Hollywood Studios in the Afternoon With Toddlers (No Lightning Lanes)
Hollywood Studios is one of the most popular parks at Walt Disney World. Highly themed lands like Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land draw visitors from around the world and make the park feel like you’ve stepped right into the movies.
For families visiting Hollywood Studios with toddlers and preschoolers, you may wonder if the park is the right fit. Compared to other Disney parks, there are fewer rides without a height restriction, and long wait times can make it harder to experience everything you want in a short visit.
My husband and I recently visited Hollywood Studios on a Friday afternoon with our 5-year-old and 2 ½-year-old without Lightning Lanes. We arrived around 1 p.m., waited 45 minutes to ride Toy Story Mania, and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the different lands and just walking around the park.
In this post, I’ll share what our afternoon at Hollywood Studios looked like with little kids, what wait times were like without Lightning Lanes, and whether this approach worked well for our family.
Arriving in the Afternoon
Arriving at a Walt Disney World theme park later in the day usually means a few things: you’ll likely park farther out if you’re driving, wait times for attractions tend to be longer, and crowd levels are often higher. While that might sound like a reason to avoid an afternoon visit altogether, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t still have a good experience. With the right expectations and a flexible plan, there are still ways to enjoy the park.
During our recent Friday afternoon visit to Hollywood Studios, we decided to pay for preferred parking so we could park closer to the entrance and avoid waiting for the parking lot tram. If you’re wondering whether preferred parking is worth the extra cost, I share more about how it works and our thoughts on it here.
As we approached the main entrance, we immediately noticed a line of people waiting to get in. One quick glance down Hollywood Boulevard confirmed what we expected – the sidewalks were already full of people heading farther into the park.
Wait Times Without Lightning Lanes
Wait times for most attractions were about an hour or longer that afternoon. Keeping an eye on wait times throughout the day can be especially helpful when visiting with little kids who may not want to stand in long lines.
There are a few easy ways to check wait times while you’re in the park. The My Disney Experience app shows wait times for every attraction, digital boards located throughout the park display current waits, and each ride entrance also posts the standby wait time.
Seeing those wait times helped us plan how to spend the rest of the afternoon. We decided to pick one attraction we were willing to wait for and assumed our kids probably wouldn’t want to stand in another long line after that.
The posted wait time for Toy Story Mania was 45 minutes – and we waited the full 45 minutes. If you’re curious what that experience was like with our toddler and preschooler, I share more about the ride and the queue here.
What My Kids Enjoyed the Most
Because we were arriving later in the day without Lightning Lanes, we approached the afternoon with a more flexible plan than usual. I was pleasantly surprised that even with a shorter visit and a longer wait for one of the rides, we were still able to have a great afternoon.
The highlight for my kids was definitely riding Toy Story Mania. But one of the great things about Hollywood Studios is that there’s so much to see and do just walking around and exploring the different lands.
We spent most of our time in Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge. My kids don’t know much about Star Wars yet, but even they could appreciate the incredible level of detail. As we were walking through the land, we happened to see a couple of Stormtroopers just as they came out from backstage and entered the park. They can often be seen patrolling Galaxy’s Edge and interacting with guests.
We ended up having a short interaction with them where they talked to the kids, gave high-fives, and posed for a few pictures. Even though my kids aren’t familiar with the characters yet, they still loved the one-on-one moment.
Characters also appear in other parts of the park throughout the day. As we walked past Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Jiminy Cricket happened to be strolling by. Later, on the way to Toy Story Mania, we found ourselves walking just ahead of Woody and Jessie as they made their way to their meet-and-greet location.
Challenges of Visiting Hollywood Studios With Toddlers
One of the challenges of visiting Hollywood Studios with little kids is that there are fewer ride options without height restrictions compared to the other Walt Disney World parks. Because of that, the attractions everyone can ride together often have longer wait times throughout the day.
Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways for families to enjoy the park without spending the entire afternoon standing in line. Shows like the Frozen Sing-Along can be a great option for taking a break from the heat while still keeping kids entertained.
For preschoolers who are ready to try something a little bigger, Slinky Dog Dash can also be a fun option. I wrote more about what it was like when my older son rode it for the first time here.
Final Thoughts
As our day came to a close, we wound our way through the various stores as we headed toward the front of the park. A quick stop at the Baby Care Center to change my toddler and let my 5-year-old use the bathroom before we left wrapped up our visit. The Baby Care Centers located in each of the Walt Disney World parks are a great resource that I highly recommend using during your trip. If you’d like more information about where they’re located and what amenities they offer, you can read more about them here.
Looking back on the day, would I visit Hollywood Studios in the afternoon again? Yes – but I would try to secure Lightning Lanes if riding attractions is a priority. If you’re comfortable skipping some of the more popular rides and setting expectations about long lines, an afternoon visit can still be well worth it.