When you go to theme parks frequently as I have been known to do, you begin to feel like everybody knows as much as you do about the best ways of navigating them. There are lots of little tips and tricks that people know when they visit a particular park a lot, but maybe you don’t go all that often. So here’s a little piece of advice that still holds up: if there’s a popular attraction that you really want to experience, go during the fireworks, or in this case, Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Fantasmic show.
Rise of the Resistance is still one of the most popular attractions at Walt Disney World, and it rarely has a line shorter than about 45 minutes on either coast. More often than not, it adds up to over an hour, especially during the busiest periods. But as one Disney World fan X account shows, it’s possible to get a wait of less than 20 minutes if you’re willing to skip the park’s nighttime spectacular.
When it works, it works. If you’re ok skipping Fantasmic, late night is one of the best times to ride Rise of Resistance. 17 min wait to the first pre-show. #disneyworld #riseoftheresistance #hollywoodstudios pic.twitter.com/3ZSYr68kWFFebruary 21, 2024
A 17-minute wait is pretty impressive any time, even for a moderately popular attraction, and especially for Rise of the Resistance. It’s actually pretty incredible just how many people a show like Fantasmic will gobble up. It’s frequently only shown once a night, so for those people who don’t want to miss it, it’s the most important thing happening in the park at that moment. So if you have seen it, or if you can do without it, then it may be worth it to spend your time elsewhere.
And to be fair, if you’ve seen Fantasmic at Disneyland, you don’t need to see it at Walt Disney World. The West Coast version of the show was far superior, at least until a fire destroyed the massive Maleficent animatronic. Fantasmic will be back and all new at Disneyland in May with some sort of new finale. Maybe it won’t be as amazing as it once was, but Disneyland’s version still has the Mark Twain Riverboat and the Sailing Ship Columbia, and Hollywood Studios' lagoon just can’t handle ships that size, so it’s still a superior show.
Of course, the Hollywood Studios show Fantasmic still has things they don’t have at Disneyland, so if you’re the sort of Disney Parks fan who must see everything this version is is still a must-see on both coasts.
But almost every Disney Park has some sort of end-of-the-night show, and the rule tends to work at all of them. Whether we’re talking about fireworks at Magic Kingdom or World of Color at Disney California Adventure, if there is a ride in the park you really want to check out, maybe the end of the night, when everybody else is busy, is the best time.
