Fitting everything in at HS is a struggle!

[Dec38]

We are in the same boat! It is a very difficult park to plan for when you want to do Jedi training and take an afternoon break. I've been a little obsessive - creating different touring plans based on different Jedi training times, since we won't know what time we will get until we sign up that day. We decided to skip:
--Star wars daytime show (since we are already doing so much other Star Wars stuff, I've heard it's not that great, and I've heard it's hotter than the sun waiting for it
--muppets (I love the muppets, but I think my kids would prioritize the Star Wars and princess stuff)
-- RnR (since my kids aren't tall enough. If we can get a same day FP, my DH might ride in the evening.
--Disney Junior (since we're doing PPO H&V for the Jedi training advantage, and my kids aren't that into those characters).

Otherwise, our plans are similar to yours, except we are also trying to do the Great Movie Ride and ToT. I think your plan looks doable.

 

[SillySallySews]

I agree but thought it was because I'm an older mom! My kids are 18, 16 and 4! I took the 4 yr old last year and wanted to cry. My feet kept falling asleep. It was torture!

Oh my gosh, I had completely forgotten until you mentioned it, but YES my feet fell asleep too! And it's the worst because you can't stand up and there's so little wiggle room on the floor. I think my brain blocked that out because it was just awful lol!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

My favorites:
Beauty and the Beast
ToT
RnRC
Indiana Jones
M&Gs (for the little guys)
JTA (DGDs are too young)
Muppets
TSMM
Star Tours
Fantasmic

So-So:
GMR
Little Mermaid
Disney Jr

Personally, I don't care for any of the restaurants there (except Brown Derby, which is pricy if you have little guys), and Mama Melrose is pretty good. The only reason we did H&V was the characters, but we were disappointed. Thoroughly dislike the food. Sci Fy is just ok, but the experience is very nice. I would not pay lots of $$$$ for dinner there. If you're on the meal plan, great time to use those Quick Lunch credits, IMO.

ETA: Did not care for the Frozen sing along. I have 2 little starry eyed princesses, and they didn't get into it either.

 

[ArielSRL]

We love a lot of the shows too so I'm just planning 1.5 days for DHS. I couldn't fit it all in with breaks. Sorry, that's probably not very helpful.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

We were at DHS from open to 7pm and couldn't get everything in.

We have to go back to do:
Beauty & Beast show
Indiana Jones show
Disney Junior show
Olaf
Green Army Men
Mickey/Minnie

 

[CampbellzSoup]

All the "good stuff" at Hollywood studios is a half day park.

 

[momof2cuties]

All the "good stuff" at Hollywood studios is a half day park.

I have a confession. Don't tell anyone. I think hs is my favorite park. Even more appalling is I think mk is my least fave!
Hs is relaxing to me. Except for the fireworks that are awesome but crazy crowded. I love walking around hs.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Can you spend an extra day or morning at DHS? We're spending two days there and it makes it much easier since we don't have to worry about fitting in all the shows on one day. With DD we can't miss Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, or the Little Mermaid, and then that also gives us one night for the fireworks, and one night for Fantasmic.

 

[leebee]

Skip the break. If the SW show starts at 1:30, it'll be 2 before you head to the front of the park. By the time you get on a bus, get to your resort, get to your room, you'll have about 30-45 minutes to rest before you have to head back to the bus to be at HS and into the park for a 5pm show... and I don't see any supper plan in there. You could skip the break, add Great Movie Ride to the schedule, and have a leisurely sit-down QS dinner in there somewhere. Given your time line, it seems to me that the break is just going to be a lot of stressful running around for very little actual down time. If you really think you need down time, hop a boat from HS to the Beach Club, get an ice cream at Beaches&Cream, then ride the boat back to HS. It's really pretty peaceful, and VERY nice if you can sit outside at the stern!

 

[ArielSRL]

Can you spend an extra day or morning at DHS? We're spending two days there and it makes it much easier since we don't have to worry about fitting in all the shows on one day. With DD we can't miss Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, or the Little Mermaid, and then that also gives us one night for the fireworks, and one night for Fantasmic.

This is exactly what we do!

