Hollywood Studios a half-day park? I have to disagree.

[DOOM1001]

Being a huge fan of the overall theme of the park I love the park,with that said I feel Disney could have done a whole lot more with the park over the years instead of letting it stagnate.The park has a lot of attractions that are/were shows and several of the attractions have been there for pretty much as long as the park has existed,those two things mean that unless you're a first time visitor you're not likely to want to do all the attractions as rides are always more rerideable than shows are rewatchable.Right now the park has 4 rides,I think calling it a half day park is very reasonable,if you're a first time visitor of course you could easily spend a full day there,others not so much.Honestly I'm scared that even when Star Wars,Toy Story land and the Mickey ride open the park is still not going to have enough rides and that park is going to have some really long lines.I'm sure that Star Wars hotel is going to make a lot of money but I think they should have used that space to add on to what is a really small park that's going to have a lot more visitors in the next decade.

 

[WedWayPilot]

I enjoy HS and If it were just me I could spend an entire day there, but with children under 4 it can be tough to fill a day.

 

[Bill McKinley]

Totally agree! We were there last Thursday from 10:30-8:30 and looking back on our trip now, I wish we would have spent more time there (we had 6 park days). We are all big Star Wars fans and both my daughters were dressed as Rey. I was surprised we didn't see more kids dressed up as SW characters, but it was so fun to see how many cast members and other guests really got a kick out of their costumes. Also, TSM is our families favorite ride at all the parks so we did it 5 times and still wanted more!

When the other lands open we will need 2 full days or more at HS.

 

[disneylover102]

I really like HS. I don’t take particular interest in shows, but TOT especially is a classic and I could ride all day. I could also do the other rides all day and every time I’ve gone, I would have been fine staying longer even though I was there opening to closing!

 

[slpeters]

We divided up our six and half day trip into half days--MK got four and everything else got 3. I kind of wish we would have given one of Epcot's half-days to DHS. We spent three half-days there and it's the only park I feel like we didn't finish. We probably could have got to everything in that time if we hadn't spent so much time enjoying the margarita and martini flights at Brown Derby lounge (but if I had that to do again I'd probably do it twice rather than skip it) or skipped Fantasmic! (which when we have it to do again we probably will skip--seriously we thought it was kind of dreadful, but we had a very entertaining conversation with the family in front of us while waiting for it to start so, that was nice). By the time we make it back Star Wars will be open and it will probably end up taking MK's place as the two day park for us.

Seriously though many of the highlights of the week were at DHS. We have an upcoming trip to Universal and when we were thinking about adding a regular park day at Disney we were going to do that day at DHS. After you've spent like $15 to add a day to a multi-day ticket it's hard to shell out over a $100 for a single day ticket. We opted for MVMCP because, well, we've never done it and there's no multi-discount for it anyway, so it seemed like the perfect time to do it. But we're already planning the next trip (after Star Wars Land opens) and I suspect we'll spend more time at DHS than any other park.

 

[randumb0]

For me it's less than a half day park. I like TOT and RnR. My wife hates Star Wars so we skip all of that stuff.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

LOVE LOVE LOVE HS!
it's our fav after MK... Can't really compare the two.
They are both 2 day parks for us...
In fact, MK, HS, and Epcot are all 2 days for us and sometimes 2 1/2...

 

[Kellykins1218]

On our last 2 trips, we spent 4 full days at HS each time and hopped a a couple of times, too. Now, Epcot? Barely a 1/2 day.

 

[loves to dive]

I think it depends on how often you go and what your interests are. I never skip any parks and I go at least twice a year and have been going to WDW for almost 34 years. I'll admit I preferred the original theming when it was MGM Studios and a real working studio but we still don't skip the park. As to whether it's a half day park? I think all of them could be if you weren't focused on doing everything in the parks. If you don't do shows, HS could be a part day park. If you don't do a lot of rides, MK could be a part day park. They all 4 have such a mix of things that you have to plenty to pick. We aren't ride centric, we have our favorites rides that we enjoy but because we go often, it's not the end of the world if we don't ride them. We don't spend open to close there but we don't do that at any park, we always have hoppers or APs and we always hop around. I can see spending all day there if you aren't a frequent visitor though, there is plenty to do.

 

[friedela]

I couldn't agree more!! We did HS as our first day park and absolutely loved it! We didn't even get everything in that's how busy we were.

 

[msb578]

I agree that it’s a full-day park. I also love the feel of the place.

However, we’re going to skip it this time. The kids are 9, 6, 6, and they love RIDES. We were going to be ok with the four rides, but then we found out TSM will be down to only one track (and standby only). That was a tipping point for us. They can’t ride the Aerosmith coaster; they’re not sure about riding ToT.

We’ll visit the park when everything is completed.

 

[KenHutch]

Hollywood Studios is by far my favorite park and my family does it for 2 days each trip. Now my teen will tell you its so I can get the carrot cake cookie on 2 separate days and I will admit that I will never go into the Mickey coaster thing when it opens ( my futile protest for them closing my favorite ride The Great Movie Ride).

 

[DavidNYC]

The whole "half-day" thing is a misnomer. You can do as little or as much as you want in any park. There is easily enough to do a full day there but I would surmise that many people aren't doing "everything". If you see all the shows, go see all the exhibits, ride everything, do a sit down meal, etc. it easily fills a day or more. But there are many who make trips that aren't as interested in at least some subset of what it has to offer. It's kind of like someone saying Epcot is a half-day park because they're not interested in visiting the countries!

