Disney says that Transportation will be provided for an hour after the official park closing, they won’t leave any guests stranded. 

Right now there are two fireworks shows in Hollywood Studios: Fantasmic! and Wonderful World of Animation, though I wouldn’t classify them strictly as “fireworks shows,” nighttime spectacular is a better word since fireworks are not the main focus with either of them.

Most guests are familiar with Fantasmic!, which is the longest-running nighttime show in all of Walt Disney World. While it’s been changed and recently reopened, it’s the more popular of the fireworks shows. 

There are two performances nightly for Fantasmic!, generally at 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm each night, though the times can vary by season. This is the longest of the Hollywood Studios shows with a run time of about 30 minutes. 

The shorter show Wonderful World of Animation is only a 12-minute show and it’s presented directly on the Chinese Theatre at the center of the park. The show is performed nightly at 9:00 pm each night. This lesser-known show focuses on illuminating the theater with different popular scenes based on more than 90 years of Disney and Pixar animation.

Early Theme Park Entry

Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort or other partner hotels can arrive at all 4 of the Disney Parks 30 minutes before the opening time each day with Early Theme Park Entry. This perk is an added benefit that Disney World has recently given to guests to fill the void of no longer having Extra Magic Hours anymore. 

The main distinction is ‘Early Theme Park Entry’ is only for mornings and it is every single day at every single theme park, BUT it’s only for 30 minutes each day. 

Guests using Early Entry at Hollywood Studios can take advantage of getting on rides early before the arrival of guests not staying at an approved hotel or resort. 

With Hollywood Studios having a number of high-profile attractions, utilizing this is a wise investment of your time, allowing you to get on a ride quickly and in some cases, 2 rides before the rest of the guests can enter the park. 

To learn more about Early Entry and other perks on-site guests get, we recommend reading our article on the Benefits of Staying at a Disney World Resort Hotel.

Open Attractions

Unfortunately, not every single attraction is available for Early Theme Park Entry at the beginning of the day at Hollywood Studios.

According to Disney’s site, these are the rides you can expect to open with Early Entry:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ™
• Toy Story Mania!

While it’s possible they could NOT open with the beginning of Early Entry, for the most part, they tend to be available. Always check My Disney Experience just to be sure before walking to the attraction and wasting valuable minutes.

Extended Evening Hours

Extended Evening Hours is another partial replacement of Extra Magic Hours (EMH) that Disney has used to fill the gap along with Early Theme Park Entry. This bonus is only for registered guests that are staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort or Disney Deluxe Villa property, unlike Early Entry (which is available to all Disney Resort Guests) There are a few other select hotels that also qualify. 

Extended Evening Hours allow guests in the evening time to enjoy 2 additional hours after the park closes. Cast Members merely scan the MagicBands (or room key) to see if guests qualify. If they do, they can enjoy uninterrupted time in the park with minimal waits and significantly fewer guests. 

Unfortunately, Disney is RARELY operating Extended Evening Hours at Hollywood Studios right now. It appears the only exception is when Magic Kingdom has some kind of special event and can’t fulfill it’s Extended Evening Hours, and Hollywood Studios is the backup.

Participating Resorts

Guests staying at Disney Deluxe Resort Hotels, Deluxe Villas, and other select hotels can use Extended Evening Hours. Which hotels exactly?

Disney Deluxe Resorts

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts

• Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Other Select Hotels

• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
• Shades of Green® on Walt Disney World®

Open Attractions

These exclusive events cost additional money and are available for purchase on the Disney World website.

While we tend to hate to pay EXTRA on top of the already high park ticket costs, we love the After Hours Events! Disney After Hours Events are capped at VERY low attendance numbers allowing you to essentially have the park to yourself!

At Hollywood Studios, this is perfect for rides that usually have super long wait times like Rise of the Resistance or Slinky Dog Dash. During the day wait times here can be 2+ hours, while during After Hours you can walk on sometimes!

In addition to the park being virtually empty, you’ll also receive complimentary snacks and beverages! It feels like a special VIP event that is in our eyes TOTALLY worth the money for a special splurge occasionally. 

We love that guests do NOT need a separate ticket to get into the park so essentially these After Hours Events aren’t much more costly than a regular 1-day park ticket.

Hours

Guests coming to After Hours at Hollywood Studios are allowed into Hollywood Studios at 7:00 pm and can stay for 3 or 3 1/2 hours after the official park closing.

