A First Timer’s Review of Disney’s Hollywood Studios

[Movielover]

And the Great Movie Ride was a random assemblage of themes.

No, It was a journey through the different genres of classic film. Going from Musical, Noir, Western, Horror, Action/Adventure, Drama, Fantasy before ending on the video finale. A comedy section had been planned including the famous Buster Keaton barn gag, but was cut due to length. The whole ride was a celebration of classic cinema! The only problem is that hardly anyone these days in the general public cares about classic cinema which is a darn shame!

 

[Mr. Tux]

The only problem is that hardly anyone these days in the general public cares about classic cinema which is a darn shame!

I care. And thanks for the knowledge.

 

[JoeCamel]

Disney Movie Park!

Ride the movies!!

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Disney Movie Park!

Disney+ Land

 

[mergatroid]

Interesting to see how it's rated by a first time visitor, thanks for posting. I took a group of friends the other year and they loved it, they're coming again in March. It's easy for people on here who go often to say how terrible things are, I think some of that comes from familiarity and realising that just because they get bored of an attraction Disney isn't catering to just them. There's a middle ground obviously, but nice to read a post saying how much a new visitor enjoyed things there.

 

[Rambozo]

Love, love, love the review.

You came at the right time, before Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land it went through a dry spell. The back of the park was a wasteland, filled with underused and wasted areas.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

To me...It is my least favorite of the 4 parks. To me, the park lacks warmth. The best part of the park is Toy Story Land, because it captures a bit of magic.

I wanted to like the Star Wars area, but to me, it feels flat. It is missing something essential, it needs more heart. I wouldn't say I'm a huge HP fan, but Diagon Alley is a jaw dropper. The level of detail is profound. I feel like I have been transported to Diagon Alley. MK gives me that kind of feeling: I have been transported to a land of magic. HM gives me that kind of feeling. But the SW land doesn't give me any of that feeling. The MF ride...is just so lame. I wanted to like it, but the game aspect is just so woefully lacking in any real interaction. The best part of the entire land is the gateway tunnel, unless you happen to enter via Toy Story Land. But even the gateway is not nearly as creative as what Universal did to capture the feeling of walking into the wall of Platform 9 1/2. That gateway is brilliant! Disney's much newer land should have surpassed it.

Another aspect of HS, for me, is that the layout feels disjointed. It is better than it used to be, but still isn't as good as the other 3 parks. The lands of MK all connect to each other. Epcot's WS also surrounds a lake. HS has ToT and RnRC off on a spike to nowhere. Then they have the old Star Tours is outside of the SW land, with no connection to it.

I love Muppets, and I would love for HS to have a great Muppets attraction. It just...seems crazy to me that HS doesn't have multiple versions of the Muppet shows. When we exit that show, we should be singing. At least one version ought to have an episode of Pigs in Space, Muppet Sports, the ballroom.......and then the preshow needs something like the Minions has- a way to interact with the audience. The Minions pre-pre-show is a quiz. And all the questions are funny. The 3rd Minions preshow has the bit interacting with the audience members. Muppets shouldn't copy that exactly, but...just...there's SO much potential for the Muppets to invite audience participation.

The middle of the show has a live actor, but Sweetums does the SAME THING every time. That is totally a missed opportunity, IMO.
One of the things that made the original show unique was that the opening credits had a different ending every episode. It was completely novel back in the time before remotes/DVR's/Netflix. The attraction should have always had a little changing tidbit like that. For a very short time, the preshow actually was changed to promote the movie, but then they changed it back.

Toy Story Land is the best part of the park. The giant game pieces and toys strewn about captures the way a children play with games/toys; mish-mashing toys and game bits in the semi-random order that children take them out of the toy chest as they go from one to the next. The land also captures classic nostalgia for classic games and toys, and the fun of the TS movies.

I would also like HS more if the food options were more interesting. Again...the SW land feels like a missed potential. If WDW wanted to give us Star Wars popcorn, it SHOULD have been an AMAZING version of kettle corn, that entices us with a delicious aroma. Instead, they gave us an excessive coating of orange and purple food coloring. The chefs of WDW are FAR more creative and talented. I don't understand why Star Wars popcorn isn't phenomenal; WDW's staff is plenty talented.

Have any of you ever met Chef TJ? Oh my gosh, does he have talent! Amorette's also puts out some creative creations.

 

[Rambozo]

To me...It is my least favorite of the 4 parks. To me, the park lacks warmth. The best part of the park is Toy Story Land, because it captures a bit of magic.

I wanted to like the Star Wars area, but to me, it feels flat. It is missing something essential, it needs more heart. I wouldn't say I'm a huge HP fan, but Diagon Alley is a jaw dropper. The level of detail is profound. I feel like I have been transported to Diagon Alley. MK gives me that kind of feeling: I have been transported to a land of magic. HM gives me that kind of feeling. But the SW land doesn't give me any of that feeling. The MF ride...is just so lame. I wanted to like it, but the game aspect is just so woefully lacking in any real interaction. The best part of the entire land is the gateway tunnel, unless you happen to enter via Toy Story Land. But even the gateway is not nearly as creative as what Universal did to capture the feeling of walking into the wall of Platform 9 1/2. That gateway is brilliant! Disney's much newer land should have surpassed it.

I would also like HS more if the food options were more interesting. Again...the SW land feels like a missed potential. If WDW wanted to give us Star Wars popcorn, it SHOULD have been an AMAZING version of kettle corn, that entices us with a delicious aroma. Instead, they gave us an excessive coating of orange and purple food coloring. The chefs of WDW are FAR more creative and talented. I don't understand why Star Wars popcorn isn't phenomenal; WDW's staff is plenty talented.

