DHS: 2014 vs 2021

Which park would you rather visit?


  • Total voters
    193

PizzaPlanet

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Disney's Hollywood Studios has seen a lot of changes over the past few years with substantial closures (GMR, Backlot Tour, Streets of America, Lights, Motors, Action!) and some additions as well (Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story Land, MMRR). But which version of the park has the more enticing attraction lineup?
 

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I have not been since summer 2019 so its a bit hard to judge but overall I'd say 2021.
In summer 2014 I was done with the park by noon. As of summer 2019 I wasn't leaving the park until about 3pm.
Basically I'm saying it seems like there's more to do and see there now than there used to be.
 

TikibirdLand

Well-Known Member
I have not been since summer 2019 so its a bit hard to judge but overall I'd say 2021.
In summer 2014 I was done with the park by noon. As of summer 2019 I wasn't leaving the park until about 3pm.
Basically I'm saying it seems like there's more to do and see there now than there used to be.
Frankly, if you were done by noon in 2014, I think you must have missed a lot. We were going every two years then. So, it was 2013 for us. We stopped for the magic show. My youngest got bored with it and as we walked away he was "arrested" by the cop. WC Fields came over in the curved dash Oldsmobile to bail him out and the cop made my DS an honorary cop with a stick on badge. We did VoLM, BatB, Indy Stunt Show, IIRC. We ate lunch at the 59 Prime Time Diner. Walked the Streets of America and stopped to play Singin' In the Rain at the Umbrella. We also enjoyed the Backlot Tour. My DW had to yank me and my oldest from the prop room when it was time for us to board! We LOVED MGM back then. After watching Martin's retrospectives, I realize we missed a bit as the decided to not be an active studio, there was still so much to see and do. If your kids didn't run around in the Honey I shrunk the Kids play area, they really missed something!

We're not going back until live entertainment returns (BatB, Indy, CoH, etc). Some may NEVER return. But, we'll have to see how this year unfolds. Maybe 2022, will the things that make Disney Magical be back? I don't know.
 

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
DHS Was a quick finish park with few attractions.. Some were added over the years and then they slowly removed the worst of them...taking the park down to 5 rides at one point.. Yes of course there is more to do now... And some of the changes have been very good, but as a whole the park still feels incomplete... Toy Story Land was the wrong decision... Perhaps a true Pixar Studios area fully realized with multiple IPs used would have been better... Laugh Floor, a Monsters Ride or coaster, Sure, the Slinky Dog Dash is great...and we already had TSMM... Perhaps something from the other Pixar hits in addition... It needed more to feel complete... and Andy's Back Yard is not an immersive environment I care about.
Toontown, a proven and well loved addition at Disneyland would have been a no brainer...and could have added several attractions to the parks lineup...
SWGE is cool but needs more...at least another or several attractions... The land needs a bit more of a kinetic feel...
All those things would have made it a GREAT park...instead of just a better than it was park
 

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Frankly, if you were done by noon in 2014, I think you must have missed a lot. We were going every two years then. So, it was 2013 for us. We stopped for the magic show. My youngest got bored with it and as we walked away he was "arrested" by the cop. WC Fields came over in the curved dash Oldsmobile to bail him out and the cop made my DS an honorary cop with a stick on badge. We did VoLM, BatB, Indy Stunt Show, IIRC. We ate lunch at the 59 Prime Time Diner. Walked the Streets of America and stopped to play Singin' In the Rain at the Umbrella. We also enjoyed the Backlot Tour. My DW had to yank me and my oldest from the prop room when it was time for us to board! We LOVED MGM back then. After watching Martin's retrospectives, I realize we missed a bit as the decided to not be an active studio, there was still so much to see and do. If your kids didn't run around in the Honey I shrunk the Kids play area, they really missed something!

We're not going back until live entertainment returns (BatB, Indy, CoH, etc). Some may NEVER return. But, we'll have to see how this year unfolds. Maybe 2022, will the things that make Disney Magical be back? I don't know.

