And You Say DHS is a 1/2 Day Park ...

[mickeyluv'r]

Responding to your thread topic- HS is a half day for us, but that's because we have done all of the above before, so we don't need to revisit everything on every trip.

As for what to prioritize, I'd keep talking to your children. Children tend to quickly reveal their top priorities!

For me, well...I can easily leave off anything having to do with B&B. Beauty meets a monster who is physically and verbally abusive. Magic happens and he changes. Ugh! Sorry, but in real life abusers don't change like that.

We tend to prefer rides to shows if that helps.

 

[pebblesjns]

I have a feeling we will be struggling with timing for our September trip as well. I couldn't imagine going back to our room in the middle of the day for a nap, though. Luckily, my kids are pretty easy going and will nap in the stroller if they want to and they are good without a nap as well. We've never had a strict nap schedule either so I'm sure Disney will be no difference. I think the shows are a great nap time for the little ones, at least the dark and air conditioned ones. Hopefully you can figure it all out!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Sure PM me if you like. Love your screen name, btw. Fits my oldest DD to a T.

You might want to check out this thread since you are Star Wars crazy. They seem to be on top of things like JTA and character greets. I think they'll have the new show schedule pinned down pretty early on. The thread has morphed to discuss way more than just a dessert party.
http://disboards.com/threads/update...-review-pg-251.3439569/page-289#post-55203211

I think your timing is too tight on MM's and 7:10 JTA. They need to line up 30 minutes prior. That's an hour to eat IF you get seated on time.

Thank you. I love Leia. I just got one of the customizable shirts from Disney and added 'Not your daughter's Disney princess.' since my middle DD said she didn't 'look like a princess.'

Thanks for the link. I was watching the thread in the News and Rumors forum, but this looks more up to date. I really hope they post show times before my FP window opens in 10 days.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards trying to get 1:20 with the Frozen Sing Along at 11:15, lunch at ABC commissary and DS watching JTA right before leaving for nap.

Good luck to everyone else trying to figure out their DHS days. It does seem to be difficult the first time around.

 

[Jrits]

We do Jedi yes but no naps. We usually have a prepark opening h&v reservation and finish before opening. Then run to Jedi to sign up as soon as park opens and then straight to TSM. We ride it once walk in and then again if line is short. We have a FP for it later as well. I usually schedule our day around the shows B&b, Indiana, dis jr etc and then fit in the others without times in between. We eat counter for lunch and sit down for dinner at brown derby or mama melrose. I would see if your child might nap in the stroller or maybe during a show. It takes a lot of time to go back and forth between park and hotel and waiting on a nap.

 

[BubblyTrip]

My DS would freak if we skipped Indy. He's still talking about it a year later. We are more ride than show oriented, but this a must do for us.

 

[lisski76]

What time of year are you going? We have fit them all in minus Indy, but we usually go April/May. I get there for rope drop, go to TSM first, then do character meets where the Hat used to be and then we work our way over to Mermaid show, Disney Junior, then Frozen Sing along, Muppets and finally Beauty and the Beast. We do get fast passes for Frozen Sing/Beauty Beast and we eat on the go. You can view the fast pass show times on MDE to help plan your day and we are out of the park around 5 for the day.

 

[TGM]

Muppets and Indy are must-dos for us. We've done Beauty and the Beast, and Little Mermaid twice, because there often isn't much interest in my group. Out of the two, Beauty and the Beast is better.

 

[efam]

Commiserating with you!! I've discussed our HS day with my Disney-expert sister and I have no idea how we'll fit it all in!!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Commiserating with you!! I've discussed our HS day with my Disney-expert sister and I have no idea how we'll fit it all in!!

Thanks!
I'm avoiding looking at it at the moment. My parks spreadsheet is all filled out for every other day (my FP window opens a week from today). HS is a big blank. I'm telling myself it's because I'm waiting for showtimes for the new Star Wars show. Although news that you can get into the park early for JTA sign up will likely help some.

Good luck figuring it out!

 

[Pesky]

I hear you. We're also looking at jedi training and man that eats up your day! Given what you've said, I'd scratch the Muppets and choose between Mermaid or B&B. Both are princess shows and you're doing the sing-along, so depends on how much princess you want/can deal with. We're seeing the stage show B&B on tour so I feel like we can skip it. Given DH's fondness for the Muppets, that may be one we have to do anyway! GL!

 

[Nancyg56]

Really? I can't seem to make that work. Do your kids participate in Jedi Academy? That seems to be making things difficult with both sign up and having to be there half an hour before.

For reference the kids are DD7, DD6 and DS3.

I guess another complicating factor I didn't bring up is that DS3 will have to go back to the resort for a nap if we have any hope of making it through Fantasmic. There are some rides and shows he'll definitely want to see (or both of us parents will). I was already planning to fit in one princess show and something else while he's gone. I have some room in the afternoon so maybe I can add back in the Muppets then since he may be too young to get the humor.

I do have ADRs already with the Fantasmic package so I don't know that I can do a character meal. I also don't have FPs factored into the touring plan yet, which I know will save some time but I'm just not sure how much. This is definitely shaping up to be the most frenetic, over scheduled day of our vacation. At least the park is small.