 

[DWFamilyof6]

I had a crazy time trying to plan HS. Here's a little advice, hope it helps.
We had our first visit to HS on Memorial Day and couldn't fit it all in. We were there from rope drop to Star Wars Fireworks, with a one hour power nap in the car. We have two boys 7 and 6 and boy/girl twins who are 4 and a half. We had to mix in a little of everything.
We did not get to do Beauty and The Beast, Rocking Roller Coaster, TOT, Indian Jones, Disney Jr show, Muppets Chewie, Mickey and Minne M&G and we tried to catch the star wars stage show and missed it twice.
Definitely sign up for an early Jedi Training if its a must do. The day we were there a couple of the afternoon shows were canceled do to storms.
We were there at 8:15 and were in and done with sign ups before the park opened.
- We went straight to meet Buzz and Woody
- Olaf
- Walked on The Great Movie Ride (my kids may be scarred from the Alien popping down though)
- FP for Star Tours checked out the shop
- Jedi Training line up at 10:20 for the 10:40 show
- Walked around Launch Bay
- Met Kylo with a Visa card line and only waited maybe 5 minutes
- FP for TSM
- H&V Fantasmic package lunch to meet Disney Jr Characters. My kids absolutely loved this but the wait to get in was 30 minutes and an hour to eat. But, worth it for us since we planned to skip the Disney Jr show and wanted Fantasmic tix.
-Storm Tropper March
- FP for Frozen (We didn't need the FP. I wish I had just grabbed another FP before we went in.)
Break in the car
- Stopped at Photo Pass to weed through our Jedi Training pics. If you don't do this you'll get every picture of every child in the Training on your Memory Maker.
-Spent an hour building a light saber. I do not recommend doing this if you can help it. My oldest was dying to so we gave in but that's how we missed the last Galaxy Far Far Away.
-Ate at Back Lot and let the kids sneak peeks through the side door of the Indian Jones Show. They thought it was so cool!
-Lauch Bay... again.
-Little Mermaid Show
-Fantasmic -We sat at the back of the Dining package section.
-Quick as possible exit and went down the short cut path instead of the main entrance that everyone came in. Came out at the front of Hollywood Blvd just in time to watch the fireworks.
We also spent some time doing pictures for our Photo Pass, souvenir shopping, and much more of a leisure evening walking from place to place vs. the am where I felt like we were sprinting to each place.
Overall my kids had a fantastic time and I was shocked how well they did all day.

 

[AGJ9979]

I'm wondering about RnRC- we were hoping to fit it in first thing after our PPO H&V breakfast, but I'm wavering on it. My husband and I like roller coasters, and we've had a couple friends tell us we "have" to do it, but our youngest is too short. We could do rider swap, of course, but I'm wondering if our time would be better spent seeing the stuff our kids want to see, instead of standing in line for a coaster that they otherwise wouldn't know we missed. I just don't want to skip it and then hear "I can't believe you missed the best ride!"

IMO that's a great ride and we would never skip it! My family really enjoys HS, so we always take a day and a half there. Maybe more. The thing to remember is that you simply cannot get everything in one trip. Do your research, pick the things you are most interested in, and plan to go back again next year!

 

[Jrits]

I would skip anything you can do in another park - like meeting woody & buzz in MK instead and build the light saber in MK. It's 1 full day for us in HS but we are able to do everything. I plan ahead based on show times and fit rides in between. I make 2-3 schedules based on different Jedi training times since you never know what is available.

 

[Momof2Singers]

All the little things are killing me- the stormtrooper march, the Star Wars stage show, possibly some meet & greets. I'm a planner, but I have visions of the kids seeing something they want to do on the spot, and being torn between staying on schedule or stopping. I don't want to be like that, but I feel like the show schedules don't allow for a lot of flexibility without cutting.

I feel for you...with kids wanting to do different things complicates that small window of time. We are doing stormtropper march right before a fast pass (which has an hour window), it should take 15-20 minutes counting getting nearby (show is less than 10 I think) if you have facebook, go to KennythePirates page, scroll down to around June 23, and he has a video of the stormtrooper march, gives you a great idea where to get the best view. https://www.facebook.com/RealKennythePirate/?fref=ts

If you could make your schedule as to staying in one area hitting all those attractions at once, that was the hardest for me, logistics. Going back and forth takes a lot of time. We are still having the same time crunch as you, but may have more time. We are in HS 2 days, Epcot 2-1/2 days, MK 3 days and AK 1 short day.

If Beauty/Beast doesn't mean anything to your boys, you could possibly take your DD while your DH takes your DS's to something. (just take cameras/cell phones to capture it) If she has special needs, are you getting her an assistance pass, if so, that could put her right up front for this show.

