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Evening picture of Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood Studios FastPass Guide

The Hollywood Studios FastPass system, uses tiers for attractions just like the FastPass system for Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  If you’re new to FastPass, you can check out our pages dedicated to why and how to use the FastPass system.

Within Hollywood Studios there are 14 attractions that allow you to use the FastPass system.  Given the opening of Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the FastPass system just got a whole lot more important at Hollywood Studios.  In fact, they changed the Hollywood Studios FastPass tiers with the opening of Galaxy’s Edge.

 Using your FastPass well can make the difference between a half to three-quarters long day or a long and painful full day at Hollywood Studios.  Let’s get to some specifics on how to think about using them.

Hollywood Studios FastPass Kiosk Locations

If for some reason, you choose not to use the My Disney Experience app, you’re going to need to know where the FastPass kiosks are in the park.  There are three kiosk locations within Hollywood Studios.  They are located near the following attractions or shops.  The numbers in the list below correspond to the numbers in the map below.

  1. Corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard
  2. At the end of Sunset Boulevard
  3. Entrance to Toy Story Land

Hollywood Studios FastPass Eligible Attractions and Tiers

How the Hollywood Studios FastPass Tiers Work

Just in case you haven’t seen our prior articles on the FastPass tiers for Epcot or Animal Kingdom, we’ll recap how the system works.  Within Hollywood Studios, the attractions are split into two tiers.  Tier 1 attractions are those that are generally in higher demand, while tier 2 attractions are busy, but not to the same level as those in tier 1.  If we’re honest, there are some tier 2 attractions that really aren’t all that busy.

Remember, you are allowed to book three FastPass reservations in advance of your trip.  At Hollywood Studios you are allowed to use one of those reservations on tier 1 attractions, with the other two left over for tier 2 attractions.  The only way to get a second FastPass reservation for a tier 1 attraction is to use all of your initial reservations the day you are in the park and then see if you can get another reservation that day.  There is no way to book it in advance.

Do note that right now the new Galaxy’s Edge attraction Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is not using the FastPass system.  That is why you don’t see it listed below.

Hollywood Studios FastPass Tiers

Okay, now that we’ve covered how the tiers of the FastPass reservation systems work, lets look at the Hollywood Studios FastPass tiers.

The following are the new Hollywood Studios FastPass Tier 1 attractions.  If you study these tiers, you’ll notice that almost every attraction is in tier 1, while tier 2 is where the shows are.  The only exception is Star Tours.

  • Toy Story Mania
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Alien Swirling Saucers
  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
  • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

And below here are the Hollywood Studios FastPass Tier 2 Attractions:

  • Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
  • 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
  • Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
  • Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Attractions at Hollywood Studios Frequently Requiring a FastPass Reservation

With the tiered FastPass system at Hollywood, you’ll have to decide which of the five attractions you are willing to roll the dice on and which one you will not risk it with.  Given current wait times, unless the likely best candidates for your best use of the tier 1 FastPass are Slinky Dog Dash, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, or Tower of Terror.  Then you’re going to have to burn through your tier 2 FastPasses before trying to get a 4th.

If you want to do any research yourself, open up the My Disney Experience app on your phone.  Right there you can see what wait times for attractions look like.  Do it for a few days, and you’ll be able to get the sense of what wait times look like throughout the day.  Of course, by reading this post, we’ll help you figure out where to prioritize your FastPass reservations for Hollywood Studios.  If you’re the type A person and need really precise information, check out touringplans.com for some of their free or paid content.  Although we don’t think you need to pay for anything!

If for some reason you don’t have the My Disney Experience app on your phone, we suggest you download it.  If you need convincing as to why, read our Best Apps for Disney World article.

FastPass Reservation is Essential

As you look around at the My Disney Experience app, you will quickly realize which rides have outsized wait times.  This is what we think you will see in terms of attractions where having a FastPass reservation will be essential.  Not surprisingly, they are all tier 1 attractions at Hollywood Studios.

Slinky Dog Dash – This is the biggest no brainer for FastPass usage in Hollywood Studios right now.  Unless you want to be standing in line for up to 2 hours, get this FastPass.  This of course assumes that this attraction is on your must do list.  If it isn’t for some reason, feel free to ignore this advice.  If you choose to rope drop Slinky Dog because you didn’t get a FastPass you need to be in line at the front of the park an hour before it opens.  You read that right.  An hour!  This will keep your wait time for Slinky Dog down to 10 or 15 minutes.

Toy Story Mania – Before Toy Story Land opened up, this attraction was one of the must get FastPass reservations.  The ride is still extremely popular, but a choice has to be made.  If you can’t get a Slinky Dog Dash FastPass reservation, this is another worthy option.  If you can somehow sneak a 4th FastPass reservation for this attraction you’ll be living the good life.

