Fitting everything in at HS is a struggle!

[yulilin3]

Kids are: DD11 (but she has Down syndrome, so her interests are younger than her typical peers), DS8, and DS4.

We head down in a week and a half! All ADRs, FP, etc are set. I'm just trying to tweak my touring plans.

can you post your current plan, maybe we can help you that way better

 

[picklethings]

From your list. Launch Bay has very little waits for the characters late in the evening, so if you go around 7pm both Chewie and Kylo Ren meet will be about 10 minutes each.
JTA is a huge time consumer because you have to be at the designated area for your show 30 minutes before, then the actual show is about 20 minutes.
If the schedule continues for both Fantasmic and the SW fireworks/projection show you will NOT be able to do both on the same night
You didn't say when you are coming
Just keep in mind that you cannot do everything in one day.

SW fireworks are scheduled for 9:30, with 2 Fantasmic shows that night. I was hoping to go to the later show after fireworks. Is this not possible?

 

[yulilin3]

SW fireworks are scheduled for 9:30, with 2 Fantasmic shows that night. I was hoping to go to the later show after fireworks. Is this not possible?

yes, that's possible and recommended.

 

[momof2cuties]

Three out of my four kids are big Disney Jr. fans and I would not take them back to that show if you paid me! The performers were fine, but the show itself is not all that great and sitting on the floor all bunched up together with strangers is the worst! When you think you can't squeeze in any tighter they will tell you get closer. We all left that show super cranky and uncomfortable, and not even my youngest kids really enjoyed it. If you do go it's actually better to get into the theater later so you are more towards the back. The closer you are to the stage the harder it is to see anything. If I had to skip a show at DHS this one would definitely be it.

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!

Op. If you do a sit down lunch maybe you can skip the break. We didn't do Jedi training. The 4 yr old was interested but we couldn't get in, it seemed so hot for the robes and I bribed him with a toy to skip it.
We never saw chewbacca lines less than 30 mins but no need to get in the regular line for kylo ren if you have Disney visa. And the trading is quick so that area can be done in 30 mins. The film was nothing special and I agree about the sw shows on the main stage. You can catch them walking by. We actually enjoyed standing behind the stage and seeing walk on and off stage and interact with people.

Can you hop over some night maybe from Epcot to do fantastic or fireworks and maybe a ride or two?

 

[picklethings]

can you post your current plan, maybe we can help you that way better

Currently, I have 2 plans. I thought I'd wait until last minute to decide which one to use based on the weather forecast (they differ on JTA times).

H&V ADR 8:05 (sign up for JTA before eating)
RnRC hopefully at RD
TSM (9am FP)
Star Tours (10am FP- maybe try to get there 9:55)
JTA (10:40?)
Disney Jr show (11:20), catch First Order March?
Frozen sing along (currently have FP for 11:30, but thinking of switching it to later, especially on this plan - 12:30)
Snack/light lunch & SW stage show (1:30)
Break (go back to AoA resort)
B&B (5:00)
Indiana Jones (6:00)
Muppet vision
Possibly re-ride Star Tours if line not bad/additional FP (my boys love SW)
Launch Bay
RnRC (using rider swap from earlier)
SW fireworks
Fantasmic

Other plan moves JTA into the evening, with everything after shifting up and bumps up Indiana Jones or B&B to pre-break slot.

We CANNOT miss JTA - my 4 year old has been talking about "learning to use the force" since we announced this trip months ago! Darn Disney channel ads!

 

[yulilin3]

Currently, I have 2 plans. I thought I'd wait until last minute to decide which one to use based on the weather forecast (they differ on JTA times).

H&V ADR 8:05 (sign up for JTA before eating) Is it EMH day?
RnRC hopefully at RD Assuming you ride at 9am you'll get out of the ride around 9:15am
TSM (9am FP) Assuming you get to this ride at 9:20am you'll come out around 9:45am
Star Tours (10am FP- maybe try to get there 9:55) If things work out you might ride around 10 get out around 10:10am
JTA (10:40?) You would need to check in for this show around 10:10am
Disney Jr show (11:20), catch First Order March?
Frozen sing along (currently have FP for 11:30, but thinking of switching it to later, especially on this plan - 12:30)
Snack/light lunch & SW stage show (1:30)
Break (go back to AoA resort)
B&B (5:00)
Indiana Jones (6:00)
Muppet vision
Possibly re-ride Star Tours if line not bad/additional FP (my boys love SW)
Launch Bay
RnRC (using rider swap from earlier)
SW fireworks
Fantasmic

Other plan moves JTA into the evening, with everything after shifting up and bumps up Indiana Jones or B&B to pre-break slot.

