Walt Disney World/Hollywood Studios

At Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, you can help Indiana Jones escape from the Nazis, take a wild limousine ride through Los Angeles, play midway games with the Toy Story gang, and immerse yourself in iconic scenes from Hollywood's past and present.

This compact but fun-filled theme park is located at a major crossroads in the Walt Disney World Resort, with plenty of thrill rides and effects-laden shows. The ESPN Wide World of Sports is nearby.

Understand
"The World you have entered was created by The Walt Disney Company and is dedicated to Hollywood&mdash;not a place on a map, but a state of mind that exists wherever people dream and wonder and imagine, a place where illusion and reality are fused by technological magic. We welcome you to a Hollywood that never was&mdash;and always will be."

- Michael D. Eisner, May 1, 1989

Walt Disney World's third theme park opened in May 1989 as Disney–MGM Studios, joining the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. The park, billed as "the Hollywood that never was", features live shows and attractions based on movie and television favorites, from classic Golden Age films to modern-day blockbusters. In addition to the well-known Disney-branded productions, several Disney subsidiaries also have inspired rides and shows here; it's the place to go for fans of Lucasfilm properties, Pixar films, ABC television, and Jim Henson's Muppets.

Among the top attractions are two exceptional thrill rides, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (a 13-story vertical drop) and the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (a launched coaster, 0-60 in 2.8 seconds), and a ride through a Toy Story-themed shooting gallery.

Just south of Hollywood Studios is the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves and host to countless other sporting events throughout the year.

History
The genesis of the "Studios" theme park was as a new pavilion for EPCOT Center's Future World that would provide an animatronic ride through cinematic history, much as World of Motion did for transportation and Spaceship Earth did for communication. This spark of an idea was so inspiring, however, that then-CEO Michael Eisner suggested that the new ride instead become the marquee attraction in an all-new theme park.

The original vision for this new park was to combine a traditional theme park atmosphere&mdash;rides, shows, restaurants&mdash;with a real working production studio. A team of animators began work even before the park opened to the public, working on real Disney animation&mdash;Mulan and Lilo & Stitch, among others, were animated entirely at the theme park. Live-action was also filmed here, from movies like Newsies and Ernest Saves Christmas to television shows such as Mickey Mouse Club and Adventures in Wonderland. Most importantly, all of these production facilities were viewable on the park's Backstage Studio Tour&mdash;guests could actually see animating and filming as they occurred, if their timing was right; if not, they still got to see the real sets and real studios where their favorite productions were created. A backlot was also created and placed on the tour, with house façades used in actual films and television shows and authentic props from movies like Flight of the Navigator and Star Wars.

Those days are gone; the park's sound stages have been converted to rides and stage shows, the animation facility has closed down, and even the backlot tour is no more. The original ride idea, the one planned for Epcot, survived for a while as the park's centerpiece, The Great Movie Ride, and new thrill rides opened up to become the park's main draws. Despite all the changes, though, the park retains its enthusiasm for the fantasy worlds created on film, and guests can still enjoy being able to "step into" their favorite productions.

By car
Hollywood Studios is just southwest of Epcot; it's on Buena Vista Drive, which is accessible from either World Drive or Epcot Center Drive. Parking is $25 per car, although Disney resort guests can park for free with their Magic Bands. Preferred parking, allowing you to park in the closest spots to the entrance, is available for $50 per car. Parking is per day and is good at all four Disney theme parks &mdash; just show your receipt if park hopping!

Parking is free at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, which is on South Victory Way, south of Osceloa Parkway.

From Epcot and nearby resorts
From Epcot, the BoardWalk, the Yacht and Beach Clubs, and the Swan and Dolphin, you can take the  Friendship ferries to Hollywood Studios. There is also a nice wide walking path that follows a similar route. If you are coming from Epcot, you must exit through that park's rear entrance: the International Gateway, located between the United Kingdom and France pavilions in World Showcase. From Epcot's main entrance, there is a bus that goes to the Studios.

From the Magic Kingdom
Take the monorail or ferry to the Transportation and Ticket Center, then board the Studios bus.

From Animal Kingdom and other resorts
From other areas of the property, simply go to the bus stop and wait for the Studios bus to arrive. You will be dropped off in front of the Hollywood Studios gates.

From Disney Springs
Disney Springs does not have direct buses to the parks; you will need to make your way to a resort, then go from that resort to Hollywood Studios. The best option here might be to take the bus to the Swan, which is the closest hotel to the Studios, then take the Friendship or the walking path to the Studios. Another option is to walk or take the boat to the Saratoga Springs resort, then the bus to the Studios.

To the Wide World of Sports
Public transportation to the Wide World of Sports is limited. Buses are available only from the All-Star Resorts, the Caribbean Beach Resort, and the Pop Century Resort, so you'll need to get to one of those hotels before switching buses. The buses regularly run only Thursday through Monday, from 5PM to 11PM. If there's a special event going on outside of those days and times, bus service will start one hour before the event and end no earlier than 11PM.

