Hi Michael, and welcome back to planDisney! Thanks for stopping by with this great question. Disney's Hollywood Studios is perfect for your 6-year-old and 11-year-old, and it is very doable to get in all of your must-do attractions in one day. Let’s talk about a strategy!
You have a list of headliner attractions that you hope to ride, so I recommend purchasing
Lightning Lane Multi Pass for everyone in your party. This will give you the opportunity to prebook entry to three attractions and then select more Lightning Lane Passes throughout the day. With Lightning Lane Multi Pass, attractions are sorted into two tiers. You can select one attraction from Tier 1 and two selections from Tier 2 when booking in advance. Attractions currently included in Tier 1 are Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Slinky Dog Dash. From this list, I would recommend prebooking Slinky Dog Dash. In my experience, Lightning Lanes for this attraction run out the fastest and are hard to get without prebooking. In Tier 2, I would recommend Toy Storia Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers, based upon your list of desired attractions.
After you tap in to use each Lightning Lane Pass when you are in the park, you will be able to immediately book your next one. Prioritize Smugglers Run and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway early in the day, as you are able to book more Lightning Lanes, since these are Tier 1 attractions and are very popular.
Now the strategy for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is going to look a little different. This is one of the most popular attractions in the park. It is not available as a Lightning Lane Multi Pass option, but you can purchase Lightning Lane Single Passes separately. If you prefer not to do that, the best times to get in line are immediately when the park opens or within the last thirty minutes before park closing at the end of the night. Since you are planning to see Fantastmic!, you will want to consider arriving in the morning a little before park opening, so you are ready to go straight to Rise of the Resistance when it opens.
For Fantasmic!, generally speaking you should be able to get seats by arriving early for the show. However, my favorite option is to book a
Fantasmic! Dining Package. My family loves to have one table service meal per day on our Walt Disney World Resort vacations, and select dining locations at Disney’s Hollywood Studios offer Fantasmic! packages that include guaranteed seating in a reserved section at the show. This is the perfect way to have a delicious meal and not have to worry about whether you’ll have great seat Fantasmic!
Michael, you have an exciting day in store at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Get ready to step into the movies! If you have any more questions,
stop back by and see me. I’m here to help and love adding extra magic to your Disney vacation planning!
Casey