Disney Has a Hollywood Studios Problem That Only Expansion Can Solve

Last year, when Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Josh D’Amaro announced at the D23 Expo that Animal Kingdom would be the next Disney World park to be expanded, it made perfect sense. Animal Kingdom has the lowest park attendance at Disney World and has not had a meaningful expansion since Pandora: The World of Avatar opened in 2017.

Animal Kingdom desperately needed an update, and the change over from DinoLand U.S.A. to a South American/Encanto-themed land seemed just the ticket. But D’Amaro also teased the “largest expansion” in the history of the Magic Kingdom, but no details have since emerged on that project.

Related: Internal Squabbles Over Money and Creative Direction Have Hampered Disney World Expansion

However, D’Amaro did not address the future of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but it may be that Disney World Park that needs some updating the most. Hollywood Studios has already added Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land, but with those two additions, there was an unintended consequence: massive crowds that have swamped Hollywood Studios with very little for them to do.

Hollywood Studios Crowds

Including short films and character meet and greets, there is a total of 16 rides and attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios when you look in the My Disney Experience App. However, most of those rides attract larger crowds. This forces crowds into a few areas of the park and causes the lines for those attractions to swell to well over two hours on a crowded day and at least an hour on a regular day.

The focus at WDW for new projects is heavily focused on Animal Kingdom in an attempt to spike its lower attendance. Issue is, Hollywood Studios, which has better attendance, has little to do! Disney's metric for which parks need attention is wonky. MK and DHS need more CAPACITY!

— Brayden (@SirBrayden) January 16, 2024

In Toy Story Land, you have extended wait times for Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Mania, and at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you have Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. Down Sunset Boulevard, there is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rocking Rollercoaster. These six rides routinely have wait times well over an hour and frequently top out at nearly three hours. Throw in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad, and you have a total of seven popular attractions that guests have to wait an extended period of time for.

But in between those rides, there really isn’t that much to do. And with a park with such a small footprint, navigating the crowds or finding a place to disperse them throughout the park becomes challenging.

So what about Disney Genie Plus? Sure, you could pay for that, but the chances of getting a Lightning Lane pass for all seven rides are nearly impossible. But what if there was a solution to this overcrowding at Hollywood Studios that would create more marquee attractions and space to disperse the large crowds?

The Solution

The solution to this space and attraction problem is sitting vacant adjacent to Hollywood Studios. Disney could easily take the now-vacated Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and turn that into additional space for the theme park.

Since it closed in September, fans have bandied about theories about what it could be, but the best use for that space could be an expanded Hollywood Studios.

Disney cannot use that space to bring its Marvel characters to Central Florida, but Disney does own Percy Jackson and has a hit show on Disney Plus. That would be an excellent place to start. But Disney also has dozens of other film and television properties that would fit with the theme of Hollywood Studios.

This solves two of Walt Disney World’s biggest problems: the crowds at Hollywood Studios and the embarrassment of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser’s closing. It’s a win for the Walt Disney Company and its guests.

What would you like to see if Hollywood Studios was expanded?