Guests NOT staying for the After Hours event and without proof of a wristband will be asked to leave prior to the official park closing time on that night, which is generally 9:00 pm.

Price

For those considering attending, standard tickets for Disney After Hours events at Hollywood Studios cost between $155-$175 per person plus tax, and for children, it’s between $155-$175 plus tax. 

There are also discounts for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members and you’ll wind up saving $20-$30 per person.

We recommend reading our article on Discounted Disney World Tickets where we cover the best ways to save money on all park ticket types.

Open Attractions

While these can sometimes change, Disney currently has these attractions open for their After Hours events at Hollywood Studios:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
• Toy Story Mania!

The website says “And more” so it’s also possible for the open attractions to not be limited only to the above list.

Old Extra Magic Hours

Since Disney World’s reopening following the suspension in 2020, the old Extra Magic Hours are a thing of the past and have not resumed. 

Disney has replaced this old benefit with things such as Extended Evening Hours and Early Theme Park Entry for Disney World Resort guests. While there is still hope that this can return, it doesn’t appear likely at this time. 

EMH, as it was usually called, allowed guests on certain days of the week to enter a park one hour earlier or stay in a park up to two hours later than normal park openings. It was available to certain guests and it often significantly impacted crowded levels, whether you were staying at a Walt Disney World Resort or not. 

Strangely enough, we kind of prefer the current setup over the old EMH. Since it’s available for all 4 theme parks every day, the crowds are spread out better instead of everyone trying to rope drop the same park whenever it had the extra hours running.

FAQs

How Often Are Hollywood Studios Hours Updated?

Disney adds park hours, including Disney’s Hollywood Studios directly to the DisneyWorld.com 5-day calendar on a rolling basis, generally about 60-75 days in advance. They also have a monthly calendar found here that has the schedule out about 6 months in advance. 

The 5-day schedule is FAR more accurate than the 6-month schedule. Oftentimes Disney will extend or adjust the hours on the 6-month schedule based on expected attendance and this can change with hotel occupancy numbers. 

Disney frequently adds additional hours or takes away some hours as dates get closer based on these projections, so make sure to keep checking before your visit for the latest park hours.

Is Hollywood Studios Free After 6:00 pm?

Sad to say but Hollywood Studios along with the other Disney World Parks is never free. Guests looking to enter Hollywood Studios after 6:00 pm will still need to pay the same costs that guests entering at the park opening will need to pay. 

There is no difference in the cost depending on what time of day you visit.

What Months Have the Longest Park Hours?

While we haven’t seen Hollywood Studios adjust their schedule much since last year, there’s reason to believe they will in the future.

When considering which months to visit Hollywood Studios based on park hour availability, think in terms of school breaks. These time periods normally have longer hours and better access for guests.

Disney plans park hours based on forecasted projections and hotel occupancy numbers. They know exactly when the parks are going to be crowded and they adjust the park schedules accordingly. 

Historically, the months that will have the longest park hours would be:

• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• November
• December

There are particular days NOT amongst these months that could have longer park hours, such as Halloween, New Year’s Day, 3-day holiday weekends, etc. But these 7 months typically have the most amount of park hour availability at all of the Disney World Parks.

A good guide to follow is our Disney World Crowd Calendar. There you can see the busiest days of the year, and therefore which days will have the longest park hours.

How Many Hours Does Hollywood Studios Take?

With Hollywood Studios having the most “E-Ticket” attractions out of all of the Disney World Parks, how many hours you decide to spend in the park will be dependent on a number of factors such as:

• Do you have Genie+? 
• Did you get to the park for rope drop? 
• Do you want to go on all of the main “E-Ticket” attractions? 

If you don’t have Genie+ and you want to try to get on all of the main E-Ticket attractions, you’ll be waiting in several VERY long lines. The lines at Hollywood Studios tend to get VERY long with attractions such as:

• Slinky Dog Dash
• Rise of the Resistance
• Tower of Terror
• Toy Story Midway Mania
• Smugglers Run
• Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway

With the refurbishment of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster going on right now, we expect the lines for these rides to get even longer. 

I’d expect to spend a good deal of your day, if not all of your day at the park if you want to ride on these attractions. That doesn’t even include much additional time for less popular attractions, shows, and enjoying some of the tasty snack offerings around the parks. 

“Rope drop” is a term for guests visiting one of the Disney theme parks at the official park opening time. For instance, at Hollywood Studios, guests can typically enter Hollywood Boulevard prior to the official opening of the park. 

