Help me not be a HS Hater!!

[Britt]

I'm trying so hard to find the appeal of Hollywood Studios! My MIL loves it, loves the "old hollywood" kind of feel to it, but I have such a hard time there.

Im not a roller coaster person, so RR and ToT are out for me! I do like The Great Movie ride, but thats about it!!

So tell me, what do YOU love about the beautiful Hollywood Studios?? : )

 

[marni1971]

The memories and the potential?

The park has a lot of single great areas and attractions. And some not so much. But they don't work as a cohesive form.

 

[The MaD Hatter]

The main problem with DHS is that it feels very much like half a park. For the most part, what they do have is great, they just need more of it. DHS is supposed to be a tribute to the "Hollywood that never was and always will be" but comes across as the "Theme Park that wasn't finished and never will be."

 

[DisneyGirl3820]

ahhhh.....I'm still thinking. I have to agree with you. Not much fo a Hollywood Studios fan. We love movies but it just doesn't have that magical quality the other parks possess, in my opinion. HOPEFULLY that will all change when we go this year to see the Osbourne Lights and dine at the Brown Derby.

 

[ShookieJones]

Yeah Britt, this is a tough one if you're not into the whole old Hollywood theme (which they're barely keeping together) and you don't enjoy TOT and RnR....
To be honest that would be the whole crux to my why you should LOVE DHS!

But as @marni1971 mentioned it has a ton of potentional. Perhaps if they had more going on -- if the park and it's 'vision' was complete there would be more attractions you' d enjoy and you'd get a better vibe and enjoy the amotsphere a little more.

 

[Bob]

We can usually put in about 1/2 day @ DHS. The highlight for us is typically lunch at the Brown Derby and then we head off to one of the other parks.

 

[luv]

I don't really like the Studios. It's a poorly laid-out park without much that appeals to me. totally my least favorite of all the Orlando parks.

But I don't hate it.

Not liking something doesn't make you "a hater". It's just something you don't happen to like. I don't get why if you don't like something...or even if you do like something, but see flaws in it...you are suddenly full of hatred.

 

[Mukta]

I love the Great Movie ride. My last trip there, that is the only thing I did in the parks. I feel so immersed in movies and I love the audio animatronics.

They have a lot of attractions that I love, but already have here in CA.
Star Tours is fantastic.
Muppets 3D always makes me laugh.
Toy Story Midway Mania has a great queue and sparks a lot of competition within my friend circle.

There are 2 restaurants with very average food and fantastic/unique themes. 50s Primetime and Sci-Fi.
The Brown Derby is the only true signature restaurant inside of a park.

 

[powlessfamily4]

HS is not my favorite but my daughter loves. This puts me in the park quite often. I find the parades boring and the shops uninteresting. I end up doing Tot, RnR, BAtB and TSMM. After that I get bored. I feel your pain. Take a break from the MIL and spend a good hour taking a leisurely stroll through One Man’s Dream. You can relax and it is always fun peeking back into Walt’s world.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I remain completely smitten with the Studios!

I actually very much agree with every criticism levelled at the Studios, but even in its current limbo I can't help but really like it.

- Star Tours! ST2 is full of win.
- The beauty of the front half of the park! The two boulevards and Echo Lake are among the best, prettiest, most immersive work ever done by Imagineering. I feel so at home there, my spirit lifted so much.
- All that pretty Streamline Moderne architecture everywhere! I swoon over the lines, colours, curves and materials of the Art of Animation building. And the AI building. So very pretty!
- The music! All that fantastic film music everywhere!
- Indy and Star Wars!
- The 30s/40s/50s were just sooo stylish! The interior of some shops...wow! I wish DHS would set up a few fashion stores with period clothing. They'd make a killing!
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid! To me, the best live show on property.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I'm trying so hard to find the appeal of Hollywood Studios! My MIL loves it, loves the "old hollywood" kind of feel to it, but I have such a hard time there.

Im not a roller coaster person, so RR and ToT are out for me! I do like The Great Movie ride, but thats about it!!

