What is the Disney World Resort? Part 3: Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios opened in 1989 and was originally called MGM studios. I originally knew this park as MGM and it took me years to get used to calling it Hollywood Studios! The park name change took place in 2008. The original plan for this park was for it to be a working studio for movies and tv shows. This is no longer the case. All Disney parks have a theme in which they follow and of course for Hollywood Studios that is show business. 

The layout for Hollywood Studios is not the traditional park layout. Originally before all the expansions adding additional sections and "streets" the park upside down resembled a Mickey Mouse head. Personally I am not a huge fan of the current layout to the park because it does not have a good flow. There are some areas that lead to a dead end and some streets that could be completely missed if you are not paying attention. This isn't really a major concern though as I still love the park. 

 

Hollywood Studios is divided into 6 themed areas: Hollywood Boulevard, Echo Lake, Animation Courtyard, Sunset Boulevard, Pixar Place and Streets of America. Hollywood Boulevard is the main entrance to the park and the street leading you into the park which of course is lined with shops leading you to the parks centerpiece the Sorcerer's hat. This main street is also used for the Disney's Block Party Bash Parade. 

 

Once you find your way to the end of the street to the right you will find Sunset Boulevard. This would be a dead end street so it does require some back tracking to move on to other areas. The street is mainly shops. Once you reach the end you will find Disney's Tower of Terror and Aerosmith's Rock n Roller coaster. These are must do's and my 2 favorite rides!! You will see Tower of Terror as you are walking down Sunset Boulevard. It is incredibly well themed to appear abandoned with overgrown gardens, cobwebs and cracks in the building. Once you make your way through the queue and pre-show you load into an elevator which takes you through some sequences before you enter the final elevator shaft for the drop. The Disney World version is unique as instead of it being a set drop sequence every ride (you do not drop once, there is lifts and drops), in WDW it is completely randomized so every time you ride it is different! You could even start out being shot upwards! To the left of Tower of Terror is Rock n Roller coaster. This is an indoor roller coaster that will play a random Aerosmith song during the ride. The story is that you are in a "super stretch" limo in a rush to get through traffic to get to a concert. The ride is in the dark except for the Neon signs you see along the way. At the start you are shot from 0 to 60 MPH in 2.8 seconds and then goes into an inversion! I also recommend the Beauty and the Beast stage show located in this area. It is a wonderful show with some amazing acting.  The last show I watched the actress who played Belle sounded exactly like in the movie! Adults and children would love this show.

 

After you have backtracked back to the center if you continue along the right you will enter into the Animation Courtyard. Here you will find a Little Mermaid show and some Playhouse Disney shows for the younger kids. A lot of people don't know that if you actually continue straight back you will enter the Magic of Animation building where you can get a unique and free souvenir! You are taught how to draw a random Disney character and you get to keep it in the end. Continuing past the Little Mermaid you will enter into Pixar Place. Currently the only attraction in this section is Toy Story Midway Mania. This is a very popular attraction so a fast pass is a must! Unless of course you want to wait in line for 60-90 minutes. The ride takes you through a track where you wear 3D glasses and play various midway games building up a score against the other person in your vehicle.

Next we move on to the back of the park for the streets of America. This section has a street which is themed to look like New york while a side street to look like San Francisco. At the very back you will find Lights, Motor, Action an extreme car stunt show. At the beginning of this section is Muppets 3D. You will also find a great little quick service food choice in this section, Pizza Planet. Of course themed after Toy Story. If you are visiting late November or December make sure you go to this area around 6pm to experience the Osborne Spectacle of Lights. This is an incredible sight! The entire street is lit up with over 5 million lights which will periodically "dance" to Christmas music while it "snows" on the street! This is an absolute must see!! 

 

And finally we move onto Echo Lake. If you are entering from Streets of America you will first see Star Tours. This is a 3D motion simulator, which also is random with several different scenes you could end up with. In every ride someone is randomly picked as the "rebel spy", which worked out perfectly to be my little brother the first time we took him on Star Tours! I have also been chosen a couple of times, so it's not impossible to get! Rumor has it that this area will eventually be expanded and developed into Star Wars Land (oh how I hope this is true!) while the Streets of America will eventually become Cars Land. A great experience for young kids in this area is also the Jedi Training academy! You will need to arrive for park opening to sign up as it does fill up quickly for the day. We managed to snag one of the last spots for my brother last May and I am so glad we did as this ended up being one of the highlights of the trip for him! He got to fight Darth Maul (you could also fight Darth Vader) and at the end received a certificate. The other big attraction in this section is the Indiana Jones Stunt show. This has been in the park for a very long time and once again if your watched the Full House episode where they visit Disney World, this is the show with the giant boulder when DJ thinks she sees Steve. I highly recommend the funnel cake you are able to buy near the Indiana Jones stunt show as well. They are delicious!!! And if you happen to be on the dining plan, you are able to use a snack credit for one (this seems to be one of the most expensive options you are able to use a snack credit for). 

 

When you visit Hollywood Studios please make sure you stick around until the end of the night and make your way back down Sunset boulevard by Tower of Terror to see the night time show Fantasmic! This is a stage show with video projected on water effects mixed with lasers and some fireworks. I honestly cannot stress enough the injustice you are doing to yourself if you skip this! It is absolutely an amazing show and cannot be accurately described. I would recommend arriving at least 45 mins prior or if you can book it with your Fast Pass+ reservations. This is an absolute must do! 

If you are a Star Wars fan you may want to visit in late May to experience Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios. This takes place every year on weekends in late May and early June (June gets very hot). I have had the pleasure of attending twice and I loved it! You will not have time to do everything as there are lots of shows, character meet and greets, special merchandise locations, celebrity meet and greets. You will find normal Star Wars characters as well as Disney characters dressed up as Star Wars characters like Jedi Mickey! Make sure you catch the parade in the afternoon, there is only one so made sure you check the times! If you are a Star Wars fan this is a must and one of the other reasons Hollywood Studios is one of my favorite parks!