Review of After Hours at Hollywood Studios 3/20/24
On March 20, 2024, I was able to attend the Hollywood Studios After Hours. It was a separately ticketed event from 9:30 pm to 12:30 am. You can enter as early as 7 pm with your party ticket if you don’t have park tickets for the day. The ability to enter a couple of hours before the party starts can be a great head start to knock a few rides out, have dinner, or catch either Fantasmic or the projection shows at the Chinese Theatre. This event is being held on select nights from March-August and starts at $145 plus tax. If you have an annual pass or are a DVC member, you can get the tickets for $30 less before tax.
When I arrived at about 6:30 pm, they were checking people in outside the gate. I was given a flier telling me what was available during the event and a wristband. Since I have an annual pass, I went ahead and entered the park at that time. People who didn’t have tickets for the day were directed to line up just outside the entrance to be let in at 7 pm.
Once I entered the park, I stopped for pictures. Then, I noticed that the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror only had a 13-minute wait, which usually means it is a walk-on, so I headed there first. It did have a little line, but it moved quickly, and I was off the ride in about 20 minutes.
After riding Tower, I decided I should get something to eat. I had never been to the Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge, so I put my name on the walk-up list for a table. This is a great feature of the My Disney Experience App. There are several restaurants that offer this if there is space. Once you are in the park, you can join the walk-up list if available, and the restaurant will text you when they can seat you. When I initially put my name on the list, it was showing an estimated 40-minute return time, which would have been just fine as I would have found a sunny spot to grab a drink and people-watch, but I was called back about 5 minutes after joining….which was even better. The lounge has outdoor seating on the side of the Hollywood Brown Derby Restaurant, which is fantastic for people-watching. I ordered the Famous Cobb Salad and a Grapefruit Martini. The salad was excellent and I would not hesitate to order it again in the future. The Martini was good, but it was a one-and-done for me, and I was glad I tried it as a lot of people rave about it.
After dinner, I still had about an hour and a half before the party started. The park was not crowded on the day I went, so most of the rides had a short wait time. If I wanted to maximize the number of times I could ride each ride, I could have chosen to start riding rides at this point, but I wanted to watch Fantasmic, so I headed over there instead.
Fantasmic got over at 9 pm, and I got out of the theater around 9:15, about 15 minutes before the start of the event. The park closed for the day at 9 pm, so while the masses headed for the exit, I headed to Toy Story Land to ride Toy Story Midway Mania. They were checking wristbands near the entrance to the land and directing anyone without one toward the exit. I was able to walk onto the ride with absolutely no wait. In fact, minus the handful of people who got in line at the same time as me, no one else was in the queue.
Once I got off the ride, the event was officially underway. During the party, they offer free popcorn, ice cream, and water or soda. So I stopped to get a box of popcorn and a bottle of water. Then I decided to ride Alien Swirling Saucers with no wait.
Next, I headed into Galaxies Edge. I love this area of the park,, especially when it’s all lit up at night. After getting some pictures, I headed to ride Rise of the Resistance. It was a walk-on, which is amazing as the lines can get quite long during the day. I could have also ridden The Millennium Falcon with no wait, but I chose not to, as it sometimes makes me a little sick to my stomach.
After I left Galaxies Edge, I stopped to get pictures with Pocahontas and Meeko and then Tiana.
Next, I rode Star Tours which also had no wait. In fact, I had a whole ride vehicle to myself.
Then I headed to the Echo Lake area, where I took pictures with Donald, Chip and Dale as the Rescue Rangers, Daisy, and the White Rabbit.
I saw Pinocchio near the Chinese Theatre, so I stopped for a picture with him before heading back into Toy Story Land to get a Mickey Ice Cream bar and ride Slinky Dog Dash.
And just an FYI, If anyone is hungry for anything other than the free snacks during the party, Woody’s Lunch Box is open and serves its entire menu. I was a little hungry when I got off Slinky, so I stopped for a grilled cheese sandwich. When I finished eating, I headed back to Tower of Terror, as I wanted to ride it one more time. When I got there, it showed a 40-minute wait as one of the sides was down, but I got on in less than 20 minutes. I exited the ride right at 12:30, so I slowly made my way out of the park and got on my bus back to my resort.
Although the ticket was a little pricey, I felt the event was worth the price I paid. I could ride everything I wanted with little to no wait, meet several awesome characters, eat free snacks, and walk around with little to no crowd. There were times when I was the only person in sight. It was a great experience, and if given the chance, I would probably do it again or try one of the After Hours events at Epcot or Magic Kingdom.
