DHS in 2 hours?

[Chickpea804]

Our vacation schedule will only allow us a few hours in DHS the morning of May 8 (Sunday) before having to pick friends up from the airport and head to Animal Kingdom for the rest of the day. Does anyone have any suggestions on how my husband and I (both about 30) should spend the two short hours we do have? What is a must-see and what should we skip? Any/all suggestions are welcome and thanks for your help. Haven't been to Disney since I was eight, so am very much looking forward to our trip!

 

[g-dad66]

Different people like different attractions, of course.

But if I had only the first two hours to spend at DHS, I would ride Toy Story Mania, then Rock N Roller Coaster, then see the Muppets 3D, then ride the Great Movie Ride, and somewhere in there get some gooey pastry at the Starring Rolls Cafe.

I'm not a big fan of falling elevators, so I would skip Tower of Terror. But if the new Star Tours were open (which alas, it won't be yet on May 8), I would definitely do that one.

 

[squirrel]

If you are trying to hit all the rides that are open, I would arrive well before park opening.

Do the running of the bulls and get in line for TSM. Then go grab a fast pass for ToT and hop in line for RnRC. As soon as you are done that see if you can use the FP for ToT.

You might just make it with the two hours.

 

[jking6]

Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror are a must and the most important on our trips But with that said I could not imagine only spending 2 hours at HS its my favorite park..... Enjoy every moment!!!!

 

[ChattaAlley]

TSMM is great but in my opinion if you only have 2 hours then this one would eat up most of your time unless you got there and saw the line was short (which how often does that happen)? If it were me I would do TOT and RnR at least once maybe twice. I guess all shows are out.

 

[JMD]

TSMM is great but in my opinion if you only have 2 hours then this one would eat up most of your time unless you got there and saw the line was short (which how often does that happen)? If it were me I would do TOT and RnR at least once maybe twice. I guess all shows are out.

This would be my suggestion as well. Since you're not going to see everything in 2 hours, skip TSM since that will take up the bulk of your time. Also, you will probably only be able to get one fast pass in that time, so use it wisely.

 

[WDSearcher]

Honestly? I'd probably sleep in, have a nice leisurely breakfast, and then go to the airport.

 

[asmarykay]

Honestly? I'd probably sleep in, have a nice leisurely breakfast, and then go to the airport.

Sleep in?????? leisurely????? are these even words that can be used in conjunction with a WDW vacation?

 

[Balt ravens fan]

I would do this:

Get to the park 45 minutes before it opens. Be at the front of rope drop. head to TSM ride it. Head to TOT get FP. Ride RnRC. Ride TOT. If time is left ride the Great movie ride - but you should have at least 30 minutes left in order to do that. I don't think you will squeeze in muppets which is a shame.

What time will you get to AK? Because AK is really a morning park. Could you do it another day? And possibly come back to DHS. If you could do that, then I would collect FP fo TSM, and use them when I come back after the airport.

 

[labdogs42]

I head straight to TSMM and ride it standby, then grab FP for ToT, do single rider for RnRC and then use my ToT FP's and get outta there!

 

[stargazertechie]

I'd arrive 45 minutes to 1 hour before park opening and make sure you're one of the first people at the turnstiles. I'd then do the following

1) Ride TSM standby
2) Grab FP for TOT
3) Ride RNR in the Single Rider line
4) Ride Great Movie Ride
5) Muppet Vision
6) Ride TOT with your FP

 

[Chickpea804]

Thanks for all the great suggestions, everyone! This will make it a lot easier for us to get a few highlights in quickly.

We defiantly won't skip TSM - in fact, that ride is the reason I want to bother with the abbreviated tour in the first place - looks like so much fun! ToT, on the other hand, we will def. skip. Similar rides scared the heck out of me when I was a teenager, and I think it's quite unlikely that I've become MORE tolerant of falling from great heights since then!

What time will you get to AK? Because AK is really a morning park. Could you do it another day? And possibly come back to DHS. If you could do that, then I would collect FP fo TSM, and use them when I come back after the airport.

Our friends’ flight arrives at 11:15, and we’ll head directly to AK from the airport. The reason we figured it would be a good day for AK is because we thought we could do that park in less than one full day. Will we be able to enjoy it in the afternoon?