This means that guests will be walled off figuratively speaking by Disney Cast Members around the Chinese Theatre until the official park opening time. At rope drop or park opening time, the cast members will allow guests to advance through the park and visit the areas of the park that they wish to visit. 

So if someone asks you, “will you be there for rope drop?” They essentially are asking if you will be there in time for the official park opening time. 

We are big proponents of rope dropping at the Disney parks, especially Hollywood Studios. By doing this, it helps you to beat the crowds, spend less time in lines, and therefore get more rides done in a shorter period of time.

We are currently working on a Guide to Rope Drop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so stay tuned for that soon!

What is the Earliest You Can Enter Hollywood Studios?

Out of all of the parks, Hollywood Studios tended to be the loosest and “less official” when it came to park hours prior to Early Theme Park Entry. If you have access to it, you can get into the parks 30 minutes prior to the official park opening time. 

So if the park opening is at 8:30 am, the “Early Entry” time would be 8:00 am. Remember, this is available to guests staying at one of the Disney World Resorts or other approved hotels. 

Now, even though Early Theme Park Entry may start at 8:00 am, most of the time they’ll allow you into the park earlier than that. You won’t be able to get in line for any rides, but you’ll be further up on Hollywood Blvd giving you the inside track to whichever attraction you want to go on first.

What Time Should YOU Arrive at Hollywood Studios?

While we never advise getting to the parks unnecessarily early, especially because sleep is important for a Disney World vacation! But with Hollywood Studios, those extra few minutes can be absolutely crucial to saving 30, 45, or even 60 minutes for an attraction! 

If you’re up for rope dropping, which we highly recommend here, we’d advise getting to Hollywood Studios at least 30 minutes prior to anyone being allowed into the park. So whether you have access to Early Entry or not, get to the park 30 minutes prior to Early Entry. 

So if the park officially opens at 8:30 am and early entry begins at 8:00 am, get to Hollywood Studios at 7:30. This will allow you to beat most of the guests, and possibly even grab a coffee at Starbucks on Hollywood Boulevard prior to rope drop! 

If you opt for anything close to this, you’ll likely be towards the very front of the lines, perfectly situated to have minimal if ANY wait for your first attraction of the day.

Rides to Prioritize Early in the Morning

Prioritizing rides early in the morning is dependent on whether you opt to purchase Genie+ or not for the day. We will talk more about that in a minute…

We will give you two strategies, one IF you have Genie+ and one if you DON’T have Genie+ for the day. 

IF You Have Genie+:

• Get a Lightning Lane Reservation immediately at 7:00 am for Slinky Dog Dash if possible
• Upon arrival at the park, immediately get in line for Rise of the Resistance, it’ll be the most tolerable first thing in the morning (hopefully you made it for rope drop) 
• After Rise of the Resistance, head to Smuggler’s Run (close proximity) 
• Make Genie+ Reservations for Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway as soon as you can

IF You Don’t Have Genie+:

• Get to the park well ahead of rope drop to be perfectly situated
• Prioritize either Slinky Dog Dash OR Rise of the Resistance (we prefer Rise of the Resistance) as they will be the two longest lines all-day
• After deciding between those two, I’d suggest next prioritizing either:
  • Tower of Terror
  • Smugglers Run
  • Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway
  • Toy Story Midway Mania

While it might seemingly make sense to choose the other option, meaning that if you pick Slinky Dog Dash first and THEN go to Rise of the Resistance immediately after, we typically find this is a bad strategy. These two lines get very long very quickly, allowing some of the other lines to stay quiet for the first 60-90 minutes of park opening. 

This could enable you to get on rides such as Tower of Terror, Smugglers Run, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Toy Story Midway Mania with very minimal waits. 

Assuming you are staying until the park closes, choose the one you didn’t pick at rope drop, either Slinky Dog Dash OR Rise of the Resistance, just prior to park closing, instead of doing it in the morning as your second ride. These waits will be minimal, and you’ll likely be able to get on significantly before the listed wait time. 

Doing it this way, we’ve been able to get on Rise of the Resistance with practically no waits when getting in line 10 mins or so before the official park closing time.

Is It Better to Go to Hollywood Studios in the Morning or Afternoon?

Going early in the morning is always our recommendation for any of the 4 Disney World theme parks. It will always help you get to the most attractions that way.

