4 Tips for Taking on Hollywood Studios with Young Kids

There’s no shortage of fun rides and attractions in all four of the theme parks at Disney World – and that certainly includes Disney’s Hollywood Studios. However, parents need a different strategy at each of the parks. Take a look at these four tips that will help make your trip to this exciting park a success.

1.         Know Rider Swap inside and out

Disney does their best to make it easy for parents to take the little ones to Disney World while still enjoying their own favorite rides. One of the ways in which they do this is by offering Rider Swap. Essentially, you, the little one (or little ones) plus your partner will head to the cast member stationed outside the entrance to the ride you’re interested in riding. They’ll then hand you a rider pass.

One parent will go through the regular line and ride the ride while the other waits with the kids. Once they’re done riding, they come back out, take over the kid-watching, and the parent who was previously waiting can then skip the line and go through the FastPass+ line. This prevents parents from doubling their time waiting when they can’t go through the line together.

2.         Use your FastPass+ selections wisely

It’s common for parents to make a list of what they want to ride, order that list in the order they most want to ride it, and then make FastPass+ selections based on that list. This can lead to unnecessarily waiting in long, long lines!

For example, if your top pick is the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and you choose to FastPass+ it, you’ll be wasting that pick as this attraction is never full. On the other hand, if you assume you can walk up to Toy Story Midway Mania and walk on the ride, you’ll be sorely surprised to learn that wait times are 90+ minutes or more – even during the times of year with the lowest crowd levels!

3.         Know which rides your kids can handle

The first step is taking a look at a list of height requirements for each ride and attraction – but this isn’t the only step! Too often parents assume that the Disney guidelines are all they need to be aware of. However, Disney’s height requirements are based on one thing: safety. They’re not based on whether or not a dark ride will scare your child, or whether or not they get sick when spinning. Do your own research to decide which rides are going to work for your kids.

4.         Don’t skip the shows

One of the things that makes Hollywood Studios unique is the wide range of shows available. As you’re researching your trip it’s easy to focus only on the rides, but if your kids are fans of classic Disney animation, recent Pixar movies, or Disney Jr., then there are shows there you don’t want to miss!