Next week there will be a new change to qualifying Lightning Lane attractions at Walt Disney World as new shows open in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
One of these popular shows is going to be added to the list of available Lightning Lanes which could cause a potential shift in your strategy. Let’s get into the change and how I think it might impact your future planning.
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Little Mermaid Show Added to Lightning Lane List
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is one of the trickiest parks to strategize for as this park has most of the newest attractions at Walt Disney World. Before COVID, Hollywood Studios had a larger variety of stage shows and other entertainment which helped spread crowds out at the parks.
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“A Little Mermaid- A Musical Adventure” and “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After” will both open on May 27th at Hollywood Studios. “A Little Mermaid- A Musical Adventure” will be added to the list of available Lightning Lane attractions when it opens.
For reference, this is the current list of available Lightning Lane attractions at Hollywood Studios:
Choose up to one experience from this group:
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Dog Dash
Choose your other 2 experiences—or all 3—from this group:
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
- Disney Junior Play & Dance!
- For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
- Muppet*Vision 3D (Closing June 7th)
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania!
We do not know yet what tier it will be placed in although I expect it will be a Tier 2 attraction and join the the other stage shows in that list.
Does This Change Your Hollywood Studios Strategy?
Walt Disney World has already posted the show times for the new Little Mermaid show and it appears to run consecutively from 9:15 AM to 7:15 PM. This gives guests plenty of time during their day to see the show. I do not think it changes our morning Hollywood Studios strategy as you should still focus on rope dropping attractions, rather than shows, to fit them in with little to no waits.
Adding a new show to the Lightning Lane lineup may free up availability for other popular Tier 2 attractions on the list. The most popular attractions on the Tier 2 list currently are The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania! Those are the Tier 2 attractions I recommend reserving your advance Lightning Lanes for. It is likely going to be easy to get a Lightning Lane for The Little Mermaid show since it runs nonstop during the day.
At least in the first two weeks of the shows opening, I would recommend reserving a Lightning Lane for it as soon as you redeem your first one in the park. Since the show runs throughout the day, I think it will be fairly accessible once we are past the first few weeks. This means that you do not need to plan to use a Lightning Lane here after the initial demand for the debut of the show. If you want to opt for the best front view then you can prioritize a Lightning Lane or just use one of your passes later in the day for this show.
This show should not be a reason that you choose to purchase Lightning Lane for the park. Make that decision based on the other attractions and our Lightning Lane strategy outlined below and then if you have the pass then use one of your passes later in the day for this new show.
To read more about using Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World, read our guide to using Lightning Lane Multi Pass to make the most out of your strategy.
More Shows Will Improve Hollywood Studios Crowds
When “A Little Mermaid- A Musical Adventure” and “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After” debut on May 27th, this will be a huge help to space out the crowds at Hollywood Studios. While the new villains stage show is replacing Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy, I anticipate the villains show will draw larger crowds than that attraction ever did.
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More options for entertainment at Hollywood Studios is a good thing to take the pressure off the most popular attractions which will greatly stabilize the crowd levels in the park.
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