You've Been Warned: Avoid Disney World Theme Park in 2024

Crowds are back in Walt Disney World Resort, and they’re about to get even heavier for one theme park.

The most popular theme park destination in the world, it should come as no surprise that Walt Disney World Resort plays host to millions of Disney park guests each and every year. From the”first-timers” to those seasoned veterans who come multiple times per year to locals who frequent the theme parks almost weekly, Disney World has a vast mixture of crowds who visit each day.

While there’s no doubt that you should expect to wait in line and deal with crowds no matter when you visit Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, EPCOT, or Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there are certain times that are busier than others. Just like certain seasons bring in more or less of a crowd, certain theme parks can also lead to more crowding.

As a matter of fact, as we look into 2024, there is one Disney World theme park that you might want to skip altogether.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has some of the most popular and beloved attractions in all of Walt Disney World Resort. The problem, though, is that the theme park is considerably smaller than basically any of the other three, and as a result, crowds are not as easily spread out. Though Disney’s Hollywood Studios does not attract the numbers over the course of a year that Magic Kingdom, or even EPCOT, bring in, the theme park is constantly swamped, and that’s about to get worse.

Over the Holiday season, Disney’s Hollywood Studios sold out multiple days of Disney Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane passes. The theme park saw new records when it comes to prices for Disney Genie+, and even as the Holidays have come to a close, the crowds are continuing to file in.

A recent look at the My Disney Experience app showed wait times of more than triple-digits for multiple rides in the park, including Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Slinky Dog Dash, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run always boast long wait times, as well, and there have been instances over the last few weeks when Toy Story Mania! was seeing wait times in the triple digits.

As we’ve previously covered, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is about to shut down for a refurbishment period on January 8, 2024, and will be closed until the summer.

With the attraction closed for likely more than six months, we can expect that wait times will continue to be lofty for many attractions at the theme park. One of the biggest problems right now for Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the fact that there just aren’t many attractions in the theme park. In total, there are nine rides in the theme park. So, when one closes, you can understand why wait times might be even higher than normal.

In addition, there are just a few shows and experiences, and only three that draw in major crowds on a daily basis: Beauty and the Beast Live On Stage, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and the nighttime spectacular Fantasmic! While some families will visit Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy or Disney Junior Play and Dance!, the vast majority of people walking through Disney’s Hollywood Studios will skip these offerings.

When you add in the demand for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the crowds that come to experience the land, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Disney’s Hollywood Studios gets swamped rather quickly, even when crowding is not bad.

The good news is that “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure,” a fully reimagined theatrical production inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios classic, The Little Mermaid, will debut in the newly refreshed Animation Courtyard theater in fall 2024. This new show will attract big crowds, and with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster reopening, there might be a little more control this fall.

There’s still a lot of fun that can be had at Disney’s Hollywood Studios even in the midst of crowding, but if you’re planning a visit to Disney World this upcoming year, we’d recommend going into the day understanding that you’re going to wait for basically any attraction in Disney’s Hollywood Studios or skip the theme park altogether.

What would you like to see added to Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!