Alien Swirling Saucers – Another new attraction with the opening of Toy Story Land, its waits are extended, but not like these other attractions.  We anticipate wait times will drop as the novelty of the new section of Hollywood Studios wears off.  Until then you can consider it for a FastPass reservation, but your lone Tier 1 reservation is better spent on the first two attractions we mention above.  If neither of those two are available, it will still save you valuable time.

Tower of Terror – One of the major attractions in Hollywood Studios, you would serve yourself well to use a FastPass reservation on this attraction.  It can build over an hour long wait time within the first 90 minutes or so of the park opening.  You can save yourself valuable time by using it as one of your Hollywood Studios tier 2 FastPass reservations.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster – The other headliner thrill ride within Hollywood Studios, Rock ‘n’ Roller is an intense ride, which keeps a more people away.  Even with that, it can build wait times in excess of an hour quickly after the park opens.  If you want to ride this attraction, you’d be wise to get a FastPass reservation for it.

FastPass Reservation is Advisable, but not Essential

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue – The ever-popular Star Tours is an attraction that appeals to a large swath of people, meaning it can develop longer wait times.  However, you can have more luck getting a 4th FastPass reservation or even finding a short wait time randomly.  That said, it is still a worthy FastPass to have if you can’t (or don’t need) get Tower of Terror or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as part of your Hollywood Studios tier 2 FastPass reservations.

Fantasmic! – Including Fantasmic! on our list of FastPass reservations will be controversial for many.  However, we aren’t actually recommending you get an advance FastPass reservation for Fantasmic!  But we do think you should try to snag a 4th or 5th FastPass reservation for the show.  This will help alleviate the need for you to get to the show an hour ahead of time.  That will free you up to take on some other attractions around the park.

FastPass Reservation is Optional

Beyond the attractions we listed above, we consider FastPass reservations as optional.  If you can’t grab a 4th or 5th FastPass reservation on one of the above attractions, then we’d still take a FastPass for the rides below.  You may be able to be opportunistic and take advantage of a short standby line for these however.  Both of these are shows with large seating capacities.

  • For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
  • Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage

FastPass Reservation is Not Needed

Lastly, we have the attractions where you generally don’t need a FastPass reservation.  Can they spike a wait here and there?  Sure.  But by in large, they don’t accumulate hour plus long waits.  If they’re the only 4th or 5th FastPass reservation you can get, we’d take it, but don’t fret about getting them for these attractions.

  • Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
  • Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
  • Muppet*Vision 3D
  • Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Picking the FastPass That’s Right for You

Now, these are our recommendations in a vacuum.  We don’t know what your trip goals are and what your vacation travel party is like.  That’s where you come in.

If you are planning on riding everything, this is certainly sound advice.  However, if thrill rides aren’t your thing, you probably don’t need to burn a FastPass on the roller coasters or Tower of Terror, since I assume you are going to skip them.  Only you will know what’s right for your situation.

General Tips for FastPass at Hollywood Studios

When planning your time at Hollywood Studios, figuring out how you hit the FastPass essential rides is of great importance.  You are probably only spending one day in this park, so you’ve got one shot to fit it all in.

Pick your one tier 1 FastPass reservation for around 10:00 AM or so.  That will give you the first hour to hour and a half to try and knock out the other tier 1 rides by heading there directly at rope drop.  Don’t get there right at park open if you are rope dropping the Toy Story Land attractions.  You need to be there an hour before park opening.

Given the crazy wait times for Slinky Dog Dash, get a FastPass reservation for it and then try to hit Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers before your Slinky Dog FastPass window.  Alternatively, if you really want to do Tower of Terror or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster then they are probably better choices for your tier 1 FastPass.

Beyond that, when it comes to tier two attraction, there are only the couple we referenced you have to really worry about.  Those were Fantasmic! and Star Tours.

Lines for all of the high demand attractions in Hollywood Studios will build to an hour wait in the first two hours of the park being open.  Some within 20 minutes of the park opening.

FastPass Guides for the Other Parks

If you found our Hollywood Studios FastPass guide helpful, you may be interested in our FastPass guides for the other Disney World parks.  You can find them in the links below:

Magic Kingdom FastPass Guide

Epcot FastPass Guide

Animal Kingdom FastPass Guide

Wrapping Up

Hopefully you found our Hollywood Studios FastPass guide beneficial.  If you did, we’d greatly appreciate it if you’d share it on your social media accounts!  It helps us reach more people and spread the word about our blog!  Just hit one of the buttons on the page to share it!  It’s quick and easy.  Thanks so much!

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