Hollywood Studios Rides by Age: The Park is Best with Older Kids
This Disney World park is heavy on headliner attractions and shows, but light on rides in general. There isn’t much for little kids. What are the Hollywood Studios rides by age?
What Do You Need to Know About Hollywood Studios Rides by Age?
1. Maximize Your Day with a Touring Plan
2. Do You Need Front-of-the-Line Passes?
3. Rides in Hollywood Studios for Everyone
4. Rides for Preschoolers and Up
5. Rides for Early Elementary-Aged Kids and Up
6. Rides for Upper Elementary-Aged Kids and Up
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.
Hollywood Studios Rides by Age
1. Maximize Your Day with a Touring Plan
Disney World is hot. You will be much happier if you minimize wait times and alternate indoor and outdoor attractions so you aren’t in the sun all day. Make a plan.
The best plan for you depends upon your priorities. No matter what, arrive prior to park opening and eat at off times. Consider going to Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, or Sunset Boulevard to ride the Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster first. Save shows and shopping for the afternoon.
Touringplans.com creates free personalized touring plans. Play with the website before your trip to get a sense of what you want to do.
Pro tip: The park employees will not kick you out of a line if you are in it before the park closes. If you get in line one minute before the park closes, you will be allowed to ride.
2. Do You Need Front-of-the-Line Passes?
Genie+
Genie+ allows you to reserve spots to skip the line on certain attractions throughout the day. The cost varies by the day.
While it is annoying to pay this extra charge, it is absolutely worth it at this park. The lines for every ride are a mile long. You will be glad you threw some money at this one.
Individual Lightning Lane
You can purchase an Individual Lightning Lane to skip the line one time on one ride. The price varies based upon demand.
As of the time of this writing, the only ride that accepts an Individual Lightning Lane is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Unfortunately, this is also a worthwhile purchase. The standby line moves like molasses. If you’re not the fastest runner when the park opens, you will have to wait. Bite the bullet and purchase it to reduce the risk of arrest for fighting another overheated person in line with you.
3. Hollywood Studios Ride for All Ages
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Formerly the Hollywood Studios Great Movie Ride, Mickey & Minnie’s is a must-do. It is a fun, relatively mild ride, during which you are in a Mickey Mouse cartoon. You enter said cartoon, literally, as you walk through a broken wall after the ride’s preshow.
The line for this ride builds throughout the day. The queue is in the blazing sun with very little shade. This is a great ride to hit at rope drop if you are interested.
Height requirement: None
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Babies, toddlers, preschoolers, early elementary, upper elementary
Location: Hollywood Boulevard
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor
4. Rides for Preschoolers and Up
Alien Swirling Saucers
Alien Swirling Saucers is a small ride for little kids. Think upgraded Scrambler. You will likely have to wait, but not for an extended period of time.
Height requirement: 32″
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Preschoolers, early elementary
Location: Toy Story Land
Indoor or outdoor: Outdoor
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Smugglers Run is a motion simulator that allows its occupants to navigate the Millennium Falcon. It can be crashed, and it will if your six-year-old has anything to say about it.
Height requirement: 38″
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Preschoolers, early elementary, upper elementary, tweens, teens, adults
Location: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor
Toy Story Mania!
Toy Story Mania! is a ride/game where you shoot at objects on screens. The largely indoor, air-conditioned line builds, but it is manageable. This ride should not be missed.
Pro tip: If you get to Toy Story Land first thing in the morning and the Slinky Dog Dash line is already over an hour, jump in this line instead. It will be short.
Height requirement: None
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Preschoolers, early elementary, upper elementary, tweens, teens, adults
Location: Toy Story Land
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor
5. Rides for Early Elementary-Aged Kids and Up
Slinky Dog Dash
Slinky Dog Dash is a roller coaster that is fast enough to please adults, but not crazy enough to deter small children. The sun beats down on this queue. Two-hour waits are not unusual. Plan accordingly.
Pro tip: This ride accepts Genie+. Make this your first pick if it is important to you. You may not be able to get a time until later in the day, but you won’t get it at all if you wait.
Height requirement: 38″
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Early elementary, upper elementary, tweens, teens, adults
Location: Toy Story Land
Indoor or outdoor: Outdoor
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
This ride is unquestionably the most popular at Disney World as of the time of this writing. This attraction is very well done with multiple ride mechanisms.
Everyone wants to ride, which means the line is long all day. If you can run really, really fast, head here first. If not, don’t bother. Pay for Lightning Lane or accept the fact that you will be waiting awhile.
Height requirement: 40″
Genie+ accepted: No
Lightning Lane attraction: Yes
Best for: Early elementary, upper elementary, tweens, teens, adults
Location: Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Indoor or outdoor: Both indoor and outdoor
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Star Tours is a motion simulator that could wreck your day if you are prone to motion sickness. Don’t forget your Dramamine. There will be a line in the afternoon, but not an unreasonable one.
Height requirement: 40″
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Early elementary, upper elementary, tweens, teens, adults
Location: Echo Lake
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor
Tower of Terror
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is one of the most iconic rides at Disney World. You go up an elevator, then bounce up and down. This line gets long, but not first thing in the morning.
Height requirement: 40″
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Upper elementary, tweens, teens, adults
Location: Sunset Boulevard
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor
6. Ride for Upper Elementary-Aged Kids and Up
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
Your older kids will love this ride despite the fact that they have no idea who the weird old guys in the preshow are. This indoor, upside-down roller coaster takes place largely in the dark at high speeds. It is older, but still smooth and a lot of fun.
The line gets long, but you can walk on with almost no wait first thing in the morning.
Height requirement: 48″
Genie+ accepted: Yes
Lightning Lane attraction: No
Best for: Upper elementary, tweens, teens, adults
Location: Sunset Boulevard
Indoor or outdoor: Indoor
Final Thoughts – Hollywood Studios Rides by Age
The park has a lot to do, but if rides with little kids are important to you, your time will be better spent elsewhere (think Magic Kingdom). Use this Hollywood Studios rides by age guide to decide how to maximize your vacation.
Visit Disney Worth with kids. You will not regret it.
