Not sure about a day at DHS - not understanding the draw...

[ElizabethG]

I would go to MK on day 5, like you mentioned. First, it is always my kids favorite. Second, going to HDDR from MK is super easy. The boat drops you off right by the venue.

As for day 3, just go with your gut. Some years my kids have preferred HS, some years AK. However, if you have a big Frozen fan, You may not want to skip it.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/hollywood-studios/frozen-summer-celebration/

 

[nkereina]

I don't see the value in skipping a park on your first trip. I'm of the opinion that you should experience as much as you can (at a comfortable pace) and see for yourself what you like and don't like. On subsequent trips, you can customize it to cover everything you like best.

I have a friend with a 5 year old DD and I just talked her into going. They'll do the Disney Junior character breakfast at H&V, TSMM and Toy Story character meets, Disney Junior show, Beauty & The Beast, Little Mermaid, and also do the Frozen Summer Fun stuff. Might only take them a half a day, but I do think it's worth it. Especially if you have a park hopper.

 

[itchin2go]

There's getting to be so few things to do between Future World in Epcot and Hollywood Studios that we've come to consider both as one large park with a boat ride in the middle. We'll spend the morning/afternoon in Epcot and then take the boat over to HS with FP's for Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Rockin' Roller Coaster then head back to Epcot for Illuminations.

If you are not a fan of World Showcase, I can see this being a perfect answer. We're big World Showcase fans, though, and would rather spend the evening at Epcot. If nothing else, it's just so beautiful at night! Plus, we tend to like to dine somewhere in World Showcase a couple of nights.

 

[cjparker0110]

We are going for 6 days and I have 6 day tickets with no hoppers (and we will not be buying one) . We also have a waterpark ticket so I am making that a half day with something.

Here is my proposed schedule but I am surprising dd so I plan on making our departure day her choice.
Day 1 (arrival day) Head to MK then off to GF for 1900 Park Fare res. So definitely not a full day at MK
Day 2 MK
Day 3 DHS?
Day 4 Waterpark - then meet DH when he arrives and go to Epcot half day
Day 5 AK, resort break, HDDR for 6:15 res
Day 6 (flight at 7) I want this to be DH's choice

My only other thought was to take out DHS switch Ak to day 3 and make day 5 another MK day. That will probably be her style and I'm not sure that 1.5 days is enough. I suppose if it isn't she will choose to go to MK on our departure day though..... Thoughts?

It all comes down to preference at this point. I think I would switch out your DHS and Epcot. If you're already not sure about DHS, it would probably make for a better half day park than Epcot. Epcot is difficult to do in a half day. I usually try to do it over 2 days by separating out Future World from World Showcase. It's a pretty big park to tackle. It may not seem like it when looking at the maps/books, etc, but I believe the walk around World Showcase itself is over a mile. So when you add Future World to the mix, you will do a lot of walking and not seeing much while there.

DHS for a half day would work if you guys are skipping the thrill rides and just picking a select few attractions. Fantasmic is pretty awesome, but you need to know your daughter. Most kids her age handle it well, but there is a pretty intense part that has definitely left younger kids (and some more sensitive kids) crying/fearful. If she's even remotely average, she'll be fine. But if she gets freaked out by some of the meaner Disney villains, avoid it.

Are you just planning with online tools are do you have a book? I am using a combo of both with my wife since she's never been before and is concerned about how our kids might do (yes...we are already making plans for 2 years from now...but we do have a daughter that is EXTREMELY sensitive to even minor little things in movies). My favorite offline planning tool is the Birnbaum book. Usually I make a list of which attractions we HAVE to visit and which ones we'd visit if we have time. Then I make a list of where I'd like to eat and what extras I might want to do that take me out of the parks. Once I"ve done this, I look at my list and figure out where I should spend the most time. If DHS doesn't really factor in, that's ok. There is a lot to take in, especially on a first visit!

 

[sdomino11]

That's a decision you can only make.
DHS has the Frozen Sing Along, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Muppetvision 3D and Star Tours, also the Animation class is fun, it's the only park to meet Hiro and Baymax and Fantasmic! is a great way to end the day.

No way! Awesome-- where are Hiro and Baymax? In the Art of Animation area?

The park we'd choose to skip or do a half day at is AK. We love HS. I definitely find an advantage in dropping this day's plans into Touring Plans so they can be the ones to figure out how to work the attractions around the shows. Makes for a relaxing day where we're not obsessively clock-watching in order to catch the great shows. Don't let the titles of some attractions confuse you. Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground is fun to anyone who would think it'd be fun to be the size of a bug and play in the backyard. Anyone watching the Indiana Jones Stunt Show can appreciate watching dangerous stunts and learning about that aspect of movie making.

My best piece of advice-- Youtube the attractions and skim through them to get an idea of what your family would really think.

 

[verleniahall]

This is our second fav. park - we were there 3 days on our last trip

 

[yulilin3]

No way! Awesome-- where are Hiro and Baymax? In the Art of Animation area?