While it’s almost always better to utilize all of your day in Hollywood Studios, expect it to be very crowded quickly. Guests flood Hollywood Studios more so than the other parks first thing due to their desire to rope drop and get on rides quickly, again, another reason to get there for rope drop.

If you’re content not riding on all of the main attractions, getting to Hollywood Studios in the afternoon can be lovely! 

Guests migrate out of Hollywood Studios typically earlier than the other parks, and if you get there 4-5 hours prior to park closing you’ll have a great time! Wait times will be more tolerable and you’ll get the enjoy our favorite time at Hollywood Studios – the night!

Should You Use Genie+?

Hollywood Studios is our 2nd favorite park to purchase Genie+ at. In most cases, we’d suggest getting Genie+ if you can afford it in Hollywood Studios, although it isn’t absolutely vital. Our guide to Genie+ at Hollywood Studios will give you more details, but here we’ve written some of the key points.

While you can’t, unfortunately, reserve the most popular attraction with Genie+, Rise of the Resistance (you’ll need to buy an Individual Lightning Lane for that), all of the other attractions are bookable with Genie+ which will save you a ton of time and it gives you plenty of options for Lightning Lane reservations throughout the day.

We find that ride return times when making reservations tend to happen later in the day very quickly at Hollywood Studios. While this can make your mornings mostly uneventful, you can easily stack 4-5 Genie+ Reservations in the afternoons. 

This allows you to perhaps prioritize getting on Rise of the Resistance immediately and then have a more relaxing morning prior to enjoying your reservations in the afternoon!

What I tend to do with Genie+ in Hollywood Studios and what I’d suggest you do is this:

1. Immediately at 7:00 am reserve Slinky Dog Dash with Genie+ (It’ll likely be later in the day)
2. Rope drop Rise of the Resistance at rope drop immediately upon entry (Should be a minimal wait).
3. Reserve your next Lightning Lane Reservation promptly at the first chance (it will be 2 hours after park opening unless your Lightning Lane reservation is redeemed before that). Choose the one that is currently the latest in the day between Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Smugglers Run. This ensures you don’t miss out on a reservation prior to it selling out
4. Continue to do this every time you can reserve your next Lightning Lane Reservation….

This will set up your day excellently! If you don’t opt to get Genie+ for the day, you can still have a great time in Hollywood Studios. Just be prepared for longer wait times and make the best use of your day. Prioritize the rides that matter the most to you. 

Utilize the first 1-2 hours of the day to get on as many rides as you can prior to them getting too crazy! And prioritize the evenings and the last 1-2 hours prior to park closing to also have minimal waits. Like with all of the parks, avoid getting in the long lines in the middle of the day and in the heat of the day. Use these times to relax, see a show, or grab some food!

We think our post on Genie+ & Lightning Lanes is essential reading before visiting, as well as the article “Is Genie+ Still Worth It?”

Transportation Options

Similar to EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios has a significant number of transportation options for guests. In this section, we will touch on each of those options, then we will discuss what you can expect both in the morning AND at park closing when utilizing these different options.

Not only is there outstanding accessibility to Hollywood Studios for resort guests, but there is also good accessibility for guests not staying at one of the hotels near Disney World. 

Disney Buses – Guests staying at many Disney World hotels will have to take Disney Buses to the front entrance of Hollywood Studios if they aren’t ridesharing or bringing their own vehicle. 

Disney Boats – Disney Resort guests staying on the Disney Boardwalk can take the Friendship Boats to the front of Hollywood Studios. These ‘Friendship Boats’ will also take you to EPCOT as well. 

Disney Skyliner – With the addition of the Disney Skyliner, guests staying at the Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk Inn, Swan, Swan Reserve, Dolphin, Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, or Riviera can reach the front entrance of Hollywood Studios.

Walking – Guests staying on the Disney Boardwalk have a 15-30 minute walk to Hollywood Studios, depending on their pace of walking and which resort they’re staying at. Those that have easy walking access would be guests staying at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, the Boardwalk Inn Resort, and the Swan, Swan Reserve, and Dolphin Resorts. 

Driving – For visitors coming to Hollywood Studios by driving, the drive in and out of Hollywood Studios is pretty self-explanatory and simple. It’ll take you to the front of the park. Read our Disney World Parking Guide for more info.

Ridesharing – A popular way if you’re in a time crunch to get to/from Hollywood Studios is by paying additional money to use a ridesharing service such as Uber or Lyft. They will bring you to the front of the park and conveniently get you or drop you off near the front of the park.