We CANNOT miss JTA - my 4 year old has been talking about "learning to use the force" since we announced this trip months ago! Darn Disney channel ads!

My comments are in red. Your morning looks really packed, evening seems doable

 

[picklethings]

I know, it is packed. That's why I'm trying to decide what to cut. The comments here have been helpful. It's not EMH, we have a PPO reservation. I think we will just try to catch the SW march and stage show if it works out, and schedule the less-important shows around break-time. That way we can decide that day whether to take a break or push through.

A couple more questions: What characters are in the Disney Jr. Show? Based on the comments here, we could potentially cut it out, especially since we are going to see some of the characters at breakfast.

How much time should we allow for breaks? We are staying at AoA, driving to parks some days, and using the bus on others. My kids don't ever really nap, but could probably use the downtime, and may nap if they are exhausted. DH might need a nap more than anyone.

 

[yulilin3]

I know, it is packed. That's why I'm trying to decide what to cut. The comments here have been helpful. It's not EMH, we have a PPO reservation. I think we will just try to catch the SW march and stage show if it works out, and schedule the less-important shows around break-time. That way we can decide that day whether to take a break or push through.

A couple more questions: What characters are in the Disney Jr. Show? Based on the comments here, we could potentially cut it out, especially since we are going to see some of the characters at breakfast.

How much time should we allow for breaks? We are staying at AoA, driving to parks some days, and using the bus on others. My kids don't ever really nap, but could probably use the downtime, and may nap if they are exhausted. DH might need a nap more than anyone.

I don't think you can sign up for JT until rope drop at 9am or close to it.
Disney Jr. show you can see characters (in puppet form not full grown form) from Doc McStuffin, Sofia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
For driving times to AoA is probably about 10 minutes each way, then count in the time that it takes to get to the car, depending on where you parked, and again depending on where you park to go back into the park

 

[picklethings]

I don't think you can sign up for JT until rope drop at 9am or close to it.

I've seen several posts mentioning signing up prior to PPO breakfast, including an earlier commenter on this thread. I'm hoping this will hold true for our trip.

 

[momof2cuties]

We just did lunch at h&v on wed , the day we left. We were rushed, shoved into a back corner having to climb over people's bags to get to our table, my 4 yr old ended up in the bathroom with diarrhea missing 2 characters. We did get to see them but had to stand near the door and wait for them. Find out for sure about signing up early for Jedi training if that's the only reason you are going. The character interaction was just as good at the meet and greets outside of the playhouse area.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

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?

I completely hear you. That is exactly how I felt on our first trip there with kids. It was awful trying to plan and wanting to get everything in. We ended up prioritizing things that won't 'keep.' So we did Disney Jr and skipped Indy since I'm sure they will like it on some later trip. We did Muppets and skipped the Star Wars show - same reason. Good luck with the planning and just know that if you can't fit it all in, the kids won't really know what they missed.

 

[momof2cuties]

Oh and just in case you didn't know, I'm pretty sure the Jedi in training needs to be there when you sign up. You can't just run over and sign him up.

 

[picklethings]

I did know about the kids needing to be at the signup, so thankfully we were already planning on that.

 

[picklethings]

Also, how did I not know that the Disney Jr. show was a puppet show? Everything I'd read said "live action," so i assumed it was life-size. I just watched a bit of it on YouTube, and I think we can safely skip it. That will ease our schedule a bit!

 

[kbmartin]

Currently, I have 2 plans. I thought I'd wait until last minute to decide which one to use based on the weather forecast (they differ on JTA times).

