A day at Hollywood Studios or Typhoon Lagoon

[Richi3]

Hi, after a lot of thinking our first visit will be in June, staying at the wilderness lodge for 4 nights. We are visiting Magic Kingdom and Epcot for sure. There are 3 of us, Me , a 14 year old boy, and a 16 year old girl. I think typhoon lagoon will be fun but, isn't hollywood studios more geared to Teens. Which one would you choose.

 

[GunnarCharles]

I would definitely say Hollywood Studios, especially if its a first time visit. I know its not the most popular park right now but they do have some must do attractions. Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, and One Man's Dream are all absolutely must do's in my mind. Also if you have some thrill seekers Rock and Roller Coaster as well as Star Tours make it a good park to visit. Along with rides there are also shows like Beauty and the Beast as well as some good dining options. To me its a no brainer, at least give Studios a chance.

 

[MainMom]

Typhoon Lagoon in the morning/afternoon and DHS in the evening with your 3 FP's scheduled.

 

[Alesia]

I cannot imagine spending an entire day at a water park. Go in the morning and head to DHS after lunch.

 

[Richi3]

Can Hollywood studios even be done in half a day?

 

[momofboyz3]

This is a toughie! My teenage boys feel the WATER PARK is a must-do therefore it's on the schedule every trip. I agree 100% w/the pp who said a 1/2 day @ TL & then the last 1/2 @ DHS! Since this is a 1st visit DHS is a must-do. It's part of what makes WDW. My boys would love to spend opening to 2ish @ a WP then lunch, change, relax for a minute & run to DHS for the rides & Fantasmic!

 

[momofboyz3]

Can Hollywood studios even be done in half a day?

Our first visit my boys were 13, 13 & 9. We spend a whole day in DHS from RD to Fantasmic. We had the Jedi Training for the little one so even with that, I found the day dragging a bit. I felt we experienced everything we wanted a few hours before the 10pm Fantasmic. My boys rode a few of the popular rides a few extra times while I sat on a bench w/a gigantic cookie & ice coffee... So it was relaxing for me. If I only had a few days at WDW I wouldn't want to spend a whole day here again. Even for our next trip, 9 days I have planned us to be there by 2 or 3.

 

[ChimCher-ee]

Can Hollywood studios even be done in half a day?

Yes, but definitely schedule FPs. Go to TL in the morning--it's got a great wave pool--and to HS in the afternoon. The park will be crowded by then but you can skip a lot of things that families with younger children make time for (Jedi training, for one, and we think TSMM is overrated). They've closed some things (Backlot Tours) and it's rumored more will be shut down (Animation) without replacements coming too quickly, so don't worry about fitting everything in!

 

[DisneyFive]

As much as I look forward to visiting both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon this year (trying something new), the 4 major parks have always been a priority. That's why it's taken up to this trip to finally hit the water parks. HS gets a bad rap on these forums a lot, but it is still a fantastic park (especially your first visit when all the shows are new to you). It is our 2nd favorite park behind MK.

If this is your first visit to HS, there is PLENTY to do to fill up an entire day. With all the shows available, you can fill up a day with just those pretty easily. Add in Toy Story Mania, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror and it's easily a full day. We've actually found it hard to schedule our FP+'s at HS due to trying to fit them in between all the shows.

Dan

 

[Alesia]

Can Hollywood studios even be done in half a day?

Not completely, but you can certainly hit the highlights.

 

[slp87]

Typhoon Lagoon in the morning/afternoon and DHS in the evening with your 3 FP's scheduled.

Definitely agree! We typically stay at TL till about 1:00 or 2:00, go back and rest and hit DHS about 5:30 or 6:00. Get FP for TSMM, Star Tours, and ToT. If you want to see Fantasmic, try to go to the later show if there is one. You can ride RnRC in the single rider line. Everything else should have fairly short lines.

 

[Moonwolf]

For first visits I would always suggest hitting each main park at least once for a full day if possible. The people who say that HS and even AK are half-park days are usually people who have been before and have already seen the shows and other things that would take up more park time.

 

[Hootch]

If you're at Typhoon Lagoon at rope drop, you will be able to hit all of the slides and spend some time in the wave pool with the big waves easily by 1:00 PM. We get that done in summer when the water parks are more crowded.

I say do Typhoon Lagoon (we do one day each trip) in the morning and DHS in the afternoon.

 

[Richi3]

These are all good ideas but, we have Disneyland Annuall Passes we live in So.Cal and we've been on Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania, etc... Will I be missing anything if I don't do hollywood studios and do typhoon lagoon and then go to like Downtown Disney or have dinner somewhere in WDW? Oh and also Star Tours And most Disneyland Rides

 

[Alesia]

These are all good ideas but, we have Disneyland Annuall Passes we live in So.Cal and we've been on Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania, etc... Will I be missing anything if I don't do hollywood studios and do typhoon lagoon and then go to like Downtown Disney or have dinner somewhere in WDW? Oh and also Star Tours And most Disneyland Rides

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is a great ride. The Indiana Jones show is surprisingly good, as is Lights, Action, Motors!

Downtown Disney is a good choice if you like to shop, but that's about it. It does have Raglan Road, though, which is one of my favorite restaurants in WDW.

 

[slp87]

These are all good ideas but, we have Disneyland Annuall Passes we live in So.Cal and we've been on Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania, etc... Will I be missing anything if I don't do hollywood studios and do typhoon lagoon and then go to like Downtown Disney or have dinner somewhere in WDW? Oh and also Star Tours And most Disneyland Rides

Oh, that does make a difference. Rock n roller coaster is really great and we enjoy One Mans Dream and The Great Movie Ride. The Little Mermaid show and Beauty & The Beast show are good, but your kids might not care to see them. Tough call. I can take or leave Downtown Disney. It's just shopping & eating. See what the kids prefer. Let us know what you decide!

Side note.....tower of terror at DHS is different from the one at DCA. It's much better at DHS. I won't ruin the surprise, but your kids would like it!

 

[Minnie-Maniac]

Since this is your 1st time to WDW I would definitely choose Disney Hollywood Studios. You and your teens will enjoy many of the rides like Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster and Toy Story Midway Mania is a ton of fun. There are also great shows like Beauty and the Beast Live Stage Show and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show. Then to top it all off in the evening on certain nights they have what I think is the best show in all of WDW and that is Fantasmic. Make sure if you do choose Disney Hollywood Studios that Fantasmic is going on the night you are in that park. It is a must.

 

[Richi3]

Thank you all , I think I'm gonna go to the waterpark at rope drop 9 AM and then leave at 1 PM, and then do the theme park, how long will it take to leave typhoon lagoon go back to the resort and then bus over to hollywood studios? , I chose this so we can beat the heat and then in the afternoon hit all the major attractions and watch the nighttime show!

 

[Alesia]

Thank you all , I think I'm gonna go to the waterpark at rope drop 9 AM and then leave at 1 PM, and then do the theme park, how long will it take to leave typhoon lagoon go back to the resort and then bus over to hollywood studios? , I chose this so we can beat the heat and then in the afternoon hit all the major attractions and watch the nighttime show!

About 90 minutes.

I wouldn't go back to the resort if I were you.

 

[Richi3]

Thanks Alesia , I found out today on Google that there are Theme Park to WaterPark Buses so I don't have to stop at the resort thanks for telling though

About 90 minutes.

I wouldn't go back to the resort if I were you.