Hollywood Studios

[hetzeltj]

I was just there last week. Got there at RD (9am) We rode Toy Story twice, RnR once, Star Tours once, and ToT twice and it was 11:30. Then left to back to go to Epcot for lunch.

 

[vtwep]

Is the Little Mermaid show supposed to be terrible? Yes. Do I still want to see it once, yes.

Is it supposed to be terrible? I had no idea. We see it every time. My daughter watched it 897 times (approximately!) before she started school, so Ariel is a household favorite. We enjoy it. It's a comfortable theater, a chance to get off our feet, and we're entertained by it. Go in with an open mind and see for yourselves!

 

[BrianL]

Is it supposed to be terrible? I had no idea. We see it every time. My daughter watched it 897 times (approximately!) before she started school, so Ariel is a household favorite. We enjoy it. It's a comfortable theater, a chance to get off our feet, and we're entertained by it. Go in with an open mind and see for yourselves!

I love that show too! I love the florescent puppets and the general ambiance of the theater. I mean, yeah, it's dated and not really a spectacular show, but it is highly enjoyable and one of my favorites.

 

[Robo]

I love that show too! I love the florescent puppets and the general ambiance of the theater. I mean, yeah, it's dated and not really a spectacular show, but it is highly enjoyable and one of my favorites.

Yes, we like it a lot, too.
It's not "dated" if you've not seen it.
On it's own merits, it's a higher-tech theater show than most guests have likely seen elsewhere than WDW.

 

[FastPasser.]

I also like the show, but at 17 minutes long, and with the other shows being anywhere from 24 to 30 minutes in duration, it's over too soon.

 

[BrianL]

Yes, we like it a lot, too.
It's not "dated" if you've not seen it.
On it's own merits, it's a higher-tech theater show than most guests have likely seen elsewhere than WDW.

All true. I guess I was just thinking that it didn't have that "wow" factor that some more modern attractions have for some, but if you've never seen it, then it might not be an issue. Disney spoils us sometimes.

And I do enjoy the show. I LOVE the black light puppets and the green laser lights! I see it every time I'm there.

 

[Hope Soda]

On our trip last Nov/Dec, we went to HS once from 11am until close, and once for early morning magic until about 11am, so we spent about a full day there, over all, plus early morning magic. I expected Hollywood Studios to be our least favorite park. I had been reading so much about Animal Kingdom being a half day park, and wondering why there didn't seem to be nearly as many people saying the same of Hollywood Studios, because I just didn't see that there was so much to do. I was so happy to be wrong.

We did not do Rock n Roller coaster (both kids too short to ride), but we did to Tower of Terror. Here is a rough itinerary of what we did:
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Tower of Terror (FP)
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage (fastpassed this, but probably didn't have to)
Long lunch @ Hollywood and Vine
Star Tours (FP)
Disney Junior show (during seating, I scored FP+ for Toy Story, which we had not planned on riding this day)
Toy Story Midway Mania (4th FP)
Frozen singalong (5th FP, unnecessary)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid (6th FP, definitely unnecessary)
Great Movie Ride (I think standby, as this was the only line we waited in more than 5-10 minutes all day)
Rider swaps for Tower of Terror and Star Tours
Fantasmic!

The best part is that we didn't do nearly as much walking and standing in line as in the other parks, so we still had life in us at the end of the long day, which had started at Animal Kingdom EMH.

The second day, we did Early Morning magic, where we signed up for Jedi Training Academy, met Mickey, Minnie, Olaf, Buzz, and Woody, and rode Star Tours and Toy Story again. After breakfast,we did the Jedi Training show. Then we hit Toy Story one more time with a FP that a cast member gave to my 3 year old when they traded pins (he also scored a toy monorail and extra pins that day because he was just so happy and friendly to all of the cast members, but that probably has no bearing on YOUR enjoyment of HS). On the way out, we met Donald Duck in his sailor suit, which made my day because I didn't realize he was available for meets anywhere.

