Possible to avoid Star Wars at DHS?

[RememberWhen]

Hello all,

So we have a trip coming up in September and we make our FP soon. It's going to be me, DW, DS4, my mom and my dad.
I have seen the older Star Wars movies, but I'm not ready to introduce them to DS. He has seen glimpses here and there from other children and ads in stores and whatnot. I've been able to redirect him, but won't really be able to if he sees a storm trooper marching around carrying a big gun.

Has anyone been recently? Can we do TSMM, ToT and maybe the frozen sing along without encountering Star Wars or is it completely everywhere? We can just skip DHS if need be.

 

[21stamps]

I appreciate your thoughts. He does hear about things that I wish he didn't. We were at WDW in April. We had a great time without setting foot in DHS. He likes Doc McStuffins. He's seen Sophia and Jake, though I don't love them. He is a sweet, kind kid. I'd like to let him be innocent just a tad longer if I can. He loves the animals at animal kingdom, and meeting all the characters, despite never having seen their movies. He loves spaceship earth. It's his favorite ride. Who knows why?
Our plan for now is to skip it. But we are flexible. If it seems ok we will try it.

I agree on the innocent part, and completely get it.

If you do decide to do it- maybe just do the Disney Jr meal, and a couple of shows. You don't have to go near Toy Story Mania or Launch Bay. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful trip!

 

[HurricaneHanna]

Thanks for the honest description.

You're welcome!

 

[KikoKea]

Good for you! I think it is great that you are actively watching what your child is exposed to. Even when my boys were teens, I would sit down and discuss what they were watching on TV if I felt it was not appropriate- or insist they turn the channel, if need be. My house- my rules!

If you're worried about HS, skip it and enjoy the other parks. There's plenty to do elsewhere to keep busy, and there will be time in the future to enjoy SW and attractions for older kids. Have fun!

 

[MickeyMomV]

As others have said I would skip HS. The only place you are not going to see a STRONG Star Wars presence is Sunset Blvd and with your DS only being 4 there is not a whole lot for him down there. Star Wars is EVERYWHERE else!!. Even at night right before the fireworks show (which IMO are better than wishes!!) they have Storm Troopers on patrol. Storm Troopers also patrol all over Animation Courtyard.

 

[jenos0524]

I will do my best to remember...
I get back August 25th so anytime after that just reply to this message and I will let you know (If I don't remember to come back and let you know first)

My daughter knows nothing about star wars, so I personally am not to worried. She is more into fun rides/shows and the princesses. I am sure I will have pictures when I get back also. I know your trip is in September but you may want to see if you can get a pre-park opening ADR for breakfast, you can always cancel it if you end up deciding to just totally skipping the park. (I just know the early ADR's are tough to get)

with all the construction at HS this would be the trip to skip it. (I was told i NEED to do TSMM) Other than that I have done everything else in that park that I want to when it use to be MGM.

@RememberWhen FYI: I thought DHS would be the worst park. My daughter loved it the most!!!! Of course she loved Disney Jr. We were tired the night before so i switched my 8am ADR for one at 10am she loved seeing the DisJr characters... We then did all the DisJr stuff and met a lot of the characters... Olaf/Mickey/Minnie/Doc/Sofia/Jake/Buzz/Woodie. We did see a lot of star wars stuff, but it is easy to avoid. we also got to see the Green Army Men, which was GREAT!!! if you hang around the TSM ride, and notice the PhotoPass photographer leave, get ready to follow the Green Army Men! your kids could be picked to do the routine that they go through.

I will say that I went to Fantasmic with a FastPass, and by the time I got out of there, the Star Wars fireworks were done!
I didn't mind so much as I got to watch them a different night when I was just connecting back to my resort from Port Orleans (HS was first bus to show up) I only did one day at HS (so I didn't get to go on ToT)

The vacation was planned for my daughter so I missed some rides that I would have liked to go on (ToT, Space Mountain, Test Track and Thunder Mountain is closed) I missed them because i didn't realize how much my daughter would love to meet the characters.

Crazy to think that after 10 days (9 nights) my wife and I both said we could have used 2-4 more days there.

Things i learned.... Water Parks were a waste. my almost 3 y/o could only do so much, and I wasnt going to leave my wife and daughter behind to do all of the rides. So i missed out on a bunch of the slides, and the Shark Reef.

More the reason to start planning the next trip though.
(For ADRs.... I would DEF do Crystal Palace again. their lunch was awesome. Garden Grill was a bust. Akershues for Dinner was a million times better than CRT at breakfast. (and it was cheaper) My daughter for some reason got scared with a few rides which got her scared at Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex(which she is the one who wanted to do both of those)

Enjoy Your Trip!