Another idea, go to the fireworks/star wars shows another day after you leave the parks, maybe Animal Kingdom.

We are leaving in less than 3 weeks and I changed FP's last night to make our trip a little better. However, my girls like a schedule to some extent, to prevent leaving something out, they are much older than yours and can go on their way alone if need be. Good luck, hope you and your family have a wonderful time, let us know how it goes.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

As I am caretaker of my DGD3 I have found a few good places for a stroller nap. They are not totally quiet but she gets around a 30 - 45 minute power nap. There's an area to the left of the Animation Building (probably called Launch Bay now) is a place to sit in the shade (on a low wall). It's behind the Little Mermaid shop. There are a couple of quiet areas near Echo Lake (don't get too close to H&V), behind ToT there's a covered waiting area just outside the shop. There are benches, and you are fairly hidden there. Occasionally there are people coming out of the shop talking loudly, but I have my phone playing soft music so that helps. There are also a few places in the back near the Muppets where you can find shade and a bit of quiet. HS is the only park where we did not take a break but we did everything there except Frozen. You can swap out Disney Jr for the JTA, plus the Dine with an Imagineer was 2 hours. I would skip time consuming dinners, unless your kids are set on meeting Disney Jr characters. DO check out the menu! I did not like the food and it's a lot of money to spend, where you can catch Sofia and Jake for free near the Disney Jr theater.

 

[jcemom]

Yes, the 4 year old will have a stroller. I would rather not take a break, but 7:45am-11pm seems like a long day, especially after a full day at MK, and with 3 more (albeit lighter) days following. Although as some people mentioned earlier in the thread, it is a lot of sitting and watching shows, so maybe it's doable.
And I know, riding right after breakfast sounds bad, but I'm not sure when we could do it without crazy long waits, since we don't have fastpass. I'm assuming getting an additional fastpass for RnRC is out.

There is NO WAY my kids could have stayed in a park from 7:45 am - 11 pm, even with sitting for meals and shows. It seems like a lot of other people think it's no problem though. We tended to plan our days as 3/4 days, either arriving at rope drop and leaving later in the afternoon, or arriving around lunch time and staying through park closing. While we sometimes would do rope drop, break, and back for the evening, we found that taking a break is usually more tiring than just staying in the park, unless you really do take a nap in the room and don't swim. My kids always wanted to swim on break and would never have dreamed of napping, plus the extra walking in and out of the park, so we would get back to the park more tired than when we left lol. Now that my kids are older / teens it's different and a midday swim break just to get out of the park and cool off is nice.

 

[amandals2007]

I've seen several people say that HS is a half-day park, but I'm assuming they have been there before and don't need to rewatch shows, or aren't interested in all of them, because I am struggling to fit everything in! Between my 3 kids, we want to do everything related to Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Frozen, Sofia, and Doc McStuffins. How can we fit everything in? The various show times are killing me! I hate to overschedule and feel inflexible. We have a PPO H&V, and want to see the evening Star Wars show and (probably) Fantasmic, so we will need a decent afternoon break. Is the Beauty & the Beast show a must-see? We were already planning on skipping out on VotLM. Are any of the Star Wars, Disney Jr, etc activities not worth wasting time on?

what does PPO?

 

[disneyfav4ever]

There is NO WAY my kids could have stayed in a park from 7:45 am - 11 pm, even with sitting for meals and shows. It seems like a lot of other people think it's no problem though. We tended to plan our days as 3/4 days, either arriving at rope drop and leaving later in the afternoon, or arriving around lunch time and staying through park closing. While we sometimes would do rope drop, break, and back for the evening, we found that taking a break is usually more tiring than just staying in the park, unless you really do take a nap in the room and don't swim. My kids always wanted to swim on break and would never have dreamed of napping, plus the extra walking in and out of the park, so we would get back to the park more tired than when we left lol. Now that my kids are older / teens it's different and a midday swim break just to get out of the park and cool off is nice.

My kid can't either. We either go in the morning, and stay through an early dinner, or go around lunchtime and stay through closing.