I like Fantasmic but I woudl make sure that this show is something your kids will be okay in. It is LOUD and it is SCARY for some children. We did not take my DGD when she was young and after watching the youngsters in front of us try to bury themselves in their parents, I am so glad we waited.

The truth is that if I had to give something up on your day, this would be the first thing, Indiana Jones the second. With the ages of your little ones, I think these two shows would be the most difficult to manage,

 

[BlueFairy]

I like Fantasmic but I woudl make sure that this show is something your kids will be okay in. It is LOUD and it is SCARY for some children. We did not take my DGD when she was young and after watching the youngsters in front of us try to bury themselves in their parents, I am so glad we waited.

The truth is that if I had to give something up on your day, this would be the first thing, Indiana Jones the second. With the ages of your little ones, I think these two shows would be the most difficult to manage,

+1

Our littles are just now old enough for me to be tempted to try F!. Stamina and the large contingent of villains have made it a no go for us for some time. There are some good videos of it on youtube.

 

[Nancyg56]

+1

Our littles are just now old enough for me to be tempted to try F!. Stamina and the large contingent of villains have made it a no go for us for some time. There are some good videos of it on youtube.

Yes. It really was heartbreaking to see those kids last December, They were not babies either, one was about 7 and the other maybe 4. I would have taken them out had they been with me.

It is funny, We used to get a lot done in DHS, even with our little Character Junkie. But for years we never stayed for F! and we used to plan an extra morning there to complete what we missed the first day. This included getting in the Stunt show, BATB, VOTLM and Bear in the Big Blue House (See how long ago?). WE skipped Indiana Jones and Jedi, that made a huge difference.

 

[cgattis]

Just my 2 cents here.....my kids liked Disney Jr (Playhouse Disney then) our first trip (ages 6&4), but never did it again. Love B&B stage show--the dancing dishes routine alone is worth it for me. We see Indy most every time. DD saw Mermaid that first trip, declared that was NOT Ariel's real tail, and will not return. (Fine with me because the theater is musty and messes with my sinuses--plus I thought the show was pretty meh.). Also, every single time we've tried to see F!, it's been rained out; finally saw it without the fam and really don't think they missed much. Maybe the little ones, if they won't nap in a stroller, might doze off on the boat over to Epcot? They wouldn't make you get off, and it's about an hour loop. Or you could plop down in the lobby of Swan or Dolphin and nobody would notice or care IMO.

 

[biondagirl]

We never spend only a 1/2 day there. We love it. We were there 1 and 1/2 days last August. And we didn't do everything. My husband and I had to split up because our son wanted to see Lights, Motor Action (it was cancelled for rain our first day there) and our daughter wanted to do the Frozen sing a long. I think DHS is a great, relaxing park. I love the ambiance.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Argh, this is the first I'm hearing that Fantasmic is scary. I should have done more research.

Not going would make a lot of other things less difficult. We have the package ADR, but I guess since we're on DDP it doesn't actually cost us anymore to keep it either way.

This park is really too much effort right now.

 

[ELSA711]

I wouldn't skip Indy or Beauty or Muppets for that matter.
I would skip Disney Jr and Mermaid.
HS is only a half day park for us lately because we have seen all the shows multiple times.

This year we only saw Indy, BB and Fantasmic.
Skipped all other shows and M&G

 

[Nancyg56]

Argh, this is the first I'm hearing that Fantasmic is scary. I should have done more research.

Not going would make a lot of other things less difficult. We have the package ADR, but I guess since we're on DDP it doesn't actually cost us anymore to keep it either way.

This park is really too much effort right now.

If you have the Package, it is a good value. WE always get it and if we decide not to see the show, we give the vouchers away.

Check this show out on youtube. The story line is Mickey's nightmare. I will say that we never needed to worry about fitting it in when my DGD was little, and that made life much easier in terms of planning.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

We're in the same boat. We plan to arrive at rope drop, but with 11:00 lunch and 5:30 dinner ADRs, and not wanting to stay super late with a three-year-old, we're not sure how we'll do it all! I think part of the challenge is that we want to do so many shows, and those (a) are at scheduled times, so it's not super flexible [even with multiple showings] and (b) take a while.

Shows and characters are both top priorities; again, with a three-year-old girl, Disney Jr., Little Mermaid, BATM, and Frozen all appeal to her. There are several characters we'll want to meet as well as stalking Characterpalooza. My parents will want to sneak away for RnR and ToT - and will probably volunteer to take DD for a bit so we could do the same - and we all have FP+ for TSMM. On top of all that, we have friends there who will be doing JTA with DD's best little buddy in the world, and we would super love to go be in the audience for that.

To respond to the OP's question, I would jettison Muppets and Indy. I love them both, but I think kids will enjoy them even more on subsequent trips when they are older. I think you have to tailor your touring plans to your child's current age and recognize that the things you can't fit in will likely still be there and still be fun for your kids when they are older.

 

[epcotty]

I agree that Fantasmic can be scary for younger kids. Of the shows you mentioned we do Beauty and the Beast the least often. It's still really good though. The others we do every time. As others have said just try to plan for certain times for shows that have specific showtimes (and be flexible enough to try for a later showtime if that doesn't work out) and do the rides/continuous shows inbetween. We still found enough to do there in December but with more attractions closing soon I can definitely see how people would say that. We plan to give it a break for a while