Hollywood studio for a 3 and 5 yr old

[Saralew]

Starting to plan out week - do u think a half a day is enough time for my 5 yr old and 3 yr old or should I plan on a whole?

 

[showers2flowers]

I'd say it depends on what your five year old is interested in. For example, if he/she is a Star Wars fan, you could easily eat up a couple of hours simply doing the Jedi training academy and riding Star Tours a few times. Then if you add TSMM, the Muppet 3D show, Disney Jr. show, etc., you'd be surprised how easily it can add up to a full day.

We have a six year old son, and given what I perceived to be an assortment of rides that skewed 'older' in demographic, I thought we'd make short work of HS. Turns out we spent a day and a half there.

I do think though that it is a park where you could do a half day if you figure out ahead of time which shows appeal to you and what times they are being shown/performed.

With a 3 and 5 year old, the Disney Jr. show could serve as a nice break, as it is indoors out of the weather and would likely appeal to both your kids.

 

[lan3]

We planned a full day there but only spent a half day. We did TSM and a couple of shows. I felt there was very little there for young kids.

 

[msmama]

I agree that it depends on the kids (you don't say girls or boys or what they're into).

My son at 4 LOVED the star wars stuff and loved walking around the back lot part. TSM, obviously and the Indiana Jones show were big hits. I think the parade there is great and sometimes I've found character lines nice there (in the animation building). For us it's not a FULL day park, but more than a half day.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

Like others have stated, it depends on the interests of your children, but there is enough to do for a 3 & 5 year old. There is the Beauty & the Beast Live Show, that is I believe a 25 min show? Then there is 1 of the best rides in all the parks, Toy Story Mania! (You might have to get a fastpass for that, and get it early b/c they may run out later in the day). My son is a huge star wars fan and so we signed him up for the Jeti Training Academy, he also loved the ride, Star Tours. We made reservations and ate at the Sci-Fi Theatre which the kids really enjoyed. (Eating in cars watching movies on the big screen). There were also some nice Character meet and greets. And we did the cars stunt show.

This time around we are going to do Tower of Terror (Your kids might be too young for this ride). And the Indiana Jones stunt show. There is lots to do at Hollywood Studios, but depends if the above things I posted interest you. Keep in mind, I probably left out a lot of other things to do, that I myself don't even know about yet at Hollywood studios!

 

[kam1011]

Half!

 

[smitch425]

It just depends on the kids. My kids love DHS. They could never have made it a half day park at that age. They are now 8 and 10 and we spent a full day, a half day, and a couple of hours there last trip. If they like Pixar characters and Disney shows, and princesses, you can easily spend a full day there. If you go on an evening EMH night, be sure to hit up the Disney Junior dance party. It is fun for little kids who like to dance. DS did it again last year (7 at the time), but his sister (9 at the time) didn't stay long. She and DH went to see the Little Mermaid show again. I think she was just embarrassed by her brother's dancing.

Here is what they loved at that age:

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast stage show
Disney Channel Rocks (was previously a High School musical show)
Disney Junior Live (DS did it at 7, but it is now getting a more girly lineup, so that was probably our last time)
Disney Junior EMH dance party (only available during PM EMH)
Fantasmic
Animation area
Lights Motor Action
HISTA playground
Muppetvision 3D
Backlot Tour
Pixar Parade
Toy Story Midway Mania

And of course, the various character meet and greets.

ETA: They also love the Great Movie Ride, but there are some scary parts.

 

[Button]

My 2 year old spent a good 30 mins in Streets of America laughing at the squirting fire hydrant - 'it's broken mummy it's broken'

 

[Kristian]

As others have said, it depends. We personally love HS. It is our second favorite park. September was my dd's (then 3) first trip and she ended up loving HS. She was tall enough for Tower of Terror and Star Tours. I was apprehensive about TOT, bus she was tall enough and wanted to ride, so we did it and she loved it. We rode it 3 times that day....she was a champ We easily spent the entire day there and I'm glad that we set aside the entire day for it. HS had EMH the night that we visited, so we were able to leave the park for a break and then we returned for dinner, Fantasmic, and more rides. We also love The Voyage of the Little Mermaid show and of course Disney Junior Live.

HS is a full day park for us, but we do take a mid-day break. However, we could easily do HS again mid-week to re-ride some of our favorites. We would pick HS over the AK any day, but that is just us.

 

[MorganK]

On our recent trip my oldest turned 7 a week before we went and my middle son was 4. We were in the park an hour before it opened (H&V breakfast) and practically kicked out when it closed that night. We could have spent longer in there. By far their favorite park!

 

[jlsmith376]

It's always a half day destination for us. Our oldest two were that age last year - DS was 5 and liked Star Tours and TSM. DD was 3 and she liked TSM and the Bug's Life play area. They both liked the Cars stunt show. We tried the shows when they were younger and they were scared or wouldn't sit still so we haven't tried any since. If you know your kids will enjoy the shoes maybe you could spend more time there.

 

[HollyBailey]

We went at the begining of December... My kids love the Muppetts, great parade, good place to meet characters,

 

[PrincessTiannaLove]

Thanks for the info. I was going to kind of put HS on the back burner but now am rethinking that. Wasn't really planning on AK, just bc we only have 3 full days at the park.
Can I ask another question kind of regard to this one? We are doing the Dream for 3 nights, arrive back on Sunday morning. Hoping to relax for a bit at the pool & YC, before heading over to HS for dinner, Fantasmic & EMH. Anyone have any ideas how tired a cruise can make you? We also have a 3 & 5 year old & first cruise for all of us. Not sure if we will need a full day & night just to recuperate from the "sea". Thanks!