Best Order to Do Hollywood Studios: A Step-by-Step Strategy

ByJohn Jensen

Hollywood Studios is one of the most layout-challenged parks at Walt Disney World. It’s compact, it’s crowded by mid-morning, and it has two genuinely “must ride first” attractions sitting on opposite sides of the park. If you wander in without a sequence in mind, you’ll spend half your day walking back and forth across Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard chasing wait times that are already gone.

So let’s talk about the best order to do Hollywood Studios — not as a rigid, minute-by-minute itinerary, but as a logical flow you can adapt to your park hours, your party, and whatever the crowds throw at you that day.

Best order to do Hollywood Studios — Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway entrance

Start With Rope Drop: Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

If you’re using Early Entry or you’re at the rope drop line before official opening, your first move should be the Sunset Boulevard duo: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. These two are next to each other, they open with the rest of the park, and neither is part of the bigger headline conversation that everyone else is rushing toward — which is exactly why they’re a smart opening move.

Most of the crowd at rope drop beelines for Toy Story Land or Galaxy’s Edge. That leaves Sunset Boulevard comparatively open for the first 20 to 30 minutes of the day. Hit Tower of Terror first since it tends to draw the bigger crowd a few minutes after opening, then head straight to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

One tip that’s easy to miss: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has a single rider line. If your group is comfortable splitting up for one ride, the single rider queue can shave a meaningful chunk of time off your wait, especially as the morning crowd builds. It won’t be as fast as rope drop standby, but if you didn’t make rope drop or you want a re-ride later in the day, single rider is a tool worth using here.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass: Book Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Mania Early

While you’re riding Sunset Boulevard, your Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations should already be working in the background. Toy Story Land’s two headliners — Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Mania! — are exactly the kind of rides Multi Pass was built for. Both pull steady, long waits all day, and neither has a meaningful single rider option, so a booked return window is your best tool here.

Book Slinky Dog Dash as early as your Multi Pass window allows, then layer in Toy Story Mania as your next selection. If your trip dates allow advance Multi Pass booking (7 days out for resort guests, 3 days out for everyone else), lock these in before you ever set foot in the park. This is the single biggest lever for keeping your day moving instead of stalling out in Toy Story Land standby lines.

Rise of the Resistance: The One Ride That Changes Your Whole Plan

Here’s where Hollywood Studios gets complicated. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is not included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass — it’s a Lightning Lane Single Pass attraction, meaning you purchase access to it separately, on the day of your visit, through the My Disney Experience app. Pricing varies by date and demand, and on busier days it can sell out within minutes of the park opening or even before you arrive.

The part that catches people off guard: Single Pass purchasing doesn’t open on the day of your visit. It opens at 7 a.m. Eastern several days in advance — 7 days before check-in for Disney resort guests (covering your entire stay, up to 14 days), and 3 days before your visit for everyone else. If riding Rise of the Resistance matters to your group, that 7 a.m. window days before your trip is the real priority moment, not anything that happens at the park gate. Have your party linked in the My Disney Experience app and be ready to purchase the second that window opens, since this is consistently the attraction most likely to sell out first.

If you didn’t lock it in ahead of time, same-day Single Pass purchases are technically still possible, but on any moderately busy day Rise of the Resistance often has little to no same-day availability left by the time you’d be checking. It’s worth a look the moment you’re in the park, but don’t count on it.

If Single Pass is sold out or outside your budget, Rise of the Resistance does offer a single rider line, though availability is inconsistent and entirely at Disney’s discretion — some days it’s running, others it isn’t, and the experience itself has varied over time, sometimes skipping early story beats and sometimes including the full pre-show sequence. It’s worth asking a Cast Member at the entrance when you arrive at Galaxy’s Edge, but don’t build your whole plan around it being available.

Keep in mind that Rise of the Resistance is a multi-faceted experience and from the first pre-show to actually getting off of the ride can be up to 30 minutes depending on how busy the park is that day.

Galaxy’s Edge: Millennium Falcon and Exploring the Land

Once Rise of the Resistance is handled — whether by Single Pass, standby, or single rider — spend time in the rest of Galaxy’s Edge. Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run is a strong Multi Pass pick if you have a reservation slot left, and it also has a reliable single rider line if you’re trying to economize on Lightning Lanes elsewhere. This is also a good window to simply explore Black Spire Outpost, grab a drink at Oga’s Cantina if you’ve booked it, and let the detail of the land do its thing without rushing.

