3 ways you waste time in Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Most of us say we want to spend our time in Disney's Hollywood Studios wisely and see everything we possibly can.  So if we can save a few minutes in one place, it gives us more time to spend somewhere else in the park and potentially do more in one day.  The problem is there are some pitfalls you can avoid in the Studios to ensure you don't waste time doing something you might not have much interest in doing in the first place.

Most of us say we want to spend our time in Disney's Hollywood Studios wisely and see everything we possibly can.  So if we can save a few minutes in one place, it gives us more time to spend somewhere else in the park and potentially do more in one day.  The problem is there are some pitfalls you can avoid in the Studios to ensure you don't waste time doing something you might not have much interest in doing in the first place.

Arrive to the park late

By far the biggest waste of time most guests engage in is arrving to Disney's Hollywood Studios late.  And by late, that's referring to after the park officially opens for the day, which is usually 9am.  Getting to the Studios before the park opens ensures you get to take advantage of the first hour the park is open, which is by far the least-crowded time of the day. 

Getting to the Studios early allows you and your family to experience the most popular attractions with the shortest amount of wait.  Many guests know how crazy the wait times for Toy Story Midway Mania can get, so arriving early is reason enough just to avoid those lines.

See films you don't have to see (again)

If you've visitied Disney's Hollywood Studios in the past enough times, you've probably seen the films at Magic of Disney Animation and Walt Disney: One Man's Dream quite a few times.  If you've seen them enough that you don't care to see them again, you can skip both of these films while still seeing what the rest of their respective attractions have to offer.

At the Magic of Disney Animation, there's actually two entrances to the attraction now.  There's the option to see the film and subsequently walk through the Animation building to meet the characters or use the interactive kiosks but alternatively, there's also an option to bypass the film with Mushu and go right to the characters and kiosks.

At Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, you can walk through the exhibits that detail Walt Disney's life but instead of waiting to see the end film, you can walk back through the exhibits and exit through the entrance.  Alternatively, you can exit through the doors that are in the Fantasyland section of the attraction.

Not using FASTPASS enough

With the exception of the rare slow day in the Studios, better utilizing FASTPASS is by far one way you can do more in the park.  Considering that FASTPASS is free, there's no excuse not to use it more.  While many guests know to use it when the standby wait times are really long, using FASTPASS can still save you time even if the standby wait time doesn't seem that long.

One benefit of FASTPASS is the FASTPASS line queue is usually favored in terms of the amount of people that Cast Members pick to go experience the attraction.  This means that even if the standby line and the FASTPASS line had equal amounts of people in it (or even less in the standby line), the Cast Members will always take more people from the FASTPASS line because that's the internal policy.

So while FASTPASS for a 15-20 minute wait may not seem prudent, it can save you five minutes or more by taking advantage of it.