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This refurbishment will increase your wait time at Hollywood Studios

This refurbishment will increase your wait time at Hollywood Studios


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Are you planning a trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios? A somewhat quiet refurbishment is now underway that will increase wait times. Check out our tips to help cut down on your wait time while still enjoying your favorite attraction.

Refurbishments

Credit: KtP

Refurbishment is a dreaded word for Disney fans who will soon be visiting Disney Parks. In theory, we all understand that refurbishments are a necessary part of keeping each Park magical. However, it is sad when one of your favorite attractions or even resort pools is affected by an extended refurbishment. It is even more troubling when multiple attractions are all affected in the same period.

Refurbishment work continues at Walt Disney World Resorts including Disney’s Boardwalk Resort and also the Grand Floridian. The Disney Skyliner is currently closed for a brief refurbishment.  Some attractions close completely such as Splash Mountain as this attraction is rethemed to become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

While other refurbishments are in place while guests still enjoy limited experiences such as the new refurbishment on the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Ongoing Refurbishment at Hollywood Studios

Credit: Susan

Disney’s Hollywood Studios has several of the biggest attractions at Walt Disney World. This park brings large crowds to enjoy the many great attractions. In 2022, we noticed that the Tower of Terror had really high wait times. This is a favorite attraction of many, but the wait times were staggering. We soon discovered that a secret refurbishment was underway at the Tower of Terror.

The good news was that the Tower of Terror remained open during this refurbishment. Unfortunately, the bad news was that only the far two elevators were operational.

The far left two elevators underwent refurbishment. This caused wait times to soar well past 100 minutes most days.

Credit: Susan

Near the end of June, all 4 elevators were once again operational. This was great news, especially for large summer crowds visiting the parks. Now, it appears that work has started on the far right two elevators that remained open during the last refurbishment.

While visiting the parks recently, Tower of Terror only operated the far left two elevators. There is no word how long this refurbishment may take. You have a few options to help decrease your wait time to enjoy this ride. The first is to arrive for rope drop and be among the first to enjoy this attraction.

The Tower of Terror remains open while operating at half capacity. Two elevators are now undergoing maintenance which creates higher than-normal wait times for this attraction.

The second is to prioritize this attraction for Genie+ selections. It will sell more quickly than other rides. Instead of late afternoon or evening, it may sell out by late morning/early afternoon.

What do you think of this refurbishment? Which strategy will you use to enjoy this attraction while skipping the long wait times? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.

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Bette Paquet

Friday 27th of January 2023

Get rid of the reservation system and eliminate a lot of aggravation.

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