If you don't have little ones, skip the Disney Junior show, as that's the only attraction my husband and I did not care for (the kids liked it though), possibly because we had to sit on the floor, while trying very hard to be comfortable and not invade other people's personal space. And, obviously, Great Movie Ride is no more, so you can't do that one. However, honestly, we spent almost no time in lines at Hollywood Studios, and got lucky with extra Toy Story fastpasses. I don't think we would have been able to do all of that in a single day.

So if you think you'll like the shows, I think there's a full day for you there. It was actually really difficult for me to plan times to see all of the shows and make sure there was time to get to the next show or attraction.

Oh, and we also dropped in for Fireworks at HS on our first night, and saw the Muppet show before Jingle Bell Jingle BAM.

 

[slpeters]

I'm glad to hear that the Little Mermaid is worth seeing, since we already planned on seeing it!

 

[adelaster]

Hollywood Studios has ten attractions open as of right now:

1. Muppet*Vision 3D
   Height: Any Height
   FastPass+, Indoor, Stage Shows
   
   
2. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
   Height: 48in (122cm) or taller
   Big Drops, Thrill Rides, Loud, FastPass+, Indoor
   
   
3. Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
   Height: 40in (102cm) or taller
   Small Drops, Star Wars, FastPass+, Indoor
   
   
4. Star Wars Launch Bay
   Height: Any Height
   Star Wars, Indoor, Interactive, What's New
   
   
5. Star Wars Launch Bay Theater
   Height: Any Height
   Indoor, Interactive, What's New
   
   
6. Star Wars: Path of the Jedi
   Height: Any Height
   Dark, Star Wars, Indoor, What's New
   
   
7. Star Wars Photo Opportunities
   
   
8. Toy Story Mania!
   Height: Any Height
   Spinning, FastPass+, Indoor, Interactive
   
   
9. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
   Height: 40in (102cm) or taller
   Big Drops, Thrill Rides, Dark, Scary, FastPass+, Indoor
   
   
10. Walt Disney Presents
    Height: Any Height
    Indoor

There are four stage shows running:

1. Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage
2. For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-along Celebration
3. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
4. Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple

There are also some meet and greets and other things. For December, there's some holiday entertainment. It really depends on you and your group.

For comparison, right now:
Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Magic Kingdom all have over 30 "attractions" open per the Disney website.

I'll be there in December- Muppets, Star Wars, and fireworks are enough to lure me!

 

[karensi]

Is Walt Disney Presents, # 10 on the list above, the attraction about Walts life? The one where you walk through and see the desk he sat in in grammar school, etc and then there's a movie about his life that you can see at the end?

 

[fbarker]

We don't do ToT or RnRC either, and Fantasmic has no attraction for us.

To be honest, if it wasn't for my daughter loving DHS, we wouldn't go there on our next trip. With good planning, we can get everything done we want to do by shortly after lunch time. Since we don't have hoppers, we can either bum around the park, or leave.
rein
We're actually planning DHS to be the last park in our trip, so we can leave early, get packed and get ready to go home.

And I thank guests like you. It opens the park up for people like me who so enjoy the park, even with all the changes!!! Its a great park to just walk through, tje shops, Citizens of Hollywood, peaceful, even seeing how the park is transforming is fun. We all would love the old MGM, in fact we still call it that, but technology has changed everything and WDW is trying to reinvent the park on the run. I have confidence that they will reinvent it just fine and it will continue to be a great park!!

 

[tomlinson]

I love DHS. I find it's a great park to just wander around in and take pictures. It's always a must for us, but we never spend a solid day there. We do two half days (generally), thanks to park hoppers.

 

[Robo]

Is Walt Disney Presents, # 10 on the list above, the attraction about Walts life? The one where you walk through and see the desk he sat in in grammar school, etc and then there's a movie about his life that you can see at the end?

Yes. (This attraction, for years, was called, "One Man's Dream.")
Although the movie of Walt's life may or may not be the featured film at that theater.

 

[karensi]

Yes. (This attraction, for years, was called, "One Man's Dream.")
Although the movie of Walt's life may or may not be the featured film at that theater.

Great! Thank you Robo.

