This Week’s Changes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Hollywood Studios continues to see an increase in attendance compared to when it first reopened. Our Crowd Calendar has Hollywood Studios at a level 2 or 3 for most of October. With this higher attendance, compared to the significantly low attendance when Walt Disney World first reopened, changes are necessary to accommodate the additional people.

• For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration has reopened
• Keystone Clothiers has reopened
• Backlot Express has extended hours
• Additional dividers added to Tower of Terror ride vehicles

The most significant change is the reopening of For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. This show is by far the most popular show at the park. It is great to have a show that can accommodate about 1,000 people per show (though seating is reduced for physical distancing). The challenge is, this show is in a completely enclosed theater and the performers sing in many parts of the show, and they are not wearing masks. Some guests may not be comfortable with this–our team wasn’t.

If you do decide to experience For the First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, know that it is not necessary to get there much more than fifteen minutes before show time. The preshow area is outside, on a downward incline, with markers for distancing. Standing near the doors in the preshow area just means you’ll be the first to enter a row and will therefore need to move all the down the row, or at least as far as instructed by the Cast Members. If you prefer to sit toward the middle of the row then stay toward the middle of the preshow. The back rows of this theater actually have good views due to the incline and stage setup.

Our team noticed during their visit this week that additional dividers were added to Tower of Terror ride vehicles. We’re not sure of the reason for this. We have seen Universal Orlando begun to fill every row of the ride vehicles of some of their roller coasters. This increases the hourly capacity of the ride and reduces the amount of time in line, where guests can be stationary off and on. We’ll keep an eye on Tower of Terror and other attractions to see if any operational changes are made.

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When’s the next time you’ll be dropping into Disney’s Hollywood Studios?