Walt Disney World: Hollywood Studios
Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studio is home to some of our favorite rides. Star Wars? Tower of Terror? Yes, please! Of course, Hollywood Studios was a must do on our trip. Using what worked well at Magic Kingdom, I started reserving rides at 7:00 a.m. using Genie + Fast Pass and Lightening Lanes. We were able to take advantage of entering the park early and strategized hitting Rise of the Resistance—a ride and Disney World experience everyone should have—as our first ride. It happened that using the Disney app I found some of the rides we had reservations for had 15 or 20 minute waits so we took advantage of the short lines and kept our reservations to experience the rides twice. It was my first time on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. This is a relatively new ride that opened in 2020. It’s really a lot of fun and because the cars separate on different paths, if you do the ride multiple times and with a little luck you can have a different experience in the story line. The others are all tried and true favorites.
Hollywood Studio Rides
These are the rides we hit at Hollywood Studio. Some of them we got to take advantage of riding multiple times.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Slinky Dog Dash
Tower of Terror
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway
Star Wars: Millennium Flacon
Star Tours
Toy Story Mania
Hollywood Studio Eats
In Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge you’ll find Oga’s Cantina. Star Wars fans, you need a reservation so book early. The ambiance is really fun to experience, especially after completing a Star Wars ride experience. We all enjoyed the Batuu Bits (Crispy Galaxy Snack Bits with Spiced Chermoula Dip) but the drinks all struck out. Glad we went and I think it’s worth the experience once. Since the drinks weren’t good at all, this isn’t somewhere I’m likely to go again.
The Hollywood Brown Derby
When I saw that Hollywood Studios has a Brown Derby restaurant, I was all in for the reservation. This famed Hollywood hangout holds claim to creating the cobb salad and offers a variety of American cuisine dishes.
Beverages: The Brown Derby has a few fun flight options. We decided on trying the Martini flight and the Margarita flight. They had a nice presentation and it was a good experience to relax and taste the different cocktails.
The kids beverages were also a fun part of the Brown Derby experience. The Malibu Splash was served with a light cube that young diners can take home as a souvenir.
We started with the Tuna Carpaccio Niçoise (Kalamata Olive Toast, Quail Egg, Green Peppercorn Aïoli). It was really delicious especially when a little bit of everything was placed on a piece of toast for the perfect bite.
We also shared the Local Greens and Asian Pear Salad (Candied Pecans, Black Ash Cashew Cheese, Apple Cider Vinaigrette). Fresh and tasty.
My son was happy to find one of his favorite meals on the menu with the The Brown Derby Signature Burger (Bacon Jam, Cheddar, Fried Egg, Russian Dressing, Hand-cut Fries). He didn’t love the bacon jam but it was good to try something new.
For my main I selected the Ora King Salmon Coulibiac (Hon-Shimeji Mushrooms, Wilted Spinach, Puff Pastry, Mustard-Dill Butter Sauce). Traditionally, the salmon is encrusted in puff pastry but I was happier with this version as I could leave the puff pastry to the side for a healthier meal option.
Lynette ordered the famous cobb salad without the meat. They bring the salad to your table in perfect rows of each ingredient and then offer to toss the salad for you tableside. It was also tasty.
Popcorn is a Disney parks favorite as a snack option. Combine satisfying a salty craving with a souvenir and order the popcorn with a souvenir bucket. We opted for the Star Wars droid bucket for Jack.
The Trolley Car Cafe is your friendly Hollywood Studios Starbucks. Satisfying your Mickey cookie cravings, caffeine pick me up, and end of day hydration needs.