You have to consider I've been going 1-2 times per year since the park opened.
I've done everything the park had to offer at least once. There are some things that were a one and done (One Man's Dream, LMA), there were somethings that we did a few times (Indy, Star Tours) there are some attractions that are no longer there (Sounds Dangerous and the sound stage post show, Pocahontas, Hunchback, Streets of America, Back Lot Tour, GMR) and there are some things that we absolutely must do every time no exceptions. (RNRC, TOT, TSM, Muppets, BATB etc)
Sci-fi was a regular for us to relax in the middle of the day.
Also I don't have kids myself but I myself played in the Honey I Shrunk The Kids play area. Like I said we've done it all.
Back in the day it was always a full day park. The park evolved over the years and in a transitioning period there was not as much for us to do but in the past few years its started to become a longer than half day park again.
 
Last edited:

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
I prefer the old park. I never understood the idea that "movie making is outdated". The park maybe was, but given the right creative direction, it's still an interesting concept and theme. The Great Movie Ride needed updates, but was still a strong attraction in all respects. I would consider it a classic alongside stuff like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Horizons, etc. Now, the park is just an IP dumping ground, and while it always kind of was, at least it had the decency to tie the attractions into the studio aspect. Why is Racing Academy in the park? It's a waste of time and exists only to sell merch. Toy Story Land is a "we couldn't be bothered" land with a cheap flat ride, little theming, and a boring coaster. It's the park I visit least because it still feels like it offers almost no attractions. The thematic inconsistency of Star Tours has killed any interest I have in that attraction, and Rock n' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror always have lines that are too long because the park offers little else. Galaxy's Edge is also highly over-rated and I'm skeptical that it will age well. People might like Rise, but the rest of the land and Smuggler's fails to deliver.
 

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Out of everything removed from all the parks the past 10 years, GMR and Osborne lights have been my biggest loss.

I voted for 2021... but it's probably closer than I think. If they could find a way to bring back Osborne lights and put them anywhere I would look forward more to that than any attraction currently in construction.

IMO we lost the Osborne lights when we lost the Back Lot Tour area where they had been mostly displayed.
Covering Streets of America and then making it an "attraction" that you had to wait in a line for and then get yelled at to keep moving through killed it.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
2021, because it now has a direction for the future and did not lose "The Hollywood That Never Was and Always Will Be" aesthetic. Which is timeless, very Disney and relevant due to Walt and his legacy.
 

ppete1975

Well-Known Member
imagine the park if they had updated everything.... then added galaxys edge, a real toy story land and mickeys runaway (and never took out the animation courtyard showing how animation was done). At the same time fleshing out muppets and updating indy with a ride instead of the show. Then you would have a full park. Then again backlot was a shadow of itself by 2014.

This whole tear down and replace mentality was a mistake, and they havent learned.
 

DonaldDoleWhip

Well-Known Member
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.

I prefer the old park. I never understood the idea that "movie making is outdated". The park maybe was, but given the right creative direction, it's still an interesting concept and theme. The Great Movie Ride needed updates, but was still a strong attraction in all respects. I would consider it a classic alongside stuff like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Horizons, etc. Now, the park is just an IP dumping ground, and while it always kind of was, at least it had the decency to tie the attractions into the studio aspect. Why is Racing Academy in the park? It's a waste of time and exists only to sell merch. Toy Story Land is a "we couldn't be bothered" land with a cheap flat ride, little theming, and a boring coaster. It's the park I visit least because it still feels like it offers almost no attractions. The thematic inconsistency of Star Tours has killed any interest I have in that attraction, and Rock n' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror always have lines that are too long because the park offers little else. Galaxy's Edge is also highly over-rated and I'm skeptical that it will age well. People might like Rise, but the rest of the land and Smuggler's fails to deliver.
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.
 
Last edited:

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom