Hollywood Studios is arguably the most popular theme park (after Magic Kingdom) at Disney World, due to the addition of Star Wars land. If you are planning a trip to Hollywood Studios, one of the decisions you will need to make is whether or not you want to include Genie+ with your park tickets.

Genie+ is a paid upgrade to the complimentary Genie service within the My Disney Experience App. It is linked to your park ticket, and allows you to book Lightning Lane access to popular attractions and experiences within the Disney Parks.

Genie Plus and Lightning Lanes replaced the existing FastPass system in 2021. At the time this post was published, Genie Plus at Disney World costs at least $15 a day per ticket. As of October 2022, the price of Genie+ is variable, and costs more on certain days based on demand.

Whether or not I agree with the addition of Genie+ is not the point of this post. Unless you plan on booking a VIP Tour Guide, Genie+ is the only way to skip the stand-by line for rides at Disney World or Disneyland. It just is what it is.

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I do recommend that you consider adding Genie Plus to your vacation package, especially if you are visiting during peak travel seasons (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, holiday weekends, Disney marathon weekends, etc.)

Hollywood Studios has a wide variety of attractions, shows, and experiences for guests of all ages. However, it is one of the smallest Disney World parks with some of the most sought after rides. Slinky Dog Dash and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are two of the most popular rides in all of Walt Disney World.

Hollywood Studios Rides Included with Genie+ Service

Here are the attractions and shows included with Genie+ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (subject to change at any time):

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Beauty & the Beast Live on Stage
• Disney Junior Play and Dance!
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
• Meet Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Toy Story Mania!
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Additionally, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is available for Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) purchase. This ride is the most popular at Hollywood Studios (in addition to Slinky Dog Dash) and reservations fill up usually within a couple of minutes. If you are traveling with a party, one person should book this reservation, and another book your first Lightning Lane Genie+ selection at 7:00am.

There are several strategies to plan your Genie+ day at Hollywood Studios, so you need to keep in mind your goals for what you intend to accomplish. Every family is different, but I will give you the popular suggestions for what are the best rides to get Lightning Lane (FastPasses) for at Hollywood Studios.

If you are staying at a Disney World Resort, you will be able to book your first Genie Plus selection at 7:00am. If you are staying off-property, you will be able to book your first Lightning Lane at park open. You will be able to book additional passes every 2 hours or as you use your current Lightning Lane selections.

Obviously, it is beneficial to book your first Lightning Lane reservations as close to park open as possible. This may not happen depending on crowd levels, so expect that you will be booking Lightning Lane selections for the afternoon on the 2 hour interval starting 2 hours after park opening. Make sure you set an alarm!

We usually choose to book ride attraction Lightning Lane passes first, and if we need to, we fill in with shows. You can usually see them in between your Lightning Lane reservations if you have longer gaps between them. Shows generally end earlier in the day, so if seeing them all (Frozen, Indiana Jones, and Beauty and the Beast) with seats at the front, make sure you watch the show times on the My Disney Experience App.

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Best Rides for Genie Plus at Hollywood Studios

Here are the best rides to get FastPasses for at Hollywood Studios using Genie+. This is the strategy I use *most days,* excluding holidays when the parks are a total mess. These are the rides I suggest you book Lightning Lane Fast Passes for, in order of popularity:

1. Slinky Dog Dash: This roller coaster is one of the newer attractions at Hollywood Studios and it is also one of the most popular. It is within Toy Story Land, and has a height requirement of 38″, making it one of the most family friendly roller coasters at Disney World. The wait times for this ride can be extremely long, so getting a FastPass for it is a must. If you want to ride Slinky Dog Dash, you need to book this ride IMMEDIATELY at 7:00am. Reservations go very quickly (within a couple of minutes on most days).
2. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: This classic Hollywood Studios attraction is a must-do for thrill seekers. The ride takes guests on a terrifying elevator ride through the haunted Hollywood Tower Hotel. The wait times are usually long for this ride, and Lightning Lane passes will fill up, usually in the morning. I would recommend this ride be your second selection if you want to get a Lightning Lane pass.
3. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: This ride replaced The Great Movie Ride, and a version of it just opened at Disneyland. This ride happens to be one of my favorite, so if we aren’t booking Tower of Terror, this is my next ride. You will be likely only be able to get evening reservation times starting around 12pm, and it will sell out later in the day.
4. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: This interactive ride allows guests to take control of the Millennium Falcon and complete a mission, making it a must-do for Star Wars fans. This ride will usually “sell out” reservation times in the early to mid-afternoon.
5. The next rides to fill up will be Toy Story Mania! and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. Toy Story Mania! is an interactive ride where you play mini-games featuring characters from the Toy Story movies. This is a family favorite and we always book this ride! Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is a high speed coaster meant for adults and older kids 48″ or taller. If I visit Hollywood Studios with my younger kids, we don’t book this Lightning Lane, and instead send the older kids and adults through the Single Rider Line. They won’t get to ride together, but it is a faster way to move through the line if the stand-by line is long.
   
   The following rides generally have availability throughout the day, and we tend to book these on an as needed basis (aka what NOT to book as your Lightning Lanes, at least early in the day!):
   
6. Star Tours – The Adventures Continue: This 3D motion simulator ride takes guests on a journey through the Star Wars universe. The ride features multiple storylines, and is a favorite of Star Wars fans. This is the original Star Wars ride offered at Hollywood Studios, and all of my kids love it!
7. Alien Swirling Saucers: This spinning ride takes guests on a journey through the Toy Story universe, where they must try to avoid getting captured by the aliens. The wait times for this ride can be annoyingly long, so this is a great one to get if you have smaller children. It is not usually a priority for us, however.
8. Muppet*Vision 3D: This 4D film features the Muppets in a series of comedic skits and musical numbers. This “ride” is really a show, but my kids think of it as a ride. It’s our lowest priority, and is usually a 10 min wait or less. We hardly ever book a Lightning Lane for this show, and instead use it as an escape from the heat or crowds.
9. Disney Junior Play and Dance!: We only book this show if we are traveling with much younger kids and it is a very busy park day. Having a Lightning Lane and arriving to the line early in the reservation period will make it more likely that your child will have a good location in the theatre.

I hope that helps you plan your day at Hollywood Studios! Keep in mind that the availability of Lightning Lane for certain rides can be limited, so it’s important to plan ahead and make your top ride selections as early as possible. I am happy to answer questions about Lightning Lane or Hollywood Studios. Send me an email or comment below!

Don’t forget to pin an image from this post to your Disney Trip board on Pinterest!

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The innovative Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel will allow you to live out your dream of being part of the galaxy far away for an entire vacation! When this new hotel opens Disney guests will be fighting to stay in a galaxy far, far away. You might find that you need to use the force to get a booking with this popular destination!

When Will Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Open?

The Star Wars hotel will be located near Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park and, after several delays due to Covid and the parks closing for a few months, the galactic hotel is set to open in Spring 2022.

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What to Expect from the New Star Wars Hotel

The new out-of-this world hotel will be an 2-night immersive experience for Star Wars resort guests.  It is expected to be a very exclusive experience (read: expensive!). Star Wars fans will be able to interact with Star Wars characters, explore the Star Wars hotel’s themed lobby and restaurant, and help pilot the Halycon from the bridge! If you’re a Star Wars fan then this is the place for you!

*Just announced in August 2021! Disney Imagineers have announced that the entire 2-day stay will immerse you and your family or friends in an actual STORYLINE. You will be able to create allies, go on scavenger hunts, find secret areas of the ship, and possibly witness battles. Your choices will determine how your story progresses, too!

The story experience will even continue as you travel to the planet Batuu at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The imagineers have gone ALL OUT to create an experience that will enthrall Star Wars fans and even those not familiar with the popular franchise.

Don’t forget to make your own shirts to wear for your Starcruiser experince! Grab one of our SVG designs today!

