Hollywood Studios???

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Since this is your one and only trip I wouldn't skip DHS. We don't make it a full day but definitely most of the day. We love TSM. We also enjoy the shows. The Little Mermaid show is great and our family loves Fantasmic - we have seen this show many many times and it never gets old.

 

[wdw&sonny]

"one and only trip". LOL.
We took our "one and only trip" in 2005, the again in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2016, 2016, 2017...

Go to HS. Get the hoppers. Drop the dining plan. For your kids ages, you will save far more by paying oop and sharing some appetizers and entrees. Use the save $$ to get the hoppers.
Go to HS, do TSM, ToT, RnRC, GMR, BaTB, Little Mermaid, Star Tours, Frozen Sing along. Leave in the early afternoon, return to resort. Swim, drink a Lava Smoothie, let the kids ride the Sea Racers. Return to the park at night with FPs in hand. Eat at Sci Fi or 50's PT....
Do it!

"one and only trip"....you crack me up.

 

[tndisney5]

Hollywood Studios is our favorite park! Even with construction it is still a must do for our next trip at just a half day.

We are not huge Star Wars fans either, but we really like Star Tours. We love the other must dos like Toy Story and Tower of Terror (the youngest my children were when they rode this was 4 - a little nervous at first but they ride every visit now). The shows are good - Indiana Jones, Voyage of a Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Fantasmic...

We love Mama Melrose and Sci Fi Dine In - Sci Fi is a must do for us every visit. Our kids love the atmosphere and it's become tradition. We also like the character lunch at Hollywood and Vine. They had some great buffet options. It was a good way to break up a hot day as well.

If this is your only, once in a lifetime trip I would not skip HS!

 

[abnihon]

I also considered skipping for our trip in May but glad we didn't. DS was 4.5 and loved it. We did Hollywood and Vine, Disney Jr show, Frozen show, Toy Story Mania, met Woody and Buzz, and Star Wars Launch Bay which he loved even though he's never seen Star Wars.
I agree that Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster are two of the best thrill rides at Disney, Fantasmic is a must see and Sci-Fi is one of the best themed restaurants at Disney!

 

[Micca]

DW & I go to DHS mainly because of TOT & TSMM. Sure we enjoy many other things there but it wouldn't be a WDW trip for us without those two attractions.
And trust me on the Frozen Singalong--It's better than you think.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Go to HS. Get the hoppers. Drop the dining plan. For your kids ages, you will save far more by paying oop and sharing some appetizers and entrees. Use the save $$ to get the hoppers.

This... The dining plan with kids of that age will be a huge waste of money. We have done it both ways... Kids will not eat all the food. Mine often want to share meals anyway. Drop the dining plan and get the hoppers. The money you save paying out of pocket for only the food you are going to eat will more than pay for the hoppers. And the hoppers will cost you no more than a night at one of the deluxe resorts anyway.

 

[nighttowll]

We travel a lot and one of the things I've figured out over the years is to try everything at least once. There have been so many attractions, I didn't think we'd like, that we loved, and the opposite, things I was sure we'd like, that we didn't care for.

Also, I've found sometimes I really enjoy an attraction based on a movie I haven't seen or don't really like. For instance, I'm not a big muppets fan, but I do enjoy that show. And at Universal, I haven't seen Transformers, but I still really enjoy the ride.

The kids always keep me guessing with what they will like as well. They never end up liking what I think they will and are constantly changing their opinions from trip to trip. When we took the girls to Disney at 11, their favorite rides were the boat rides. I never would have guessed. We must have rode LWTL, IASW, and the Mexico pavilion ride a dozen times each. Their next favorite was TOT. They also really loved Spaceship Earth; they were fascinated by the old animatronics. Before going, I wouldn't have guessed any of those. Favorite activity at AK was earning the badges (gussed that one right), and they didn't care for MK at all besides SPlash Mountain, IASW, POTC, and WTP. Definitely thought they'd like more there. HS was their favorite park. When we took my sister at the same age, her favorite park was EPCOT. Wouldn't have guessed that either. We also traumatized her by scaring her to death on attractions we thought would be ok, and then she was fine on other "scary" rides people had warned us about. The point being, it's hard to know in advance what you or your family are going to like.

I'd give HS a try. We have never regretted going there. As others have listed above, there are lots of great attractions that cater to all different ages and tastes. The nighttime show is amazing, the daytime shows are good as well and provide a day for your feet to take a break from all the walking. We enjoy the restaurants as well. We love 50s Prime Time and Sci-fi looks like so much fun. We've just never been able to fit it in. Something always comes up, and I have to cancel. TSM is such a great ride for any age. Dad's usually enjoy the target practice. And the thrill rides are great for tweens on up.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

If you have never been, then Voyage of The Little Mermaid will be worth the price of admission alone. Go to HS.

 

[OB1]

Since you have plenty of days, you should visit. Even though there is a lot of construction, the things that are shut down were not must do attractions. All of the BIGGIES are still running, and your kids will want to do some of them multiple times. JUST DO IT