HS: Struggling to make a day of it

[JohnD]

I'm an AP holder and in HS right now (I arrived approx 10:30am). I'm not a park commando person. I'm perfectly happy meandering, hanging out, watching shows, and doing the rides. But even then I'm struggling to get a day out of HS.

I'm at 50s Prime Time for lunch now. I've already seen some shows. Will see more after lunch. My first FP+ isn't until 3:50. And Fantasmic is my last FP+. (Saw the projection/FW shows Sat.)

I'll be glad when the other lands are built. Definitely not worth an individual ticket.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Any chance of changing things up and moving on?

 

[JohnD]

Any chance of changing things up and moving on?

I can always do that. Hop over to Epcot. Come back, etc. Again, in no rush today. Just illustrating you really have to stretch to make a day of it.

 

[MickeyMomV]

We will typically do 2 half days at HS. We will hit opening one day to watch some of the shows and do the major rides. Then we will hit the park at night on another day to get another round of rides in, watch the fireworks, and maybe Fantasmic. One whole day from rope drop to close would be a little hard unless you have a different park agenda... Like the DH and DS riding ST 8-10 times in a row to see if any of the sequences are the same.

 

[JohnD]

I made it work. Won't be back until Toy Story Land opens next year.

Regarding shows:
* Path of the Jedi: Clip show. Nice but you can skip it
* Indiana Jones and Beauty and the Beast: Classics.
* Frozen Sing Along: Children will enjoy sing along. Adults will enjoy the narrators. I was surprised how much I liked it.

 

[Tyaloo]

Agree with OP - we're doing a morning at HS then hopping to Epcot to finish out the day.

 

[jaklgreen]

I can always do that. Hop over to Epcot. Come back, etc. Again, in no rush today. Just illustrating you really have to stretch to make a day of it.

This is what we do. Spend the afternoon at Epcot and then go back and see Fantasmic.

 

[Minnie Mum]

We had trouble filling in the entire day, too. But it worked out well for us because it gave us the perfect excuse to head back to the resort for a swim and a rest before returning in the late afternoon.

 

[Souvenir]

Unless a guest has either an AP or a Park Hopper, I really feel like there's no reason right now to even go to Hollywood Studios. We usually stay at an Epcot area resort, have APs, and love to walk the path to HS. Otherwise, we wouldn't even bother. Last trip, I don't think we stayed more than two hours. There isn't even anything good to eat there. My feelings about Star Wars are pretty neutral. We enjoy seeing the Stormtroopers walking about but find Launch Pad kind of boring. The stage show is actually stupid in my opinion, but again I'm not a huge Star Wars fan. I do really enjoy the Star Wars fireworks show but I don't care about the music so I actually prefer to watch it from outside the park. The bridge connecting Yacht Club to the Boardwalk is a great place to stand and see it and you can actually see a lot of the higher portions from World Showcase. I am optimistic about the future of Hollywood Studios. Once the current projects are done I think it will be a park deserving of our time.

 

[Texchick]

We are completely skipping HS on our trip out there. We have not been to it, but from all the research that I'm doing, it just doesn't seem worth it.

 

[wdwfamilynh]

We are completely skipping HS on our trip out there. We have not been to it, but from all the research that I'm doing, it just doesn't seem worth it.

Same here!

 

[JohnD]

Unless a guest has either an AP or a Park Hopper, I really feel like there's no reason right now to even go to Hollywood Studios. We usually stay at an Epcot area resort, have APs, and love to walk the path to HS. Otherwise, we wouldn't even bother. Last trip, I don't think we stayed more than two hours. There isn't even anything good to eat there. My feelings about Star Wars are pretty neutral. We enjoy seeing the Stormtroopers walking about but find Launch Pad kind of boring. The stage show is actually stupid in my opinion, but again I'm not a huge Star Wars fan. I do really enjoy the Star Wars fireworks show but I don't care about the music so I actually prefer to watch it from outside the park. The bridge connecting Yacht Club to the Boardwalk is a great place to stand and see it and you can actually see a lot of the higher portions from World Showcase. I am optimistic about the future of Hollywood Studios. Once the current projects are done I think it will be a park deserving of our time.

I made a point of squeezing in pretty much every show and attraction. I do agree to the extent that now that I have HS out of my system this year, I see no reason to return until TSL opens. Since I went during fall/MNSSHP/F&W festival this year, it probably won't be until the holidays next year.

