How to Work Remotely at Disney's Hollywood Studios

This morning I walked into Disney's Hollywood Studios right at park open with my laptop and treated it like an office. I was there from about 9:00 to 11:30. Hardly any crowds, about 75 to 80 degrees, and two really productive hours at a table with the AT-AT from Star Wars standing behind me.

That was not my first try. My first work day at Hollywood Studios was a solo scouting trip back in September, on a warm Monday afternoon, and it taught me most of what is in this post. Between the two visits, I have a pretty clear picture of how to work remotely at Hollywood Studios, what it is good for, and where it falls short.

If you want the bigger list across every park and resort, I keep a running guide to the best places to work remotely at Walt Disney World. This one goes deep on one park.

Why Hollywood Studios works as a Disney office

Hollywood Studios is the small park. That sounds like a knock, but when the goal is "where can I sit" instead of "what can I ride," small is a feature. You are never a long walk from a table, and you can do a lap of the whole park in a break between work blocks.

The reason I do this at all is simple. We have annual passes, and I would rather work from epic places than from the same desk every day. I wrote about why we got annual Disney passes and about building in public from epic places worth working. The pass is what makes a two-hour work session reasonable. Paying for a ticket, parking, and a meal just to answer email would be a very expensive coworking day.

So this guide assumes you already have park access, or you are combining a work block with a park day you were going to have anyway.

Get there at park open

This is the biggest thing I learned. My October morning was so much better than my September afternoon, and timing was most of it.

At park open, Hollywood Boulevard looked about as open as I have ever seen it. The crowds were light, the weather was cool, and the outdoor tables were easy to get. In September I came in the afternoon, it was warm, and I spent a lot of my visit thinking about heat and shade instead of work.

Check the Hollywood Studios park hours calendar before you go, and plan to be walking in when the gates open. Your first two hours are your best two hours.

Go straight to Backlot Express by Star Tours

Backlot Express is my favorite place to work at Hollywood Studios, and honestly my favorite Disney work spot so far. It sits in Echo Lake, right by Star Tours.

Here is why it works for me:

• Tons of seating. Lots of outdoor tables, shade if you want it, and sun if you want that instead.
• The Wi-Fi held up. On my first visit in September, Disney's guest Wi-Fi connected right away and I was vibe coding with no issues. This morning was another really productive session.
• The vibe is right. It is not quiet. Foot traffic keeps moving past and the music never stops. But it is a good kind of noise for me. It feels like energy, not distraction.
• Easy to settle in. When I found my table this morning, I just stayed put for about two hours and knocked things out while getting some sun.

On my first visit I also noticed a self-serve refill station that looked like it had tea and lemonade. That is an Arnold Palmer station if you ask me. I have not tested the "order one drink and refill all morning" plan yet, so check how it works when you are there.

If you want to see what the setup looks like, the photos are in my October 22 Hollywood Studios work morning trip page.

Know what kind of work fits the park

Hollywood Studios is great for some work and bad for other work. Be honest with yourself about what is on your list before you go.

Good fits:

• Coding and building
• Writing and editing
• Email, admin, and catching up on messages
• Anything you can do with headphones on

Bad fits:

• Client calls
• Video meetings
• Anything where you need people to hear you clearly

This morning I normally would have moved to a second work spot in the park. I skipped it because I needed somewhere quiet by 1 PM, and Hollywood Studios just does not have many quiet spots. So I headed home to finish the day there. That is the honest limit of this park. My score for the morning was a 7.5 out of 10, and the one thing holding it back is that there is no good quiet place to take a call.

My rule now: do the heads-down work at Hollywood Studios, and schedule calls for after you leave.

Pick a cool day, or plan for the heat

Weather decides whether Hollywood Studios is a good office or a tough one.

On a cool morning, the outdoor tables are easy and pleasant. On a warm afternoon, it is a different story. In September I wanted a chair in the AC, and indoor seats were thin. A diner or two, and not much else I would actually open a laptop in.

If it is going to be hot:

• Go even earlier and leave before the worst of the afternoon.
• Take the shade at Backlot Express instead of chasing an indoor seat.
• Keep your work block shorter.

If it is a cool fall or winter day in Florida, this park is one of the easiest Disney offices there is.

Bring your own drinks

On my first visit I did not bring drinks because I did not know the bag rules yet. I ended up buying a Monster from a shop in the park and kept walking. It works, but buying drinks all day gets old fast.

