Hollywood Studios is one of Walt Disney World’s most popular parks — and for good reason.
There’s a lot to see and do. But, how well do you really know each section of the park?
Yes, there’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land, 2 of the busiest sections of Hollywood Studios, but what about the rest?
There are 9 lands of Hollywood Studios. That’s right, 9!
Each of these areas have their own special attractions, entertainment, dining, characters, and so much more.
So, let’s take a deep dive into each one and explore if you’re missing anything.
Not only is Echo Lake one of the best decorated areas during the holidays (at all of Walt Disney World), but it has a lot to offer dining, attraction, and entertainment-wise.
From a sing-along featuring 2 of Arendelle’s most beloved sisters, to an action-packed show starring Indiana Jones, to the only character dining spot in the entire park, Echo Lake is a worthwhile land.
Let’s take a walk around and see everything it has to offer!
Overview
- Location: Hollywood Studios
- Restaurants: 7 Quick Service (Coca-Cola Beverage Stand, Tune-In Lounge, Epic Eats, Oasis Canteen, Dinosaur Gertie’s Ice Cream, Dockside Diner, Backlot Express); 2 Table Service (Hollywood & Vine, 50’s Prime Time Café)
- Shops: Indiana Jones Adventures Outpost, Frozen Fractal Gifts, Tatooine Traders
- Entertainment: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Attractions: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, Vacation Fun
- Characters: Olaf, Max Goof, Donald
- Popular snacks and drinks: Wookiee Cookie (Backlot Express), Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen ‘Loaded’ (Tune-In Lounge)
- Not-to-miss: Star Tours, Frozen Sing-Along, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!, Olaf, Hollywood & Vine
Echo Lake Map
Dining
Echo Lake has a lot of dining options for you to choose from, including 2 Table Service restaurants (1 themed dining experience and 1 character dining) and several Quick Service spots.
Quick Service Restaurants
Peevy’s Polar Pipeline
Near Hollywood & Vine, there is Peevy’s Polar Pipeline.
Here you can order a range of frozen Coca-Cola drinks with or without alcohol.
You can also get ice cream and other bottled drinks.
Tune-In Lounge
The Tune-In Lounge is attached to 50’s Prime Time Café. You don’t need a reservation, but you can go in here to get a drink.
The menu includes specialty cocktails, wine, and beer. We recommend the Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen ‘Loaded,’ which comes with a shot of Deep Eddy’s Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka.
Like the 50’s Prime Time Café, the lounge theming is on point.
From the seating, to the TVs, to the walls, to every other decoration, you feel transported back in time.
You can take drinks to go or sit in the lounge, which also serves as part of the waiting area for 50’s Prime Time Café.
Epic Eats
Epic Eats is a small outdoor Quick Service stand near Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
You can order a variety of funnel cakes, soft-serve, beer, and other alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks.
Oasis Canteen
The Oasis Canteen is an outdoor bar, where you can order drinks to go, including beer and cocktails. There’s even a full bar. It’s right next to Epic Eats.
Dinosaur Gertie’s Ice Cream
Inside Gertie the dinosaur, there is an ice cream stand!
It’s a very small menu and the location has short hours, but who doesn’t want to order ice cream from Gertie?
Dockside Diner
Dockside Diner is a fun Quick Service restaurant in Echo Lake. The location is a boat!
There are a range of seafood items on the menu, plus beer, margaritas, shakes, and lemonade.
A big outdoor seating area is right next to Dockside Diner. Mobile Order is also available here.
Backlot Express
Backlot Express is the biggest Quick Service spot in Echo Lake. You can find it near Star Tours.
There are a ton of indoor and outdoor tables. It can get busy here during peak eating times, so keep that in mind.
To avoid long lines, we suggest using Mobile Order.
Backlot Express serves a variety of lunch and dinner options, including burgers, salads, chicken tenders, and a plant-based offering.
One of the most popular items is the Wookiee Cookie, which resembles an oatmeal creme pie.
The cookie recipe has changed over the years, so it does taste a different and a little more bland. That said you may like it! It also makes for great photos.
Table Service Restaurants
Hollywood & Vine
Hollywood & Vine is the only character dining in Hollywood Studios.
For breakfast, you can meet Disney Junior characters. For lunch and dinner, you can meet Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto.
Regarding the latter, the themes change depending on the season and is known as “Minnie’s Seasonal Dining”.
Here’s a breakdown of each character experience:
- Disney Junior Play n’ Dine (year-round)
- Minnie’s Summertime Dine (May through August)
- Minnie’s Halloween Dine (August through November)
- Minnie’s Holiday Dine (November through January)
- Minnie’s Silver Screen Dine (January through February)
- Minnie’s Springtime Dine (March through May)
Depending on the season, the characters appearing during Minnie’s Seasonal Dining wear different outfits!
Reservations are accepted and recommended.
This has served both family-style and buffet meals, with the latter being the main form of dining.
50’s Prime Time Café
If you want to revisit the 50’s and be told to “Get your elbows off the table!”, then Prime Time 50’s Café is for you.
This Table Service restaurant is themed-dining in the sense that servers will treat you like in your “mom’s kitchen” and will give you lessons about table etiquette. They may even hand out punishments.
Overall, you can’t beat the theming. You definitely feel like you’re back in this retro era. You even get to watch TV while you eat dinner!
The food goes with the theme, too. From fried chicken, to pot pie, to meatloaf, to traditional desserts like pie and milkshakes, there’s a lot to choose from.
You can book reservations here and they are recommended.
Seating Areas
In addition to benches around Echo Lake, there are 2 big seating areas for guests.
