Why We Do Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Two Half Days & How to Beat Crowds With an Efficient Evening

My favorite way to do a day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is actually two separate half-days as opposed to an uninterrupted rope drop to park closing day. DHS is my favorite park for a lengthy midday break, making it a great option for a rest-and-recharge nap, pool time, or even a leisurely lunch at EPCOT or elsewhere.

We seldom do an entire uninterrupted day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, instead splicing it up with a morning at the park and separate evening or two. There’s a method to the madness, and we recommend it even to first-timers. However, we should note upfront that Disney’s Hollywood Studios definitely is a full-day park.

The problem is that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the most frustrating park at Walt Disney World. This has been true for years (since early 2020), and probably will never change. It’s gotten better since, but with the next big addition being Monstropolis and the Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster, we anticipate it once again getting worse in 2028.

The quick explanation for the frustrations is that the ride roster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is both top-heavy and relatively-limited. DHS has mostly popular rides, without many smaller-scale rides to help soak up the crowds. Instead, the supporting player attractions are mostly stage shows, and there are only so many of those that the average guest will want to do.

On top of that, stage shows often have less rewatchability for regulars. I love Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, for example, but not enough to watch it more than a couple times per year. By contrast, I’ve done Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, Tower of Terror, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance well over a dozen times each in 2026.

In some ways, this is a good problem to have. The average guest undoubtedly prefers to do popular rides (hence their popularity) than the smaller-scale and less popular stuff (hence their lack of popularity). But it also means that the average posted wait time at DHS is significantly higher than other parks at Walt Disney World.

This also presents an opportunity. Because of that aforementioned top-heavy and limited ride roster, wait times at Disney’s Hollywood Studios peak earlier in the day than other parks.

By the middle of the day, many attractions have long lines and posted wait times of over an hour, which results in guest burnout. As a result, people do a few long-wait rides before hitting a wall and leaving.

By the evening, many attractions have short lines and low waits. This may not make complete sense, but it’s the phenomenon we’ve observed over the last 6 years at Walt Disney World. It isn’t always as pronounced, but it is often the case that outlasting other guests is the simplest strategy, and one ‘shortcut’ to that is simply showing up at the tail end of the day.

In addition to arriving late, the other best option for beating the crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is arriving early.

We’re big advocates of Early Entry at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and have been since the perk debuted. Our approach has evolved over the years, first focusing on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, before we pivoted to prioritizing Toy Story Land. As of late 2026, our advice is starting on Sunset. (See My Rockin’ New Rule for Rope Droppin’ Disney’s Hollywood Studios for Less Stress & More Rides.)

That is essentially the other “half” of this plan; air quotes around half since our typical rope drop run at DHS wraps up around 10:30 am at the latest. I’d also add that it’s my strong personal preference to do an evening in Disney’s Hollywood Studios first, and then an Early Entry. Doing night first gives me visibility into what I’m able to knock out and what I still need to finish during Early Entry. (It helps that the dreaded delayed opening isn’t a thing in the evening.)

Finally, if you’re visiting during the next couple of months, we highly recommend using the Disney Jollywood Nights schedule to your advantage. I’m already looking forward to replicating these results on November 7-8, 2026, and seeing the calendar is a big part of my motivation for publishing this article now.

It’s going to be common for Disney’s Hollywood Studios to open at 8:30 am on Jollywood Nights dates to “compensate” day guests for the earlier closing. Target those days for Early Entry, as shifting forward park opening by 30 minutes shrinks the guest pool, resulting in lower waits.

Conversely, the adjacent dates when Disney Jollywood Nights events are not being held will often get a later closing and/or second showing of Fantasmic. Target those nights at DHS. Although the evening of my run-through wasn’t a Jollywood Nights date, it did have a second showing of Fantasmic. As you’ll see below, that was pivotal to my success.

See When to Visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios & Worst ‘Red Flag’ Crowds Days to Avoid in 2026-2027 for more on this.

It’s also possible to do both half-days in the same day! If you’re staying at a Crescent Lake or Skyliner resort, doing the morning at DHS before heading to your hotel for a midday break or a few hours at the pool is a great option. It’s easy and efficient to take the gondolas or boats back to those resorts, or simply walk if you’re staying at BoardWalk, Yacht & Beach Club, or Swan & Dolphin.

To really leverage savvy strategy for a day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, follow the above Early Entry plan plus this afternoon/evening itinerary, and also Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. If you’re opting for that approach, you definitely want to do both “halves” of DHS in the same day. Although ‘stacking’ Lightning Lanes is no longer a thing, you can essentially do it by scoring subsequent LL selections in the second half of the day, which sets the table for a really productive evening.

