New Hollywood Studios Opening Procedure

[Pioneer Hall]

Saw this on a Mouseplanet update and thought the information might be useful to others on this site...

…Our friends at TouringPlans.com are noting that Disney's Hollywood Studios is testing a new park opening procedure this week. Although the official park hours will show a 9 a.m. opening time, the gates will actually open at 8:30. At that time, Toy Story Mania, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror will be open. Sign-ups for Jedi Training Academy and Fastpass distribution at all attractions also begins at 8:30. All other attractions will keep guests outside until 8:45. To get a jump on the crowds who may not know about this procedure, make sure you're at the park a half-hour earlier than you planned this week.

 

[mrsdanalind]

Saw this on a Mouseplanet update and thought the information might be useful to others on this site...

…Our friends at TouringPlans.com are noting that Disney's Hollywood Studios is testing a new park opening procedure this week. Although the official park hours will show a 9 a.m. opening time, the gates will actually open at 8:30. At that time, Toy Story Mania, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror will be open. Sign-ups for Jedi Training Academy and Fastpass distribution at all attractions also begins at 8:30. All other attractions will keep guests outside until 8:45. To get a jump on the crowds who may not know about this procedure, make sure you're at the park a half-hour earlier than you planned this week.

Thanks for the heads up. We will be going down the 1st week in December so 1) they will have worked the bugs out, and 2) we will be aware of being early and will be able to FINALLY get a fast pass to the TSM.
:wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I read about this a few days ago on another site & found it quite interesting. People are saying there's no set time it's being done & it's been varying. I was under the impression its been a little longer than a week but I also was reading it very late at night. People who experienced it were reporting turnstiles opening as early as 8:10 & select attractions & fastpass kiosks opening at 8:20 for a 9:00 official opening. Those times were reported later on other days. In the discussion I read there was mention that even attractions CMs dont get advance notification of these early soft openings. Basically they find out just before it happens. I found that interesting. Also, it was mentioned that this procedure change, the "rope-less" opening, is also taking place at Epcot and (I think) AK. The point is to eliminate the rope-drop herd. So from what I know from reading this unofficial early limited opening is taking place at DHS & Epcot, possibly AK. It's unofficial with no guarantee so guests shouldn't show up expecting it. If park hours are posted for say 9:00 then you are only promised 9:00. No griping.

Personally, I'm glad! I hope it helps with the rope drop herds. It'll be interesting to see what the impact is as time goes on and word gets out on the fan/info sites. Will it just cause the herd to occur earlier??? We shall see!

 

[Zummi Gummi]

Not surprised that this is being done at the three parks without a welcome show. No reason to keep people herded outside the turnstiles unnecessarily.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I wondered about the MK and the opening show. Even if they didn't do the ropes at the tunnels they could still do the show at the usual time & plenty of people would stop to watch. When the ropes drop as the normal procedure goes, other than the narrow(er) area on Main Street leading to the hub, where does the herd go from the hub? They seem to scatter pretty well without such a large percentage of the guests going to a predominant location. Perhaps this also accounts for why the new procedure isn't being done at the MK. :shrug:

 

[wm49rs]

New Year's Eve they had the parks open at 7:30, which was quite a revelation. I'll miss the opening rope drop show, however. But they do appear to be placing characters along the main routes into the park, just not all at the same location like before.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I hope they aren't doing this on EMH mornings. They should be holding day guests outside the turnstiles until 9:00 there, given that EMH is an advertised perk that is supposed to be only for resort guests. If they're letting everyone in at 8:30, that only gives resort guests 30 minutes of "extra" time.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I hope they aren't doing this on EMH mornings. They should be holding day guests outside the turnstiles until 9:00 there, given that EMH is an advertised perk that is supposed to be only for resort guests. If they're letting everyone in at 8:30, that only gives resort guests 30 minutes of "extra" time.

Ooohhh....good point. Yeah, hope EMH mornings don't get soft at the turnstiles for day guests. I can't imagine they would. The desired effect is already taking place with resort guests already flowing about the park.

 

[Murphketeer]

We experenced this opening Wed 1/11. We arrived about 15 minutes before the scheduled opening to find people were already entering the park.

Toy Story Mania was running with a 10 minute line.

 

[britlightyear]

Is this just a temporary thing? Will they still be doing it in February?

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Is this just a temporary thing? Will they still be doing it in February?

My guess is that they are going to do it as they see fit. It isn't going to be an advertised thing, and the park will still technically open at 9. Then when they decide they want to let people in early, they will do so.

 

[WDWmazprty]

I'm wondering if this will be a change for the better or for the worse.

 

[rsoxguy]

I'm wondering if this will be a change for the better or for the worse.

Many will not know about this, while some take advantage of a "quick fix", thereby leaving those things for the Many once they enter. I think it will be a positive thing for all.

 

[mets7]

Thanks for the heads up. We will be going down the 1st week in December so 1) they will have worked the bugs out, and 2) we will be aware of being early and will be able to FINALLY get a fast pass to the TSM.
:wave:

I have never understood this.....I have been twice and both times we had breakfast reservations and got to the park in no hurry well after opening and have always gotten a fast pass. I know for sure you will not see me rushing and fighting with people to get a fast pass for any ride.

 

[Texas84]

Yep, I had a thread about this. We were there marathon weekend and got there early to activate our military tickets. We walked right in and got to Toy Story at 8:30 and thought, uh, we're not supposed to be here. Got a 0940 FastPass then practically walked on. The FastPass CM said they finished their safety checks early and decided to open.

 

[HM GhostHostess]

I wonder how long they will keep this opening procedure. When I went to Disney's Hollywood Studios on January 3, they let us into the park at 8:30. As my family and I walked down Sunset Boulevard towards the Tower of Terror, there were no other guests around, even when I looked down towards the entrance to the street. We were the first group of people to ride the Tower of Terror that day. Even when we exited the ride, there was no one around.

 

[Reddog]

Not surprised that this is being done at the three parks without a welcome show. No reason to keep people herded outside the turnstiles unnecessarily.

I'm thinking that's why they discontinued the welcome show at AK recently.

I wonder if the "random" opening time has to do with the crowd? Maybe once crowd outside hits a certain level, they open the gates.

 

[Howe]

We experienced this the week before Christmas! We accidentally got to DHS early (thought it opened at 8). We went straight to TSM and got 9:10 fast passes!! Next, rode RnRC, then ToT, all by about 9am! Then got 10:05am FPs for RnRC!

While I loved this, we actually ended up leaving the parks pretty early that day because we rode SO many things in the morning!

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I love the idea of this and hope it becomes permanent. None of the rope drop shows (besides MK's) ever did much for me. But the idea of not being herded up like cattle until 8:59, and instead being allowed to go on rides with very short waits and low crowds, sounds like heaven. :sohappy:

 

[Murphketeer]

I love the idea of this and hope it becomes permanent. None of the rope drop shows (besides MK's) ever did much for me. But the idea of not being herded up like cattle until 8:59, and instead being allowed to go on rides with very short waits and low crowds, sounds like heaven. :sohappy:

As soon as everyone figures out the new opening time, the front gate will be just as crowded as the rope drop.