Lunch: Where to Actually Eat at Hollywood Studios

Good food can be tougher to find at Hollywood Studios than at the other parks, so it’s worth planning this instead of hoping something looks appealing when you’re hungry. Two reliable picks:

Ronto Roasters in Galaxy’s Edge is the move if you want something quick, flavorful, and on-theme. The Ronto Wrap (roasted pork, grilled sausage, and slaw in pita bread) is consistently one of the better quick-service items in any Disney World park, and the location works perfectly with a Galaxy’s Edge-heavy morning since you’re already there.

The Hollywood Brown Derby is the better choice if you want a sit-down meal and a chance to rest your feet midday. It’s table service, it’s a step up in quality from typical park dining, and — important for your evening plans — it’s one of the restaurants that participates in the Fantasmic! Dining Package, which we’ll get to a bit later.

Mid-Afternoon: Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Remaining Lightning Lanes

With the two biggest headliners and lunch behind you, the afternoon is a good window for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. It has no height requirement, making it a strong choice for families with younger kids, and it’s a good ride to slot into a Multi Pass return window once your Toy Story Land selections are used.

This is also a natural point to circle back for any single rider re-rides (Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster or Smuggler’s Run) if your group has the appetite, or to simply slow down — Hollywood Studios doesn’t have the same volume of attractions as Magic Kingdom or EPCOT, and trying to overfill the afternoon usually backfires.

Evening: Fantasmic! and the Dining Package Decision

Fantasmic! is Hollywood Studios’ nighttime spectacular, and it’s worth building your evening around. The amphitheater seats thousands, but it does fill up — guests commonly start lining up well before showtime for a good seat.

If seeing Fantasmic! from the best vantage point matters to you, consider the Fantasmic! Dining Package. Here’s the detail most people don’t realize until they’re standing in the theater confused: the package’s reserved seating is located specifically in the Mickey and Scar sections — the two center sections of the amphitheater, which sit dead-center facing the stage and offer the best sightlines in the house. Booking the package at the Hollywood Brown Derby (or another participating restaurant) gets you a meal and a guaranteed seat in one of these two sections, with no need to line up early.

One important catch: because the Mickey and Scar sections are reserved for Dining Package guests, they’re not available to general standby guests. If you’re not doing the dining package, you’ll be seated in one of the side sections instead — still an okay view, since the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater is designed without truly bad sightlines, but not the same dead-center perspective.

If you do go the dining package route, plan dinner at the Brown Derby for mid-to-late afternoon or early evening, since seating for Fantasmic! opens 90 minutes before showtime and you’ll want to arrive at least 25 minutes before the show starts to claim a good spot within your reserved section (seats within the section are first-come, first-served, even with the package – so I would still recommend arriving much earlier than 25 minutes before showtime).

Putting It All Together: The Best Order to do Hollywood Studios

The order of operations, in short: rope drop Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (using single rider on the coaster if it’s running), let your Multi Pass reservations for Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Mania work in the background, prioritize securing Rise of the Resistance access early in the day, explore the rest of Galaxy’s Edge, eat at Ronto Roasters or the Brown Derby, fill the afternoon with Runaway Railway and any re-rides, and close the night with Fantasmic! — ideally from the Mickey or Scar section if the dining package fits your plans.

Hollywood Studios rewards a plan more than almost any other Disney World park, simply because two of its biggest draws sit at opposite ends of the property and one of them runs on its own unpredictable access system. Get the order right, and it’s one of the most satisfying single-park days at Disney World.

If you’re wondering where in your trip you should do Hollywood Studios, check out our post on the best order to do Walt Disney World for any trip length.

Walt Disney World, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Toy Story Mania!, Slinky Dog Dash, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Fantasmic!, and all related characters, names, and indicia are trademarks of Disney. Magical Blueprint is an independent fan resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The Walt Disney Company.

I've been visiting Walt Disney World since I was a kid and never really stopped. Over the years I've turned that passion into something practical — figuring out what actually makes a Disney trip great and sharing it here. Magical Blueprint is my attempt to give every family the kind of trip that sticks with them long after they've gone home.

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