A typical day at Disney's Hollywood Studios

[Stoneking]

thank you for the video. we are visiting dhs for the first time in nov. we have park hopper, so we will spend a day between epcot and dhs, just not sure where to start out. we've never been to epcot either. i have a feeling more time will be spent at epcot.

Absolutely! First time to both!? Wow, you all are going to love it! You will most likely spend more time at Epcot. Take advantage of the fast passes. Once you are done with your first three, you can get a fourth pass at a kiosk inside the park. If you do your first three early enough, you can hop over to Hollywood and get a fourth, maybe even a fifth!

 

[Lori74]

yes, its a surprise trip for our kids. we're only in the parks 2 days. so we have one day planned for mk and the second dhs and epcot. we blindly made fp for dhs. we have a non-adventurous rider in the family, so i'm guessing there will be adjustments to fp once we reveal the surprise. thank you very much for the tips! disney world is quite new to us!

 

[Stoneking]

yes, its a surprise trip for our kids. we're only in the parks 2 days. so we have one day planned for mk and the second dhs and epcot. we blindly made fp for dhs. we have a non-adventurous rider in the family, so i'm guessing there will be adjustments to fp once we reveal the surprise. thank you very much for the tips! disney world is quite new to us!

Absolutely! If there is ever anything else or any questions, feel free to reach out to us. We're happy to help!

 

[smallworldnh]

Was there two weeks ago .. still my favorite park.

Since the "studios" aspect of the park died a slow death (and was really only cool the first time through), I am looking for both the new expansions.
They will just take forever I gather as they want to keep as much of the park open while they do construction.

As long as they retain the "old Hollywood" vibe of the two main streets and the restaurants (50's Prime Time and Hollywood & Vine) .. I'll be happy. That is my favorite part of the park. Still not sure how Rock-n-Roller coaster ever fit into that theme (or the "Studios" theme) .. but hey .. it's a fun ride.

I, too love the old Hollywood streets that you mentioned. I love the random actors that stop and put on their shows too. I hope they don't take that away!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Enjoy those performers while you can because they will be cutting them soon. Current management has shown that I do not care for live entertainment

 

[Lee & Kerry]

Rockin roller coaster....wife loves the tower of terror

 

[Vernie822]

My fiance and I, together, don't love HS. Last year we were there by 9 AM and done before lunch. My fiance just didn't love it - he also didn't feel well and it was raining, which definitely added to our abbreviated day.

I went in March with my mom, her sister, and my cousin, and we spent all day there! Granted, they hadn't been there in years and they wanted to see all the shows, but any time my fiance and I go it's a half day for us.

 

[MrInfinity]

I really cant say anyone in our family is a huge fan of HS. They have a solid 4 rides... TSMM, RnR, ToT, and Star Tours... which is on par w the headliners at Epcot and AK... but it kind of stops there for us. (Star Wars weekends excepted) We've seen the IJ, BATB, and LMA shows a couple times... and Fantasmic, well, we were spoiled with Fantasmic in New Orleans Square in Disneyland so waiting in a line to sit in a theater for it is not the same. We will still spend a day there... (maybe a 2/3 day) but of all the parks, it'll be the one we leave earliest. Once Toy Story and Star Wars open up we'll be clamoring for ways to spend 2 days here. Just the whole movie-making theme kind of flourished in the 90's when Universal and others all came up w their parks based on making movies, but that wave passed. Nowadays I see a role for these types of parks being more about immersing you in the movies than seeing a tram ride about how they're made.

We are still looking forward to the Frozen show and the Lights, which are both new to us!

