Hollywood Studios Crowd Forecast: Dec 21–24, 2026

By Priya S. · Resorts & getting around · Kissimmee, FL

Published November 9, 2026 · Updated November 14, 2026

Hollywood Studios has no easy day between Monday, December 21 and Thursday, December 24, 2026. SupaPark’s crowd forecast (as of Nov 10) puts the park at 10/10 on all four days. Picking a different date inside this window won’t help you, so pick your hours instead.

Forecast as of November 9, 2026. Live numbers here: Hollywood Studios crowd calendar for December 2026. Holiday week: Christmas week crowd forecast.

Those hours matter a lot. In SupaPark’s wait data from the last 30 days, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway had a median posted wait of 48 minutes at 11 AM and 10 minutes at 9 PM. That’s the same ride with nearly five times the wait. The pattern comes from Oct 12–Nov 9, not from Christmas week. The holiday week will probably run hotter overall, but the shape of the day is the part worth planning around.

The verdict for Dec 21–24

If Hollywood Studios has to fall in this window, choose your day around the rest of your trip, not around the crowd level. All four days are forecast the same.

Here’s how it compares across the resort for the window:

• EPCOT: averages 10.0/10. It’s the busiest park of the four.
• Hollywood Studios: averages 10.0/10, with a 10 every day.
• Animal Kingdom: averages 9.3/10.
• Magic Kingdom: averages 9.3/10. It’s the lightest park on paper, but Dec 22 has a catch (more below).

My read: if you can move Hollywood Studios outside Dec 21–24, do it. If you can’t, plan to be in the park early, at night, or both, and keep the middle of the day for things that don’t involve long lines.

Day by day

SupaPark’s crowd forecast for each park, out of 10:

Monday, Dec 21: Hollywood Studios at 10. This is the peak day for the whole resort in the forecast: three of the four parks are at 10. Expect a fully packed Monday with no relief valve nearby.

Tuesday, Dec 22: Hollywood Studios at 10. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is at Magic Kingdom that night, so Magic Kingdom closes early to day guests. Some of those guests will spread to other parks, Hollywood Studios included. Don’t count on any shift in your favor.

Wednesday, Dec 23: Hollywood Studios at 10. This is also the one 8 anywhere on the grid: Animal Kingdom.

Thursday, Dec 24: Hollywood Studios at 10. It’s Christmas Eve. It’s forecast just like the other three days, so don’t expect it to quiet down.

Planning around this? See crowds for my dates.

Best and worst hours (recent pattern)

These numbers are SupaPark’s median posted waits across Hollywood Studios’ five busiest rides from Oct 12–Nov 9. They show the recent daily pattern, not a measurement of Dec 21–24:

• 9 AM: 40 min
• 11 AM: 50 min (the highest of the day)
• 2 PM: 50 min
• 5 PM: 45 min
• 8 PM: 33 min
• 9 PM: 23 min (the lowest of the day)

Hollywood Studios stays near its worst from late morning through the afternoon. Unlike some other parks, it doesn’t get a midday dip. Your best windows are the very start and the very end of the day.

Two rides show the difference most clearly:

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets: 15 minutes at 8 AM vs. 53 minutes at 2 PM. Ride it first. If you miss the morning window, it also has a single rider line, which helps if your group doesn’t mind splitting up.
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: 10 minutes at 9 PM vs. 48 minutes at 11 AM. Hold this one for the end of the night.

So the plan is to start with the coaster, finish with Runaway Railway, and keep the 11 AM–5 PM stretch for shows, snacks and breaks. Waiting in line at 2 PM during a 10/10 week will cost you the most time.

Which park to pick instead

If your dates are flexible, here’s how I’d use this window:

Animal Kingdom on Wednesday, Dec 23 is the best day available. It’s forecast at 8, the lowest number anywhere this week. Animal Kingdom’s recent pattern also gets easier in the afternoon, which no other park does. The median across its top rides was 40 minutes at 11 AM, then 25 at 2 PM and 20 at 5 PM, bottoming out at 10 minutes at 7 PM. Kilimanjaro Safaris showed the biggest swing: 55 minutes at 10 AM vs. 10 minutes at 3 PM. Na’vi River Journey was 45 minutes at noon vs. 10 minutes at 7 PM. That makes it a good day for a family that wants to sleep in.

Skip Magic Kingdom on Dec 22. It’s forecast at 9, but the Christmas party means day guests have to leave early. You’d be paying for a shortened day at a park that’s still busy. Its other days in the window are Dec 21 (9), Dec 23 (10) and Dec 24 (9). In the recent pattern, Magic Kingdom works best in the morning. Jungle Cruise was 6 minutes at 8 AM vs. 40 minutes at 3 PM, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin was 5 minutes at 8 AM vs. 38 minutes at 4 PM. If you go, go early.

EPCOT is the one to avoid. It’s forecast at 10 all four days, and its recent pattern gets worse as the day goes on, from 30 minutes at 8 AM up to 60 minutes at 5 PM. Test Track went from 30 minutes at 8 AM to 70 at 5 PM, and Frozen Ever After from 20 minutes at 8 AM to 65 at 2 PM. If EPCOT has to be in this window, go first thing in the morning and expect long waits after that.

The one thing to remember

All four days are forecast the same at Hollywood Studios, so the only thing you can control is timing. Do Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at opening, Runaway Railway after dark, and avoid long lines between 11 AM and 5 PM. On the day, holiday crowds can run hotter than any forecast, so check live waits instead of relying on memory. SupaPark’s best-time forecaster and wait-drop alerts can tell you when a headliner’s line drops while you’re doing something else. Everything is at supapark.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the least crowded day at Hollywood Studios from Dec 21–24, 2026?

None of them. SupaPark’s forecast puts Hollywood Studios at 10/10 on Dec 21, 22, 23 and 24, so pick your day based on the rest of your trip and plan around the hours instead.

What time of day has the shortest lines at Hollywood Studios?

In SupaPark’s data from Oct 12–Nov 9, the median wait across the top five rides was lowest at 9 PM (23 minutes) and highest from 11 AM to 2 PM (50 minutes). Early morning was also much shorter for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, at 15 minutes at 8 AM.

Which Disney World park is least crowded during Christmas week 2026?

Animal Kingdom on Wednesday, Dec 23 has the lowest forecast in the Dec 21–24 window, at 8/10. Magic Kingdom has the lightest four-day average (9.3), tied with Animal Kingdom, but closes early to day guests on Dec 22 for the Christmas party.

Is Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway shorter at night?

It has been recently: SupaPark measured a median of 10 minutes at 9 PM vs. 48 minutes at 11 AM over the last 30 days. Holiday week will likely run busier, but the evening is still the best time to try.

Keep planning: today’s crowd forecast · is Lightning Lane worth it

Go deeper — the full guides: Disney World Crowds Nov 9–14, 2026: Forecast · Magic Kingdom Dec 21–23, 2026: Crowd Levels and Best Hours · Magic Kingdom Crowds Nov 28–29, 2026: 3/10, Saturday Best

SupaPark tracks live wait times and crowd forecasts, and pings you the second a hard-to-get reservation opens or a ride goes walk-on — free to start at supapark.com.

Heading to Hollywood Studios? Check Hollywood Studios wait times right now and how busy Hollywood Studios is today.