DHS: 2014 vs 2021

Which park would you rather visit?

  • Total voters
    194
S

seascape

Well-Known Member
In 2014 HS and AK were my 3rd and 4th ranked parks. Now they are my favorite 2. HS with GE makes the difference and is vastly improved.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
I agree with the people who suggested the 1999 or 2000. That was the best version of Hollywood Studios; the attractions, entertainment, and shops on offer then were better than what replaced them with the exception of Rise. The park is really hurt by how bad Toy Story Land is.

The only Disney park that is currently (well, pre-COVID at least) the best it's ever been is Animal Kingdom. I guess maybe it was better a few years ago when the original Rivers of Light was still running (I actually loved the show), but generally speaking.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
UNCgolf said:
I agree with the people who suggested the 1999 or 2000. That was the best version of Hollywood Studios; the attractions, entertainment, and shops on offer then were better than what replaced them with the exception of Rise. The park is really hurt by how bad Toy Story Land is.
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I’d agree with that.

And I won’t use a laughing emoji response either. Incase, you know, I got banned from the forum.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
You mean abusing the laughing emoji response to serious posts, or just using it so you don’t actually have to respond to anything in a discussion forum, isn’t appropriate?

I really want to spend a few minutes just looking around in TSL the next time I’m there. I know what they were going for with it, but we’re usually too engaged with where we’re going to have time to look around and take the area in. But from what I have seen and can recall… it’s not much above something you’d find at a Six Flags.
 
comics101

comics101

Well-Known Member
DonaldDoleWhip said:
It's pretty conflicting, to be honest. The main headliner trio is top-notch (for me that's Rise, ToT, and RnRC), but I preferred the vibe and actually being in the park before.


This. I wasn't particularly sad to see GMR go (because of how dated and stale elements of it had become), but the overall concept was such a home run, and the park feels emptier without it. That final montage screamed, "here's why this whole park matters," and beautifully highlighted Old Hollywood charm plus the magic, emotion, and thrills of cinema. It was also a significantly better fit for Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard, which are actually really solid. MMRR is cute but has little to say besides "follow the characters."

Oddly, the quirky atmosphere of the backlot wasn't great (holiday season aside), but it was unique. Plus it felt like you could get lost in those intertwined streets. That's just not possible with Galaxy's Edge and TSL, which are basically linear. A lot of the curves and oddities of the park's layout were also removed for something that feels very basic in scope, and the park still doesn't have enough water features.

For the headliners alone, over the last 18 months I've started my day in DHS more than any other park. Still, if Rise boarding passes are all gone and ToT + RnRC are both at 70+ minute waits, the park feels pointless to me. At least 2014 DHS would've had the Great Movie Ride to ease the pain.
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I couldn’t agree with you more regarding the park’s layout. It’s so boring now.
 
The Grand Inquisitor

The Grand Inquisitor

Well-Known Member
I really like current day Hollywood Studios but I would love to visit 2014 Hollywood Studios or MGM in it's prime. I miss The Great Movie Ride and it would be awesome to see some of the og stuff before it was replaced.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
We are not far removed from DHS being the worst stateside park. At this point, I would listen to arguments that it's 3rd. Personally for me, now it's 4th behind MK, Disneyland and DAK.

You may not like the direction away from production studio, but it has a very good top heavy attraction lineup right now that stacks up against any non-castle park.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
You may not like the direction away from production studio, but it has a very good top heavy attraction lineup right now that stacks up against any non-castle park.
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That's relative, though. Tower of Terror and Rise are tremendous, and MMRR is good (albeit a downgrade from what was previously there). Nothing else in that park moves the needle for me -- I think TSMM and Smugglers Run are mediocre at best and not worth any real wait, and although Slinky Dog is fun, you can get basically the same experience at any regional park in the country. I'd rate the overall attraction lineup at DAK higher, as there are four rides there that I think are better than the third best at DHS (MMRR).

It's still the worst park at WDW for me -- it's better than it was 5 years ago, but there's still not enough there for me to spend a full day.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
That's relative, though. Tower of Terror and Rise are tremendous, and MMRR is good (albeit a downgrade from what was previously there). Nothing else in that park moves the needle for me -- I think TSMM and Smugglers Run are mediocre at best and not worth any real wait, and although Slinky Dog is fun, you can get basically the same experience at any regional park in the country. I'd rate the overall attraction lineup at DAK higher, as there are four rides there that I think are better than the third best at DHS (MMRR).

