Find out our ranking of the best rides at Hollywood Studios, from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance to Toy Story Mania.
Hollywood Studios is the favorite Disney park of many. All your favorite movie themes in one place? Count me in! For Star Wars fans in 2019, Hollywood Studios got a whole lot better when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was added to the park.
Hollywood Studios is the perfect place if you want to feel like you’re part of the Disney and Pixar movies we all know and love. The main strip of Hollywood studios will have you feeling like you are cruising along Sunset Boulevard in California and from there, you get to enter the action via some of the most immersive rides at Walt Disney World.
What are the Best Rides at Hollywood Studios?
We are ranking “best” as those rides that you just have to experience. Try to hit up most of these to feel like you really got a full day (and ticket!) worth of fun at Hollywood Studios:
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Toy Story Mania
1.🎥Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Storm Troopers watch over prisoners (you). Photo by Rain Blanken
- Height requirement: 40 inches
- Located in: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
- Opening Date: Dec. 5, 2019
- Ride Duration: 18 minutes
- Available for Individual Lightning Lane on Disney Genie+
One of the most recent additions to the park, Rise of the Resistance will leave your jaw on the floor and have you questioning if you really left Earth. The ride has multiple parts and takes you through several ride systems, and it’s one of the longest attractions we have seen at Disney lasting around 18 minutes.
The ride puts you right in the middle of a showdown between the Resistance and the First Order. You start at a Resistance base, then when it becomes unsafe the Resistance tries to transport you to another location, but it’s too late. Before you know it, you’re being hunted by Kylo Ren and the First Order.
The elements of the ride include animatronics, motion simulation, walk-through elements, projections, screens, location changes, and a free-moving vehicle. There are other elements of the ride that are a complete mystery to me, and I’m honestly not quite sure how they pull it off. Either way, this ride will leave you with an experience that you will not soon forget. If you’ve ever wanted to be a prisoner of the First Order, this ride will certainly fulfill that fantasy!
🎞️ Tip: Save Rise of the Resistance for the last ride of the night. Often, as the park empties close to closing time, the wait time here will go down to 35 to 40 minutes. Often that time displayed means you are walking onto the ride fairly quickly!
2.🎥Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is the first ride at any Disney park that stars Mickey Mouse and friends!
- Height requirement: None
- Located on: Hollywood Boulevard
- Opening date: March 4, 2020
- Ride duration: 7 minutes
- Available to book a Lightning Lane on Disney+
Expect the unexpected on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which in my opinion is one of the best rides at Hollywood Studios. This ride takes place in a free-moving vehicle that whisks you around and takes you along for a ride with Mickey and Minnie as they embark on a picnic date.
The ride includes simulations, special effects, and sound to reel you into the experience. The exterior of the ride is a replica of the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (yep, the same one that housed fan-favorite The Great Movie Ride until 2017). The ride is at the opposite end of the main street to the entrance and is a magnificent sight that welcomes guests into the park.
The ride opened in March 2020 and has enhanced the park vastly since it was welcomed to Hollywood Studios. This is a ride that all ages can enjoy. This immersive experience will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next.
🎞️ Tip: Even with a Lightning Lane, you’ll get the fantastic pre-show magic that happens just before your train ride. Definitely score a Lightning Lane with Genie+ to guarantee your ride.
3.🎥The Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror
Photo by Mike Billick
- Height requirement: 40 inches or taller
- Located on: Sunset Boulevard
- Opening date: July 22, 1994
- Ride duration: 3 minutes, 10 seconds
Tower of Terror is one of Hollywood Studios’ best-known attractions; you can’t think of the park without thinking of this ride. It opened in 1994 and has been popular with visitors ever since. The theme of the ride is The Twilight Zone show, and the line queue takes you through a dusty hotel lobby and through the boiler room in the basement. Everything is a little weird and unusual, and even the hotel employees seem slightly off…
The ride begins in a room in which Rod Sterling comes on a television screen just like in the intro of The Twilight Zone. He tells guests the story about how one Halloween night, some patrons were riding the hotel elevator when it got struck by lighting. No one ever saw them again, and after the hotel closed down.
Following this story, you’ll get a chance to ride this same exact elevator! This ride is a dark ride and a drop tower in one. It includes simulation, sound, and high-speed up-and-down drops. Dare to see what lies beyond in The Twilight Zone and hope that you make it back alive!
🎞️Tip: If the wait time says 13 minutes for Tower of Terror, it’s a walk-on! Who says 13 isn’t lucky?
4.🎥Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
3…2…1… GO aboard Rockin’ Roller Coaster! Photo by Cliff Wang
- Height requirement: 48 inches
- Located on: Sunset Boulevard
- Opening date: July 29, 1999
- Ride duration: 1 minute, 22 seconds
Did you ever think you would get the chance to meet Aerosmith, let alone tag along in a limo to their biggest concert of the year? Now is your chance! Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an indoor thrill ride including loud music and neon lights, loops, high speeds, and steep drops.
Step into the ride and join Aerosmith in their Hollywood music studio during one of their recording sessions. When their manager tells them that they are late to a show, they have to bounce, and you’re going with them!
Speed through Hollywood en route to the concert, spotting all the landmarks while listening to Aerosmith. Each ride vehicle plays a different Aerosmith top hit. The ride includes three inversions, two loops, and one corkscrew to satisfy your thirst for thrills.
🎞️Tip: This one is for the tall kids in your group (check here for height restrictions), so if you have little ones that can’t ride, there’s plenty of ice cream and treats at Fairfax Fare and shops to look at along Sunset Boulevard to keep the rest of the group occupied.
5.🎥Slinky Dog Dash
Photo by Brett Svenson
- Height requirement: 38 inches
- Located in: Toy Story Land
- Opening date: July 30, 2018
- Ride duration: 2 minutes
Trek into Andy’s oversized toy-filled backyard and feel just like one of his toys. Toy Story Land will make you feel ready for playtime with its extremely detailed theming. Slinky Dog Dash is a mild thrill ride and is great fun for all ages alike.
🎞️Tip: While he whizzes by Rex and other friends, you will hear the funny commentary in Slinky Dog’s voice (R.I.P. Ernest) while he stretches that slinky to whisk you around twists and turns! Keep your ears peeled!
6.🎥Toy Story Mania
Tom’s brother is the guy you actually hear on Toy Story Mania. Photo: Laurie Sapp
- Height requirement: None
- Located in: Toy Story Land
- Opening date: May 31, 2008
- Ride duration: 8 minutes
Grab your 4D glasses and join in on the fun! Toy Story Mania will leave you in a whirlwind with spinning momentum and the chance to play against other players in these five fast-paced shooting games. The highest score wins!
Toy Story Mania Themes:
- Hamm & Eggs
Fire hardboiled eggs at targets in the barnyard.
- Rex & Trixie’s Dino Darts
Launch darts and pop balloons in front of a prehistoric volcano.
- Green Army Men Shoot Camp
Aim your baseballs at dinner plates at the firing range.
- Buzz Lightyear’s Flying Tossers
Toss rings and catch some aliens.
- Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery
Shoot suction-cup-tipped darts at targets inspired by the “Woody’s Roundup” TV show.
🎞️Tip: Try to hit your mark! Aim for higher targets for more points and secret targets for special Easter eggs that will let you cash in with extra points. The most important part is to remember to have fun!
🎥Extra: More Best Rides at Hollywood Studios
The entrance to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Photo by Cliff Wang
Honorable mentions include Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run and Star Tours, of course—but you might notice that there aren’t as many rides in this park as there are at other Disney World parks. Hollywood Studios is all about the magic that creates our favorite films, so you can expect a lot of attractions here to be stage and screen shows.
Can’t-Miss Show Experiences at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Indiana Jones Stunt Show Spectacular
- Muppet Vision 3D
- Fantasia
Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage, and Frozen Sing-along Celebration are also a few favorites, but if you are crunched for time, prioritize our must-do list.
What will you do first on your day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Hopefully, this guide will help you find the best rides at Hollywood Studios and guide your Disney Genie+ selections.
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