Disney’s Hollywood Studios has been going through a major transformation. With the addition of Toy Story Land in June of 2018 and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, the theme park will have a new identity and a new roster of rides in the very near future. However, despite these additions, Hollywood Studios will find itself in a familiar spot as soon as those rides open – needing additional capacity.
As of February 2018, Hollywood Studios has exactly four rides. That may sound crazy, but there are seriously just four rides – Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Star Tours. There are other attractions/shows in the park (Muppets, Frozen, etc), but that’s it when using the classic “ride” definition.
Toy Story Land will add two rides to that, bringing the total to six. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will add another two, bringing the total to eight. Finally, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will bring the total to nine.
Simply, that isn’t enough.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will bring enormous crowds to Disney World. Realistically, Hollywood Studios will likely see the largest crowds in its history, regularly reaching capacity and creating nightmarish lines.
Where are all of these guests going to go?
Capacity will once again be an issue even after Disney has completed these construction projects. That nine-ride tally is also assuming Disney doesn’t bring any ride offline as soon as one of their new lands is operational.
That very point is why some Disney fans would have preferred to see The Great Movie Ride stick around (but receive an update) and for the new Mickey and Minnie ride to go up in a new location. Swapping one ride for another doesn’t solve the issue of capacity.
Besides retaining what ride(s) they did have instead of replacing them, Disney should have also planned at least a couple “people-eater” attractions/rides that could help the park handle the sizable crowds who will make their way to Florida once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open. An omnimover type of ride (think Haunted Mansion) that could keep 2,000 to 3,000 guests busy each hour would go a long way.
The park could have – and should have – added some lower-level attractions to assist the crowds brought in by the headliners.
Disney fans should be thrilled about the new additions coming to Hollywood Studios. However, when looking at the park as a whole, they should also be worried about the crowds – and the park’s inability to keep them busy – just as much.
