Guests Flee Hollywood Studios in Droves as Crowds Flood Disney World Park

Disney’s Hollywood Studios isn’t immune to the holiday crowds descending on Walt Disney World Resort this week, as evidenced by a historically high wait time for Toy Story Mania!. The overwhelming crowd levels are standard this time of year–the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest times at The Most Magical Place on Earth.

As guests descended on the Central Florida Disney parks, Disney Park Pass reservations, Lightning Lane Passes, and restaurant reservations sold out far in advance. Guests should expect crowded walkways, packed shows, and lengthy attraction wait times.

Toy Story Mania! was no exception. This weekend, Redditor u/PokemonPedigree shared a screenshot of the My Disney Experience app showing a shocking 205-minute wait for the interactive Toy Story Land attraction:

Longest I’ve ever seen Toy Story mania. 

Longest I’ve ever seen Toy Story mania.
byu/PokemonPedigree inWaltDisneyWorld

The Disney Parks fan noted that they’d seen similar wait times on newer attractions like Avatar: Flight of Passage and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, but not on this decades-old ride.

“I’ve seen longer on avatar but never expected to see something like this on toy story mania,” they wrote.

Commenters shared their experiences at the Disney parks this week. From u/BingBonger42069:

“The park is crazy crowded today. The exclusivity of the main attractions is wild. 2-3 hours for any of the main rides. 1 hour at least for the lesser attractions too.

Mania shut down today during rope drop while we were on it. Then they only give you a lightning lane for a ride of the same tier which (i understand but still) really isn’t helpful because rides on that tier are the only lightning lane’s available to us anyway.

Park is crazy overcrowded and if you’re not a pass member or staying at the resorts, you’re kinda screwed.”

“Was there this morning with LLs for everything we wanted to do (including Toy Story Mania), left at 2:00 to head back to the hotel,” u/coldnorthcountry replied. “Crowd was hectic! If I didn’t have LLs I’d literally just not go!”

Other Disney Parks fans said wait times like these made them avoid Disney’s Hollywood Studios (and the other theme parks) this week.

“Man, you couldn’t pay me to ever go back to WDW between Christmas and New Year’s,” u/tider06 wrote. “The crowds are cuckoo bananas.”

“It’s bad,” said u/hamiton1.

To beat the holiday crowds, Walt Disney World Resort guests can use the My Disney Experience app to track wait times, purchase Lightning Lane Passes, mobile order at Quick Service restaurants, and join walk-up lists for Table Service dining. Arriving at the Disney parks early and staying as late as possible can also help guests accomplish everything on their list!

When is the best time of year to visit Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share your opinion with Inside the Magic in the comments!