Is Hollywood Studios worth it?

[sarahbug79]

We are taking our 3 kids for the first time at the end of January for 7 days. Really we are in the parks for 6 days. The girls are 6 & 3 and the boy is 20 months. I had reservations at Hollywood and Vine for lunch but just canceled due to poor reviews, we booked a dinner at Boatwrights we are staying at POFQ so it's close and looks to have good reviews. Now I am wondering if we should even bother with HS these attractions are closed

* Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey: Operates Seasonally; Temporarily Closed [January 8, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
* The American Film Institute Showcase: Closed [January 8, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
* Studio Backlot Tour: Closed for Refurbishment [January 8, 2009 to January 31, 2009]
* Voyage of The Little Mermaid: Closed for Refurbishment [January 27, 2009 to January 29, 2009]

on the days were are going. WE don't have park hopper so is it still worth it to spend a day there. So far we are going to MK 3 days, Epcot 1, AK 1 which other park would be worth spending extra time in?

Thanks so much
Sarah

 

[dancin'girl]

We plan to visit HS for a half day.
Our kids are 4 and 2, so there isn't alot for them to do. On our last trip, DD was 2 and she loved the Playhouse Disney show. Now that they have updated it with all the current charcters from TV, I know both of my kids will LOVE it. If your children watch Playhouse Disney, they would probably like it, too. Another big hit was the Honey We Shrunk the Kids Playground. DD had a blast. My husband rode the ToT, we walked around a bit and then had lunch at the Playhouse Disney Character Meal (I think the one that you cancelled?). It was the one with JoJo and the Little Einsteins. My DD was into JoJo at the time, so it was enjoyable. The food was ok, but DD liked jumping up to dance with the characters to the music. She recognized the music because it was theme songs from the TV shows. Again, if your kids like those characters, they may enjoy it. We are passing this year because the kids aren't really into those characters any longer. I wish they would update it to include Handy Manny and Darby, then we would definitely be there!
So...we don't plan to do much at HS, but its still worth the trip because of the Playhouse Disney stuff and the ToT for hubby.

 

[trvlgirlmq]

We aren't fans of HS. We like MK 3 days, Epcot 1 day and AK 2 days. AK is a smaller park and you can do it all in 1 day but if you go back you can see all the little details you missed the first time. Go on the safari again, spend lots of time at the Conservation Station talking to the CM's. It's a relaxing day spent in a beautiful environment. It also closes earlier than the other parks and we like the 2 early nights to swim at the hotel and get to bed before midnight!

 

[Nissan_Rogue_Squad]

If you were going when I would be there, then I would say no don't go to HS, but that would also be my way of making sure there was less people in my way to get to TSMM.

Since you are going when I will not be there, then I will say YES it is worth going.

My DD is now 3 and we went to HS in Sept (she was still 2 at that time). She loves so many different shows and even yes some of the attactions. She gets excited whenever she see's Mickey or any of the characters. That being drawings, shows etc. and even more so when it's at meet & greets.

We had lunch at Hollywood & Vine. and yes it is a buffet and probably not my favorite buffet, but she enjoyed meeting every character that stopped by. The food was actually enjoyable for the most part. I just tried to pay attention to see if the food may have been sitting out a little longer than other items. I also noticed that it appears they may be using smaller serving platters so that food goes more quickly and is cooked more often, thus resulting in fresh food being served.

Plan for as many of the shows as you can. Also plan your day to meet & greet the characters. If at all possible go with family members or another family so that you can take turns watching the little ones, then you can hit ToT and RnR.

Personally I wish we could have had about 1.5 days in this park, our DD had plenty of fun and she's a decent movie buff already at her young age, so seeing and learning about the movies is fun for her as well.

Just my random thoughts for the day.

Jason

 

[summermac]

I love the Muppet Show so we are going to DHS. Then there's the Tower of Terror, the Star Wars thing and the Rockin' Rollercoaster. So yes, imo, it's worth it to go!!

Oh and the Beauty & the Best show. That's my favorite movie.

 

[asoko]

I liked the lunch buffet at Hollywood and Vine. The kids DS4 and DD2 at that time, enjoyed meeting the characters. I like HS for my DD because of the shows. This year, she was so excited to see the Beauty and the Beast show and Little Mermaid, but that you said is closed when you are there. My husband made us wait for Prince Caspian. I told him no, but he insisted. Later I found out he thought he would be able to sit down. NO this is a stand up short doc on the making of the film and seeing about 4 costumes. The kids were tired and we held them the entire time.

DS loved meeting Buzz, Woody, Lightning, Mater and the Power Rangers. TSM is fun, but not worth 2 hour wait. My nephews loved Star Tours and the Jedi show. We wouldn't have done the backstage tour (not nearly what it used to be) or sounds dangerous no matter what.

