Hello fellow liners! I’d appreciate your advice on how much buffer time I should leave between shows (specifcally the Indiana Jones show, the Villains show, and the Little Mermaid show) on my visit to Hollywood Studios in late January. In particular, I’d be grateful for your thoughts on how early we should get in line for these shows to ensure we’re able to get a seat? If it’s helpful, we don’t need the best seat in the house!
I currently have two touring plans right now, a safe one and an aggressive one.
Safe:
Arrive at 4:15pm for the 4:30pm Indiana Jones show
Use LLs for Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster from 5:05-5:40pm
Arrive at 5:45pm for the 6pm Villains show
Arrive at 6:30pm for the 6:45pm Little Mermaid show
Aggressive
Arrive at 4:15pm for the 4:30pm Indiana Jones show
Arrive at 5:20pm for the 5:35pm Little Mermaid Show
Arrive at 5:59pm for the 6:00pm Villains show
The aggressive plan seems to cut it a little close, but I wasn’t sure how much of a limited buffer I could get away with, given that it’s supposed to be a crowd level 6 day at the park, and the shows seem relatively close to one another.
Thank you in advance for the help! I really appreciate how friendly and helpful everyone has been here.
I can’t speak to villains but the Indiana Jones stadium is huge, and people were streaming in right up till the start of the show.
The little mermaid show was a different story. This was the Only show in HS that was repeatedly sold out of all times from an llmp perspective on both data we were there. We got there 15 minutes prior and did not make it in. Would have been a 40 minute wait til next one, so we skipped.
I personally like to arrive at least 20 minutes before a show starts and no more than 30. You can get away with showing up much closer than 20 minutes for most shows, but your seat will be progressively worse the closer you get to showtime (unless you luck into being filled in to a close row) and generally it’s just stressful. Your plan of 15 should be fine, but just be prepared for kind of middle, possibly back seats. (Edit: sounds like TLM may be sold out by then for some showings.)
The 1 minute before Villains show may not be possible. That theater is smaller and it is very popular (it could be less of a draw depending on how far in the future your trip is).
The only time I would dream of showing up more than 30 min is if it’s a hot ticket and it’s a very busy day. But honestly I would avoid a show under those circumstances and hit it later.
Thank you both, @coloradoresident and @Jeff_AZ. Super helpful and good to have some benchmark for when to show up. Do you think it would be worth using a LL for Little Mermaid or any of the other shows? I’d seen recommendations against it, but don’t want to miss out.
If it’s a priority for you and you can make it work, I like having a LL for shows. But it really doesn’t help if you’re going to show up close to showtime. You still need to be there at least 15 min in advance to guarantee a seat (and a good one).
That said, if you are having to choose between a LL for a show and one for a ride, 9 times out of 10 I would get it for a ride.
I have been turned away from the show one minute before. On my trip two weeks ago they let us into the theater 10 minutes early and it was nice to sit and chill for a bit. I would get there at at least 10 minutes if not 15 early.
I don’t know whether things have calmed down a bit now, but when I was in HS in July I was turned away from the Villains show because the theater was already full, even though I wasn’t “late” yet. I would follow @Jeff_AZ’s advice on timing, especially for the Villains and Little Mermaid shows, because they’re still new.
Your plan of 15 should be fine, but just be prepared for kind of middle, possibly back seats. (Edit: sounds like TLM may be sold out by then for some showings.)