Is DHS worth spending a day at right now?

[North of Mouse]

My sister and I are heading to WDW in late Nov, after Thankgiving, and I am trying to figure out our days so I can book ADR's next week. We have 7 day non-hopper passes. She has been once before and I have been several times but this is likely my last trip (really). We will be spending 2 days each at Epcot and at AK (our favourite parks) probably 2 at MK and then I have one left that would have been for DHS but just wondering if its worth blowing a day on. I love Star Tours and really like Toy Story, like the Great Movie Ride and have seen Indiana Jones many times. I can take or leave RnR but my sister has a bad back so we likely won't do it and I won''t do ToT. Thoughts from anyone who has been recently would be much appreciated.

No, it's not an all day park for us. Dh & I both enjoy TSM, he likes TOT, but honestly that is enough for us - then we move on. I definitely would not waste a full day ticket on it. No matter if you 'can't see' what is closed - or the construction, there just isn't very much to do - just came back!

Yes, the fireworks are nice, but honestly I prefer MK. JMO I know! Have seen Fantasmic enough, needs a 'redo', also Muppets and Indiana Jones.

 

[Robo]

Toy Story Mania
Great Movie Ride
Tower of Terror
Rock'n'RollerCoaster
Muppet 3D
Beauty and the Beast: LIVE on Stage
Music of Pixar: Symphony (New)
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
One Man's Dream
Frozen Sing Along (a VERY entertaining presentation.)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Star Wars Launch Bay
Star Tours
Jedi Training Academy
Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular (Fireworks & Projection show)
Fantasmic!

That's from memory.
What did I forget?

 

[Bullseye]

We still dig HS. Plenty of fun things to do. Love the Hollywood area lit up at night. DD did her DCP there so speaking ill of it in our house is strictly forbidden. Once the construction's all done it's going to be great!

 

[Accident]

If your into star wars or never/rarely gone, yes......

If you have kids, check out the attraction list, there is a pretty good mix of things to do with them..

If your a thrill ride person, it still has 3 of them, more than epcot.

The shows, sing along and other stuff can take 1/2 a day just to do them (they take about an hour to see each) which is why I say if new to this park, go.

It still has one of the best places to eat (brown derby), 2 of the most unique places to eat (50s prime time, sci fi dine in).

It has a night show beloved by many and one beloved by star wars fans.

only 3 attractions actually closed for construction (rteetz would argue it's 4) and there is still 15 left. That's more than animal kingdom if you include pandora in the list. It's not that much public space so it always feels more crowded as there isn't the large areas in the back or a loop around the park right now.

If you've been before, check the list of attractions and decide if it's worth your time..

 

[Disney_Princess83]

It really depends on what you like to do at DHS. We usually only spent two half days here at the most. We do TSM if we have FP, Beauty and the Beast, ToT, watch the Citizens and Fantasmic. But there are plenty of other things to do in the Park

 

[Tomh]

I tend to agree with the folks that say if it was a full day park for you before the construction, it most likely still is. For us, it was a struggle to really spend a full day there. Heck, honestly, it was tough really filling half a day, but that is because several of the attractions hold no real appeal for us.

Add into that the construction, which took away two of the things we did enjoy, and now it is barely a half day park for us, and to be completely honest, we skipped it last summer, and will again this summer.

 

[yulilin3]

Toy Story Mania
Great Movie Ride
Tower of Terror
Rock'n'RollerCoaster
Muppet 3D
Beauty and the Beast: LIVE on Stage
Music of Pixar: Symphony (New)
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
One Man's Dream
Frozen Sing Along (a VERY entertaining presentation.)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Star Wars Launch Bay
Star Tours
Jedi Training Academy
Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular (Fireworks & Projection show)
Fantasmic!

That's from memory.
What did I forget?

I'm sure you were leaving out the M&G but if people are into characters this is a time consumer
Buzz and Woody M&G
Mickey and Minnie M&G
Goofy M&G
Chip and Dale M&G
Donald (blue sailor outfit, only place on property to meet him with his classic attire) and Daisy M&G
Olaf M&G
Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, Jake and Pluto M&G
Currently Starlord and Baby Groot M&G
Chewbacca, Kylo Ren and BB8 M&G
Citizens of Hollywood

 

[Cinderella94]

HS is a half day park for us but that's because it always has been, not because of the construction. We're going to go during an EMH morning this summer and our plan is:
TSM
RNR
Maybe something else if there's time before 9:00
FP for TSM
FP for TOT
FP for Star Tours
Throw in GMR and Muppets somewhere in between Fastpasses there. We're thinking we'll end the day there with lunch. You could spend a whole day there if you wanted too, because there are lots of other things to do, we just aren't really interested in them.

 

[FastPasser.]

The Hollywood Studios pages on "The HUB" lists 12 Attractions, consisting of 5 moving rides, 3 movie related Attractions, 3 interactive Attractions and 1 exhibit. It also lists 23 entertainment offerings with 2 being seasonal and 35 dinning options (some seasonal).

