Hollywood Studios FastPass Recommendations

Like Epcot and Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios uses a Tier System for their FastPass selections to try to create fairness among all of the guests.

Pleeeeeease remember that there is only ONE way for you to ride Rise of the Resistance. You must grab a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance. You have 2 chances to do this: 7am and 1pm of the day you have a Park Pass Reservation for Hollywood Studios. Always try to get a pass at 7am. If you are unsuccessful, be sure to scan into Hollywood Studios before 1pm to try again. Read all the details in this post all about Rise of the Resistance!

For all of the other rides and shows, normal standby lines are available, and most of them offer FastPasses, as well.

Below are my personal FastPass recommendations. Be sure to take this and modify it for your family’s preferences!

Tier 1 Attractions

Here are the Tier 1 attractions:

Slinky Dog Dash (38″)
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (38″)
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (any height)

Now that there are only 3 rides in this Tier, your decision process has gotten much simpler.

Right now, Runaway Railway is up in the air. We have no idea how successful it will be among FastPass selections. It also seems to be a ride that will hold a lot of people and continue moving – meaning hopefully the line moves pretty quickly.

This is why (for now), I would not get a FastPass for this ride. Let’s wait and see how successful it is.

That leaves you with picking either Slinky Dog or Smugglers Run, and I’d recommend you rope drop the one you didn’t get a FastPass for.

Of course if you have little ones that are not quite 38″ tall, you can either go with Runaway Railway, or you can decide if the adults in the group want to get FastPasses for Slinky Dog or Smugglers Run, but you’ll have to do rider swap so someone can stay back with the not-quite-30″ kiddos.

**Don’t forget to join a Rise of the Resistance boarding group! This is the most popular ride and for very good reason. However, there is no FastPass or Standby option for this ride as of now!

If you don’t get to rope drop one of the other Tier 1 rides, you can start searching FastPasses for them the moment you scan into your 3rd FastPass for the day.

However, my guess is that these 3 rides will have no more FastPasses available even 59 days in advance, after the on-site guests get to book their FastPasses. And it’s a thousand times more unlikely that there will be anymore available on the day of. However, keep refreshing your FastPass screen. You never know what will show up!

Don’t forget that waiting in the standby line is always an option, too!

Also, you can always just book three Tier 2 rides if you’d prefer!

Tier 2 Attractions

Alien Swirling Saucers (32″)
Toy Story Mania! (any height)
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (48″)
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (40″)
Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
Disney Junior Dance Party!
Fantasmic!
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Muppet*Vision 3D
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (40″)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Your day will be most efficient if you grab FastPasses for two of the new Tier 2 attractions:

Alien Swirling Saucers (32″)
Toy Story Mania (any height)
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (48″)
Tower of Terror (40″)

Your decision process will be easier if you have little ones that don’t meet the height requirements for some of these rides.

If you meet all of the height requirements, and all the rides are appealing to you, I’d go with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. This ride is notorious for its long line. You can choose the single rider line, but from past experience, I’m not convinced it’s much faster.

Next I’d pick either Toy Story Mania or Tower of Terror since these are about equal on the “will I be able to grab a FastPass for this ride on the day of” scale.

My last recommendation for this tier would be Alien Swirling Saucers since it’s line isn’t typically as long as Toy Story Mania or Tower of Terror, and you might be able to grab a FastPass on the day of, once you complete your first three FastPasses.

Let’s Talk About Shows…

You can see most shows at Disney World without a FastPass, but the FastPass will either give you a better seat or free you up to not have to get in line 45 minutes in advance.

As for Fantasmic, I try to grab a FastPass for this once I’ve done everything I want to do. Why? If you grab a FastPass for this in advance, you are unable to get any more FastPasses for the day.

Remember, you can only select additional FastPasses one at a time. You must use the FastPass before you can select another. And Fantasmic typically begins at park closing time, meaning you won’t use it until the end of the day.

I would rather have the freedom to search for other FastPasses during the day. If Fantasmic is no longer available, you can still see the show. You just need to line up early (at least 45 minutes early), and you won’t get to sit in the reserved FastPass seating.

**If you really want good seats and a stress-free entry to Fantasmic, consider doing one of the Fantasmic Dining Packages.