Beginning November 8th, autos, passenger vans, and other personal vehicles will have a new arrival experience for the Disney’s Hollywood Studios parking lot. The park has been preparing for massive crowds expected to arrive when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens in 2019 and one of those plans include a vastly expanded parking lot and improved traffic flow for guests entering and exiting the parking lot.
All guest vehicles will now be routed toward one shiny new auto plaza leading to one single entrance in to the parking lot. Should be less confusing and hopefully traffic will flow better both in and out of the parking lot.
The new entrance can be reached via Osceola Parkway or Victory Way. The Osceola Parkway can be reached via the I4 or World Drive with no stoplights, so traffic will flow pretty easy. Victory Way is also the entrance for three Disney resorts (Caribbean Beach Resort, Art of Animation, and Pop Century), so stoplights along that road may lead to longer backups.
This means the old entrances on World Drive, Buena Vista Drive, and Osceola Parkway will be closed to guests. It does mean a longer drive for guests staying at the Epcot resorts or coming from Disney Springs. Alternate routes might include jumping on World Drive from the EPCOT resort area and then taking the Osceola Parkway exit east toward I4. From Disney Springs, consider exiting onto I4 west and then taking the next exit onto Osceola Parkway instead of traveling on Buena Vista Drive to Victory Way.
The old exit sent guests out to a stop light, which often caused huge backups and a long wait to exit the parking lot. The new exit will deposit guests onto Osceola parkway where one direction leads to I4 and International Drive an the other is for all guest areas.
Construction is continuing in the area and access will improve as more on and off ramps open up from World Drive and Osceola Parkway. Also expect the traffic flow in the parking lot to change slightly as parking is expanded, tram lanes change, and additional bus loading and unloading stations open up. Finally, don’t forget the Disney Skyliner which will add a new method of transportation to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2019.