Would you consider HS a full or half day park currently?

[Ducky'sMom]

We'll be first timers going the first week of February. In planning my trip, I was considering whether to dedicate a full day to HS or to do half day in the evening on the day we arrive (direct flight, we'll possibly be at AoA by 1:30). I've read that some people think there isn't much to do in HS, while others believe it's still entertaining enough to spend a whole day at. The shows we all seem to be interested in are Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones, and any of the Star Wars shows.

 

[Capang]

It really depends. We can spend an entire day there and we did this summer. We rode ToT, RnRC, ST, and TSMM and some of those we rode several times. We took our time at Star Wars launch bay and did the character meets there. My daughter did Jedi training (although if you are getting there after 10 am the sign ups will be over). We enjoyed the shows and had a great day. We also hopped over to HS several times just for fun. It was usually far less crowded than the other parks while we were there. Some people won't go right now with the construction and such but if you want to make a day of it you certainly can. If you are arriving after lunch I'd say you could easily spend the rest of the day there.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

For me it's more like a 2 hour park now. I do TSMM, ToT and Star Tours rides and then head to Epcot. Occasionally I'll add Muppetvision to that.

My husband when he goes with me also likes a 2nd Star Tours ride, see the Muppetvision show and the Launch Bay so that could bring it up to half a day.

 

[Oneanne]

It's always been a half day park for me.

 

[bdcp]

It's always been about a 4 hour park for us. We usually go in the morning, around rope drop and stay til 1. We eat lunch and then head to either Epcot or MK. DHS will be our first park this trip since we're coming to WDW from Port Canaveral, we'll just head to SOG, check in if we can, which we sometimes can early and then head to DHS before heading to DS for dinner. Now, DH wants to go see Star Wars fireworks, so we'll probably head back for that after dinner.

 

[ShadeDK]

Although you'd really have to spread your time out to do a "full" day at DHS from rope drop to closing, it's still possible to spend the better part of the day (7-8 hours) in the park. You'll end up riding and seeing most everything in the park that way - just as you'll skip a good portion of the park if you plan only a 3-4 hour "half day". The best way to gauge how much time to spend there is to plan what you want to see and then allot enough time to do those things.

Some things to keep in mind as a first time guest at DHS:
1) DHS currently has four rides - depending on who's in your party and ride preferences, it's possible there may only be 1 or 2 rides you're really interested in at DHS.
2) A full day at DHS isn't possible without seeing most of the shows. You didn't mention Fantasmic or Muppets, which I'd include.
3) If you do a full day, I'd include at least one TS meal - there are a few interesting choices at DHS.
4) There are a number of small events and attractions to see throughout the day (most related to Star Wars), but those are 5-10 minute diversions at best.

The main point is that you can do a full day at DHS, but expect to stretch your time. You'll feel like you've seen everything if you do. If that's not important, I'd say make it a "half day" to do what interests you and use the rest of your day to head out for something you like better. Based on what you've posted above, it looks more like a "half day" to me.

 

[cvjpirate]

Half day, but now I go back for the SW dessert party and fireworks.

 

[nooneshome]

Full day for me. I like to ride RnRc and Tot as many times as possible before lunch. I try to do TSMM once. I can do without the Indy show. I still like to do Beauty show and I try to ride Star Tours a couple times. And it wouldn't be a WDW trip without seeing Fantasmic. You can get a lot done in a short period of time and still have relaxing meals and a relaxing day.

 

[Capang]

We'll be first timers going the first week of February. In planning my trip, I was considering whether to dedicate a full day to HS or to do half day in the evening on the day we arrive (direct flight, we'll possibly be at AoA by 1:30). I've read that some people think there isn't much to do in HS, while others believe it's still entertaining enough to spend a whole day at. The shows we all seem to be interested in are Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones, and any of the Star Wars shows.

Will you have park hoppers or the dining plan? You could always head over there early, maybe have lunch, and if you feel you have done it all by lunch you could hop. That way you don't have to worry about dedicating an entire day there if you are unsure.

 

[tnolan]

It used to be a full day park for us, but the way it is currently, the only things we are really interested in are Indiana Jones Stunt Show, One Man's Dream/Walt Disney Presents, and Fantasmic. We will probably be making this a park hopper in late afternoon/evening after Animal Kingdom this trip, so we can be sure and catch Fantasmic without having to spend hours doing nothing.

