Why so much hate on Hollywood Studios?

I don't understand why so many people complain about Hollywood Studios. True, it's not nearly as good as EPCOT or Magic Kingdom, but it is still extremely fun and well worth the trip... at least for us. The rides and shows are well worth my time, and tere is some under-rated stuff like the drawing with an animator class, and I actually ENJOY the Backlot Tour! It's cool to see all those props and costumes. I don't think people give that park enough credit. Am I alone!?

In my opinion yes, you are alone! Sorry But I would rather just go to MK again.

I am with you DisneyBeatles. I like pretty much everything they have there. But at the same time I feel they need to add alot of things. The only reason you can spend most of a day there is because of the shows and the time they play. Other than that it seems like a 1/2 to 3/4 of a day park. And the redeming qualitys that make you go back to a park time after time just seem to be lacking a little. So it is a good park just needs some additions to make it a great park.

You are not alone.

Love it as I do all the parks.Why so many people moan on this and that is beyond me.Maybe there getting too much of a good thing,I don't know?:shrug:

For me? Because I went in 1990 and 1993. When it had a 2 hour tour and a cohesive theme. Now it has a few great attractions in a mediocre park with too much wasted space and too many underfunded projects.

I like it, but don't love it!

It's a nice park. I just wish there were more "rides". I mean RnRC and ToT and TSM! are great, but basically that's it! Shows; B&B, LMA, and IJ are nice. Fantasmic is OK. Just needs something a little extra, you know?:snore:

My two biggest issues with Hollywood Studios are the lack of a cohesive theme and number of attractions.

Over the years Hollywood Studios has lost many of the attractions that helped define its theme and seen them replaced haphazardly with others that don't fit. What has been created is a park that seems stuck in between the original "Golden Age of the Movies" theme and the new "It Doesn't Really Fit Anywhere Else And The Studios Needs Something New" theme. Hollywood Studios seems like the "catch-all" park now, where theme and how the attractions fit together into that theme seems to be an afterthought or completely ignored. Also different from the other parks I feel like "beauty" was mostly ignored once you get beyond Hollywood Boulevard. I can enjoy strolling through the other parks just to take in the sights but DHS' layout is so bizarre, and its back streets so cramped I find little pleasure in wandering there.

My second issue is the lack of variety in the ride-through attractions. I enjoy all of the shows (except Sounds Dangerous) but other than the Muppets they don't interest me enough to re-watch multiple times in a single visit. So the bulk of my interest in the park lies in the rides, and there just isn't a large enough number of them to keep me interested in coming back over the length of a typical vacation.

So to sum up my feelings about Hollywood Studios, and the reason it is my fourth favorite in ranking the theme parks, is that while I enjoy the individual parts quite a lot, they don't add up to as satisfying of an experience as any of the other parks.

We both reslly enjoy the Studios and visit it a lot during our annual 3 week stay. It's not an all dayer, but none of the parks are for us now due to havinp AP's and 3 weeks and with me been coming for over 30 years. I love to stroll around and to sit and have a drink and soak up the atmosphere. I love the fact that it's the one park where you can park and be in there within a few minutes and leave and be back at the car quickly too. I adore the streetmosphere character shows which in my opinion are the funniest performances anywhere in WDW. TGMR, TOT, R&RC and Fantasmic are incredible and have repeat value as does the Muppets and Indie. Come to think of it Star Tours is fantastic and I enjoy LMA emensely even though it's not popular here. I do miss the original studio tour and how you used to feel educated about movie making more, but some of the hate seems way over the top.

I never got to experience the original studios, as I am very young (teen) so I probably missed out on some stuff. I love every little bit of that park, but I do agree that it needs that extra something

Donaldfan3000 said:

In my opinion yes, you are alone! Sorry But I would rather just go to MK again.

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I have to agree. We find DHS to be boring. Our very first visit, years ago, was interesting but now it is lacking. I still enjoy the Muppets and the Osborne Lights (why we go in December). The other 3 parks are great. :wave:

My daughter (16) loves DHS.
She admits it could definitely use an new E-ticket or two, but she says she loves the atmosphere and of course TOT and RnRC.

I'm not hating on DHS, but like others here -- I remember it before the hat with the original Backlot tour. It's definitely lost some it's magic, and now feels strangely disjointed.

It's a park with amazing potential - that's why you get so many people posting frustrating remarks.

