Not Many Attractions (Rides) at HS

[yulilin3]

You’re right! I totally forgot the backlot tour. Herbie and the house for Golden Girls is about all I remember of it though. It was our first trip to WDW. My kids were 8. I made the mistake of taking them to the MK first and it was like pulling teeth to get them to any other park after that so it was a rushed in and out with 2 kids whining the whole time. lol It’s much improved since then, wouldn’t miss going now.

it was like a 3 parter tour. standing part, the tram part, the animation part I was glad when they shortened it

 

[DisDreaming4116]

You shouldn't dismiss the Frozen Sing Along on name alone. If entertainment is the goal, you'd be hard pressed to find more of it at ANY show in WDW (for people aged 1-100) than at the Frozen show.

 

[scard192]

we plan to start 2 days at DHS to get the FP+ we want and then hop to another park. Thinking 1 full day at DHS and .50/.75 day at EPCOT

 

[BrianL]

You shouldn't dismiss the Frozen Sing Along on name alone. If entertainment is the goal, you'd be hard pressed to find more of it at ANY show in WDW (for people aged 1-100) than at the Frozen show.

It is indeed a great show, though I'll put Festival of the Lion King up against your postulation for entertainment value. Frozen is very fun though, and even if you don't like Frozen that much the topical humor of the Royal Historians (especially that one dude) is always fun.

 

[yulilin3]

It is indeed a great show, though I'll put Festival of the Lion King up against your postulation for entertainment value. Frozen is very fun though, and even if you don't like Frozen that much the topical humor of the Royal Historians (especially that one dude) is always fun.

"that one dude"

 

[scard192]

You shouldn't dismiss the Frozen Sing Along on name alone. If entertainment is the goal, you'd be hard pressed to find more of it at ANY show in WDW (for people aged 1-100) than at the Frozen show.

my 2 DGDs love this show. they are 14 and 9.

 

[Frozen2014]

My kids are 13 and 19 and DHS is hands down their favorite park. ...

My kids can and do ride ToT and RnRC 4-5 times in a row at rope drop or park closing time....
DD13 absolutely loves the citizens of Hollywood. If she sees a performance when we are getting off of RnRC she runs like a bat out of hell to cop a squat and watch ...

...
I've never seen a Star Wars movie but I am excited to see SWGE. From pics I've seen it looks amazing. My DS19 is into SW so I'm excited to see it through his eyes.

I love the vibe of DHS. I can easily stroll around there without riding rides. When my kids were younger I bought the Dis hype that it was just a half day park but it's so much more for us.

DHS is now our check out day park. I always get a late flight out and we used to go to MK. Now the kids want those last few coveted FPs at DHS.

Ah to be young. Regardless of crowds, I don't think I could handle a rollercoaster 4+ times in a row...lol.

Will check out Citizens of Hollywood. Never heard of it.

Similar...I did see the original Star Wars movies but not since I was a kid so not a Star Wars fan...BUT I'm quite looking forward to seeing the new stiff. I may try watching them again, or some more recent movies (if I can sit through them).

 

[rteetz]

Will check out Citizens of Hollywood. Never heard of it.

They are awesome!

 

[Davey Jones II]

None of the parks save MK were designed as "ride" parks. Epcot was supposed to be a World's Fair, DHS was designed to be a working movie lot with an emphasis on shows, not rides. Animal Kingdom is a big and really good zoo. Over the years they've shoehorned rides in because people want rides, but that's been tough because of space, infrastructure and other limitations. If they ever build a fifth gate, I'm sure it will be heavy on rides, but the three non-MK parks weren't meant to be amusement parks, so they aren't.

True, but the whole "working movie lot" thing at DHS was always a fiction. It was a misguided attempt to copy Universal Hollywood. DHS is a far better park today, since they dropped the silly pretense that they were shooting actual movies there!

 

[loves to dive]

I have always loved the vibe at HS. I love Baseline, grabbing popcorn and a bench and people watching, listening to the music. Disney is more to me than rides.