I would go to HS again just for the kids.

 

[irene_dsc]

With 2 little girls and Voyage of the Little Mermaid being closed, that's a toughie. That was my dd's favorite thing of the entire park. She did like the playground a lot. They were re-doing the Playhouse Disney show when we were there, so we missed that. The other big things we did there were Star Tours and the Jedi Training Academy with ds, and Lights, Motor, Action - but those were more for ds. We missed Beauty & the Beast - it didn't work with our other show times. We also didn't stay for Fantasmic - I was worried it would scare the kids, and so we scheduled that as our date night.

 

[hmdavid]

Our girls are 4 and 6 and they had a great time at DHS! They loved the Playhouse Disney show, The Muppet 3D show and meeting Prince Caspian. You can go in to meet him without seeing the rest of the attraction. Toy Story Mania is a BLAST for everyone! The highlight for our girls was the Block Party Bash. They had so much fun dancing with the cast members!

 

[coastiewifern]

I agree with those posting as to why it is worth it. I love HS. Beauty and the beast I am sure they would enjoy. Also we find it is easier to find character greets in this park. Maybe because it isn't as spread out? I don't know we just always have good luck here.

 

[LovinPooh]

So basically 1 day is enough at HS? If you mostly just want to ride TOT and RNR and TSM?

 

[sarahbug79]

If we move our days around I think the little mermaid thing would be open so instead of doing
MK
HS
EP
AK
MK
MK

we could go
MK
MK
EP
AK
MK
HS

HS our last day Little mermaid would then be open. Now is it more worth it? Also that last day we have morning dining at Ohana so it's a late start day for us, maybe it would be better to do HS that day?

 

[robin09]

We also like HS! Between Toy Story Mania, The Great movie ride, and especially the Block Party Bash is the BEST parade for the kids! So much to do, Fantasmic, Beauty & the Beast and more... just my 2 cents!

 

[sashagiselle]

We went in Dec. and my girls absolutely loved HS. The Beauty & the beast show, Toy Story Mania, the Muppets, Playhouse Disney. We all loved the Sci-Fi dinner, We liked the feel of HS and will definitely go back.

 

[shaunaday]

HS is our very favorite park!! We went to HS for 1 full day and then went back 3 different evenings. (Of course, we are huge Broadway/Music/Movie fans.)

 

[sarahbug79]

okay okay, I think I have decided to move my days around go to HS our last day getting there maybe not until early afternoon and staying for the block party bash, etc. Thanks for your help, now I am actually excited to go I just didn't know if there was enough for little kids there.

Sarah

 

[nessz79]

If we move our days around I think the little mermaid thing would be open so instead of doing
MK
HS
EP
AK
MK
MK

we could go
MK
MK
EP
AK
MK
HS

HS our last day Little mermaid would then be open. Now is it more worth it? Also that last day we have morning dining at Ohana so it's a late start day for us, maybe it would be better to do HS that day?

I'm sure that would be worth it. Although, if you want to get fastpasses for TSMM, I've heard they run out fast, often by noon. So you'd want to grab those first thing.

 

[npmommie]

We love HS! the last time we spent from mid morning til almost closing time there! lots to do, lots of characters, good shows, and of course TOT and RRC

my dd did the TOT 10 times and the rockin rc 4 times!
while hubby and dd were over indulging on TOT my ds and I did the beauty and the beast show, and saw lightning mcqueen and mater characters.

 

[mom_to_2]

Have you seen the Playskool maps they have for each park? They list all of the things that younger kids are likely to like at each park. They are on the WDW website, but unfort I cant get the site to load right now...

 

[disneycruiser2007]

We went between Christmas and New Years (just turned 5 and just turned 8). We loved Little Mermaid, Back lot studio tour, and Playhouse Disney.

Both our kids also liked a lot the Block Party Bash (if they get up front the ones that are walking, maybe the 4 year old if she's not shy might get picked to dance).

We loved the Osborne Family Christmas lights, and as adults we really loved Fantasmic (best show in the park - but, it's very loud and the bad guys from all the movies plotting against Mickey may be too intense for the little ones).

We wish we would have seen but ran out of time for the Beauty and the Beast live, and were interested but couldn't get into Toy Story Mania 4D.

As grown-ups we got a kick out of Prime Time 50s cafe (actually the two of us went to the bar section and got rootbeer floats - we could have gotten fountain sodas). Prime Time 50s cafe is split into the restaurant and bar - they're next to each other, and its listed as one of the attractions for pre-schoolers. Lots of people seem to like it.

 

[Mcbruns]

If you were going when I would be there, then I would say no don't go to HS, but that would also be my way of making sure there was less people in my way to get to TSMM.

Jason

Yeah -- what he said ! We loved Toy Story Mania (kids, parents and Grandma)!