I love the Hollywood Studios and I have been going since it opened in 1989. I do not go on the Backlot Tour, however, and I wish they would improve that. But I love TOT, RNRC, TGMR, Star Tours, Muppets, TSM, Animation, and the Walt Disney Story. I do wish they would add more attractions. But I wish that for EPCOT and Animal Kingdom as well. I wish that the Disney Company would put more focus on Walt Disney World period rather than expanding around the globe.

This is an intresting topic and really is a opinion we hear a lot around these parts. Hate....is an awful strong term. I dont think very many people who visit these boards "hate" anything about WDW. Infact the reason for the concern is because how much we "LOVE" the parks.

Its difficult for a lot of us who has seen these parks in all of their glory and see what has transformed. The thing is for us as guest it isnt about the money. I know that sounds a little crazy, but if it was about the money I wouldnt have visited WDW 16 times. No, We go because we enjoy it and feel the cost vs experience is worth what we pay. It just hasnt been the same in the past ten years or so. We have been loyal, we have ponied up big dollars and we feel a little betrayed. Is WDW still a great place to vacation? Yes! Will I still go...yup, booked for an early January trip.

Frankly, if you never visited the parks mort then 12 or 15 yrs ago you really dont get it. I know I may get slammed for that but sometimes the truth hurts. And YESSSSS I know nothing isnt the same. Niether is the cost of visiting WDW. Like I said to us it isnt about the money, but for DIsney, that is exactly what it has been about. Giving less and chargeing more.

So the "hate" on the haters is.... you shouldnt voice your opinion? you really dont know what your talking about? DHS is a wonderful park, I say yes it is, but nothing what it was or CAN be. If I didnt care I wouldnt even visit these boards....everyday!

I do understand the OP's question.

On my first trip to WDW in 2004 I fell in love with the Disney MGM Studios as they were called then. For me they were the best park at WDW.

5 trips later I came back last year feeling very sad because DHS is now officially my least favourite park at WDW. It still has some wonderful attractions (loved the new Star Tours and the Florida ToT is one of my top five Disney favourites). But it did not give me the feeling of fantasy anymore that I expect from every Disney park. It seemed thrown together. For the first time I thought that a park felt stale for me.

I was very sad about that - and while I don't hate DHS at all, I finally understand why some fans complain that it is seriously lacking. It does.

DHS is great IMO and when we visited last year it was Epcot that we were very disappointed with.

i like MGM, but i liked it more when it was MGM and it was more of a working studio than just a theme park.
like, when all the effects worked on GMR and when the backlot tour felt like it was a real tour, with the CM panicing that we were getting caught on a hot set!

One of the reasons we love the studio's is that you can do it all in one day, 50's PTC if my DH's favorite place to eat and well Star Tours is amazing. I remember going when it first opened and I always think the more it changes the more it stays the same. My son's favorite is the Beauty and the Beast show it's his not to be missed thing there, I agree with the above poster I love to people watch there and the atmosphere. This is a really fun debate.

Love Hollywood Studios. Won't change a thing!

I love the Studios. It was love at first sight for me, and I'm totally in love with it to this day.

ShookieJones said:

It's a park with amazing potential - that's why you get so many people posting frustrating remarks.

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This, yes. The park is so good where it is good: Hollywood and sunset boulevards, those half a dozen rides that are each among the best in all of WDW, sheer atmopshere.

But then the park loses focus: the stupid hat which is there not to add a view, but for the specific purpose of blocking a view. :brick:
The 'back' of the park, which is a confusing layout of backalleys and movie sets and brick walls.
While those half a dozen attractions that are there are genius, the park lacks a few more.
The Studios has lost a sense of purpose, of identity, when its combination them park / working studios lost the latter component.

The park is just not living up to its potential. Which is a shame, because so much of what is there is so very, very loveable.

marni1971 said:

For me? Because I went in 1990 and 1993. When it had a 2 hour tour and a cohesive theme. Now it has a few great attractions in a mediocre park with too much wasted space and too many underfunded projects.

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Do you think that sometimes one can know too much?

Horizons was underfunded. Its budget was slashed at the last minute and we got the cliff notes version. It still turned out brilliant. But would I have enjoyed it as much if I had known all along about the even more grandiose Horizons that was planned?

For me, I wish I had never known Pirates before it became 'Madame Tussauds presents Johhny Depp'. I wish I had never done Paris' Big Thunder. My enjoyment of Pirates and Thunder has been greatly diminished because of it.