Help with Hollywood Studios: How much did you like it?

[carolinamama]

We are doing WDW in September! We have five full days in Orlando and so far our schedule is:

Sun - MK
Mon - Epcot
Tues - free daytime, Mickey's Halloween party in evening
Wed - ???
Thur - Universal

We tend to be rope drop people and stay until close. And obviously we will be up late at the Halloween party as I am planning to stay for the whole thing. Originally I was thinking Seaworld on Wednesday but now I'm wondering if we should do Hollywood Studios instead. I'm thinking we will get to a park at rope drop on Wednesday but will be tired a bit earlier since we won't have too much sleep the night before. Our kids are 9, 6, and 4. If it matters, we've done a decent amount of tough international travel, with the older 2 and they are serious troopers.

I just want to see what people really liked. Did your kids like Hollywood Studios? Anyone been to Seaworld?

Hopefully this wasn't too confusing! It's crazy how much effort I'm putting into this trip but I want it to go as smoothly as possible. Thank you!

[keh602]

We like Hollywood Studios, but it isn't necessarily a full day park for us. Do you have park hopper tickets by any chance? Our kids are similar ages as yours (9, 6, and 3), and while we *can* spend a full day at HS, we usually don't. Toy Story Midway Mania is one of our very favorite rides of all of them at WDW, so I'd hate to miss that one. Star Tours and Tower of Terror are also a lot of fun. The Great Movie Ride is another one that I enjoy a lot. If we didn't FP+ Toy Story, we'd do Rock 'n Rollercoaster. When we were there in May, it was for Star Wars Weekends, so there was a lot of extra stuff going on, but it was also super crowded and difficult to do anything that we didn't have FastPasses for. I would think that in September you'd be able to do pretty much anything you wanted to there.

We are also rope drop (or shortly thereafter) to closing people, so I have troopers too. :) If you do have park hoppers, I'd probably go to HS early and get your FP there, and then go to another park in the evening and do whatever you can. Two of my favorite things to do in the evening are closing down the MK and taking advantage of the late hours to ride things over and over again; and closing down Epcot by leisurely wandering the World Showcase.

[bnme]

We really like HS. Things we love - Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, car stunt show (if they are still doing), Indiana Jones show, Tower of Terror. It is kind of show-heavy so it may depend if your family likes that. Fantasmic is also a great and different evening show. You can usually add a day at WDW for a lot less then getting another theme park ticket (Seaworld). And I have to say, we really did not like SeaWorld and actually left after just a few hours when we went last August. We found many attractions closed, rude and unhelpful staff, did not like the dolphin show, etc, etc. Curious on others SW opinions. Maybe we just hit a bad day? We did love their waterpark, Aquatica.

[klwa]

DHS was DD1's favorite park when we went last year. She was 5 at the time. Tower of Terror & the Beauty & the Beast stage show were her favorites. DS was more into Star Tours.

However, it's the one park I'd recommend skipping if you want to skip a park. There isn't much (ride-wise) to do, especially if your child doesn't meet the height requirements. Now, they've closed down the Backlot Tour, the Animation building, The American Idol Experience. But, they have added the Frozen Sing Along. So, if you go, I'd say you can easily plan to go back to the hotel a little early. Or go back to rest at the hotel & come back for Fantasmic.

[acmom]

I haven't been to SeaWorld so no help there, but I think HS could be a great park for the day after the Halloween Party since I agree with others that it doesn't need to be a whole day park. My kids are 5 and 6 and we have done partial days there the last 2 trips and enjoyed it. We have combined HS with either with a pool afternoon or evening event elsewhere. We usually do a couple shows (last time did the Frozen Sing a Long and Disney Jr.) and couple rides (Star Tours - really liked this one, Toy Story Mania) and then a meal and walking around. DS and DH are big Star Wars fans so that was a big draw there for them. DH and I loved the roller coaster there too when we went pre kids! And I want to hit Fantasmic some year soon as I have heard great things.

[anonomom]

My kids are the same ages as yours (roughly) and they all like HS. The oldest loves Rock & Roller Coaster, they two older ones adore Star Tours (and the littlest would have if he'd been tall enough to ride it on our last trip) and all three like the Muppets, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, the Little Mermaid Show and the Indiana Jones show. Also, Jedi Training is really cute and special. Even with all of the closures, there's a fair amount to do there.

That said, whether I'd advise you to go would depend heavily on how much that extra day of tickets would cost. IIRC, going from a 2-day ticket to a 3-day is still very expensive. If it costs more to add a day for HS than it would to go to SW (and you don't have any moral objections to SW), then I'd skip the Studios.

I'd also add a plug for Animal Kingdom park, which is a lot of fun and you might consider for that extra day.

[acmom]

I'd also add a plug for Animal Kingdom park, which is a lot of fun and you might consider for that extra day.

:yeahthat: I didn't notice in your plan that Animal Kingdom is missing...I would def. consider that park too. We always enjoy our day there. Totally different pace and vibe than the other parks, but we love walking around (there are several trails with animals all along them), the Safari (we often do this 2x as you see different animals during different parts of the day) Lion King show, river rapids ride is fun and everest looks great when my kids are taller!

I would vote for either AK or HS over SeaWorld just for the convenience factor of being on Disney property, not having to deal with other tix/transportation, etc. And if you have park hoppers, AK or HS is easy to combine with a meal or event elsewhere that night.