This has always been the case for us as well. We love to sit on a bench and just take in the details. Even when my son was young, we didn't concentrate so much on rides as we did just being there. Heck, we spend about 3/4 of a day as HS a couple of weeks ago, in the wicked cold and misty rain and only rode RotR, ToT, TSMM and SWGE. We shopped, we went to Ogas, we watched the Star Wars show (can't remember the name of it) we watched the little interactions in GE, we watched the street performers (have never laughed so hard as when they were doing the dating game show). Normally I love to watch the kids do the Jedi training as well, so cute. The only reason we didn't stay longer was we got there at 6:30 to get in a boarding group and I have arthritis in my hip so with the damp cold I was hurting, we had to go back to Dolphin for me to rest and had 8:15 ADR at Topolinos so didn't get a chance to go back that day.

 

[gharter]

As for any park, if you are just looking at rides only, most parks are half day parks.
If you enjoy everything else, shows, street characters, M&Gs, evening shows, each park has more than enough for a day+.

 

[kdfogliano]

Finding now that HS is a 2 day park, although maybe 2 half days... booked a last minute March trip (and by that I mean within 60 days) so now bc of the fast past timings and having to get there at opening for RotR, AND the new Mickey/Minnie ride, we will have to spend 2 days there... not full days per se, but still 2 days. We are never ones to spend full open to close days in the parks anyway.

 

[travelgirl77]

Count me as another one who really enjoys this park, but I understand different people like different things, so thank goodness Disney has variety! HS is the first park we start with on each trip (and then hop back a couple of times throughout our stay). We like a lot of the shops over there and actually, really enjoy the rides and shows. It is small enough that we can trek all over without exhaustion (unlike Epcot), it has enough shady places to not burn up (unlike AK), and it never feels as overwhelming as MK. I also like the street characters that come out and interact with the guests. But, do what works for your family!

 

[J-Dog]

Tired old argument.

We have not been back since Star Wars opened, but would routinely spend at least 1.5 days at HS when have visited in the past.

Disney is about so much more than rides. The shows that many people dismiss are wonderful. They take a lot of time to see. We see most of the shows every single time we go. Some people consider the shows one and done. My question is Why? Because it's the same show they saw 4 years ago? Well, the Peter Pan ride at MK is the same ride it was 50 years ago, yet people would consider it blasphemy to skip it.

Theming of the lands, characters, restaurants, etc. That's the Disney experience just as much as the rides.

I completely agree with this.

WDW is about so much more than just rides.

If your only intention is to plan-out every second of your vacation and sprint from ride-to-ride, then HS is probably a half-day park.

But, if that's the case, and you plan to treat Disney like a day at the carnival at your local County Fair, then why spend the money/time/planning to even bother with Disney?

 

[Lumpy1106]

This is exactly why I always roll my eyes when someone starts going on about a "5th gate". 3 of the 4 parks are not full day parks, let alone multi-day parks, in the same sense that the MK is. If you opened a 5'th gate, guess what? It would be a 1/2 day park. Get each park up to a legitimate 15 or so rides, THEN we can discuss adding another park. Until then, the focus HAS to be on building on the existing parks.

< Proud to have gone to D/MGM in it's first season

 

[shaqfor3]

On my 2017 trip, there were only 4 rides, and I only get on 2 of them,. so I end up skipping DHS.

So 5 of the 9 rides are relative new. I went last year and I spend half a day but wish I could spend more time there. Specially since I finally did Tower of Terror and end up loving it.

I am planning going back this year and I am either gonna be 1 full day, or 2 half days. I think planning 2 half days is better than 1 day as I rather use the 6 FPs in DHS and then moving to Epcot.

 

[tinkerhon]

"that one dude"
View attachment 469987

Ben is the best !!

 

[Frozen2014]

Great responses everyone. Thanks. Sounds like different thoughts but HS does seem like a good mix of some rides but other things to take in.