It’s so hard to pick a favorite out of the Disney World Parks, but needless to say, Hollywood Studios is a must visit with exciting rides like The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock’n’Roller Coaster to get your adrenaline pumping. For little princesses, the Frozen show and Beauty and the Beast live also make this park well worth a visit. While this is one of the smaller parks, you still want to make the most of your day so here’s our Ultimate Guide to Hollywood Studios FastPass.
Hollywood Studios FastPass Guide: A Quick & Easy Way to Maximize Fun!
Rides That Take Fast Pass
First, you have to keep in mind the list of rides/shows that take a fast pass
- Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
- Fantasmic!
- For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
- Muppet*Vision 3D
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
- Toy Story Midway Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run- New for 2020!
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – New for 2020!
How to Fastpass at Hollywood Studios
All Walt Disney World Theme Parks, including Hollywood Studios, use the Fastpass+ system which is super convenient and allows you to plan pretty far in advance. There is no additional cost. This program has taken place of the original Fastpass system, so it is included in your admission.
Beginning at 7 am Eastern Time 30 days before your visit or 60 days before your visit if you’re staying in a Disney Resort Hotel, you can make Fastpass reservations on select attractions. Keep in mind if you’re staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, you will be able to make a reservation at this time for the entire length of your visit.
With some of the most well known Disney attractions and shows being inside this little park, it’s essential to book your fast passes. Whether you’ve got big kids or little kids, there’s something to do for everyone in Hollywood Studios and you won’t want to miss out because you’re stuck waiting in long lines.
Step 1:
You will want to register online to make a reservation in advance. To do this create an account on My Disney Experience and follow the steps to link all of your party’s tickets together. If you would like to make your reservations the same day as your visit, use the My Disney Experience Mobile App or visit the Fastpass+ kiosk in the park.
There are four of these kiosk locations in Hollywood Studios; outsides the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, at the corner of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard where you will also see a wait times board, outside of Toy Story Midway Mania, and in front of Muppet Vision 3D.
Hollywood Studios Fastpass Tiers
Step 2 – Choose a Ride for Tier 1 & 2 Rides from Tier 2
Select which rides you want to reserve for your group. In this park your selections are tiered. You can choose up to 3, and it’s super important you choose wisely! This means you can pick one attraction to reserve off this list; Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage, Fantasmic!, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, or Toy Story Midway Mania.
Then, you can pick two to reserve off this list; Disney Junior – Live on Stage!, For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, Muppet*Vision 3D, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
While it is best to try to stick to your original choices if you do end up changing your mind about things you can cancel or change your reservations at any time. Remember! Not everyone in your group has to attend the same attractions, but do book the things you want to do as an entire group first.
Step 3:
There is no physical FastPass ticket anymore. Once you choose are rides and book them, the information will be stored on the My Disney Experience profile on your entry tickets or on your Magicbands. If you’re wondering about Magicbands, they are pretty awesome and my kids get excited to wear them every visit!
They’ll function as your resort key as well if you’re staying on property and keep you from ever having to fumble around for any sort of tickets. They’re free if you’re staying in the resorts, but can be purchased for at a low cost in the parks. We recommend them to anyone with kiddos to keep up after.
Step 4:
Finally, you’re actually in the park and ready to get on some rides! When it is your allotted time, head to the attraction and look for the line labeled FastPass+. There will be a Mickey RFID reader. You either touch your ticket or your MagicBand to this reader for entry. Once you have used up the 3 original reservations for your day or the return time has passed, you can book one additional FastPass for that day in any park. If you’re staying in Hollywood Studios, you can book an attraction from either tier. Once you have used this additional pass or the time allotted has gone by, you can book another additional Hollywood Studios FastPass and so on.
Best Rides to Book a FastPass for in Hollywood Studios
#1 Choice for Hollywood Studios Fastpass Tier 1
There are only 3 Rides that are currently available for Tier 1 Rides. We imagine Rise of the Resistance will be added to this list but as of now, there is a different boarding procedure (we will discuss at the end of the article)
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run- New for 2020!