Reservations for Disney Star Wars Starcruiser Hotel

How does one reserve a stay at Star Wars Resort? Reservations are not yet open for The Official Star Wars Resort as it won’t be opening until 2022, but once they are, guests can book their vacation online or by calling 407-WDW-DISNEY. 

You’ll also be able to book via the Disney mobile app that allows you to save time while booking reservations from anywhere.

How Much Does the Star Wars Hotel Cost?

Disney announced potential rates in August 2021! This new Star Wars experience doesn’t come cheap, but if you’re looking for an unforgettable vacation that your kids (or yourself) are guaranteed to never forget – this might just be it! Rates will depend on your dates of travel, and start at $4,809 for two adults up to $6,000 for 3 adults and one child in a standard cabin. Ages of children are 3-9 years old. These are just STARTING RATES, so it is to be assumed that high season times (holidays, school breaks) could be potentially much more expensive.

What do rates include?

Rates include: a 2 night stay on the Galactic Starcruiser, interactive experiences, food and beverages (alcoholic drinks are extra) on the Starcruiser plus a quick service meal at Batuu, admission to Hollywood Studios, valet parking, and an exclusive MagicBand.

What are the room types and how many people will they sleep?

There are 3 types of hotel rooms aboard the Galactic Starcruiser: a standard cabin, Galaxy Class suite, and Grand Captain Suite.

Sleeping arrangements are similar to what you would expect on a cruise ship. Standard cabins sleep 4-5 people with a queen bed, bunk beds, and a pull down (murphy) bed. The Galaxy Class suite is a one bedroom suite that sleeps 4 people in a queen bed and 2 pull-down beds. The Grand Captain Suite is a 2-bedroom suite with 2 queen beds, 2 bunk beds, and 2 murphy beds that will sleep 8 people (perfect for families or groups!)

Onboard Activities

During an exciting adventure, guests will live out their own Star Wars story. When guests board the “ship” — named the Halcyon — they will be able to step into the Star Wars universe for a fully immersive 2 night adventure. 

Activities onboard will include lightsaber training, interactive Star Wars characters, Star Wars theming, Star Wars dining experiences and more. 

The hotel ship will have interactive areas like launch pods and secret meetings will also take place around the ship as you dive deeper into your personalized journey. 

Characters

You’ll also be able to Interact with characters, crew, and fellow passengers in brand new ways! Popular characters like Kylo Ren, Chewbacca or Rey (exact characters have not been announced yet) will be roaming the lobby or could assist you in your story experience, and Stormtroopers may be patrolling the corridors. Disney is truly going to make an epic experience for fans of the characters!

Dining

Two different dining experiences onboard the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser have been announced: The Sublight Lounge and the Crown of Corellia Dining Room. The Sublight Lounge will be more of a bar atmosphere, but will be for the whole family. The Crown of Corellia will be a multi course experience and looks AMAZING! The food will definitely be out of this world. (For dining details and examples, visit the Walt Disney World Starcruiser page).

A quick service meal at Batuu will be included as well. Docking Bay 7 is a great quick service location with themed entrees that are delicious!

Travel to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

As part of your stay on the Galactic Starcruiser, you will “travel” to the planet Batuu for a visit to the Black Spire Outpost. There, you can experience two of the most popular rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run. It remains to be seen if your hotel price will include a guaranteed boarding group on Rise of the Resistance. It is so difficult to grab a boarding group, one would hope that this might be a perk of staying at the hotel.

Disney Star Wars Hotel Updates

With all the Star Wars attractions popping up at Walt Disney World & Disneyland, this newest endeavor seems like a natural step for Disney Parks. Although the company announced that they are building the first ever Star Wars-themed hotel at D23, it’s great to see that progress is being made. 

Of course, there will be plenty more details revealed about the new property once it opens next year, so we hope you’ll stay tuned as updates come our way.

Join our newsletter so that we can keep you up-to-date with all of the latest news and updates about how these amazing experiences are coming together. With any luck, we’ll have more good news for you soon! In the meantime, make sure to share this post with your friends and family who love Star Wars as much as we do!

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