Here’s how we’ve planned out our week:
My husband and I arrive on May 7th at 9 am and we plan to do Sea World that day. May 8th we’re doing DHS in the morning, then we’ll pick our friends up from the airport, then head to AK. On May 9-14 we’ve got (in this order) Epcot, Island of Adventure, Kennedy Space Center (and Medieval Times for dinner), Universal, Magic Kingdom, and then Gatorland in the morning before we fly home (flight isn’t until 9 pm).

Do you think there is a better way to move things around, keeping in mind that our friends don’t want to do Sea World or DHS? Is AK that much better in the morning?

Honestly? I'd probably sleep in, have a nice leisurely breakfast, and then go to the airport.

LOL! I know this might be a more sane approach to the day, but not my style. I can relax at home for free!

 

[bytheblood]

For us, this would be pretty easy. We ride Toy Story Midway Mania and the Great Movie Ride.

We like Backlot Tour and Lights, Motor, Action! but they are not must-dos.

 

[squirrel]

What time does AK close? Can you possibly get another hour or two at DHS in the evening? Since you have a car, you can cut down on the travel time between the two parks.

 

[amym2]

May 8 is EMH from 8-11pm at DHS. AK closes at 6pm. Can you head back that evening for a few extra hours? Sounds like you'll have plenty of time with your friends throughout the trip if they don't want to go.

I assume you have PH since you're doing DHS and AK in the same day anyway. Do your friends have PH also?

I've never liked rides that drop, but I LOVE Tower of Terror. It's nothing like the drop rides at other amusement parks- the drops aren't nearly as big. My DD loved it at age 4, so that should tell you something!

 

[amym2]

Of course that was assuming you were staying on property, which now that I think about it, maybe you're not!

 

[mott]

For your day at Kennedy Space Center - make sure you keep an eye on the shuttle launch as it will be closed on the day of the launch (currently set for May 8th or 10th - not sure which one)

 

[NaLisa]

OP, I take it you're staying off-site (thus your friends not using ME from airport)? You definitely need to get to DHS at least 30 minutes before park opening to ride TSM and have time for anything else. I'd also suggest writing down your friends' flight information and call the airline before leaving DHS to make sure their flight's on time. In light of recent events, their may be even more delays in airline travel.

 

[labdogs42]

I think AK is a fine park in the afternoon. Everyone clears out of there by about 2pm anyway. I'm a Disney purist, so I'd probably skip some of the extra stuff like Universal to have more days at Disney! It is way cheaper that way, too. Extra Disney days cost less than those extra tickets!

(my kid likes to pick smilies)

 

[Chickpea804]

Of course that was assuming you were staying on property, which now that I think about it, maybe you're not!

We are renting a house off-property, but very close by (its right off of Rt 192 in between Medieval Times and Walmart). With the car and the good location, I don't really anticipate it being more difficult to get around than if we were on property, except maybe for some extra time getting to the parking lots. We could possibly squeak in some extra time in DHS in the evening, but doubt our friends will be up for it after their flight and Animal Kingdom (For that matter, I doubt we'll be up for it either! ). And yes, we do have Park Hopper tickets.

I'm a Disney purist, so I'd probably skip some of the extra stuff like Universal to have more days at Disney! It is way cheaper that way, too. Extra Disney days cost less than those extra tickets!

Yeah, tell me about it! I can't believe how much we are spending on the park tickets! But we don't go to Orlando often (like I said, last time I went, I was 8!), so we want to pack everything in at once. And we have to satisfy the touring preferences of four adults. For instance, I could care less about Kennedy Space Center, but the guys want to see it, so we're going. I'm sure we could have saved about $500 a person, but doing just Disney was not an option since we all really want to see Harry Potter!

For your day at Kennedy Space Center - make sure you keep an eye on the shuttle launch as it will be closed on the day of the launch (currently set for May 8th or 10th - not sure which one)

Mott, thank you thank you thank you for saying this. I had no idea that the center was closed if the shuttle was launching! Actually, it looks like we might be able to see the shuttle launch, which is even better (except I've already pre-paid for discount tickets to the space center, so we'll have to figure out some alternate plans to go down there twice if everyone wants to see the launch.

Has anyone seen a launch before? Where do you go and what do you do? Is it worth the time and effort?

Thanks again, everyone for all your help. This board is such a great resource for those of us with little to no Disney experience!