What I think is more accurate to say is that there are a smaller number of things to do at DHS at the moment (even though some of those are longer shows) and when taking into account what you want to do in other parks, it's easy to limit yourself to a half-day at DHS. If I were there for a full week, I'd probably spend a full day over the course of the week at DHS. If I was there for only 3-4 days, it'd be a half-day park (for now . . .).

 

[DisneyFive]

HS is a half day park just as much as EP and AK are half day parks. It's up to peoples tastes, and some just don't appreciate the attractions there. We love HS and make sure to have 2 days there each visit.

Epcot is our dud. It's growing on us, but we have done 8 night stays with only 1/2 day for Epcot. Some will say, "Incredulous!", but hey it is what it is.

Dan

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

My only problem with DHS is that it really lacks good food options. Let's say you get there early in the morning for rope drop—where do you go for breakfast? Starbucks? Where would you go for lunch?

We spend two half days at DHS, equaling out to one full day. We do this because of the food and to make the most of our FP+ selections.

We'll do one day where we go to DHS in the morning. We'll do RnR FP+, ToT FP+, and a FP+ for the Frozen Musical. We'll stay until around 2 or 3pm, then leave and head back to the resort. We'll do dinner, then go to Epcot that night for Illuminations.

Another day, we'll sleep in and do Epcot during the day. We'll hang around the World Showcase - grabbing some food and snacks and exploring. Then around 4pm we'll head to DHS. We'll do TSMM, Star Tours, and ToT FP+'s, and end the night at Fantasmic.

Staying at Beach Club helps, but that's how we tend to tackle the park.

 

[jeepnjudy]

This is all based on personal preference. HS is my family's favorite park and we spend an entire day here annually without getting bored. We are a family of roller coaster and thrill ride addicts though so that could explain a lot! If DS (14) could ride RnR continuously without having to get in line, he would be in heaven! Glad you enjoyed the park!!!

 

[LizzyS]

Being a huge fan of the overall theme of the park I love the park,with that said I feel Disney could have done a whole lot more with the park over the years instead of letting it stagnate.The park has a lot of attractions that are/were shows and several of the attractions have been there for pretty much as long as the park has existed,those two things mean that unless you're a first time visitor you're not likely to want to do all the attractions as rides are always more rerideable than shows are rewatchable.Right now the park has 4 rides,I think calling it a half day park is very reasonable,if you're a first time visitor of course you could easily spend a full day there,others not so much.Honestly I'm scared that even when Star Wars,Toy Story land and the Mickey ride open the park is still not going to have enough rides and that park is going to have some really long lines.I'm sure that Star Wars hotel is going to make a lot of money but I think they should have used that space to add on to what is a really small park that's going to have a lot more visitors in the next decade.

It seems to me they are trying to rectify that now with the new lands and rides.

 

[LizzyS]

My only problem with DHS is that it really lacks good food options. Let's say you get there early in the morning for rope drop—where do you go for breakfast? Starbucks? Where would you go for lunch?

We spend two half days at DHS, equaling out to one full day. We do this because of the food and to make the most of our FP+ selections.

We'll do one day where we go to DHS in the morning. We'll do RnR FP+, ToT FP+, and a FP+ for the Frozen Musical. We'll stay until around 2 or 3pm, then leave and head back to the resort. We'll do dinner, then go to Epcot that night for Illuminations.

Another day, we'll sleep in and do Epcot during the day. We'll hang around the World Showcase - grabbing some food and snacks and exploring. Then around 4pm we'll head to DHS. We'll do TSMM, Star Tours, and ToT FP+'s, and end the night at Fantasmic.

Staying at Beach Club helps, but that's how we tend to tackle the park.

We ate a Mickey Pretzel mid-morning and then had a 1:40 lunch ADR at Sci-Fi, so that worked out great for us, but if you're hoping for a good breakfast, yeah, where do you go?

 

[Delirium]

as rides are always more rerideable than shows are rewatchable.

I always want to clarify this statement whenever I hear it. If you're returning to the park during the same trip, or maybe multiple times throughout the same year, then I can see the point about rides being more repeatable. However, for my family, that only goes once every 2-3 years, the shows are just as much anticipated as the rides are.

Take a ride like Peter Pan or Spaceship Earth, for example. I find them both enjoyable, and most people have them as must-do's each trip. Neither, however, can be considered 'thrilling', and they have not changed in the last 30-40 years. So, why do people go on them every trip? Because it's classic Disney, and we all experience that sense of nostalgia when we ride them.

Now, compare that to a show that's been around for a long time, such as Beauty & the Beast at HS. While the story, and likely the choreography, have not changed over the years, the fact is that each performance is truly unique because of the actors and actresses performing the roles. And, it certainly fits the bill as being 'Classic Disney', just as PP and SE are.

So, why do people consider the show to be one and done, but not the ride? I don't get it.

 

[Princess_Lisa]

We ate a Mickey Pretzel mid-morning and then had a 1:40 lunch ADR at Sci-Fi, so that worked out great for us, but if you're hoping for a good breakfast, yeah, where do you go?

I've never had Breakfast there, so I can't say if its any good or not, but I have a PPO Breakfast ADR at Hollywood and Vine in August.