 

[shawnh199]

If you decide to skip the H&V breakfast because you can get the characters near the Disney Jr show, consider a table-service lunch. We love the food at 50's PT and the portions are large enough to share/split. The A/C is really nice and cold in there in the middle of the afternoon. My kids usually lay their heads down on the table at our lunches and take a little nap until the food comes out. Hang out there for 1-2 hours instead of taking your mid-day break. Spread out your shows so that you have those "breaks" here and there in the day. And try to schedule yourself so that you are not constantly going from one side of the park to the other and back. I know that's not easy and DHS is smaller than the other parks as far as walking times, but that will be one way to help if you don't take your break. Not sure of the show schedules so can't really help you out there. Naps/Swim/Mid-day breaks are a must for us now. But, the only way I can see not doing one is to hang out in the restaurant and take your time with your meal. We just did one day at Sea World San Antonio and stayed in the park all day. They don't open until 10am and close around 9pm and it was one of the longest days of our life. My DD13 was asking to go back to the hotel by 1pm. Unfortunately, when you only have one day and lots of shows you want to see, there is no way to get through them all unless you stay there all day. Never again - at least not in July.

If you do decide to keep your breakfast ADR, the quickest way to get out of there is to make sure you pay for the meal ahead of time. Don't wait until the end of your meal because everyone will be paying at that time. We usually ask for our ticket pretty much after they seat us so we can get that out of the way. If you haven't met a character yet, be sure to tell someone and see if they can work you in.

I'm already trying to plan for our trip in June 2017 (I don't really stop planning for the next trip - I get home from one trip and get back on these forums and start planning the next one). I cannot imagine trying to ride RnRC after eating a big breakfast. And I agree with previous posters about the banging your head on the head rests. That was pretty painful, but the ride was fun. Not sure if you can switch your fast passes or not, but we always try to hit TSM at rope drop to save the FP for RnRC. Maybe try for a later RnRC FP - just not right after a meal

Regardless of whether you can fit it all in, remember you are at Disney World. Have fun. Don't miss out on the memory making because you are so busy trying to do everything. After all the intensive planning I do for our trips (we go every other year and have since 2007), sometimes you just have to make some time to sit and enjoy your surroundings. I don't know why, but I tear up everytime I watch wishes. I've seen it many, many times, but I cry everytime. And, DH makes fun of me everytime. I used to try and take pictures of all the parades, shows, and fireworks. Now, I actually watch and enjoy them. I still take some pictures, but I prefer to enjoy the show.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We typically finish HS in less than a day, but that was before new additions. I'd prioritize the new additions. We didn't think old JTA was worth the wait, but partly because of being out in the heat. Other Star Wars things are high priority: new meet and greet, Star Tours, Launch Bay, and I'm excited for the new fireworks.

Frozen sing-along was cute, but basically covers the songs of the movie, with a bit of corny thrown in. Now that we saw it, we can skip it. Last we did Indy, we felt like we wasted all the time involved. We also happily skip B and B show. When we have seen it, we happily walk in very close to the start of the show.

An easy way to get more done is the sacrifice the idea of getting ideal seats. It is amazing what you can accomplish with a relaxed attitude. We tend to see many things just if we happen to walk by as they are starting. I don't focus on what we don't see, as much as having a full day. As others said, we pick some priorities and the rest is icing. I've never missed what we didn't see, but truly we usually see everything except very low priority things. When you are tired, your priorities quickly change!

I like the Disney Jr, show. Sitting on the floor is no big deal for us. If you have bad knees it may be an issue. Then again...if you bring anything soft like jackets, it could serve double duty as a seat cushion. Disney Jr, and LM have a BIG advantage: they are indoors! LM has comfy seating. However, parts of the show are dark, and Ursula is pretty big. It is possible your kids could be a little scared.

We usually skip Fantasmic. I'd easily skip it over the newer fireworks.

We usually see the Muppets, but it is a pretty low priority these days. It is a getting a bit dated, IMO.

The biggest suggestion I'd make it that it is wonderful to split up for one or two attractions at WDW! You will see PLENTY of each other over the course of a WDW vacation, and splitting up for half an hour once or twice over the course of a whole week, gives everyone a little break.

Give your kids a vote! If part of your group prefers RNRC over Playhouse, then they are not going to enjoy being dragged there. Giving them one tiny vote once a day is a MUCH better approach over forcing everyone to stay together the whole time. Regrouping is easy with cell phones.

We also don't do any TS in HS. Nothing there has wowed us. Another big advantage of QS meals is that you eat them entirely on your terms. TS meals are slow, and you waste SO much time getting there, waiting for your table, and meals can be very slow.