Get around


Upon entering the park, you'll find yourself on Hollywood Boulevard, the park's equivalent of the Magic Kingdom's Main Street, U.S.A. Shops line both sides of this street, perfect for grabbing a souvenir on your way out at the end of the day. (Feel free to browse on the way in, though; you can always come back later, or you can have it held for you or delivered to your Disney resort.) Here, it's perpetually the 1930s, so keep an eye out for young starlets, ambitious directors, suspicious policemen, eager autograph hounds, and the like&mdash;these Streetmosphere actors play out comedic vignettes throughout the day, and they may just pull you into their stories. At the end of Hollywood Boulevard, you can see the beautiful replica of Hollywood's Chinese Theater, the centerpiece of the park.

As you travel down Hollywood Boulevard, you'll find the famous intersection with Vine St., a smaller street that heads off to the left towards Echo Lake. The next intersection is with Sunset Boulevard, another major thoroughfare that branches to the right. Here you'll find more shops and more Streetmosphere, and looming in the distance is the 199-foot-tall Hollywood Tower Hotel, which houses the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. (Why 199 feet? If it were one foot taller, it would require a blinking red light at the top under federal aircraft regulations.)

Past Sunset, as you approach the Chinese Theater, to the right will be a large gateway, through which you'll find the Animation Courtyard. Through the gate and to the left, starting behind the Chinese Theater, is Mickey Avenue, which leads to the new Toy Story Land, where you'll shrink down to the size of a toy and meet Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang.

From there, you soon hit a dead end where the former backlot used to be. Now, if you were to peek over the construction walls, you might see the mountains of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge rising. You can't get through here yet, so head back to the Chinese Theater. Off to the left of the theater is Echo Lake&mdash;just look for the giant Dinosaur Gertie. Here, you'll find the Lucasfilm attractions. Or you can take Commissary Lane towards Grand Avenue and the Muppet Courtyard (which is another dead end, pending the opening of the Star Wars land).

See and do


Hollywood Studios' attractions separate into one of two camps: sedate but fun stage shows and up-tempo thrill rides. There's very little in-between, but this is changing with the three rides of Toy Story Land, added in an attempt to fill the gap.

FastPass, the system that allowed you to go to an attraction and get a ticket to come back later and skip the standby queue, is no longer available. All Studios guests will be using FastPass+, where you choose your own return time for each of three attractions. FastPass+ queues are available for virtually every ride in the park, along with some shows and character greetings.

FastPass+ kiosks are located at the Wait Times Board, at the far end of Sunset Blvd, at Toy Story Mania, and at Muppet*Vision 3D. Cast members will be nearby if you need help. If you're staying at a Disney resort, you can also use a smartphone with the My Disney Experience app to schedule your FastPass+ reservations.

For parade and stage show performance times, which change daily, please see the Guide Map and the Times Guide you'll receive when you enter the park. You can also check the Wait Times Board at the corner of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, which lists current wait times for rides and show times for shows.

The denotes rides with safety restrictions. See Stay safe in the main Walt Disney World article for more information.

Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is mostly a location for shops, restaurants, and Streetmosphere, but at its far end is where you'll find the park's centerpiece, the Chinese Theater. While there, be sure to check out the cement plaza in front&mdash;just like at the real Chinese Theater in Hollywood, you'll find a number of celebrities have placed their handprints and signatures there. Everyone from Donald Duck and R2-D2 to Carol Burnett and Michael Jackson has left their mark.



The park's marque attraction, housed within the Chinese Theater, was The Great Movie Ride. It closed in August 2017 in anticipation of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. This dark ride, using state-of-the-art Disney-invented tech that enables you to see 3-D images without the need for glasses, is scheduled to open sometime in 2019. It's also, surprisingly, the first ride-through attraction the company has built that stars Mickey Mouse.

Sunset Boulevard
In addition to more shops, restaurants, and Streetmosphere, Sunset Boulevard is home to the Studios' two major stage shows and its two popular mega-thrill rides.


 * [[Image:Stop hand nuvola.svg|15px|Ride has safety restrictions]]
 * [[Image:Stop hand nuvola.svg|15px|Ride has safety restrictions]]
 * [[Image:Stop hand nuvola.svg|15px|Ride has safety restrictions]]
 * [[Image:Stop hand nuvola.svg|15px|Ride has safety restrictions]]
 * [[Image:Stop hand nuvola.svg|15px|Ride has safety restrictions]]

Animation Courtyard/Mickey Avenue
Through the gate is this courtyard, which segues into Mickey Avenue as it heads toward the back of the park. The courtyard was once the gateway to the backstage area, with access to the animation department and the Backlot Tour; the Animation building is now the Star Wars Launch Bay. And there used to be working sound stages along Mickey Avenue, but they've been converted into semi-permanent exhibit space and attractions.



