Hollywood studios Orlando - a short introduction
If you are travelling to Florida, there is a slight chance that you are visiting one of many amusement parks in the area. The most famous park of them all is definitely the Walt Disney world, but the park that I am about to describe in this post, is in my opinion even better than Walt Disney World. I am talking about the park, called Hollywood studios Orlando, and no, you do not have to travel all the way to California to catch a glimpse of Hollywood.
How to get there?
Hollywood studios Orlando are situated between other major parks in Orlando and the way there is clearly marked. Regardless on where you are driving from, you will notice big signs, directing you towards all the amusement parks when you approach Orlando.
Universal studios Orlando have their own parking lot, and if you are lucky enough (read: if you are early enough), you will be able to park really close to the entrance without having to buy preferred parking. And one more positive aspect of arriving to the park early: you will not have to take the park shuttle to take you to the park entrance - you will simply be able to walk there.
Best time to visit Hollywood studios Orlando
You cannot go to any of the Orlando parks and expect them not to be busy. These parks attract masses of people year round, but with some strategic planning, you will be able to visit the park on a day that will be less busy than the most.
First of all, if you are flexible, try to visit the Hollywood studios Orlando on the day when the weather forecast is not perfect. Sure, it might be very unpleasant (and cold) when you are rained on, but most people prefer to stay at home in such weather. But most of the rides at Hollywood studios Orlando are situated indoors, so the only unpleasant part of visiting the park in bad weather is when you will walk from attraction to attraction.
Visit the park a day after major holidays. I was extremely lucky by picking the day after the New Year’s day to visit Hollywood studios Orlando. First of all, that day is historically known to be one of the least busy days of the entire year, simply because everybody is hungover from the night before. And secondly, it was a rainy day, and most attractions were literally a walk - on.
The least busy days at Hollywood studios Orlando are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Why? Because most people work during the week, but some do decide to visit the park during a long weekend, which is either Saturday, Sunday and Monday, or Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which leaves the remaining days of the week much less busy.
It is just a little crowded... But since the park is so big, the people will be distributed throughout the park.
Admission prices
Nothing is cheap in Orlando, and the admission prices to theme parks are not an exception. A daily admission ticket will cost you over one hundred dollars after the added tax. Occasionally, you will find some special offers that will make the admission price cheaper, but do not expect to pay less than eighty dollars. Yes, it is an awful lot of money, but visiting Orlando’s theme parks is also a very special experience. Consider it as an investment into happiness.
Rides, shows and experiences in the park
Hollywood studios Orlando is a theme park that focuses more on 3D and 4D rides than on regular theme park rides. Because, of course, Hollywood equals movies. There are a few exceptions, and the ride, called Tower of terror is one of them.
Tower of terror is one of the best rides I have been on so far. This is in fact a big drop tower, themed around a scene from the Twilight zoneseries, more precisely the scene where people died in a service elevator during a lightning strike. I have to tell you that I had no idea how this ride actually looks like before I went on it, all I knew was that it is supposedly very good, so I had no idea what to expect, which made a nice surprise during the ride.
A great ride with great theming. This is my second favourite drop tower that I have ever been on, second only after the Zumanajaro - Drop of doom at Six Flags Great adventure.
Once you enter the tower, depending on how long the line is, of course, you will enter a service elevator that will take you to the basement. During the elevator ride, video clips from the Twilight zone series will be displayed on small TV screens inside that elevator.
Once you get out of the elevator, everything will suggest that you are, in fact, in the basement - the heater units, pipes and a lot of other things that you would find in a basement of a hotel. So, you will walk through the basement, until you reach the ‘service elevator area’, where you will be strapped into your seats with just a regular seat belt over your legs.
Then, the ‘elevator’ will start travelling forward, and the movie will be displayed. I have to admit that I do not remember much of that part of the ride, because I was just a little nervous about what was about to happen next. The last words I remember, are: ‘…into the twilight zone…’
And then, the wall suddenly opened in front of me, and I saw that we are, in fact, at the very top of the tower, and before that fact could settle into my brain, we were dropped down, shoot back up, dropped again, shoot back up, and dropped for one final time.
Once I realized I am on the top of the tower, all I expected was one drop, which is what happens with regular drop towers, and I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that there were not two, but three drops. Like I said, this is a pretty awesome ride.
One of the things that are special about this drop tower, is the fact that this is not an ordinary drop tower. Why? Because most drop towers just use the power of gravity, but Tower of terror will actually push you downwards, and you will have that exciting feeling that you are flying out of your seat, which will become even more intense once you remember that the only thing holding you in place, is that tiny seat belt.