H&V ADR 8:05 (sign up for JTA before eating)
RnRC hopefully at RD
TSM (9am FP)
Star Tours (10am FP- maybe try to get there 9:55)
JTA (10:40?)
Disney Jr show (11:20), catch First Order March?
Frozen sing along (currently have FP for 11:30, but thinking of switching it to later, especially on this plan - 12:30)
Snack/light lunch & SW stage show (1:30)
Break (go back to AoA resort)
B&B (5:00)
Indiana Jones (6:00)
Muppet vision
Possibly re-ride Star Tours if line not bad/additional FP (my boys love SW)
Launch Bay
RnRC (using rider swap from earlier)
SW fireworks
Fantasmic

Other plan moves JTA into the evening, with everything after shifting up and bumps up Indiana Jones or B&B to pre-break slot.

We CANNOT miss JTA - my 4 year old has been talking about "learning to use the force" since we announced this trip months ago! Darn Disney channel ads!

I know I'm probably going to get some hate for this comment, but here goes... I just wanted to give you a thumbs up for skipping Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It may be air-conditioned, but it is truly a terrible show - rushed and completely outdated (seemed as though they hadn't changed it since the mid 1990s). My DH and I could not believe how bad it was when we saw it a year ago. We would not go back unless we desperately needed to be in the A/C.

Side note about Voyage of the Little Mermaid: I don't know if any of you have seen it, but we happened to find a video on YouTube in which Ariel has a major wardrobe malfunction. It's when she changes from a mermaid to a human at the end, but the costume gets stuck. It's pretty funny.

 

[yulilin3]

I've seen several posts mentioning signing up prior to PPO breakfast, including an earlier commenter on this thread. I'm hoping this will hold true for our trip.

It may be true but I wouldn't completely count on it. They have changed the way they do JT sign ups many times. Just plan on signing up closer to rope drop just in case.
Like a pp said you can meet Doc, Sofia, Jake next to Disney Jr. If you're just going for breakfast for the characters

 

[Mambo Junkie]

We did not do Frozen Sing Along (DGDs were not impressed last visit) otherwise, we did every single thing (even met Chewbacca - not Kylo Ren, DS doesn't like him lol). We did not do JTA, so that eats up a bit of time.
We:
Arrived around 9:30 or so
9 - 10 am fp for ToT
single rider RnRC
got out in time for Beauty and the Beast
DH and DS Dined with an Imagineer while DDIL 2 DGDs and I ate at the Burger place across from Beauty and the Beast
Went around, met Sofia
Did Disney Jr
Got out, met Jake
Little Mermaid
DH and DS met up, did fp (2 - 3 pm) TSMM
Indiana Jones
met Olaf
went over, watched JTA show
fp Star Tours (3:40 - 4:40)
Muppets
met Buzz and Woody
Dinner at H&V 5:50
Chewbacca
GMR
Fantasmic
Star Wars fireworks
EMH next!
RnR again, ToT again, GMR again. Star Tours 3 or 4 times

 

[bumbershoot]

My husband and I like roller coasters

Then do the rollercoaster.

Our afternoon break cuts into most of the show times, but there's no way we can do breakfast to close without a break.

No stroller? I can't imagine taking a break at DHS. Once we leave DHS we just leave. If we want to do things later we come back a different day.

I really need someone to say, "don't do this/that, it's terrible!" We want to do everything! And as soon as I start to cut something, someone tells me it's awesome, so back on the list it goes!

I was going to say "we need to know the ages of your kids" but then you gave that.

Did RnRC change from 5 years ago? I definitely do not recall it being smooth, and I hit my head several times

I have the same feelings and I have ridden it between 2010 and 2014. It sure doesn't feel smooth to me; my head slams from side to side on the restraints (and yes I keep my head BACK).

And Single Rider can take ages.

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.

Plan on a second half day; that's my advice.

Kids are: DD11 (but she has Down syndrome, so her interests are younger than her typical peers), DS8, and DS4.

Will the 4 year old have a stroller? That helps. The other two will agree to a break?

RnRC hopefully at RD

Right after a buffet breakfast?

 

[picklethings]

Will the 4 year old have a stroller? That helps. The other two will agree to a break?



Right after a buffet breakfast?

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.

 

[momtotaryn]

I have the same feelings and I have ridden it between 2010 and 2014. It sure doesn't feel smooth to me; my head slams from side to side on the restraints (and yes I keep my head BACK).

OK, so it wasn't just me that thought RnRC was not smooth. I kept my head back too, but I was wondering if that caused me to hit my head during the ride.