Toy Story Land
Opened in July 2018, everything is larger-than-life in this new land built on former backstage space. With light-posts built from tinker toys and Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and Rex standing watch over Andy's backyard, the two new rides here add in some much-needed kid-friendly attractions to a park that was sorely lacking in that regard. The entrance to what is probably the park's most popular ride, Toy Story Mania!, has been rerouted to face this land, and the former entryway, Pixar Place, is closed.



Echo Lake/Grand Avenue
On one side of Echo Lake is a large steamboat, known as Min and Bill's Dockside Diner; on the other is a large dinosaur, with Dinosaur Gertie's Ice Cream of Extinction. Around the perimeter of the area are attractions based on Lucasfilm properties, restaurants, and a couple of soundstages. Running north from the lake is Grand Avenue, themed to present-day downtown Los Angeles and home to the Muppets Courtyard and the future main entrance to Star Wars Land.



ESPN Wide World of Sports
South of Hollywood Studios is the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex (formerly Disney's Wide World of Sports), a state-of-the-art sports complex with fields, stadiums, and arenas for a variety of sporting events.

The complex is the flagship facility of the Amateur Athletic Union, which has its headquarters on Hotel Plaza Boulevard in the Disney Springs area. Regularly-scheduled AAU-sanctioned events are held at the complex from January to August. Outside of that time-frame, whether you'll find something going on is hit-or-miss. If there is something happening, it's probably a high school game with just a handful of spectators, though several national cheerleading competitions take place here.

Admission to the complex counts as one of your "Fun Visits" if you've added the Water Park Fun & More or the Park Hopper Plus option to your tickets, however, considering the low cost of admission it could be said that it's better to save your "Fun Visits" for one of the more expensive options. Admission is $18.50 for adults and $13.50 for children ages 3–9.



Buy


Shoppers will find plenty of generic souvenirs and apparel, of course, making up the lion's share of merchandise found along the main shopping areas (Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard). One of the less generic establishments on these two streets is Sunset Boulevard Shops, with menswear, timepieces, housewares, and collectibles.

But Disney's Hollywood Studios is an especially rich location for themed merchandise that's hard to find elsewhere. Most of these locations are found at the exits from associated attractions. Fans of the Muppets, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones should be particularly pleased.



Eat
Disney's Hollywood Studios probably has the most unique restaurants on the property, with most themed around movies and television.

See Eat in the main Walt Disney World article for information on the Disney restaurant pricing system, character dining, dietary restrictions, and advance dining reservations. The telephone numbers below are for extraordinary circumstances only; for reservations and most health or diet issues, call the main Disney Dining number at +1 407 WDW-DINE (939-3463).

Exact opening and closing times may vary with the park hours; check your Times Guide for official restaurant hours. Breakfast is usually served until 10:30AM, and dinner usually starts between 3:30PM and 4:30PM.

Resort dining
The Caribbean Beach resort's Centertown marketplace is undergoing renovations and expansion: the food court, restaurant, and merchandise locations are all closed until 2019 or 2020. To compensate, Disney has opened temporary locations for merchandise and dining. Centertown Buffet is the main temporary dining location; it offers breakfast and dinner buffets, and there's usually a food truck nearby. There are other food stands scattered through the resort's villages during Centertown renovations.



At the Pop Century or Art of Animation Resort, you'll dine at a food court:



Drink
The Hollywood stars of the 1930s might have enjoyed a libation or two in their day (at least once Prohibition was repealed), but the nightlife around Hollywood Studios is virtually nonexistent. The Tune-In Lounge is attached to the 50s Prime Time Cafe and themed the same; it's often crowded with "family members" waiting for their table in the restaurant, but if you need a drink, Dad's liquor cabinet is open. The Hollywood Brown Derby also has a lounge, opened in 2013, with drinks and tapas-style appetizers. In fact, all of the table-service restaurants have drinks of some sort available; Mama Melrose's has some particularly interesting cocktails. Newly opened on Grand Avenue is the Baseline Tap House, the Studios' first stand-alone pub. Specializing in California wines, beers, and cocktails, some small plates are also on the menu to be enjoyed inside the industrial-themed building or outside on the leafy terrace.

Each resort has a poolside bar as well; Petals Pool Bar is at Pop Century in the 1960s section, and the Finding Nemo section of Art of Animation has The Drop Off. Banana Cabana at the Caribbean Beach resort is closed, but there's a temporary bar trailer available.

If you're looking for something more, just take a leisurely walk or ferry ride from the Studios to Disney's Boardwalk, or take a bus from one of the resorts to Disney Springs.



Sleep


If you really want a hotel close to Hollywood Studios, you'll want to stay in one of the Epcot-area resorts. The Yacht and Beach Clubs, the Boardwalk, and the Swan and Dolphin are all within easy walking distance of both Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and the Friendship ferries connect the two parks and five resorts.

The three resorts listed here are not very far from Hollywood Studios, but there are no provisions for walking. You'll be taking a car or bus no matter which park you want to visit.



According to Disney's classifications, Caribbean Beach is in the "Epcot resort area", while Art of Animation and Pop Century are in the "Wide World of Sports resort area".