 

[Bullseye]

TOT and RNR are two of the bigger draws for me for at HS. As is though I could still easily do a full day there without them. I can't wait until everything's done (SW & TS) and it's not even a question anymore whether it's a full day park. In fact, I expect it to move up on many guests park rankings

 

[kniquy]

In that case, I wouldn't recommend HS unless you have park hoppers.

I agree with this. Our next trip is with park hoppers and even with using touring plans - putting in RnR, ToT TS ST a few shows, dinner and fantasmic it still says that we can accomplish everything arriving around 1pm and leaving at park close -9:30pm). So in your situation with taking out 2 rides it could definitely could be a 1/2 day park --If you have park hoppers then go for the 1/2 day or If you have a longer trip 5+ days, then just make it a 1/2 day and use part to sleep in and go late or rope drop and have relaxing time at the resort later in the day. If you have a short trip <5 days then i probably would not want to waste the day there.

 

[Mac30188]

IMHO, it is all about shows. There are some people who enjoy the shows as much as the rides, and there are some people who view shows as just a place to have downtime out of the heat between rides. DHS does not have enough rides to satisfy the second group. If you are in the first group, you will have enough to do to keep you satisfied. If you are in the second group, I would pass. For us, we probably had enough to satisfy 3/4 of a day last November, although we split it into a morning session(Jedi Training Academy) and an evening session (Fantasmic)

 

[DisneyFive]

"Lots to do about nothing"

As Robo and others have said, there is a lot happening at HS right now, but the only significant closures are the LMA stunt show and the Great Movie ride. (the "Honey I shrunk the" stuff is gone too)

We still schedule just as much time as we ever did at HS.

Dan

 

[danikoski]

We went in February, got there about 9:30, FP GMR and TSMM, then mom wanted to sit and people watch and munch on a snack, so I rode ST, then we did some shopping, and I met Chewie and Kylo Ren and did some Star Wars shopping, while mom wandered. We then left about 1 pm. We could have done more, but we had reservations for afternoon tea at the GF for 3:30. We've enjoyed One Man's Dream, the Beauty and the Beast show, and Little Mermaid. I've heard Frozen sing a long is good as well.

For me and my husband's honeymoon, we did DHS first because he wasn't that into Disney, but he is into Star Wars. We did ToT (he did it twice, I only rode once), TSMM, ST three times (hence why I didn't ride ToT a second time), and GMR. We also had a long lunch people watching by Echo lake. We got there just after rope drop and left around 3 pm. We wandered over to Epcot for snacks at WS, then went back to the room to get ready for dinner reservations. So it was a pretty full day. This was before the Star Wars show, launch Bay, and fireworks.
HS right now is kind of what you make it. If the remaining rides and attractions and shows interest you, go for it. For my mom, she could take it or leave it. For my husband, he would want to go for all the Star Wars stuff and ToT. Me, I enjoy the park, but it's not a must right now. To each their own. You have to look at your group and decide what's right for them.

 

[Princess_Lisa]

The last time I went before this year was 1996. Most of the stuff I loved 21 years ago (including a cohesive theme) are gone. A few new rides/attractions have opened that interest me (TSMM and Frozen), but overall it is a net loss.

1996 (Not counting Muppets since I didn't like it that much despite my parents dragging us all to it every time we visited)

• Indiana Jones
• Studio Back Lot Tour
• American Film Institute Museum
• Honey I Shrunk The Kids Play Area
• Star Tours
• Great Movie Ride
• The Magic of Disney Animation
• The Monster Sound Show
• A Cohesive Movie Studios Theme

2017

• Indiana Jones
• Star Tours
• Frozen Sing-Along
• TSMM

2019

• Indiana Jones
• Star Tours
• Frozen Sing-Along
• TSMM
• Slinky Dog Dash (TSL)
• Millennium Falcon Ride (SWL)
• Star Destroyer Ride (SWL)

http://angryap.blogspot.com/2011/06/disney-mgm-studios-guide-map-from-1996.html

On a side note, almost forgot about Body Wars at Epcot until I looked over this guide from 1996. They've lost some good attractions also.