Disney for Days (and Dollars),Part I: Hollywood Studios

Recently, I spent three days absorbing as much Disney as possible with four of my children (ages 5 through 14) in Orlando.
In this three part series, I’ll provide an unsolicited, unsponsored view of what we saw, spent, enjoyed, and didn’t during our recent family adventure.

We arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at 8:15, nearly an hour before the park’s doors opened (at 9 am for non-resort guests). The way in was easy – no waiting to pay for parking, a close(ish) parking spot, and short, couple block walk to a small mass of people already gather near the entrance.

By 8:30 am, that small crowd quickly grew as hoards of Star Wars enthusiasts – young and old – began to swarm. As with any theme park expedition with kids, I’d suggest you get there early.

Big crowds and lines greeted us and, unfortunately, never relented the entire day.

Genie Plus Pass

Purchasing a “Genie Plus” pass for nearly $15 per person per day allows an entrant the ability to cut the lines via reservations that become available on the Disney Parks app at two-hour intervals. I begrudgingly agreed to spend the extra cash with the hope of bypassing the long lines at Hollywood Studio’s popular attractions – like the Star Wars themed ones.

I was wrong, though, the Genie Plus at Hollywood Studios was a waste of money.

Prior to our arrival (at EXACTLY 7 am), my wife booked our first “Genie” reservation, scheduling our family to ride “Slinky Dog Dash” in the Toy Story area at 6:45 pm (nearly 12 hours into the future). That was it – we were unable to book any other reservations using our Genie as most other rides with long wait times were already fully booked and unavailable.

Rides (and Lines) and Ratings

During our 12 hours at Hollywood Studios, we prioritized all of the Star Wars rides and Tower of Terror.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

The line for this immersive Star Wars experience was nearly 3 hours long, winding from outside to indoors, through multiple, tightly packed concrete prop rooms. With each new room we entered, my patience for waiting deteriorated. After such a long wait, it was very difficult to give the attraction high marks.

Once we entered the experience, I must say that Rise of the Resistance was like acting in a play, not riding on a normal amusement park attraction. The show staff was fully in character and had us believing that we’d entered into enemy territory as refugees.

While the ride is a “must” for any Hollywood Studios trip, any family should expect to spend an entire morning or afternoon waiting for opportunity to later opine about whether the wait was worth it.

Rating: 7/10

Tower of Terror

Every part of my soul wanted to chicken out as the staged service elevator door opened in front of my wife and kids (even my 6 year-old), welcoming us in to the Tower of Terror death trap.

We’d waiting for an hour and a half to end our night at this haunted hotel with a malfunctioning service elevator slated to drop of thirteen stories repeatedly.

Again, the long line diminished my enjoyment as much as being scared half to death and a basket case in line with my family. My kids, though, thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Beginning to end, the Tower of Terror lasted about 40 seconds and, I’m told, features varying version of drops, stories, and ascents for repeat riders. My eyes were closed the entire time, but the other riders told me the views and overall experience were one of a kind.

Rating: 8.5/10

Other Rides and Ratings:

Slinky Dog Dash – smaller, family coaster. Rating: 8/10

Rocking Roller Coaster – super fast, twisting, indoor roller coaster. Rating 8/10

Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway – family Mickey and Goofy themed railcar simulator. 7/10

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Millennium Falcon – virtual reality cockpit ride – 8.5/10

Beauty and the Beast LIVE – costumed character show with songs and action (about 25 minutes in duration) – 6/10

How much did we spend?

Tickets for Hollywood studios will be around $140 each (note: discounts are available for multiple days and for Florida residents). Added perks are plentiful, further increasing the costs if you so choose – like Genie Plus, Park Hopper, meal add-ins, and VIP experiences.

My accounting of our day with four kids at the park, included the following:

Ticket: $135/person

Extras: $15/ticket (Genie Plus)

Parking: $25 (standard)

Food: $150 (including ~$40 for ice cream, $70 for lunch and $40 for snacks)

I found food for kids to be adequately priced – generally nearly $8 per kids meal which included a beverage. Adult food was as expected for a theme park – bar food type menu items that were all less than $20 each. Sodas were $6 for a 20 ounce bottle of Coke products while bottled water was $4 apiece.

***Note: We later learned that guests may bring food, snacks, and drinks into the park. Brining snacks and water would have saved us significant money.

Adult Bevies: $40 ($9 per Truly Hard Seltzer or $12 per beer)

Mickey Ears for my daughters: $60 ($30 each)

Total Walsh Cost of Hollywood Studios: ~$200/person

Ouch.

Hollywood Studios Summary

For me, Hollywood Studios was far too crowded for such a limited number of rides and amenities available. There were not enough “unpopular” features to offset the amount of people at the park on this random Wednesday in February. I cannot even imagine how many people will be flooding through the gates on Spring Break.

Having to wait two hours for major rides prohibited us from exploring and discovering hidden gems, a hole-in-the-wall food spot, or an expected free show or exhibition. I left the park feeling like I had not experienced much of anything other than lines, concrete walls, and body odor.

The long waits were excruciating for our children to endure and certainly diminished their enjoyment of their day at Hollywood. Given the lack of availability, the Genie Plus pass was useless and ineffective at Hollywood Studios – a waste of money for the day.

Yes, the Star Wars areas and rides were spectacular but, no, their splendor did not outshine the monumental effort required to get through the ridiculous admission line to enjoy them.

After 12 hours, I left Hollywood Studios feeling that if I’d been a VIP, the experience would have been extraordinary. But, since I was not (and could not afford to be), our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was just, well, ordinary.