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – New for 2020!
These are pretty much all brand new rides with the oldest being Slinky Dog Dash which opened in 2018! In my personal opinion, Slinky Dog Dash is the best bet as it typically has the longest line between Millenium Falcon and itself. I imagine Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will have initially quite a wait but then it will tamper down.
Top Choices for Hollywood Studios Fastpass Tier 2
Here is the list of all available rides for Tier 2 Fastpasses
- Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
- Fantasmic!
- For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
- Muppet*Vision 3D
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
- Toy Story Midway Mania!
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
There are two options that are the best for your Tier 2 –
Toy Story Midway Mania is the best option to book as your for families. It’s such a great ride that lines are long from the time the park opens, all the way throughout the day. The reason this is the best option is it is a general crowd pleaser meaning both kiddos and adults alike are going to want to ride it at some point during their visit.
Have big kids who love big rides? Rock’n’Roller Coaster is, in my opinion, the best rollercoaster at Disney World, of course I do love Aerosmith, so that could be why. The ride takes you through a looping indoor coaster as your “limo” is racing to get to the Aerosmith concert while listening to some sweet Aerosmith tunes, like “Dude looks like a lady”
Next Best Fastpass Options
Tower of Terror is pretty much a right of passage for any Disney lover as it’s well known to be one of the best rides out of all the parks. With this being said, it makes a lot of sense to book this as one of your Tier 2 attractions. Your next choice for this booking should be Star Tours- The Adventure Continues. Obviously, this ride is a must do for any Star Wars fan but it’s actually pretty fun whether you care about the movies or not. Another option for booking is the Frozen Sing-Along, but this is really only necessary if you’re traveling with a die-hard frozen fanatic and want to absolutely guarantee a seat for the show.
Other Big Time Savers
If you’re torn on your Tier 1 choice between Toy Story Midway Mania and Rock’n’Roller Coaster, here’s how to get the best of both worlds. Just do the single rider line on Rock’n’Roller Coaster. You’ll get through much faster than you would in the normal line, and since the ride is dark and fast it won’t matter who you’re sitting next to in the end.
If the single ride isn’t for your family quite yet and you still have little ones, make sure to get a Child Swap. It will allow you to take turns riding and watching the little ones without having to wait in the entire line twice. Other great rides for Hollywood Studios Fastpass that will save you time include:
- Star Tours (Recently updated with the release of Star Wars VIII)
- Little Mermaid
- Fantasmic
Rides/Shows to Avoid –
Indiana Jones, Frozen Show, Playhouse Disney and the Beauty and the Beast Show are all large theaters that sit a ton of people. A FastPass is rarely necessary to get in the show. Save your fast passes for the rides or Fantasmic as Fantasmic is almost always filled up.
Bonus Tips – Toy Story Land Rides – How to get on all 3 rides in less than 90 minutes
Rise of the Resistance Info –
Currently, Rise of the Resistance is under a virtual queue. How this works is you have to download the My Disney Experience App. The next step is to get to the parks about 30 minutes before opening. Once you enter the park you can click on the Rise of the Resistance Virtual Queue.
If you are successful in getting into a Virtual Queue they will giving you a boarding group number instead of time. Once your boarding group # is called you have 2 hours to get to the ride, so if you are at lunch or in line for a ride you have time to get in line.
If you need help planning and booking your magical Walt Disney World vacation, contact our friends at Tink’s Magical Vacations. They are truly Disney Experts, and not only are their services FREE, but they will save you both time and money.
Do you have a Fastpass Plan? Let us know what works for you!
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I have read lots of your Disney advice, and fastpass info. Thank you so much! Your down to earth advice (and not just a list of to-dos) is fabulous. I think our trip will be better thanks to you, and congrats on your gorgeous family!
Thank you so much for the sweet comments. Have a great time at Disney World.