 

[Stoneking]

I really cant say anyone in our family is a huge fan of HS. They have a solid 4 rides... TSMM, RnR, ToT, and Star Tours... which is on par w the headliners at Epcot and AK... but it kind of stops there for us. (Star Wars weekends excepted) We've seen the IJ, BATB, and LMA shows a couple times... and Fantasmic, well, we were spoiled with Fantasmic in New Orleans Square in Disneyland so waiting in a line to sit in a theater for it is not the same. We will still spend a day there... (maybe a 2/3 day) but of all the parks, it'll be the one we leave earliest. Once Toy Story and Star Wars open up we'll be clamoring for ways to spend 2 days here. Just the whole movie-making theme kind of flourished in the 90's when Universal and others all came up w their parks based on making movies, but that wave passed. Nowadays I see a role for these types of parks being more about immersing you in the movies than seeing a tram ride about how they're made.

We are still looking forward to the Frozen show and the Lights, which are both new to us!

Some very good points in this! We will see what happens over the next few years, should be interesting to see what they decide to do!

 

[Delirium]

Perfect example of tastes. HS is my least favorite park by a landslide. Typical day is get a FP for ToT and RnR, then leave and come back later for Fantasmic.

That park never has felt like Disney to me, other than ToT and Fantasmic. It also doesn't feel like it has much of anything to do with a movie studio. Goes to show how much you notice the theming when it isn't there I guess. QS choices are horrible, and Mama Melrose is really the only TS restaurant I like.

But hey, I know lots of people love it there...

One Man's Dream doesn't feel like Disney? Okay.

 

[Delirium]

I really cant say anyone in our family is a huge fan of HS. They have a solid 4 rides... TSMM, RnR, ToT, and Star Tours... which is on par w the headliners at Epcot and AK... but it kind of stops there for us. (Star Wars weekends excepted) We've seen the IJ, BATB, and LMA shows a couple times... and Fantasmic, well, we were spoiled with Fantasmic in New Orleans Square in Disneyland so waiting in a line to sit in a theater for it is not the same. We will still spend a day there... (maybe a 2/3 day) but of all the parks, it'll be the one we leave earliest. Once Toy Story and Star Wars open up we'll be clamoring for ways to spend 2 days here. Just the whole movie-making theme kind of flourished in the 90's when Universal and others all came up w their parks based on making movies, but that wave passed. Nowadays I see a role for these types of parks being more about immersing you in the movies than seeing a tram ride about how they're made.

We are still looking forward to the Frozen show and the Lights, which are both new to us!

I've always found it curious that people are perfectly willing to wait in line for 20 minutes to be entertained on non-thrill rides lasting less than 10 minutes at MK (Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc.) but take a 'been there done that' attitude for shows at Hollywood Studios that will entertain them for 20-25 minutes. Maybe the shows at HS haven't changed much over the years, but the rides I mentioned at MK have not either. In other words, why do people consider Peter Pan to be a must do every trip while considering the Beauty and the Beast show to be a non-essential attraction?

 

[MrInfinity]

I've always found it curious that people are perfectly willing to wait in line for 20 minutes to be entertained on non-thrill rides lasting less than 10 minutes at MK (Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc.) but take a 'been there done that' attitude for shows at Hollywood Studios that will entertain them for 20-25 minutes. Maybe the shows at HS haven't changed much over the years, but the rides I mentioned at MK have not either. In other words, why do people consider Peter Pan to be a must do every trip while considering the Beauty and the Beast show to be a non-essential attraction?

Hm, that's a good point.

3 of those rides you mentioned are some of our favorites at WDW... HM, POTC, SW... plus EE, Test Track, Figment, RnR, ToT, etc. We just don't think of it in the way that we're pining over going to do the IJ stunt show.

Not to understate the value of shows, we can do FOTLK every trip -- that's a pretty strong draw for us at the AK. And Muppets we'll do every time. And the Tiki Room several times! A simple show like the Water Pageant is more meaningful to us than the elaborate FOF parade. It may be based on what you recall as a child, or early experiences w your kids.

So I guess the shows can be as timeless as a ride, it just takes the right show and some hook that makes it stick. The 3 at HS I could live without and not consider WDW to be less of a destination. But if HM, Pirates, and Small World were gone, it wouldn't be Disney World any more.

Even Broadway doesn't show the same show year after year.