The first is indoor and outdoor seating at Backlot Express:
There are also picnic tables with umbrellas by Dockside Diner:
Shops
There are a few shops in Echo Lake. This is a good land to visit if you want Star Wars and Indiana Jones items.
Indiana Jones Adventures Outpost (Temporarily Unavailable)
Located near the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! is the Indiana Jones Adventures Outpost, which sells Indiana Jones-themed souvenirs.
Frozen Fractal Gifts
Frozen Fractal Gifts is a small outdoor stand next to the sing-along. This will be on your right as soon as you exit the show.
You can find all kinds of Frozen-inspired merchandise here, including dolls, dresses, and plushes.
There’s also a portable phone charging station between here and Vacation Fun (where you can swap and purchase FuelRods).
Tatooine Traders
You can find Tatooine Traders, a Star Wars gift shop, next to Star Tours.
Here is just a taste of the shirts you can buy!
There are also toys and plushes.
Plus, you can build a lightsaber at Tatooine Traders, which is much less expensive than Savi’s Workshop in Galaxy’s Edge.
Attractions
Echo Lake has 1 attraction, a Star Wars-themed ride that first opened in 2011 at Hollywood Studios.
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Star Tours is a simulated 3D ride that gives you the chance to come “face-to-face” with a range of Star Wars characters, including Kylo Ren, Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Yoda, or even Poe Dameron.
What makes this attraction unique is it might be different every time you ride.
The story showcased on the ride is inspired by Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
You could fly into the middle of a battle on Crait, dodge blaster fire from TIE fighters on Jakku, swoop into the dreaded Death Star, or dive deep under the oceans of Naboo.
Star Tours also features an all-new destination from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — the ocean moon of Kef Bir.
Come spring 2024, Star Tours will see the addition of Ahsoka!
This ride is known for causing motion sickness, so keep that in mind. This also may scare little ones.
Star Tours has both a Standby queue and a Lightning Lane. Here are our recommendations of what you should book and when if you’re using Genie+ at Hollywood Studios.
Vacation Fun – An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie
In this adorable theater called “the Mickey Shorts Theater,” you can watch an original animated short starring Mickey and Minnie.
The cartoon is about 10 minutes long, so if you need a way to kill some time or want a quick break, this is a good place to do both of those.
Wait times and show times are posted in the My Disney Experience app.
Characters
Olaf
You can meet a unique and very fun character in Echo Lake. Hint: He loves warm hugs and summer.
If you guessed Olaf from Frozen, you are correct!
You can find Olaf around the corner from Vacation Fun.
Keep in mind that Olaf does not give autographs and PhotoPass also isn’t available. But, you can use Genie+ here to make a Lightning Lane selection, if you’d like.
You can find times he meets listed in the My Disney Experience app, along with his exact meeting location.
Donald
Donald makes appearances around Echo Lake, near the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! He meets throughout the day. You can find hours and locations in the My Disney Experience app. PhotoPass is also available here.
Max Goof
Max Goof has daily meet and greets wearing his regular outfit (not his Powerline costume, like he once did over on Grand Avenue) in Echo Lake. You can find him across from Hollywood & Vine and near Dockside Diner.
Meet and greet times are posted in the My Disney Experience app, along with his exact meeting location. PhotoPass is available.
Entertainment
Echo Lake is home to 2 popular shows, one starring Indiana Jones and the other with Anna and Elsa.
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! is perfect for Indiana Jones fans.
This show is housed inside a big theater. It’s a great spot to take a break, all while being entertained by watching Indy doing stunts.
The theming is on-point and you even get to see demonstrations revealing how to safely throw and take punches, fall from tall buildings, and wield whips in the midst of complex action sequences.
You can book a Genie+ Lightning Lane selection here (we don’t recommend wasting a booking here due to all of the seating available). There is also a Standby Line.
That said, keep in mind that at times this show can get busy. So much so, there may be only “standing room” available. Plan accordingly!
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
The Frozen sing-along gives you the chance to not only belt out your favorite Frozen lyrics in an indoor theater (perfect for hot days and to escape rain), but to see Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff on stage together.
During the holidays, Olaf even makes a special appearance.
As great as it is seeing these characters and singing songs out loud for all to hear, the Arendelle historians (above) are the highlight of the show.
These historians tell the story of Anna and Elsa in the first Frozen movie. They are absolutely hilarious and make the show what it is.
There is both Standby and a Lightning Lane here, but we recommend not wasting a Genie+ selection.
This is the same location where the American Idol Experience used to be.
Activities
If you’re into coin presses, you can find a handful throughout Echo Lake.
Coin Press Machines
There is a coin press machine between the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! and Backlot Express.
There is another one by the Indiana Jones Adventures Outpost.
You fan find this one in the Frozen Fractal Gifts store.
Disney PhotoPass Photographer
You should be able to find PhotoPass photographers around Echo Lake, specifically across from 50’s Prime Time Café and Hollywood & Vine.
Be sure to also look for the Cast Member with the professional camera. This is also a great location for holiday photos.
Don’t forget to ask if they have any fun Magic Shots!
Outside Star Tours, you can also get the unique Tiny World Magic Shot, which make “you feel like you’re on top of the world.”
Remember: unless you have Memory Maker, Memory Maker Day One, or a PhotoPass entitlement with your Annual Pass, you will have to pay to download or print these photos.
Photo Spots
The following aren’t official PhotoPass locations, but they make great photo spots.
You can find these backdrops (and more) at the exit of Vacation Fun. They are life-sized recreations of Mickey’s world.
Restrooms
There are 2 sets of restrooms in Echo Lake.
One near the Frozen sing-along:
And another across from Backlot Express:
Echo Lake Checklist
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What’s your favorite thing about Echo Lake at Hollywood Studios? Tell us in the comments!
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