Want to enjoy Hollywood Studios with low crowds? There’s a day that has consistently seen low crowds and short wait times over the past few years. If you’re thinking it’s a random weekday in winter or September – think again! The shortest wait times we’ve seen at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World is…
The 4th of July
Yeah. A holiday. In summer. We’re not joking. The image above is real, taken on July 4th 2025. You’re looking at 10 minute waits for Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run AND Rise of the Resistance (but really they were walk-ons). And I don’t have a photo, but July 4th 2024 and 2023 saw the same low wait times.
Buy why and how could that be??
- Both Magic Kingdom and Epcot have special nighttime shows (aka fireworks shows, but they are so much more than that!) on the 4th of July, so they draw the biggest crowds and draw crowds away from Hollywood Studios.
- People assume 4th of July will be more crowded at Disney because it’s a holiday and stay away. Christmas-New Year’s, Presidents’ Day, and the weeks around Easter are far more crowded than 4th of July across all the parks. We’ve also seen bigger crowds the week AFTER July 4th, as many assume July 4th will be more crowded.
- People assume summer is more crowded. It’s not. Summer has lower crowds than other parts of the year. Why? Because families with school-aged kids have many more weeks to spread out their vacation time during summer vs. everyone fitting their vacations into the same school breaks. And the big reason people avoid the summer…
- Florida heat. In case you’re unfamiliar with where Florida is and how weather patterns work…July in Florida is really hot and humid! Some people just can’t handle that heat and avoid visiting during the summer.
But I looked at a crowd calendar and it says July 4th will be busy!
Yeah, those calendars are rarely accurate. The most accurate is usually Touring Plans, but they require a subscription, and even they can get it wrong. 3 years of real data thanks to our own real observations (and proven by data kept by Thrill Data), tell us that we expect Hollywood Studios to be less crowded on July 4th.
Do short wait times really make a difference at Hollywood Studios?
Yes! This can be one of the hardest parks to navigate due to multiple big attractions that get long wait times and the shows that only start at certain times and don’t run all day. Shorter wait times make this park so much more enjoyable and you will get a lot more done!
You can also save money by not having to buy Lightning Lanes. Lightning Lanes are passes you can purchase that allow you to skip the regular queue and get a shorter wait time. They come in 3 varieties:
- Single Pass – where you buy a pass for just one popular attraction. At Hollywood Studios, that’s Rise of the Resistance. It can cost you $20-28 PER PERSON just for that one ride. We rode it twice on July 4th with a 15-minute or less wait. Others had already paid $25 per person and were kicking themselves for buying it when there was no wait.
- Multi-Pass – this pass lets you pre-book 3 attractions, but only 1 from Tier 1 (the best rides with the longest waits), and then you can book additional rides as you use them. This pass costs $24-39 per person. Last 4th of July, the price was $32 (I think Disney thought the crowds would be higher too!) We had already bought MultiPass last year because you just never know, and it did save SOME time in the morning. It was also incredibly easy to book every attraction we wanted vs. other days at Hollywood where you’ll never get every Tier 1. But we could have been fine without it and saved money.
- Premier Pass – this pass lets you through the Lightning Lane and skip the regular queue for every eligible attraction ONE time, without having to book times like the other passes. It’s a lovely luxury for people who can afford it. But it would be a waste of money on an uncrowded day at Hollywood Studios! The price ranges from $269-349 PER PERSON in addition to regular admission.
Should I expect the same low waits in 2026?
Based on recent patterns – yes! 2026 will be slightly different because July 4th falls on a Saturday, and some companies are giving July 3rd off. 2026 is also the 250th birthday of America and they are anticipating larger crowds at Magic Kingdom.
The special 4th of July fireworks show (Disney’s Celebrate America) will happen at Magic Kingdom on both July 3rd and 4th (as usual) but they have also added July 5th in expectation of big crowds for the 250th. Epcot typically only does their 4th of July celebration on the actual 4th, but they could potentially add it on the 3rd also. This will slightly disperse crowds, but will still mean Hollywood Studios is not a priorty on July 4th weekend. Especially if Epcot is only on the 4th, many will do Epcot on the 4th and Magic Kingdom the 3rd or 5th.
The morning of the 4th will be a bit busier because some people will start at Hollywood Studios and then park hop to Magic Kingdom or Epcot later for the fireworks. If you stay until the end of the day, you will be rewarded wth low wait times and a Fantasmic show that doesn’t reach capacity (which rarely happens!). You can literally walk up 15 minutes before showtime and get decent seats at Fantasmic. We usually recommend getting there at least an hour early, so this also saves you time.
Is it worth missing the 4th of July Celebrations at Magic Kingdom and Epcot to get low waits at Hollywood Studios?
That’s going to be up to your personal preferences. For our family, having low wait times, joining the Resistance by walking onto Rise with no wait, riding everything and seeing all the shows, and seeing Fantasmic was a great way to spend the holiday. We also prefer Happily Ever After (the usual Magic Kingdom show) while we’re at Disney. Patriotic songs are great, but we want all the Disney feels and Disney music while at Disney.
With that said, the 4th of July show at Magic Kingdom (Disney’s Celebrate America!) is very well done! If you’ve seen Happily Ever After a lot and want something different and patriotic – you will love it! But to get the full effect, you’ll want to be around the hub or on Main Street and that means staking out a spot really early and waiting, which is not the most fun.
The Epcot 4th of July celebration is called “Heartbeat of Freedom” and usually (subject to change) is about a 5-minute add-on to the regular show (Harmonius). That may sound short, but it’s awesome! The good thing about Epcot is the views are good from so many places around the lake, so you don’t have to stake out a spot quite as early, and there are so many good food and drink venues around the lake to enjoy while you’re waiting. But it WILL BE CROWDED.
But won’t it be miserably hot!?
We live in a warm climate and are used to the heat, but we also know how to prepare for it. Here are all our tips for how to survive theme parks in the summer >
Also, there is often an afternoon thunderstorm that cools things down, and the nights are awesome! Just enjoy some indoor attractions and shows (there are plenty at Hollywood) or a sit-down meal during the heat of the day.
In Summary…
July 4th is the sneaky low-crowd day of the year at Hollywood Studios. Go try it!
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