 

[21stamps]

@RememberWhen FYI: I thought DHS would be the worst park. My daughter loved it the most!!!! Of course she loved Disney Jr. We were tired the night before so i switched my 8am ADR for one at 10am she loved seeing the DisJr characters... We then did all the DisJr stuff and met a lot of the characters... Olaf/Mickey/Minnie/Doc/Sofia/Jake/Buzz/Woodie. We did see a lot of star wars stuff, but it is easy to avoid. we also got to see the Green Army Men, which was GREAT!!! if you hang around the TSM ride, and notice the PhotoPass photographer leave, get ready to follow the Green Army Men! your kids could be picked to do the routine that they go through.

I will say that I went to Fantasmic with a FastPass, and by the time I got out of there, the Star Wars fireworks were done!
I didn't mind so much as I got to watch them a different night when I was just connecting back to my resort from Port Orleans (HS was first bus to show up) I only did one day at HS (so I didn't get to go on ToT)

The vacation was planned for my daughter so I missed some rides that I would have liked to go on (ToT, Space Mountain, Test Track and Thunder Mountain is closed) I missed them because i didn't realize how much my daughter would love to meet the characters.

Crazy to think that after 10 days (9 nights) my wife and I both said we could have used 2-4 more days there.

Things i learned.... Water Parks were a waste. my almost 3 y/o could only do so much, and I wasnt going to leave my wife and daughter behind to do all of the rides. So i missed out on a bunch of the slides, and the Shark Reef.

More the reason to start planning the next trip though.
(For ADRs.... I would DEF do Crystal Palace again. their lunch was awesome. Garden Grill was a bust. Akershues for Dinner was a million times better than CRT at breakfast. (and it was cheaper) My daughter for some reason got scared with a few rides which got her scared at Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex(which she is the one who wanted to do both of those)

Enjoy Your Trip!

What are the Green Army Men? This is something I haven't heard of!

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip!

 

[Minnie Mum]

What are the Green Army Men? This is something I haven't heard of!

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip!

Have you not watched any of the Toy Story movies????

I'd forgotten about the Green Army Men hanging around the TSMM area. Since the OP considers anything military needs to be shunned, all the more reason to avoid DHS.

 

[Weather_Lady]

OP, I'm not sure how broadly you define "war images" or how sensitive you or your child are about it, but it may be a tough thing to avoid altogether as there is such imagery on display in various places in each of the parks. While HS has a few (avoiding GMR, Star Tours, Indiana Jones, the Launch Bay and TSMM will get you away from most of the guns/war "stuff" that I can think of), MK may actually have even more attractions with such imagery (and this is just an off-the-top-of-my-head sampling). Just so you are aware, some of these include:
- the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade, a costs-extra shooting gallery visible to the public (MK)
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, a cartoonish target-shooting attraction using "laser" weapons (MK)
- Pirates of the Caribbean, with a cannon battle and pirates with visible swords and pistols (MK)
- Peter Pan, including a depiction of the swordfighting scenes (MK)
- Hall of Presidents (MK) and American Adventure (Epcot), with historical films that include the sights and sounds of battle
- Jungle Cruise, which used to feature, and may still, the use of prop guns by the skippers (MK)
- Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirate Tutorial, a live show in which swordplay is taught (MK)
- Country Bear Jamboree, an animatronic singing show with lyrics concerning getting rifles (to shoot a bear) (MK)
- Gaston's Tavern, a CS eatery decorated with antlers and a giant portrait of Gaston with a rifle

That being said, none of the use of weapons or war-like sounds or imagery in any of these attractions is gratuitous -- in each case, they are there as a reference to the source material, whether it be historical or fanciful fiction, and moreover are typically just a tiny fraction of what the attraction includes or is "about." Whether it's something with which you are comfortable is up to you.

 

[21stamps]

Have you not watched any of the Toy Story movies????

I'd forgotten about the Green Army Men hanging around the TSMM area. Since the OP considers anything military needs to be shunned, all the more reason to avoid DHS.

I know what they are. I didn't know they are at HS, and I don't know what they do there. We didn't see anything like that last year. What do they do and when?

Oh, I just noticed that post. It was supposed to say "Where..."

 

[jenos0524]

I know what they are. I didn't know they are at HS, and I don't know what they do there. We didn't see anything like that last year. What do they do and when?

Oh, I just noticed that post. It was supposed to say "Where..."

They came out of the building where you can meet Woody and Buzz, (across from TSMM) then marched down to the end of Pixar Place(away from the animation courtyard). I am not sure on the timing, my guess is it is probably random. But they were very funny, and enjoyable to watch.