The park we'd choose to skip or do a half day at is AK. We love HS. I definitely find an advantage in dropping this day's plans into Touring Plans so they can be the ones to figure out how to work the attractions around the shows. Makes for a relaxing day where we're not obsessively clock-watching in order to catch the great shows. Don't let the titles of some attractions confuse you. Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground is fun to anyone who would think it'd be fun to be the size of a bug and play in the backyard. Anyone watching the Indiana Jones Stunt Show can appreciate watching dangerous stunts and learning about that aspect of movie making.

My best piece of advice-- Youtube the attractions and skim through them to get an idea of what your family would really think.

yep

 

[GillianP1301]

I've always loved HS and my DS7 has several favourite attractions there and one of the few restaurants he always asks to go back to, Sci-Fi. He loves TSMM, Muppets 3D, Star Tours and Great Movie Ride and he likes to do them all multiple times. I don't do a full day there though, we go 2 or 3 times over 9 day trip, but we use hoppers so spend a few hours there each time to cover off our favourite attractions. I can't imagine not going to HS at all, we like it too much. AK on the other hand is the park that on paper, we should love (animal lovers), but we never seem to have that great of a visit when we go there and I've never really been able to figure out why. We still go there every trip, but we spend the least amount of time there out of all the parks.

 

[FirstTimeDisneyVisit]

Granted its losing a few rides and shows but i still love going to this park . im not even talking about the major rides too but i do enjoy the great movie ride and spots like characterpalooza and One mans dream those are great things to enjoy as well .. Not to mention Fantasmic !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SunkistJoy]

Before we went our first time, I was baffled by friends who told me their families loved DHS. I was certain we would not really enjoy it, but planned one day there. Turns out...we LOVE it! We were there a full day our 1st trip; a day and a half this trip; and there are still things we want to try but haven't gotten a chance.

I do agree with the poster above who stated they didn't like the layout...I am constantly lost in there. But, we love it anyway.

Whether you go or not, you will have a wonderful trip!

 

[MousekaMama]

DHS is my least favorite park. It is dated, and I'm happy to hear that they plan to do a major overhaul of this park. That said, we took my oldest for his 3rd birthday, and there was a surprising amount of things he enjoyed. He was excited to meet many of his favorite characters here, especially those he recognized from the Disney Jr. channel. I think for our next trip we will only spend a half day in this park or break it up with a trip back to the resort, as there was not enough to keep him entertained from morning until the Fantasmic show, but we aren't ready to cross this one off our list just yet. In fact, we found that there was more that DS enjoyed in DHS than in Epcot.

 

[Disney93]

For me, I would never skip HS. This is my favorite park even if not on a ride. The street performers are a riot and pick people from the crowd to join in some shows from time to time. I know some attractions are in need of work but they still entertain me.

 

[tmbacon]

We were at WDW a couple of weeks ago and spend about 3/4th of one day at DHS - we went in the morning, did our FP+'s, went to ESPN Wide World of Sports to watch a Braves/Tigers game, then went BACK to the park for dinner at 50's Prime Time and stayed until closing. It was awesome! And WWoS is not all that far away, so it worked out pretty well (granted we had a car, so transportation was pretty easy).

I do like DHS although it's probably 3rd or 4th on the list.

 

[eliza61]

For me, I would never skip HS. This is my favorite park even if not on a ride. The street performers are a riot and pick people from the crowd to join in some shows from time to time. I know some attractions are in need of work but they still entertain me.

Me too, i love DHS. I actually like the fact that it doesn't have a ton of thrill rides.

 

[tbia]

I would go to DHS just for Characterpalooza

 

[staceyeileen]

Are you going to be there during the Frozen summer activities? The Frozen fireworks are amazing!! Fantasmic + Frozen fireworks makes for some great evening entertainment. There's also the Frozen parade and of course the sing-a-long. You have a daughter, so I'm going to assume these would all be must-dos.

 

[Suzanne74]

It is my 5yr old's favorite place! She loves ToT though. She has been riding it since she was 3yrs old. There is not a lot of walking and tons of characters not found elsewhere. The playground is a lot of fun. The shows are great. The new Frozen show is awesome. Most 10yr olds love Rockin Roller Coaster

However, if your 10yr old is not into thrills, there are not many rides. Toy Story Mania and Star Tours are both really good though. Two of our favorites in all 4 parks.

Fantasmic is great and then maybe you can take the boat over to Beach n Cream for a big ice cream and walk the boardwalk to watch the performers.

 

[ghoulardi]

Our kids still like going there every trip. My DW and I not as much...

 

[tasha99]

Love HS (and California Adventure at DLR). I like to go on ToT over and over and over . . .

 

[cbellasmomma]

What is Characterpalooza? And do you need a Fantasmic FP? It would be a toss up between FP TSMM and Fantasmic. I love all the suggestions. DD isn't a huge Frozen fanatic but we will be there in August so perhaps it would be worth it to see the Frozen events. If we went I would probably plug it into day 3 and go with dd after a waterpark morning or resort break morning so it would definitely be a half day for us. She would want to see the fireworks/Fantasmic anyway.