MGM - Half day?

[SkylarKD]

I keep hearing people saying that MGM is a half-day park. For those of you who say this, is it because you aren't interested in most of the attractions, and have visited a bunch of times before?

My fiance and I will be going to WDW at the end of August for our honeymoon / first WDW trip. We want to see everything at MGM except Playhouse Disney, The Little Mermaid, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Beauty and the Beast Live, and maybe Sounds Dangerous. It's hard to believe that we will be able to do the remaining attractions in half a day. We're planning for a day, but if we get finished early, we'll just go to another park in the evening.

So... what makes MGM a half-day park for you?

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

The Studios is definitely not a half day park if you are interested in the many shows there. You will probably need more than one day if you want to ride all the attractions and see all the really high quality shows that they put on. You will also need time to enjoy some meals there. We love the 50's Prime Time but there is also Mama Melroses and Brown Derby and Hollywood and Vine.
Since my DS is almost 14 now we spend a LOT of time at the Disney Studios. We both love Tower of Terror while I barely tolerate Rock 'n Roller Coaster. A lot more to see and do there than you can imagine.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

The only "rides" in MGM are The Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror, Rock N RollerCoaster, The Backlot Tour, and Star Wars.

The "shows" are Sounds Dangerous, Indiana Jones, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, Beauty and The Beast, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Jim Henson's 3-D.

As soon as you enter the park, go over to ToT and RnR, they are next to each other. Get a FP for one and stand in line for the other. Save the Great Movie Ride for when you are leaving the park. The line can get really long first thing in the morning. After you have ToT and RnR out of the way, plan your day by what shows are near each ride. Star Wars is in between Indiana Jones, and Jim Henson 3-D. If the line is long at Star wars, get a FP and go to one of the shows, after Star Wars, go to the other show.

MGM is very easily a half day park without skipping much IF you are organized and have a plan.

BTW, you shouldn't skip The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. That show is great! Even without kids!

 

[meeko_33785]

Without the attractions you mentioned you didn't want to do, there are only 7 attractions in the park left. The Backlot Tour, One Man's Dream, Disney Animation, MuppetVision, and Great Movie Ride are all 20-35 minutes, so doing all those will take about 2 hours not including the time waiting in line and traveling from one attraction to another. Personally, I would say that you'll probably want more than a half day.

 

[MelanieC]

MGM is my DH's favorite park and we always spend at least 2 days there. This year we have 2 1/2 days planned.

We also do RnR & TOT first, we ride them several times in a row before they get too busy. The shows can sometimes be tough to time out and that's why it takes some time to see this park. We like to relax and enjoy our day and see all the great stuff that the parks have to offer. We always have lunch at the Prime Time or Sci Fi and then spend the afternoon seeing shows and riding the rides. Fantasmic at the end of the day are great too.

Don't short change yourself on this park unless you only have a couple of days to see everything. It's a great park with a lot of fun things to do. Not everyone feels the same way, but you won't know till you try the park.

 

[QuickGold]

I don't consider MGM a half day park, assuming you experience nearly all the attractions. Those who choose not to experience the thrill rides of Tower or Coaster, tend to consider it a half day park. It really all depends on how willing you are to experience everything.

 

[bumcat]

With all the shows and rides it takes us a full day to really enjoy the park.

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

It's easy to enjoy a full day. Skip Playhouse Disney without a doubt. It is totally for preschoolers...nothing wow, just cute if you love those characters, but Voyage of the Little Mermaid is very cool -- even for adults. Neat special effects, good music, etc. You might consider hitting this one if you have the time. Beauty and the BEast is a Broadway show style performance, and it is good, but can be skipped without missing out on true Disney magic, but that Voyage of the Little Mermaid is really a good one!

I'm a mom of three little ones so we've been to them all -- I can honestly say Voyage of the Little Mermaid is one of *my* favorites in all of WDW (speaking as an adult - not just a mom ) . Just wanted to put that out there for you to consider.

Enjoy!

 

[msr709]

I personally LOVE MGM, the RnR and ToT are two of my favorite rides, we also try to do them several times in a row before the crowds get large, then on to the rest of the park. All the shows (which IMHO) deserve viewing except the Sounds Dangerous (unless you want to get out of the heat for a while), its really the only show I do not recommend. The others like B&B (do not miss), VotLM, WWtbaM, GMR, M4d, ST, and let us not forget the best of the best, Fantasmic!. I would never consider MGM a 1/2 day park but that is my preference. Have great trip!

 

[LovesHauntedMansion]

I don't do ToT, RnRC or Plahouse Disney but i still can't do it all in one day & I get there when they open & leave after Fantasmic. If you look at a list of attractions it looks like it can be done, but at MGM it always seems like I have to walk from one end to the other a few times to catch show times. Don't miss the Little Mermaid. It is my fav show out of all 4 parks.

 

[wannabee princess]

What makes DS a half-day park for me? It never is!! Well, except the fact that this trip I will only have 2 days to spend in the World!

We love the Studios! I am a huge movie fan, we love the thrill rides, the shows are not to be missed! So, usually we spend at least one and half days in the park!

This particular trip, I am planning to split a day between Epcot and DS just so I can at least do a few of our favorites.

I'll be interested to see how much (or how little) we can accomplish when we HAVE to at least do TOT and RnRC - preferably more than once!

 

[debkorb1]

I have to say I agree with most that MGM is a full day (perhaps with a short break to recharge the batteries). Many of the attractions take time not only because they are themselves long, but because browsing after some of them can be fun. For example, after the Backlot tour there is a great Villains display with lots of memorabilia and after the Disney animation tour there are a few things to look at and savour (the original Toy Story sketches got me quite excited!).

Also, dining and shopping can be an experience at MGM so you should leave time for that. On my recent trip we never rushed out of the parks because there are few places where you get such an amazing atmosphere - for a honeymoon couple on their first trip this is doubly true!!!

I concur with an earlier poster that Little Mermaid is worth seeing; you might not like it, but don't dismiss until you see it! Both my boyfriend and I enjoyed it even though it is a bit sappy - surely on a honeymoon you'll be indulgent

 

[sugermouse]

Yeah... hands down NOT a half day. The studios is a lot of fun if you actually take some time. The problem is most people rush it and then say they don't like it. The studios has a lot too offer, so I would definitly do more than just a half of a day.

 

[tar heel]

We love MGM and it's often a half-day park for us, but that's on three or four different days!!! ToT is my favorite attraction in all the parks. MGM also has just great atmosphere and you have to slow down and spend some time there to absorb it. You never know when you will run into one of the Hollywood residents. I also would reconsider skipping Millionaire (live, very interactive and I always want to do it again), Beauty and the Beast (excellent live show) and Mermaid (very creative). Although it's nothing special, I would do Sounds Dangerous once unless you are really short on time. Playhouse Disney is a definite skip unless you have very small children.