Which ride to do first at Hollywood Studios?

As for ride strategy, you need to start tackling any major rides you haven't done yet—Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash being the priorities. All waits will drop as the evening wears on, but these will be highest and drop the least. Don't delay these hoping for “short” waits later, it might just not happen.



For a successful 2026 Hollywood Studios visit, your first ride depends on whether you have Early Entry. If you do, the "gold standard" is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, as wait times can exceed two hours shortly after the park opens. If you prefer to skip the Galaxy's Edge rush, Slinky Dog Dash in Toy Story Land is the best second choice, as its capacity is lower and lines stay long all day. For those without Early Entry, heading straight to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway or The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is often smarter, as the major "headliners" will already have significant lines from the early-entry crowd. A popular 2026 strategy is to buy a Single Pass for Rise of the Resistance and use your morning "rope drop" time to knock out Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Mania in quick succession.

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You may be out of luck for purchasing Individual Lightning Lanes for any attraction if you're staying offsite on high crowd days. Rise of the Resistance used to be the clear winner of the popularity contest here, and that doesn't hold true anymore either. At all crowd levels, Flight of Passage sells out first.

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On-site guests wishing to use Early Theme Park Entry should arrive at the Studios entrance 60 minutes before official opening on off-peak days and 90 minutes before official opening on days with high attendance.

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It takes one full day to see and do the highlights of Hollywood Studios at Disney World. Planning out your Hollywood Studios itinerary and other theme park itineraries is one of the best tips for visiting Disney World.

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It's definitely on the milder side, but it's so buttery smooth it's more enjoyable than Space Mountain, with how janky the latter has gotten. It is not worth a significant wait though, so if you can rope drop or end of night it, that would be better. The queue is brutal in the sun, too. YES, slinky dog is great!

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A Magic Kingdom itinerary is simply a must if your family only has one day at Disney World. The main reason being the Magic Kingdom Park is by far the most-visited theme park in the world.

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Evening At Hollywood Studios The earlier showtime typically has the advantage of lower crowds, but you often won't be able to do any rides after it, effectively shortening your day. The later showtime will have higher crowds, which means you'll want to be in line at least 30 minutes early.

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At Hollywood Studios, things are a little bit backward. The worst day of the week to visit has historically been Monday! Perhaps it's because people expect the weekends to be the busiest, so they go with a weekday instead. Nonetheless, Monday wait times might be a bit higher than you'd want.

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Rise of the Resistance can be scary at times for kids, even ones who love Star Wars. The interactions with Kylo Ren, Stormtroopers, and the First Order can be a bit intimidating. The ride itself can also be too much for some children, since some areas of the ride are dark and there is even a drop.

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If you don't have two people willing to wake up that early, get Slinky Dog Dash first, then Rise of the Resistance.

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While there is no limit to Lightning Lanes, there is a limit to Individual Lightning Lanes. You can book up to two Individual Lightning Lanes per day. Currently as of April 2023, Walt Disney World offers ILLs on Seven Dwarves Mine Train, TRON, Cosmic Rewind, Rise of the Resistance, and Flight of Passage.

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If you really just want to do theme parks every single day of your trip, then I'd suggest 2 full days at Magic Kingdom, 1 or 2 full days at Epcot, and then one day at each Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

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EPCOT is one of the biggest parks of all and takes a whole day easy. The illuminations at 9pm is worth staying for. AK is also fairly large. The up and down is, you could do it, you will lose around 1 to 2 hours going between parks and you probably wont see 50% of what both parks offer.

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If you really just want to do theme parks every single day of your trip, then I'd suggest 2 full days at Magic Kingdom, 1 or 2 full days at Epcot, and then one day at each Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

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In the parks, bottled water runs about $3.50-$4, or if you're using the Disney Dining Plan you can pay with a snack credit. There are two places to get water for free: water fountains and Quick Service restaurants.

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You should visit Disney's Magic Kingdom on the first day of your vacation. Why? Because this is everyone's traditional idea of what Disney World is all about. It's true that if you visit Magic Kingdom first it will help get you right into that Disney fun frame of mind.

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What is this? If you can only ride Slinky Dog Dash once, I suggest skipping it while it's light out and coming back to it after dark. While there is more to see at Toy Story Land during the day, the nighttime feel is a bit more magical. It's cooler too, or (in the summertime at least) not so hot in the evening.

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