Disney's park rules allow outside food and non-alcoholic drinks, including a small cooler, as long as nothing is glass and nothing is alcohol. Always check the current rules before you go, since they can change.

I do not drink alcohol, so my plan is energy drinks and non-alcoholic options. I carry drinks in the cooler pocket of my backpack now. If you are figuring out what to bring, my guide on how to pack for a long trip with just a backpack covers how I think about carrying less.

Bring a fully charged laptop

Do not plan your day around finding an outlet. I have not found a reliable outlet setup at Hollywood Studios, so I show up with a full battery and plan my work block around how long it lasts.

A two-hour session on a full charge has been plenty for me both times. If you need a whole day, Hollywood Studios is probably not the place. A resort lobby or café is a better bet for that, and I cover those in the full Disney remote work guide.

Take real breaks inside the park

This is the best part of working from Disney. Your break is not scrolling your phone. It is a walk through a theme park.

After my two hours this morning, I took a lap through Toy Story Land. I am drawn to the energy back there. Everything is oversized, colorful, and moving, and it is a great reset after two hours on a screen. I grabbed a selfie at the Buzz Lightyear statue and another at Slinky Dog Dash with Jessie and Rex, and stopped under the rusty silo tower for a picture.

In September, my break turned into lunch. Someone on X asked if I had tried the Ronto Wrap in Galaxy's Edge, so I looped back through Star Wars and got the lunch version at Ronto Roasters. Really tasty. Food is close by from Backlot Express, which makes it easy to work a block, eat, and either work another block or call it a day.

Breaks like that are why I keep doing this. It is the same idea behind what we are changing so we can work from anywhere: a better workday, not just a different desk.

Be a good guest while you work

You are working in a place people paid to visit, so a few simple rules go a long way:

• If you sit at a dining area during the lunch rush and people are waiting for a table, give it back.
• Buy something when you are using a restaurant's seating for a long time.
• Keep your setup small. A laptop, maybe headphones, and your drink.
• Stay out of lines, reserved areas, and anything that is clearly not public seating.

Disney fans who work from the parks have also pointed me toward BaseLine Tap House for casual outdoor seating and the Commissary Lane area. I have not worked from either one yet, so treat those as tips to check out, not spots I can vouch for.

A simple plan for your first Hollywood Studios work day

If you want to try this, here is the plan I would follow:

1. Pick a cool day if you can, and check the park hours.
2. Charge your laptop and pack drinks in a small cooler or cooler backpack.
3. Arrive at park open.
4. Walk straight to Backlot Express by Star Tours and grab a table in the shade or sun, your call.
5. Work one solid two-hour block on heads-down tasks with headphones in.
6. Take a real break. Walk Toy Story Land, Galaxy's Edge, or Hollywood Boulevard.
7. Leave before you need a quiet room, and take your calls from home or somewhere quieter.

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That is basically my October 22 morning, and it is the best work session I have had at Hollywood Studios so far.

Final thoughts

Working remotely at Disney's Hollywood Studios is very doable if you set it up right. Go early, go to Backlot Express, bring your own drinks, do the kind of work that does not need quiet, and leave before your calls. It will not replace a real office for a full day, and it is not where I would take a client call. But for a couple of productive hours with a Toy Story Land lap as your break, it is hard to beat.

I will keep updating my Walt Disney World remote work guide as I work from more spots. If you have a Hollywood Studios work spot I should try, especially a quiet one, send it my way.

FAQ

Does Disney's Hollywood Studios have free Wi-Fi?

At Backlot Express it connected right away on my first visit and handled coding without issues.

Where is the best place to work at Hollywood Studios?

My favorite is Backlot Express by Star Tours in Echo Lake. It has lots of seating, shade and sun options, and Wi-Fi that held up for me. It is not quiet, but it is a good spot for focused work with headphones.

Can you take work calls at Hollywood Studios?

It is hard. The park does not have many quiet spots, and the music and foot traffic carry. I schedule calls for after I leave and keep my park time for heads-down work.

Can you bring your own drinks into Hollywood Studios?

Disney's park rules allow outside food and non-alcoholic drinks, including a small cooler, as long as there is no glass and no alcohol. Check the current park rules before your visit.

What is the best time to work at Hollywood Studios?

Park open. On my October morning, from about 9:00 to 11:30, the crowds were light, it was cool, and tables were easy to get. Warm afternoons are much tougher, especially if you want an indoor seat.