Here’s a run-through of my most recent evening in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which is fairly representative of how I usually do this, albeit with new twists for late 2026…

Where I start is dictated by when I arrive and crowd levels. This was a busier date with a 7/10 overall crowd level at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but it was also one with a late afternoon monsoon. A storm doesn’t always send people to the exits, otherwise almost every evening would be empty at Walt Disney World, but this was on the more intense side. Suffice to say, it was not a 7/10 crowd level night at DHS.

Instead of my usual starting points towards the front of the park, I noticed Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance had a 15 minute posted wait time as I was entering the park. My fear was that this was 15 minutes and rising, so I decided to make this my first stop.

Even that was risky, as the prospect of a 15 minute wait time could’ve induced an influx of demand, causing the actual wait time to spike. I always like to be ahead of the wave of crowds, proactive as opposed to reactive, which made this a dubious decision.

When I got over to Galaxy’s Edge, the posted wait time for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was still 15 minutes.

As added ‘insurance,’ I stood outside for a couple of minutes observing the Lightning Lane and standby line, while also checking the visible section of outdoor queue. No red flags, so I jumped in line.

In actuality, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was a complete walk-on! I did not wait at all, at any point. Not before the first pre-show, nor in the actual loading area. In fact, the load area was quiet enough that they clearly would’ve been dispatching at least partially empty ride vehicles.

While I’ve encountered low crowds at Rise of the Resistance on late nights, special events, or during the lowest lows of offseason, this was none of those things!

It was a date that was allegedly 7/10 on the crowd calendar. (I’m not actually questioning the daily crowd level; if it was anything like Magic Kingdom earlier that same day before the storm, I’m sure the park was slammed!)

After Rise of the Resistance, it was time for some low-hanging fruit: Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run.

This also had a posted 15 minute wait, and also was a walk-on. Nothing particularly noteworthy about that, though, as MFSR is often quiet in the evenings.

Then it was off to Toy Story Land.

Here, Alien Swirling Saucers had a 5 minute wait and Toy Story Mania had a 20 minute wait. Slinky Dog Dash was down, as is often the case these days.

I didn’t ride the former, but it was clearly a walk-on. And I opted against Toy Story Mania at that time as I could see its queue, suggesting to me that 20 minute wait was accurate, if not an understatement. I’d have to circle back to Toy Story Land anyway, so might as well save both rides for then.

Heading back to the front, it made sense to knock out Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

Normally, this would be one of my first stops. The ‘new ride smell’ has worn off MMRR, and because it’s one of the park’s few all-ages rides, it’s usually busiest earlier in the day. There is sometimes a post-dinner surge as families hit it on the way out of the park, but it’s not usually too bad.

Our experience with wait times for MMRR is hit or miss; it could be anything from a near walk-on to 30 minutes or more. On this particular evening, it was a 5 minute posted wait, but actually a walk-on.

Next up was Sunset Boulevard.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror used to be among my first stops because they had more modest waits than the headliners in Toy Story Land or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. That is no longer the case.

Slinky Dog Dash + Toy Story Mania are almost exactly even with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets and Tower of Terror in terms of average wait times over the last ~5 months. Both sets of attractions are higher than Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance + Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

This is precisely why the above-mentioned Early Entry plan has pivoted to starting on Sunset Boulevard.

Even so, I’m a huge fan of both attractions and find them endlessly repeatable (more so than Slinky Dog Dash, frankly). Unfortunately, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets had a 60 minute wait; judging by the long line outside the attraction, this seemed pretty accurate!

I decided to do Tower of Terror first, and then go from there…

Tower of Terror had a 13 minute wait, which is its version of a walk-on.

It was, in fact, a walk-on. The pre-show was running like normal and the boiler room was slightly backed up (versus Early Entry), but still not bad at all.

When I was done, the wait time for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets had dropped to 55 minutes. This was more than double the next-highest attraction in the park! (Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at 25 minutes.)

The clock was ticking and I had a dilemma.

I easily had enough time to do Tower of Terror again, potentially twice, and still make it over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets right before park closing to get in line at the last minute, hopefully with a 25 minute or less actual wait.

Alternatively, I could go back over to Toy Story Land, knock-out Toy Story Mania and hope for the best with Slinky Dog Dash reopening. Since the latter is no longer part of my Early Entry plan, I opted for that approach.

Toy Story Mania had a 20 minute posted wait time by this point. In actuality, it was about 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, Slinky Dog Dash was still down. Not only that, but DHS wasn’t truly dead, so if it did reopen before park closing, I was going to be dealing with a backlog of Lightning Lanes and a bunch of people jumping in line. But I really wanted to do it for completionism’s sake, so I landed on the half-measure of wandering around taking pics in Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, so I’d be nearby if it did reopen.

