Hello from Disney’s Hollywood Studios! With the holiday season quickly approaching, it seems the crowds are starting to pick up at Walt Disney World Resort.
We were greeted this morning by a massive crowd waiting to enter the park at rope drop. The park officially opened at 9 AM, but guests were allowed to enter Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at 8:45 AM.
The Hollywood Studios sign has been restored to the Studio Archway entering Animation Courtyard. We’ve been tracking the progress of the arch’s refurbishment since it was repainted and the sign was removed.
The sign now features Hollywood Studios’ new logo, although notably without any characters on it.
While in Animation Courtyard, we stopped into The Studio Store and found some adorable baby onesies. This blue retro-inspired onesie is $19.99.
We also found this baby romper featuring Mickey and his pals. It costs $24.99.
Over at Mickey’s of Hollywood, we found a couple of new pieces of merchandise.
Just when we thought we had covered every piece of holiday merchandise, we spotted a new piece of jewelry. This long chain necklace features a candy cane Mickey pendant with a tassel. The tassel is made of red and gold chains. It retails at $19.99.
We also a discovered a new Spirit Jersey that we LOVE. This navy blue jersey is knitted for coziness and sports the original Walt Disney World Resort logo. It can be all yours for $74.99.
While walking around Echo Lake, we spied new construction walls! The space that once housed Star Wars: Path of the Jedi is being re-imagined into the Mickey Shorts Theater.
The Mickey Shorts Theater will play Mickey shorts (obviously), introducing the park to the animation style that will also be featured in the upcoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction.
In Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Batuu was bustling. It was busy throughout the entire land, but the line for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run was stretching outside of the designated queue area.
The wait time read 75 minutes, but that only applies once you enter the building. It doesn’t account for the wait in the outside line.
The queue wound all the way past the Millennium Falcon…
…and looped around to line the wall on the opposite side.
We swung past Toy Story Land to check in on construction at Roundup Rodeo BBQ, a new table service restaurant. We noticed that another section was added to the wall that was erected a few days ago. The new section makes it difficult to see what else is happening inside the construction site.
In Municiberg, Mrs. Incredible enlisted the help of a fan to help track down the always mischievous Jack-Jack. They found his footprints, but were still in search of him when we headed out.
We also noticed lights have appeared in the trees in preparation for the holiday season.
In other places around the park, holiday prep is well underway. At Echo Lake, a bridge was spotted that will be used to move the Christmas tree and other decorations into place.
Landscaping has been removed to make room for the new holiday topiaries.
Wires have also appeared across Hollywood Boulevard. These wires will hold the tinsel garlands that will line the street. All of these signs point to one thing… holiday decorations should be here soon!
If you made it this far, high five! Thanks for following our day! Keep checking WDWNT for all of your Christmas Disney news!
High Five!
In your experience, how early do people start lining up to enter Hollywood Studios? Also, since SW:GE opened, does the crowd drift toward Star Wars or Toy Story Land more? Or does it seem more like an even split? Just trying to plan ahead for my trip in May. Do you have any tips for making the most of both lands on the same day?
From my observations, guests start arriving at Hollywood Studios about 45 minutes to an hour before the park opens. I would double check if there’s morning extra magic hours going on for guests staying at WDW resorts, because that could affect crowds in Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land as well. Galaxy’s Edge seems to be more popular when the park opens. As for making to most of both lands, I would plan to eat at Galaxy’s Edge. For me, the food is a major part of the experience. Depending on how busy the park is that day, Toy Story Land can calm down at night, especially when the crowds start to shift to Fantasmic! Hope that helps with your planning!