Have any of you ever met Chef TJ? Oh my gosh, does he have talent! Amorette's also puts out some creative creations.

Yeah, I agree. The main fault I and many others have with it is it's never been in a Star Wars movie or tv show. Thus you don't feel like you're definitely in Star Wars. Because you've never seen it before, which is a stupid move by Disney.

As a result you don't get the goosebumps, the tears and the chills. Most people only get that feeling when they see the Millennium Falcon. That's like I said earlier because we've been seeing it... since the 70's and know it. They didn't even give us something from the sequel trilogy.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Yeah, I agree. The main fault I and many others have with it is it's never been in a Star Wars movie or tv show. Thus you don't feel like you're definitely in Star Wars. Because you've never seen it before, which is a stupid move by Disney.

As a result you don't get the goosebumps, the tears and the chills. Most people only get that feeling when they see the Millennium Falcon. That's like I said earlier because we've been seeing it... since the 70's and know it. They didn't even give us something from the sequel trilogy.

Yeah, I agree. I think that's the beauty of Mandalorian. They are telling a new story, but we have some familiarity with the characters/locations.

 

[HMF]

They didn't even give us something from the sequel trilogy.

That might be a good thing.

 

[Rambozo]

Yeah, I agree. I think that's the beauty of Mandalorian. They are telling a new story, but we have some familiarity with the characters/locations.

Yep, there's something very nostalgic, yet new about Mandolorian. Plus who doesn't love Grogu? Despite the weird name.

 

[Rambozo]

That might be a good thing.

LOL, yeah that's true. It has to be better than some nameless African American chick though. That hasn't been in the series.

You figure they'd learn their lesson, but there doing the same thing with the new hotel as well.

 

[TikibirdLand]

LOL, yeah that's true. It has to be better than some nameless African American chick though. That hasn't been in the series.

You figure they'd learn their lesson, but there doing the same thing with the new hotel as well.

But, you haven't seen Good Morning America's review of The Starcruiser yet. I hear Michael Strahan will be comparing his ride to space to that of the Starcruiser. The food was MUCH BETTER on the the starcruiser and they let him be pilot of the ship. Special guest, George Stephanopoulos, will interview the captain and get her to explain why they're taking the Halcyon so dangerously close to the Empire's control while hiding fugatives on-board. It'll be a hard-hitting interview!

 

[arich35]

It is probably my wife and I's least favorite park. Don't get me wrong it has rides that we love (Slinky, TSM, MMRR, RoTR, Star Tours) but the park feels so crammed and packed. It just doesn't have the same feeling you get with the other three parks IMO.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Yeah, I agree. The main fault I and many others have with it is it's never been in a Star Wars movie or tv show. Thus you don't feel like you're definitely in Star Wars. Because you've never seen it before, which is a stupid move by Disney.

As a result you don't get the goosebumps, the tears and the chills. Most people only get that feeling when they see the Millennium Falcon. That's like I said earlier because we've been seeing it... since the 70's and know it. They didn't even give us something from the sequel trilogy.

Preach! The fact that I *still* cannot go inside the Mos Eisley Cantina is baffling.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

To the OP, I too enjoy the USHollywood. It's *REAL.* Disney tried to replicate it in the original MGM Studios, but failed. That park, while not being as good as USH, still had great parts to it that are sorely missed today: its cohesiveness, the excellent interaction of that park, but mostly the Animation building and the live work that went on there. That was something special.

 

[Mr. Tux]

I know it’s been a while since I bumped this thread/review but I edited the review to reflect the info that Sunset Boulevard travels through time. Thanks to @Movielover for the tip!

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Yeah, I agree. The main fault I and many others have with it is it's never been in a Star Wars movie or tv show. Thus you don't feel like you're definitely in Star Wars. Because you've never seen it before, which is a stupid move by Disney.

As a result you don't get the goosebumps, the tears and the chills. Most people only get that feeling when they see the Millennium Falcon. That's like I said earlier because we've been seeing it... since the 70's and know it. They didn't even give us something from the sequel trilogy.

Exactly. Diagon Alley did this perfectly. Pandora got real close. (To me, the only thing missing from Pandora is the wildlife and it would've been nice to have the ground glow with your footsteps)
Galaxy's Edge, to me, feels Star Wars-esque...in look and tone but doesn't tug at the nostalgia strings as I would've hoped.

 

[Rambozo]

Exactly. Diagon Alley did this perfectly. Pandora got real close. (To me, the only thing missing from Pandora is the wildlife and it would've been nice to have the ground glow with your footsteps)
Galaxy's Edge, to me, feels Star Wars-esque...in look and tone but doesn't tug at the nostalgia strings as I would've hoped.

Yeah, I would have loved if they had some more creatures from the films. Especially on Na'vi River Journey, which is way too short of a ride, for how long you have to wait.

 

[DisneyfanMA]

Great review OP. This will be first rime for my kids and wife and I have not been in ages (me was 1990 when called MGM) .......With the large lines etc due to lack of rides I can still make this a whole day park, and keep kids interested? We plan to ride most stuff but maybe skip a few due to height/age. Our shortest and youngest is 6 and about 47". He might squeak to 48 by the trip.

My hope is we get the big stuff (MMRR, all of TSL) and another ride or two and then some shows, a shop or so, and one sit down -aiming for Sci Fi. If Fantasmic is back in time that would do it.