And the second best part of the ride - the pictures of your face from the ride! Like on most other rides, you can buy your pictures at Tower of terror as well. When I saw my picture, I had to laugh out loud. Like I said before, I had no idea that I was actually on the top of the tower, and they took the picture the very moment I realized I am actually not in the basement. Priceless, I am telling you!
The next ride that I went on, Rocknroller coaster is a great roller coaster because it is pretty intense, and what makes it even greater is that Aerosmith musicis played throughout the whole ride. Well, not so great if you are not an Aerosmith fan, but for me, this ride was pretty awesome.
Rocknroller coaster is an amazing ride... with amazing theming, and even more amazing music!
When I was waiting in a (short, but still…) line for the ride, the employees notified us that the ride broke down and we can either wait it out or leave and do other rides. I decided to wait, and I was lucky, because I was able to get on the ride in about forty minutes.
Later that day, they closed down the ride because of technical difficulties, and I was really happy I waited in line and made it on the ride. Rocknroller coaster is situated right next to the Tower of terror, so I would advise you to do the Tower of terror first, and then head to the Rocknroller coaster..
Toy story mania is an indoor shooting ride. But it is not your regular indoor shooting ride. You are in the Hollywood studios, after all! The Toy story mania is a 4D ride, meaning you will get 3D glasses. A lot of people think that this is a ride for little kids, since it is themed around the Toy story, but honestly, I have seen more adults on the ride than kids.
Star wars tours is a new ride in this park, meaning the lines can be really long, so I decided to get a fast pass for it. The regular line was almost two hour wait, but with a fast pass, I got through the line in ten minutes. The ride is basically themed around the newest Star wars movie, where a company will take you on a tour of the planet with a spaceship. This is one of these simulator rides, and you will get 3D glasses for a better experience.
Little mermaid show was one of the things that I did not have high expectations towards, but it ended up being awesome. It is basically a Little mermaid musical with a lot of special effects and some great (but really loud) music.
I was positively surprised about the awesomeness of this show.
Indiana Jones epic stunt show is just what the name suggests - a stunt show, performed by a guy who was an actual Indiana Jones stunt double in some of the movies! He explains (and demonstrates) the stunts in a funny way, so you can see how some of the things are done. And the best thing - he needs extras from the audience. All you need to do to participate in the stunt show, is raise your hand and hope that he will choose you.
Parades are popular in every Disney park and they are an amazing thing to see, but the parade also means that the street is closed and people will be blocking the way, so it will be virtually impossible to get anywhere in the park until the parade is over.
The parade that I saw multiple times during the day of my visit to Hollywood studios Orlando, was the march of the storm troopers with Phasma. And if you are a big Star Wars fan, this time of the year is pretty much the best time to visit this park, since the new Star Wars movie just came out and basically everything there is themed around it.
If you are short like me, you are in luck - the parades are broadcasted on big screens, so you can actually see what's going on.
Food and drinks
Hollywood studios Orlando has some of the best amusement park food I have ever tried. Usually, food in amusement parks is not the best, because it is mostly fast food - the parks focus more on quantity than on the quality. But, like I said, this park’s food is very different. In fact, when I ate lunch in one of the restaurants in the park, I almost forgot I am actually in an amusement park, because both the service level and the food quality were so good.
The food is not terribly expensive, but it is not cheap either. The thing that is expensive in Hollywood studios Orlando, are the drinks - a small bottle of water will cost you almost five dollars. There are water fountains that you can find at almost every restroom in the park, but I do not think they are the cleanest place where I want to drink from.
Tips for surviving the day in the park
Use the park's mobile app! Like most parks nowadays, Hollywood studios Orlando has its own mobile app. The app is super helpful for checking how long the lines at certain attractions are, it has a map to help you navigate around, and you can even order food from it in advance, so once you get to the restaurant, you can just pick it up without having to wait to place your order and then waiting for the food to be ready.
Drink plenty of water. Like I already mentioned in the ‘Food and drinks’ section, drinks are very expensive in this park, so if you are not afraid of germs, I would suggest you drink water from water fountains. Just think about it, since you are supposed to drink three liters of water daily, you can save almost thirty dollars by not buying water in the park, but drinking it from water fountains!
Get a fast pass if you can. Hollywood studios Orlando can be busy, just like any other amusement park. If you get a fast pass, you can choose three different attractions that you will not have to wait in line for. Hint: pick the ones that usually have the longest wait times.
A few words for the end…
Hollywood studios Orlando is one of the parks that every movie fan should visit at least once. It is true that the place can be terribly crowded, but if you plan a little bit, your fun will not be ruined by the crowds.
