Please help me plan my DHS day

[kpolumbo]

Please help me plan my DHS day! I feel ok with plans for my Epcot day and 2 MK days, but I'm really struggling with my DHS day.

Traveling with DH, DS (8) and twin DD's (turning 6 while there). We're all huge Star Wars fans, so that's a big priority there. Kids are interested in doing JTA. I'm worried the wait to sign up in the morning could waste some of our early morning park hours. I did manage to get an 8:25 ADR for Hollywood & Vine and could use that to get in early and sign up for JTA. I don't want to spend too long at the restaurant and miss the early morning hours because of that either though. Using it as a throwaway reservation (paying the $50 penalty for being a no-show) to sign up for JTA early and then head to rides at rope drop is something I would consider doing. Kids are big into Toy Story, Belle and Ariel too. We are doing the Star Wars dessert party and will need to check in around 7:00 pm for that. Other than that day is free, no lunch plans made, and plan to be there early. We will be there on what I expect to be a pretty busy day, Monday March 27th.

Here are the things we'd like to do (not necessarily in order of preference), can you help me figure out a plan (order, fast pass times/suggestions, etc)?

-JTA
-Star Wars Galaxy Far Far Away Show
-Ride Star Tours at least once
-Meet Chewy
-Meet Kylo Ren
-Look around Star Wars Launch Bay (don't need/want to watch the movie in there)
-See the march of the First Order / Captain Phasma (don't necessarily need to see the show that goes with it, just want to catch them marching down the street)
-Meet Wood and Buzz
-Ride Toy Story Mania
-See Beauty and the Beast Show
-See Ariel Show
-Meet Olaf
-Ride Tower of Terror (just me and DS)
-Meet Moana (if there's time)
-Eat lunch somewhere (QS if we keep our Hollywood and Vine reservation, if not then 50's Prime Time Cafe or a QS)

 

[hiroMYhero]

Please help me plan my DHS day! I feel ok with plans for my Epcot day and 2 MK days, but I'm really struggling with my DHS day.

Traveling with DH, DS (8) and twin DD's (turning 6 while there). We're all huge Star Wars fans, so that's a big priority there. Kids are interested in doing JTA. I'm worried the wait to sign up in the morning could waste some of our early morning park hours. I did manage to get an 8:25 ADR for Hollywood & Vine and could use that to get in early and sign up for JTA. I don't want to spend too long at the restaurant and miss the early morning hours because of that either though. Using it as a throwaway reservation (paying the $50 penalty for being a no-show) to sign up for JTA early and then head to rides at rope drop is something I would consider doing. Kids are big into Toy Story, Belle and Ariel too. We are doing the Star Wars dessert party and will need to check in around 7:00 pm for that. Other than that day is free, no lunch plans made, and plan to be there early. We will be there on what I expect to be a pretty busy day, Monday March 27th.

Here are the things we'd like to do (not necessarily in order of preference), can you help me figure out a plan (order, fast pass times/suggestions, etc)?

-JTA
-Star Wars Galaxy Far Far Away Show
-Ride Star Tours at least once
-Meet Chewy
-Meet Kylo Ren
-Look around Star Wars Launch Bay (don't need/want to watch the movie in there)
-See the march of the First Order / Captain Phasma (don't necessarily need to see the show that goes with it, just want to catch them marching down the street)
-Meet Wood and Buzz
-Ride Toy Story Mania
-See Beauty and the Beast Show
-See Ariel Show
-Meet Olaf
-Ride Tower of Terror (just me and DS)
-Meet Moana (if there's time)
-Eat lunch somewhere (QS if we keep our Hollywood and Vine reservation, if not then 50's Prime Time Cafe or a QS)

Arrive at DHS before 8:00a and enter through the Dining Reservation entrance. Send one adult and DS to sign up for JTA while the other adult with kids go to H&V to check-in. As soon as DS and adult #1 arrive, you should be able to be seated and complete your breakfast in 45 minutes.

Book FPs for TSMM, Star Tours, and ToT.

 

[kpolumbo]

Arrive at DHS before 8:00a and enter through the Dining Reservation entrance. Send one adult and DS to sign up for JTA while the other adult with kids go to H&V to check-in. As soon as DS and adult #1 arrive, you should be able to be seated and complete your breakfast in 45 minutes.

Book FPs for TSMM, Star Tours, and ToT.

Thank you! All 3 kiddos want to do JTA I could take them all with me to check in though while DH checks into H&V. That's great to know about the breakfast timing! That won't put us too much behind the rope drop crowd. Those 3 fast passes sound good to me too. What would you suggest we head to first after finishing breakfast?

Anybody know what the wait times are like for meeting Woody/Buzz, Olaf, Chewy and Kylo? We do have a Disney Chase Visa card, so we can do that M&G for Kylo.

 

[hiroMYhero]

If you want to ride TSMM twice, head there after you leave H&V and ride Standby, then ride with your FP.

If you don't care about riding twice, go meet Olaf then Woody and Buzz.

Be sure to allot an hour for JTA. The kids have to check-in about 30 minutes before their session begins and the JTA session is at least 25 minutes.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

You have a lot on your list. JTA takes a pretty big chunk out of your days and shows can complicate things since you end up with dead time where you can't squeeze something else in before a show starts. I would make a list of the things you are ok missing. If you don't have touring plans I would recommend it to give you a reasonable idea of how long it's going to take to do things.

 

[goopysolelady]

Thank you! All 3 kiddos want to do JTA I could take them all with me to check in though while DH checks into H&V. That's great to know about the breakfast timing! That won't put us too much behind the rope drop crowd. Those 3 fast passes sound good to me too. What would you suggest we head to first after finishing breakfast?

Anybody know what the wait times are like for meeting Woody/Buzz, Olaf, Chewy and Kylo? We do have a Disney Chase Visa card, so we can do that M&G for Kylo.

In December, wait time for Chewy was around 30 minutes; Olaf was between 30 & 45 minutes. We timed our entrance just right for the March of the First Order...march began about 15-20 minutes after we entered around 9 AM and the show followed immediately in front of GMR building. I can't seem to locate my time schedule but I know I heard the music 3-4 more times during the day. We found HS rather crowded December 9th. Some friends of ours were there the first week in January and thought it was crowded too. You need to remember, only half the park is "open" with the rest being under construction.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Have you considered doing the new Star Wars tour in DHS? For about $200+ more than what you are already spending on the dessert party and H&V, it will basically take care of everything you want to do related to Star Wars (reserved viewing for the shows, JTA sign up, the dessert party, plus a QS meal is included). I know it's only offered two days a week, so I don't know if it would fit into your plans. But possibly something to consider so your Star Wars stuff is taken care of and you only have to worry about planning the other rides, shows and M&G's.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...urStartsatDisneysHollywoodStudiosJanuary20002

 

[tlmadden73]

Can you switch days around?
Are you staying onsite?

I am going in the same time frame and the previous day (Sunday) is a morning EMH for DHS. We chose that day to help the boys in the group get signed up for JTA (and to get on some rides without FP). Unfortunately my son is too scared to try JTA, but we will still be going during the EMH with the rest of the group.
I would think that is more economical than spending $50 to throwaway a breakfast reservation.

Since you don't have a lot of rides on your plan .. I would do the M&Gs and Launch Bay stuff in the morning and have your Fast Passes for the afternoon/evening . .but try and hit TSMM or Star Tours at Rope Drop for multiple rides! You'll just need some flexibility since M&G times may vary.

I'm curious about the crowds for Disney that week as it is sorta between normal mid-March Spring break and the Easter break. I can't imagine DHS really being that crowded as it just has so little to do now, but who knows. Since literally half the park is closed (area-wise) .. it just may feel crowded.

 

[kpolumbo]

Have you considered doing the new Star Wars tour in DHS? For about $200+ more than what you are already spending on the dessert party and H&V, it will basically take care of everything you want to do related to Star Wars (reserved viewing for the shows, JTA sign up, the dessert party, plus a QS meal is included). I know it's only offered two days a week, so I don't know if it would fit into your plans. But possibly something to consider so your Star Wars stuff is taken care of and you only have to worry about planning the other rides, shows and M&G's.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...urStartsatDisneysHollywoodStudiosJanuary20002

Yes, definitely considering this as an option and using our morning to meet some characters, FP ToT and TSMM and see a couple shows. I agree, that'd take soooo much stress off! It's pretty expensive for a family of 5 though... $650 on top of park admission Other worry is that if it rains, I think we'd be out of luck for a lot of it (JTA, outdoor shows, etc) after having paid a lot of $. Still am considering it though!

Can you switch days around?
Are you staying onsite?

I am going in the same time frame and the previous day (Sunday) is a morning EMH for DHS. We chose that day to help the boys in the group get signed up for JTA (and to get on some rides without FP). Unfortunately my son is too scared to try JTA, but we will still be going during the EMH with the rest of the group.
I would think that is more economical than spending $50 to throwaway a breakfast reservation.

Since you don't have a lot of rides on your plan .. I would do the M&Gs and Launch Bay stuff in the morning and have your Fast Passes for the afternoon/evening . .but try and hit TSMM or Star Tours at Rope Drop for multiple rides! You'll just need some flexibility since M&G times may vary.

I'm curious about the crowds for Disney that week as it is sorta between normal mid-March Spring break and the Easter break. I can't imagine DHS really being that crowded as it just has so little to do now, but who knows. Since literally half the park is closed (area-wise) .. it just may feel crowded.

We are staying on site but we arrive on Sunday late afternoon/early evening, so switching days wouldn't be an option for us. We could possibly switch it with our Epcot day (Wed) but we have some pretty good ADRs locked in already for our current plan. I'll try to remember to let you know how the crowds are that week. I'm curious too since it's kind of an off-Spring break but before Easter. Hopefully not too too bad! We have always gone the first week in June, and the crowds were not too bad then, especially with a good plan in place, it is HOT though. Looking forward to the cooler temps. This is our first time going since FP+ started, so figuring all that out is a whole new ballgame. I like your idea of M&G's/launch bay in the morning and FP the rides in the afternoon. Was thinking of doing a late JTA (6ish) right before our Star Wars dessert party.