Hollywood Studios is driving me crazy. My son will be 7, loves Star Wars, and is tall enough, and willing to ride anything. My daughter is 4, is barely 40 in, but something like Tower of Terror would be too much for her. She would enjoy the shows. i attempted a blended plan but feel like he would miss too much stuff that he would love. Reason says that we should divide and conquer, so I made a plan for each kid. When I look at her plan I am wondering if she will be bored, essentially going from 1 show to the other, with only a couple of rides sprinkled in. Part of me wants to let my wife take him to HS, since she likes the thrill rides better. That would leave me, my in-laws, and my daughter left with a choice of what to do. Part of me wants to bag HS altogether, since its their first time and they don’t know what they are missing. The other days on our trip are MK x 3 (2 halfs and 2 full days), AK x 1, EP x 1. We are staying at the Poly .
If your son loves Star Wars, he would love HS - particularly the Jedi Training. That’s the sweet spot age wise where it’s awesome. If you can pull it off, the family will enjoy watching him at Jedi Training as it’s somewhat special.
HS doesn’t really have a ton of rides - nearly all are thrill rides - so if avoiding thrill rides with your daughter that won’t leave a lot beyond the shows. The shows are pretty good though so she may enjoy it. I could see a bonus day at MK for her doing whatever she wants or trying HS with her, dovetailing shows with DS and if she gets tired of shows you could bounce to MK or the Poly pool depending. Probably a day to plan on flexibility depending on how the day goes…
Is there are reason she needs to stay that the park all day? Why not take her for the things she’ll enjoy and then leave with her for a few hours of pool/playground time (or a visit to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disney Springs, if you feel like splurging) before returning for dinner and Fantasmic or fireworks? I’m guessing you’re not using hoppers?
I personally think that there’s plenty to keep a 4-year old girl engaged for a good portion of the day and if she likes Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, and/or the Disney Jr crew then she’ll really enjoy those shows… the Disney junior show is pretty interactive, and then there are the Toy Story and Star Tours (even kids who aren’t into SW get a kick out of it) rides, and the Mickey & Minnie meet that are nicely woven in. There are a few more character meet & greets in different locations (I definitely recommend Olaf), and some little street entertainment things going on as well. In other words, kids of that age are actually sometimes even less focused on riding actual rides… as long as they’re entertained in a variety of ways then they still have a good time.
We filled up most of a day with my DD4. We saw Disney Jr show, Frozen Sing A Long and Little Mermaid show. Met all the Disney Jr characters and Olaf. Did TSMM and GMR. Minnie’s Dinner at H&V. And squeezed in Muppets and strolled through the Launch Bay before Fantasmic. There is plenty to do assuming she enjoys the shows and meeting characters.
Omg, HS is awesome, especially for SW fans. Please don’t bag it. We’re at Disney now on our first trip and we loved HS. She will love TOy story mania!
currently, we have a CRT dinner and an early night because of EMM at mk the next day. the plan was only to do rope drop to 3ish anyway.
I am using reservation finder to try to move CRT dinner to the following day since I got BOG moved to one of our other MK days. Dizzy yet?
I don’t know the shows myself as I have not been in years, i’m just looking at a not great touring plan that goes from 9-3 and has not much on it.
His plan: Disney and Universal Touring Plans
Her plan that is not going to work well: Disney and Universal Touring Plans
HS caused me the biggest headaches when planning Christmas 2017. And we were skipping a lot of the shows except Indy (that would be sacrellage in my book). I got to the point that I had 4 different plans and stepped back for about 6 weeks.
I would plan to separate for a while. Allowing time for the Star Wars fan(s) to see Launch Bay and the March of the First Order etc whilst taking the little one to Disney Jnr and/or Frozen - whatever would most appeal.
I noticed you don’t have the Muppets show in your itinerary. Kids her age usually love this show. Is it down for renovation during your trip?
not that I know of… added it. Thanks!
I don’t think your 4yo would get bored with the HS shows. They’re not sit still and be quiet shows that tire a 4yo’s focus. They’re sing, shout, and dance shows that make time fly in the toddler world.