Full day at DHS?

[buggy2727]

In trying to plan our DHS day, it seems like there's not enough to really fill an entire day. Let me elaborate - it seems to be a lot of "shows". We have kids 8, 6 & 4 and there are many things there that we are really looking forward to doing but I just don't know how many shows my kids will sit through. I have TSMM, Star Tours, Great Movie Ride, Muppets 3D, JTA, Studio Backlot... then a bunch of shows like Indiana Jones, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Disney Jr... there's Jack Sparrow which may be too much for my scaredy cat 4 yo... One man's dream and Disney Animation.. LMA! is too similar to Indiana for my kids to sit through both.... they are too little for RnR and ToT so those are out... we could ride some rides twice but between RD and Fantasmic, can we fill a day? If you have young kids, did they sit through the shows? Am I just underestimating the park? We do have two meals (SW Sci Fi bfast and H&V) but again, to me that just adds to the "sitting around" feel.

 

[HeidiAnna]

I really enjoy the shows there! They are such a nice break from running around all day, and are extremely well done.

 

[katt789]

I usually take a midday break on my DHS day, or even head over to the Boadrwalk/yacht club area for a little break and exploring. I do find that even without kids, and riding all the rides there just isn't enough, especially if you rope drop. I'd say add some swim time in there and come back for Fantasmic!

 

[kellyjeanie]

My kids were 8, 5, and 2 when we went last year. I thought maybe we'd leave in the afternoon but we ended up staying from open to after Fantasmic! was over. At one point I was wandering around the shops with my sleeping toddler while my husband took the older kids on something (Star Tours, I think?). We saw the Disney Jr show, Little Mermaid, and Indiana Jones. We had Jedi Training in the afternoon. We had cupcakes at Starring Rolls, and a late lunch at Sci Fi. My oldest swapped off riding RnR with us. We still managed to miss a whole street of the park - I'm not sure how we managed that, lol.

 

[minnie mum]

We go from RD to F! every time and have no problem filling our day. And I don't do TOT or RnRC either. The shows are all so different that I don't think your children will have any difficulty sitting through them. Especially if you sensibly mix them with the ride attractions instead of doing them all in a block. And IMO IJ and LMA bear no similarity what so ever, except that they are both stunt shows.

 

[sdomino11]

We love this park and we'll spend two full days (but no rope drop- we like sleep!) there on our next trip! My boys are 7 and 5 this trip and I'm not worried about them sitting through all the shows at all. Each show is so very different (open air/enclosed theater, puppets/live actors. And also special effects, songs, and characters they love will keep them entertained. I think they'll enjoy the park for a full day. But if you're still not sure, make a plan to make sure you aren't doing two shows back to back. We like a little bit of a slower pace at HS without having to rush from attraction to attraction like at MK.

 

[jrtoastyman]

here's the thing with DHS: because it is very show-centric, you can't just go from attraction to attraction, as some shows are only shown a few times a day, and some of them don't even start showing until the afternoon during some times of the year. The schedule for the shows you want to see will dictate, to some extent, when you need to be where and that can result in stretching your day out longer than if you were just to calculate the time it takes to do the things you want to do and add them together.

No one can tell you whether you will or will not care for a particular show, but you should keep that scheduling quirk in mind when you're mapping out your day.

 

[bdtracey]

We often find that we have downtime within the park due to the differences in show times. I suggest trying to get your hands on a Times Guide for DHS when you check in and come up with some sort of plan before getting in there. I would put the rides in as priority over the shows and just work the shows into your plan as need be. I've gone there without a plan before and it turns chaotic pretty quick. Also, I don't know what it is about DHS but we always find it much hotter than the other parks.

 

[kelly3927]

My kids now 10 and 7 will tell you DHS is their 2nd fav park! Their first trip when they were 7 and 4 they loved it. Both rode ToT and loved that too. IJ and LMA are nothing alike besides the fact they are both action packed. I think with 2 meals planned you will have plenty to do the whole day at DHS.

 

[BellsFam]

LMA and Indiana seem to be two different shows to me... LMA was all about how the cars work, etc. and even had Lightining McQueen show up!

If we break during the day we def. like to take the boat ride to the Boardwalk, do some shopping/entertainment, etc. if we need a break.

You'd be surprised how long it can take to get through some of the shows, they seem to be one right after the other, but B&B is on one side of the park and DJR and LM are on the other side, while LMA and Muppets and Indy are all in a different place...so you're walking around to get from one to the other to hit the line right for the right spot, etc. ex: the DJR show might only be 20mins. but a good seat means you are in line for 20mins, etc. it eats up some time...

There's also that dance party show at the Mickey Hat in the center, etc.