 

[amberpi]

It's never been a full day park for me. Right now I can slam through the big 4, maybe catch a re-ride on ToT, do Muppets or not, and grab a drink and a snack at HBD lounge and be at the pool/Epcot by 12-1. I'm not much for the shows though, but that's throughout WDW property. The ones I loved are long gone

 

[heather913]

It is a full day park for us. Between thrill rides (TOT & RnR) for the grown ups and my oldest, the Star Wars stuff (Jedi Training, Star Tours & the fireworks) for my husband and daughter, Frozen for my middle, and stuff for my little guy (Toy Story), it took us an entire day to do everything we wanted there and had to skip stuff we wanted to see (like Little Mermaid & Indiana Jones)

 

[Ducky'sMom]

Will you have park hoppers or the dining plan? You could always head over there early, maybe have lunch, and if you feel you have done it all by lunch you could hop. That way you don't have to worry about dedicating an entire day there if you are unsure.

We're on the dining plan. I didn't add the hopper option, though I'm wondering now if I should've for the freedom it allows. My thinking was that if HS seemed more of a half-day venture, we could knock it out that evening and it would give us more time to dedicate to the other parks.

Full day for me. I like to ride RnRc and Tot as many times as possible before lunch. I try to do TSMM once. I can do without the Indy show. I still like to do Beauty show and I try to ride Star Tours a couple times. And it wouldn't be a WDW trip without seeing Fantasmic. You can get a lot done in a short period of time and still have relaxing meals and a relaxing day.

I was wondering about the Fantasmic Dining Package. DISunplugged says to avoid Hollywood and Vine but I wonder if either of the other 2 would be worth it?

Thanks everyone for the input so far!

 

[mamamelody2]

Do you have a youngling who would like to do Jedi Training? You would have to rope drop to do that as times fill up fast.

Even without, we can definitely do a full day there. Although when we go in November, we have hoppers so it may be 2 or even 3 half days over the course of a week.
TSMM X2 or 3
RnRC X1 that's all I can handle
ToT X2 or 3
Star Tours X2 or 3
Frozen sing-along (it will just be DH and I but we are totally doing this!)
Muppets 3D
Indiana Jones stunt show
March of the First Order (DH especially will love this.)
Star Wars stage show
Wander Launch Bay
Wander Tatooine Traders and try to keep DH from buying everything
Meet BB8
Meet Chewie
Meet Mickey & Minnie
Meet Olaf
Meet Baby Groot
Fantasmic! (we have never seen it, but determined to do so this trip.)
If our trip was a different time of year, we would want to see the Star Wars nighttime show, but it will be Jingle Bell Jingle Bam when we are there and I have no problem skipping that.

 

[disneygirlsng]

Definitely a full day park for me, there is still so much to do there! I could even do 1.5 days. I think a lot of it depends on how often you go. I can see how it could potentially be a half day park to those who go every year or several times each year. But if you only go every few years or it's your first time, then it is absolutely a full day park.

 

[notrub98]

It's my favorite "arrival day" park! I usually arrive at the gates at 2:30-3:00 and it's perfect for us!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

It's my sister's favorite park so we used to spend full days there, but now we're going to grab an early dinner at the SciFi (4:30) and leave.

 

[pens4821]

We actually think every park is a half day park. That's why we get hoppers. We go multiple days, so we can ride the rides we really like multiple times, just different days. Although we don't do meets, and not all shows so that's a major reason we don't need a full day in any park. We like the rides, and a couple shows at each park. We could make a full day at any park, but choose to go 2 (maybe 3) times to spread the excitement.

 

[loves to dive]

We actually think every park is a half day park. That's why we get hoppers. We go multiple days, so we can ride the rides we really like multiple times, just different days. Although we don't do meets, and not all shows so that's a major reason we don't need a full day in any park. We like the rides, and a couple shows at each park. We could make a full day at any park, but choose to go 2 (maybe 3) times to spread the excitement.

This is sort of us, we rarely spend more than 4 or 5 hours in any park, we have APs but before we did we had hoppers. We tend to go to one park in the morning, go back to the resort for some pool time or rest time then back to a park later.

 

[magical-me]

half day. we like the early magic hours when it's available. we pretty much rode and saw most of everything by 2pm.

we do come back later that evening for Fire works and stuff.