In the Morning

What can you expect in the morning when taking the various forms of transportation, here is what we’d recommend: 

Disney Buses – Disney officially states that transportation will begin picking up guests at their resorts around 2 hours prior to park opening time (1.5 hours prior to Early Entry). We typically recommend being at your bus stop at your Disney Resort between 45 minutes to 1 hour prior to Early Theme Park Entry. 

If you want to get there any sooner or to ensure that you’re on the very first bus to your hotel, consider waiting between 1 and 1.5 hours prior to the Early Entry Time opening. 

Disney Boats – The Friendship Boats as they are often called, are a more relaxed way of getting to the front entrance of Hollywood Studios. While they don’t normally start until 30 minutes prior to early entry time, there usually is very little wait, if any.

Walking – The easiest and simplest way to get to Hollywood Studios is to walk! You won’t have to worry about traffic or long waits. Those that are coming from one of the Boardwalk Resorts can walk to Hollywood Studios for the simplest and more 

At Park Close

What can you expect in the evening at park closure when taking the various forms of transportation, here is what we’d recommend: 

Disney Buses – There will be an initial rush of guests leaving after the showing of the Wonderful World of Animation, but generally, guests leaving Hollywood Studios are more scattered throughout the afternoon and evening than in other parks.

We like that here there are a lot of options for Resort Guests other than the Disney Buses, and even if you have to take one, leaving on a Disney Bus here isn’t nearly as chaotic as it is in some of the other parks. 

Disney Boats – There generally aren’t long lines to get on the Friendship Boats after the park closes. While you might not get on the very 1st one, you’ll likely get on the 2nd or 3rd one. This is a nice and relaxing way to end your day if you’re staying at one of the Boardwalk Resorts. 

Disney Skyliner – The Hollywood Studios Skyliner line will run between 60-90 minutes following the closing time of the park. The lines here initially get long but they’ll quiet down if you linger your way out of the park.

Walking – Leaving by walking is simple and expected! Nothing is unique or unexpected when taking the walking path back to the Disney Boardwalk, and we do it to burn off some calories from eating snacks all day or from dining in our favorite Hollywood Studios restaurants!

Driving – With guests exiting Hollywood Studios at scattered times, it tends not to be too chaotic leaving the park at closing time. If you allow the guests leaving after the Wonderful World of Animation to depart and give them some time, you’ll face little if any bottlenecking or traffic leaving the park. 

Ridesharing – Guests choosing to pay for an Uber or Lyft ride will have to pay significant upcharges in costs. Many other guests at all the different parks are doing the same thing at the same time. This causes there to be considerable price hikes.

Our Predictions for Future Hollywood Studios Hours

We love that Disney’s Hollywood Studios has After Hours events throughout the first half of the year, and we hope this trend continues! It is quite disappointing though that late nights at Hollywood Studios appear to be getting rarer and rarer, especially in 2024 so far. 

We expect and hope that Hollywood Studios will not only add scheduled Extended Evening Hours events for Deluxe Resort and Villas Guests, but we also hope that they will give us some later ‘standard closing times’ than 9:00 pm. 

We remain cautiously optimistic because the parks have as a whole been getting back to normality and the hours at all four parks have gotten much better since 2020. But at Hollywood Studios, they are nowhere near where we’d like them to be, especially for the evening hours. 

With lovely nighttime surroundings and ambiance, Hollywood Studios is tremendous at night! Because of that, we’d like to be able to benefit and see it showcased more often.

We certainly are happy we don’t get regular 7:00 pm closing times anymore, and we don’t expect them to return anytime soon. We also predict that Hollywood Studios will add some 10:00 pm closing times to busier nights in the coming months as cast member shortages tend to be fewer and fewer. 

If guest response appears to enjoy these later nights, we expect Hollywood Studios could add better nighttime hours as the year goes on. 

That wraps up our look at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park hours in 2024. We hope you now have a better understanding of when the park opens, closes, and how to prioritize your day!

If you are thinking about going to Walt Disney World in the coming future, here are some other popular articles where you will find all the info and tips you need to plan your trip.

• Disney World Vacation Planning Guide
• Disney World Crowd Calendar
• When are the Best Times to Visit Disney World?

Your Thoughts

I want to know what you think about the park hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios…

• What time do you like to arrive at Hollywood Studios?
• What changes would you like to see to the park hours?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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