[klwa]

Oh, I'm going to throw another possibility out there. Legoland! It usually opens later than the Disney parks, and was the overall favorite (kid-wise) of all the parks we went to last year. http://florida.legoland.com/ :) You can almost always find codes to get "Buy One Adult Get a Child In Free" tickets, too. Just to make things even more difficult to decide.

[SummerBaby]

We like HS but it's not a full day for us. Your 4 your old probably won't be able to ride rock n roller coaster, star tours or tower of terror. My DD2, who was 5 when we first went, hated HS because she was too short for almost everything except Toy Story. Toy Story is an awesome ride but because of the lines, you will probably only be able to ride it once. When we were there in May, DD2, now 8, was able to ride Star Tours and RnR, and they were her favorite rides. Even with riding those multiple times, it was still not a full day for us. DH and DC are not into shows and just want to ride.

[123LuckyMom]

At DHS we like Toy Story Mania, Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster, the Muppet movie (I can't remember the name), and Fantasmic. The shows were cute, too. It's our least favorite park, but we never skip it.


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[carolinamama]

Thank you for all the great replies. I am sold that we will stay at a Disney park for that day but now I'm wondering if we would like Animal Kingdom. We've done Epcot and MK (and Universal) before but never HS or AK. I'm wanting a park that won't make us want to push ourselves too hard for a full day and it sounds like both these parks fit the bill.

I meant to add that DD loves princesses and is excited about shows at this point. She is also over 40 in so could ride Tower of Terror if she wants. She's outgoing and a bit of a daredevil. My boys don't care about characters, only rides. Decisions, decisions....

[elbenn]

If your DD likes Frozen, then check out the Frozen Sing Along at HS. We loved it! Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror were big hits also. AK is also fun. If you do AK, be sure to check out the show It's Tough to be a Bug. The show was super cute with short lines and the actual show is short also.

[WatchingThemGrow]

So we've still been skipping it in favor of other options. Legoland supposedly has a short window (not good over 12years maybe?) so we decided to take advantage of that option for a couple years. (We go through the area yearly and make an overnight/park visit.) Have you considered legoland?

Before we do DHS, we'll likely do animal kingdom. We keep on hitting other zoos before going to Orlando, so we're not usually very keen on doing more animal stuff. But legos...we're good with those!

[hellokitty]

Do legoland. It's the perfect time for your kids. Next time they will be too old for it.

[flashy09]

If your kids like Disney Jr, I think it's great. I have spent hours in the all you can eat buffet meeting Doc and Sophia and the Frozen sing a long is very fun. There is also a Disney Jr stage show my 3 yr old loved. We just do half a day there, but really enjoy it.

[flashy09]

Thank you for all the great replies. I am sold that we will stay at a Disney park for that day but now I'm wondering if we would like Animal Kingdom. We've done Epcot and MK (and Universal) before but never HS or AK. I'm wanting a park that won't make us want to push ourselves too hard for a full day and it sounds like both these parks fit the bill.

I meant to add that DD loves princesses and is excited about shows at this point. She is also over 40 in so could ride Tower of Terror if she wants. She's outgoing and a bit of a daredevil. My boys don't care about characters, only rides. Decisions, decisions....

I hate saying this because I am HUGE animal lover, but AK was boring for my princess loving 3 yr old. We did the Safari and she kind of liked that (I thought it was wonderful!), but everything else lost her attention especially the Flights of Wonder show. She did kind of like the It's Tough to be a Bug movie and again, I thought it was really clever! Hollywood Studios with Sophia and Doc was by far the bigger hit.

[KrisM]

We went when the kids were 9, 7, and 5. DD was 7 the other are boys. DS1 and DD liked AK and DHS more than the other parks, because of the rides. They really liked that DS2 was too short for Rock n Roller Coaster and got them a couple extra fast passes for it :).

We all liked Toy Story, the Muppet Ride, Star Tours. I don't know height limits on them. DS2 and DD and I went to the Disney Jr and they loved it. They enjoyed the show and meeting Sophia and Jake.

I think DHS had more to do for all of them than AK did. DS2 was too afraid of Expedition Everest after his first ride. They thought Dinosaur was fine. The other kids loved Expedition Everest and rode it a bunch. The animals didn't do a lot for any of them.

[rkold]

My DD is 4, turning 5 in Oct and she likes both DHS and AK. She just made the 40 inch height line a couple days ago, so I'm really looking forward to our Oct trip.

She loves: the Disney Jr show (I don't, it's floor seating.) Frozen Sing-Along (which is well done), and the Disney Jr. Play-n-Dine. I'm excited to take her on Star Tours and possibly the Tower of Terror in Oct. She sometimes likes Toy Story Mania. I think she gets upset because her aim is lacking and she doesn't like to lose. Fantasmic scared her. Sofia meets here, so if your 4 year old is a Sofia fan it's a good choice. We're hoping to try Jedi training this year.

We love AK. My DD actually loves the Flight of Wonder show. It's one of her favorites. She also loves the Boneyard playground. It's well designed, extensive and gives the kids a chance to run around. Pochahantas meets in AK and I think it is one of the only parks she meets in regularly.

I've never been to Legoland. We tend to stay on property and have an AP, so it's cheaper and easier to just do Disney. I went to Universal once before DD was born, but have not been back, I think they have limited offerings for the short and the young.

I personally won't go to SeaWorld. I don't think it is right to keep orcas in captivity like they do at SeaWorld and to force them to perform tricks.