So tell me, what do YOU love about the beautiful Hollywood Studios?? : )

I love the architecture, and the ambience, to begin with. I also love the rides you say you're too scared to try. Too bad, because the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is first-class all the way. It's not all about the drops on the elevator; it's the story, the architecture, the special effects...it's one of those theme park rides that succeeds in giving you an otherworldly experience. Give it a try!

Also, have you seen Fantasmic? It's a wonderful live show, THE best I've ever seen in a theme park anywhere. It's full of Disney magic. I always get the Brown Derby/Fantasmic package when I visit WDW. I highly recommend this experience for you. I bet you'll love it.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Muppets 3D always makes me laugh.

There are 2 restaurants with very average food and fantastic/unique themes. 50s Primetime and Sci-Fi.

Yes, what's with the food quality at these two restaurants? Is it so difficult to serve a half-decent meal? Such a shame, I think both these restaurants are a total riot, such imaginative theming! But then the food...yikes!

I'm not much of a Muppets fan, but the show does make me laff! Which I suppose is the most important test.

 

[pumpkin7]

It's easier for me to point out the things I don't like:

The Hat.

Oh and perhaps the recorded spiel on the Backlot Tour but other than that, MGM is fine to me. Oh, and the name. But I can live with those. The Hat, I cannot.

 

[Lucky]

We spend less time there than at the other 3 parks. I like some things about it but it needs work. Another live show (Aladdin maybe?) would help.

 

[Afondz]

What are you all talking about?! TSMM is by far one of the most fun rides in Disney, it's for everyone. Even my weak-stomach ride-hating mother loves that ride. Yes the park is small and needs more attraction &theming, but some of the attractions there are still so good!

 

[afar28]

I'm a thrill ride person and that's the only appeal to me. I'll ride TOT and RRC Toy Story mania, and the great movie ride then eat at the Brown derby and that's about it

 

[pumpkin7]

I suppose it could do with a new attraction or show, but I wouldn't be sad if the park stayed as it was for another 10 years, but I don't go to Disney THAT often, not like a seasoned AP holder. If I were an AP holder, I'd want new attractions.

I also like the smell of the ToT. The theming around that ride is freakin' sweet. I LOVE the ToT. But the OP doesn't do big rides.... hmm. I tell you what, just go and look at the building. Look at the queue area and the 'reception area' in the building. The attention to detail is insane. The CM working around the attraction are completely in their role. Seriously, do it.

 

[Beholder]

I'm in agreement with your sentiment, and I get that without a want of thrill rides, DHS is a bit barren. If the mood and ambience created by ToT was prevalent throughout the park, it would need an expansion for crowds, not MK. I don't mean the creepy, sinister vibe, but a well thought out, well designed park full of attractions that coherently translated the mythic Hollywood into a thematically believable park. If the whole Indiana Jones area was fully realized into an area of Hollywood high adventure movies spanning the history of films, then an entire genre would be represented in a logical, well placed layout. Just an example, but that's my take on it.

 

[rsoxguy]

Hello. If you do not like the two major attractions that involve thrills, and you do not have a strong appreciation of the "old Hollywood" feel, I believe that you will have a difficult time with this theme park.
The street performers are usually great throughout the day, the Beauty and the Beast show is pleasant, the car stunt show is nice enough the first or second time, and the restaurants are always fun. Good times can also be had with Toy Story Midway Mania. I like the general "feel" of the park, and so walking from place to place is fun enough for me. If you don't "get" it yet, I'm thinking that attempting to convince you of this park's merits will be an act of futility. The good news is that there are three more parks from which to choose.

 

[Afondz]

My beef with DHS is I feel like everytime I'm there they put something in front of the hat. It es me off because the main things you wanna see when you go to the parks is the castle at MK, the tree at AK, the golfball at Epcot and the hat at DHS. Last time we went in January there was all this high school musical stuff in front of it, you could hardly see it. I feel like there was something like that the time before that too!