When that hadn’t happened ~15 minutes before park closing, I decided to call it and walk back to Sunset Boulevard.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets had a posted wait time of 40 minutes at this point.

Still the longest line in the park and longer than I’d waited during any recent Early Entry, but not awful for this time of day. The line was still outdoors, but it didn’t seem too bad; I also assumed that Lightning Lane returns were likely lighter than normal in light of the afternoon monsoon.

I got in line roughly 5 minutes before park closing. I exited Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets approximately 28 minutes after park closing. Two minutes to spare until Fantasmic started!

Second Showing of Fantasmic

It’s not uncommon for Fantasmic to have two showtimes on busier days, with one occurring at park closing or 30 minutes after. This allows Disney to effectively extend the closing time by an hour or more (given the duration of Fantasmic and longer time it takes to clear the park after it ends) but without running rides during that time.

We’ve managed to see the second showing of Fantasmic from spectacular seats without arriving more than 5 minutes in advance of showtime. Note that this was the case even on evenings when the first performance was quite busy and seats filled up 30 minutes before showtime.

Conversely, the late performances of Fantasmic on those exact same evenings had multiple entire sections that went unfilled. On this particular evening, I arrived ~5 minutes into the show, and above was what the seating area looked like.

There’s only one Fantasmic on slower days, and it usually fills up faster than the second showing on even more crowded days. As such, you don’t want to arrive at the absolute last minute; you won’t get good seats and may be shut out entirely.

Despite the park theoretically being busier, we target Disney’s Hollywood Studios on dates with two showings of Fantasmic. Outside of peak weeks, I’ve yet to encounter colossal crowds for the attractions late at night. It’s usually varying degrees of uncrowded, even on 4/10 to 7/10 crowd level days. What you gain from that second showing of Fantasmic more than offsets the shorter lines on lower crowd level days.

DHS Efficient Evening Takeaways

First and foremost, you can’t expect every 7/10 day to resemble this. This evening probably bore a closer resemblance to a 3/10 or 4/10 full day than the average 7/10 evening. Still, this wasn’t some freak occurrence on a lowest of lows 1/10 day. I’ve had plenty of other evenings similar to this, albeit with their own wrinkles.

The second takeaway is that you should not expect to do Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets all in the same evening with minimal waits. Rise of the Resistance has had a lot of sub-30 minute evenings lately, so that part isn’t atypical, but it is unlikely you’ll have modest waits at both SDD and RnRC.

You pretty much need to choose ending your evening at one or the other. One option is doing the alternative headliner earlier in the evening, but our advice is doing one during Early Entry and the other late at night. This is my go-to approach. It’s tough to do all three, but targeting two is realistic.

Finally, you can always add more “filler” depending on when you arrive. Several stage shows have performances in the late afternoon and evening, including Villains Unfairly Ever After, Frozen Sing-Along, and the Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure. You’ll need to arrive a tad earlier for Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which usually has its final performance before 5 pm.

Dinner is also an option. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is home to two of the Best Themed Restaurants at Walt Disney World in Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater and 50’s Prime Time Cafe. Other popular options include Minnie’s Seasonal Dine, Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ, or Hollywood Brown Derby, which earns our enthusiastic endorsement: Walt Disney World’s Old Hollywood Signature Restaurant Makes Strong Case for #1 In-Park Pick with New Menu!

Then there are the secondary rides. Star Tours, Alien Swirling Saucers, and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run all drop-off in mid-afternoon. It’s a similar story with the meet & greets, which have longer lines earlier but become progressively less busy as the day drags on.

The bottom line is that you can accomplish a tremendous amount at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the afternoon and evening itinerary. Two half days at DHS is a good way to approach the park without getting burnt out from long lines in hot weather. At the absolute minimum, an efficient evening at DHS will help you “finish up” the popular rides after doing a separate morning at the park.

The specifics here matter less than the idea of this Disney’s Hollywood Studios plan. The animating idea is that crowds clear out at DHS in the late afternoon to an almost inexplicable degree, resulting in wait times that are significantly lower than between 10 am and 4 pm. You can switch around the order of attractions and still save tons of time; just try to save Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, Slinky Dog Dash, and/or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance for your final few rides to leverage this approach to its fullest!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

Have you done DHS in the late afternoon and evening? What was your experience? Success or failure doing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets or anything else with low waits? What about a last-minute arrival to the second showing of Fantasmic? Do you agree or disagree with our approach? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!