 

[Thecorsi4]

Have not been to HS the last two trips to the house of mouse. The fam will prob go back once the other attractions get up and running

 

[JoMarch]

I agree. I just returned from WDW. Normally I would visit each park for a day and evening time slot. This time around I only visited HS for a day time slot...... I love "Fantasmic," but decided to skip it this year to spend more time in other areas of WDW....plus I wanted to devote a little extra time in AK's "Pandora." (which I liked more than I thought I would!)

 

[brifraz]

Just to play a little devil's advocate here...

I get a bit annoyed by all the discussion of Studios not being a full day park. We have planned trips for friends who are not Disney regulars and if you aren't a regular (like we almost all are, here), Studios is still easily a full day park. Not that I would spend a full day there (we did close to a full day this summer, but escaped to Epcot for a couple hours in the afternoon rather than see BaTB or VotLM for the 100th times).

8am opening - Toy Story Mania (possibly 2x, pending lines)
8:45 - Tower of Terror
9:30 - Rockin' Roller Coaster
10:15 - snacks on Sunset Blvd or Starring Rolls
11 - Beauty and the Beast
11:30 - visit Launch Bay
12:00 - Voyage of the Little Mermaid
12:30 - One Man's Dream (or whatever it's called now)
1pm - Lunch
2 - Great Movie Ride
2:30 - Star Tours
3:15 - Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
4 - Path of the Jedi
4:30 - Frozen Sing Along
5:30 - Star Wars Live Show (okay, so I can't stand this show, but for a first timer...)
6 - Dinner
7 - MuppetVision 3D
8 - Fantasmic! or Disney Magic/Star Wars projection shows

That would be a day without meeting any characters. I'm not saying that it's a great park right now, because it isn't by any stretch...but you can still fill a day there. Just sayin'

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Just to play a little devil's advocate here...

I get a bit annoyed by all the discussion of Studios not being a full day park. We have planned trips for friends who are not Disney regulars and if you aren't a regular (like we almost all are, here), Studios is still easily a full day park. Not that I would spend a full day there (we did close to a full day this summer, but escaped to Epcot for a couple hours in the afternoon rather than see BaTB or VotLM for the 100th times).

8am opening - Toy Story Mania (possibly 2x, pending lines)
8:45 - Tower of Terror
9:30 - Rockin' Roller Coaster
10:15 - snacks on Sunset Blvd or Starring Rolls
11 - Beauty and the Beast
11:30 - visit Launch Bay
12:00 - Voyage of the Little Mermaid
12:30 - One Man's Dream (or whatever it's called now)
1pm - Lunch
2 - Great Movie Ride
2:30 - Star Tours
3:15 - Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
4 - Path of the Jedi
4:30 - Frozen Sing Along
5:30 - Star Wars Live Show (okay, so I can't stand this show, but for a first timer...)
6 - Dinner
7 - MuppetVision 3D
8 - Fantasmic! or Disney Magic/Star Wars projection shows

That would be a day without meeting any characters. I'm not saying that it's a great park right now, because it isn't by any stretch...but you can still fill a day there. Just sayin'

Get an extra cupcake with lunch, because you aren't gonna be riding GMR at 2...

I mostly agree with you, though.

 

[JohnD]

Just to play a little devil's advocate here...

I get a bit annoyed by all the discussion of Studios not being a full day park. We have planned trips for friends who are not Disney regulars and if you aren't a regular (like we almost all are, here), Studios is still easily a full day park. Not that I would spend a full day there (we did close to a full day this summer, but escaped to Epcot for a couple hours in the afternoon rather than see BaTB or VotLM for the 100th times).

8am opening - Toy Story Mania (possibly 2x, pending lines)
8:45 - Tower of Terror
9:30 - Rockin' Roller Coaster
10:15 - snacks on Sunset Blvd or Starring Rolls
11 - Beauty and the Beast
11:30 - visit Launch Bay
12:00 - Voyage of the Little Mermaid
12:30 - One Man's Dream (or whatever it's called now)
1pm - Lunch
2 - Great Movie Ride
2:30 - Star Tours
3:15 - Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
4 - Path of the Jedi
4:30 - Frozen Sing Along
5:30 - Star Wars Live Show (okay, so I can't stand this show, but for a first timer...)
6 - Dinner
7 - MuppetVision 3D
8 - Fantasmic! or Disney Magic/Star Wars projection shows

That would be a day without meeting any characters. I'm not saying that it's a great park right now, because it isn't by any stretch...but you can still fill a day there. Just sayin'

Which goes to my point. I struggled to make it a full day by seeing every show and doing every attraction. (I avoided RnRC because I don't like loops, but I digress.) Of course no GMR this time either. I squeezed everything I could out of it. You really have to make the effort to get a full day which you illustrate.