It's still the worst park at WDW for me -- it's better than it was 5 years ago, but there's still not enough there for me to spend a full day.
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You're right, it's definitely dependent on the individual, but DHS wasn't even in the conversation for #3 stateside park a few years ago.

Animal Kingdom is my personal favorite and I also rank it ahead of DHS. Personally though, I would put DHS ahead of DCA and EPCOT right now. The reality is, I've been pleased with the evolution of all of the stateside parks with the exception of EPCOT and Pixar Pier.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
You're right, it's definitely dependent on the individual, but DHS wasn't even in the conversation for #3 stateside park a few years ago.

Animal Kingdom is my personal favorite and I also rank it ahead of DHS. Personally though, I would put DHS ahead of DCA and EPCOT right now. The reality is, I've been pleased with the evolution of all of the stateside parks with the exception of EPCOT and Pixar Pier.
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I still like EPCOT more, but I'm sure that's partially based on nostalgia for what once was. Spaceship Earth is still a tremendous attraction and as good as anything in DHS, but there's really nothing else there that's a headliner at the moment. I personally love Living with the Land, but I know it's not a widely beloved attraction for the general public. Soarin' is good and Test Track is fine (although World of Motion was significantly better) but that's about it. Opening Rat will help, but it doesn't look like a great attraction to me.

The combination of the aquarium and the World Showcase at least gives you some areas to explore and kill a couple of hours, though; DHS is lacking anything like that. I suppose Galaxy's Edge provides that for some people, but it just didn't do that much for me despite being a massive Star Wars fan at one point in my life -- I think I spent about an hour and a half there and don't really feel the need to spend any significant time there again. I think I said this above, but the park would be helped tremendously if Hollywood Boulevard was more like its original version -- people could easily spend 20+ minutes just looking at what they had in Sid Cahuenga's. The building facades are still excellent, but what's inside is now mostly bland and generic.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
I still like EPCOT more, but I'm sure that's partially based on nostalgia for what once was. Spaceship Earth is still a tremendous attraction and as good as anything in DHS, but there's really nothing else there that's a headliner at the moment. I personally love Living with the Land, but I know it's not a widely beloved attraction for the general public. Soarin' is good and Test Track is fine (although World of Motion was significantly better) but that's about it. Opening Rat will help, but it doesn't look like a great attraction to me.

The combination of the aquarium and the World Showcase at least gives you some areas to explore and kill a couple of hours, though; DHS is lacking anything like that. I suppose Galaxy's Edge provides that for some people, but it just didn't do that much for me despite being a massive Star Wars fan at one point in my life -- I think I spent about an hour and a half there and don't really feel the need to spend any significant time there again. I think I said this above, but the park would be helped tremendously if Hollywood Boulevard was more like its original version -- people could easily spend 20+ minutes just looking at what they had in Sid Cahuenga's. The building facades are still excellent, but what's inside is now mostly bland and generic.
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DHS and MK are driven by the rides. DAK and Epcot are driven by the environments.
 
UNCgolf

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
RSoxNo1 said:
DHS and MK are driven by the rides. DAK and Epcot are driven by the environments.
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Which is the biggest problem for DHS -- they just don't have enough rides. They have have a handful of headliners (even though I personally dislike a couple of them) and not much else.

But I'm more of an environment guy than a ride guy, which is probably why I prefer the old version of DHS. I obviously still want some great rides, but the old Hollywood/Sunset Boulevard area was phenomenal. As I said, the facades themselves are still an absolute triumph for Imagineering, but there's very little left inside.
 
TikibirdLand

TikibirdLand

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
Which is the biggest problem for DHS -- they just don't have enough rides. They have have a handful of headliners (even though I personally dislike a couple of them) and not much else.

But I'm more of an environment guy than a ride guy, which is probably why I prefer the old version of DHS. I obviously still want some great rides, but the old Hollywood/Sunset Boulevard area was phenomenal. As I said, the facades themselves are still an absolute triumph for Imagineering, but there's very little left inside.
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I agree. There was so much to see with the Streets of America and Residential Street back in the day. My kids still talk about the Singing In the Rain umbrella!. They need to add the Citizens of Hollywood back to DHS to get some kind of character there. They also need the shows as crowd eaters back too. Not headed back until some of that stuff returns.
 

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