 

[BuckeyeBama]

My sister and I are heading to WDW in late Nov, after Thankgiving, and I am trying to figure out our days so I can book ADR's next week. We have 7 day non-hopper passes. She has been once before and I have been several times but this is likely my last trip (really). We will be spending 2 days each at Epcot and at AK (our favourite parks) probably 2 at MK and then I have one left that would have been for DHS but just wondering if its worth blowing a day on. I love Star Tours and really like Toy Story, like the Great Movie Ride and have seen Indiana Jones many times. I can take or leave RnR but my sister has a bad back so we likely won't do it and I won''t do ToT. Thoughts from anyone who has been recently would be much appreciated.

If you know that you will not ride either of the headliners, I would give it a miss. Those are 2 of our favorite WDW rides, so we would not skip the park.

 

[Budzooka]

This surprises me. Maybe because it is our first visit and want to do it all. There are lots of shows, and trying to fit them all in was a bit of a challenge. We scheduled a mid-afternoon break at all the parks, and this one and MK was the toughest trying to fit in.

 

[Shellbells]

Not a safe assumption.

Really? Do you think there's a chance they'll do the Star Wars fireworks in December? That would be awesome!

 

[maryj11]

Really? Do you think there's a chance they'll do the Star Wars fireworks in December? That would be awesome!

I dont think they change the fireworks show for the seasons.

 

[Robo]

I dont think they change the fireworks show for the seasons.

They did last year, but only for a brief time.
The Christmas show was described (kindly) as "disappointing."

We'll just have to wait and see what they do this year.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Shuttle, I am with you - I love AK but it is probably a tie with Epcot. And I do spend ALL day at AK when I go unless the heat gets me. I will look into the Frozen sing-along for sure, or is it just for kids?

The quality of the show depends heavily on who is doing the male lead, in my opinion. We went last year and it was a long slog through a slow moving Frozen clip show. This year the guy was hilarious. There is clearly either room for him to ad lib or they update the script frequently to bring in current events. A lot of those jokes are clearly aimed to the adults in the room so I would say it's definitely not just for kids.

I think if you like shows, DHS is full day park. If you're there for rides, I can see why people say it's half day - you can get the 3 or 4 rides done at RD and book.

 

[yulilin3]

Really? Do you think there's a chance they'll do the Star Wars fireworks in December? That would be awesome!

last year the changed the SWaGS to Jingle Bells Jingle BAM on Nov 14th but on Dec. 16th they added SWaGS back on the schedule so they ran both shows.
This year being the release of Episode VIII I think they might leave SWaGS untouched and add JBJJB

 

[Robo]

The quality of the show depends heavily on who is doing the male lead...
1. This year the guy was hilarious.
2. There is clearly either room for him to ad lib...
3. A lot of those jokes are clearly aimed to the adults in the room so I would say it's definitely not just for kids.

1. Yup. He is a WDW veteran comedic actor. He has performed many different key comedy roles all over the property for many, many years.
A definite crowd-pleaser!
2. Yes. THIS. (I don't think they could STOP his hilarious ad libs if they wanted to... and they don't.)
3. Yes. He makes this a must-see show for all ages. (Even MORE so, if you are TIRED of "Frozen everything" at WDW.)

 

[ArielSRL]

We have 1.5 days in DHS and probably still won't get it all done. We are doing two nights there because of the SW dessert party and then Fantasmic.

 

[loves to dive]

Like others have said, I agree if it was a full day park before it will still be one. I can't imagine not going to all 4 parks but there is something we love about all of them. For us, MK is a half day park but we are AP holders and can hop from park to park. It's not all about rides at HS for us, we can't ride RNRC or Star Tours - my son has nerve damage in his spinal cord so any jerky ride is out and he also has PTSD so being in closed spaces is out and I get sick on Star Tours. We can, and do ride ToT, over and over and over, our record so far is getting on and off it 5 times. I will do TSMM once, if I'm solo I rarely do it. We love GMR and last time we were there asked if we could stand to the side and watch the movie all the way through, that took almost a hour just by itself but was well worth it. I love Beauty and the Beast and Raiders, my son isn't crazy about shows so if I'm solo, I'll do those. We love just spending time at the front of the park and walking down the street and shopping and watching the street performers. We also enjoy sitting outside at HBD lounge and just relaxing and watching the people go by. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but even I love to watch the shows for that, but I'm not a big fan of the nighttime show, too short to see the projections. For us, it and AK are our most relaxing parks, it's not about running from ride to ride but slowing down and just enjoying the place.

 

[dprincessmom]

My sister and I are heading to WDW in late Nov, after Thankgiving, and I am trying to figure out our days so I can book ADR's next week. We have 7 day non-hopper passes. She has been once before and I have been several times but this is likely my last trip (really). We will be spending 2 days each at Epcot and at AK (our favourite parks) probably 2 at MK and then I have one left that would have been for DHS but just wondering if its worth blowing a day on. I love Star Tours and really like Toy Story, like the Great Movie Ride and have seen Indiana Jones many times. I can take or leave RnR but my sister has a bad back so we likely won't do it and I won''t do ToT. Thoughts from anyone who has been recently would be much appreciated.

DHS is still one of our favs and there is always something different to try (Character greets, ride segments, holiday stuff etc) BUT isn't not a full day park for us. Perhaps you could schedule this in the middle of your trip and do rope drop, back to resort for a while to rest/recharge and then back to the park for the evening stuff. If we didn't have park hoppers this is what our plan would be.