Lights, Motors, Action Auto Stunt Show Closing in April at Walt Disney World

January 15, 2016 at 10:40 AM · Muppets 3D is spared from closing. Not sure if this is a good thing. Could they have long term plans for the Muppets theater?

January 15, 2016 at 11:05 AM · Well, more and more DHS is becoming a 1/2-day park until the arrival of Star wars land.

January 15, 2016 at 11:12 AM · Sincere question: do they expect people to keep coming to before these additions open? I wouldn't spend my hard-earned money on a trip, especially when the ticket price is the same to get into Epcot and AK.

January 15, 2016 at 11:16 AM · Is anything left don't want to waste a day going to this park if nothing's left ?? :(

January 15, 2016 at 11:20 AM · ^...yet they continue to charge a full day price. If not for TSMM and ToT, there would be thousands of complaints about DHS. Hopefully the second track of TSMM will be ready by April so guests can at least ride the park's highest demand attraction more than once in a day without a Fastpass reservation.

LMA always seemed like overkill with the Indy Stunt Show so there are no tears shed from me. It was one of those attractions that you see once and never have to watch again. What I found most annoying about it was the amount of time it took to get in and out of the theater even on an off-peak day. The show, including time to stand in line to get in and to get out of the theater, was close to 90 minutes, longer than we have typically spent for Fantasmic!

January 15, 2016 at 11:41 AM · Does anyone actually buy a ticket to DHS? I suspect the the percentage of people in the park who are using park hoppers is higher at DHS than in any other WDW theme park.

January 15, 2016 at 12:08 PM · Makes it all the more important Star Wars Land is built in a timely manner.

Why do they have to close attractions though to build new attractions? It's not like Disney have space problems.

January 15, 2016 at 12:18 PM · We haven't gone to DHS, even with park hoppers, the last few times we've been to WDW. For us, it just isn't worth the other things we're giving up to be there. Certainly that will all change once the new Star Wars land opens. But I am surprised they continue to charge full admission. And we certainly wouldn't pay extra for park hoppers JUST to see DHS for half a day. I'm guessing lots of frequent WDW's are doing the same. Hopefully this at least means lower wait times for those that are going to DHS.

January 15, 2016 at 12:19 PM · They could give discounts on the 4th and 5th day ticket. That is the only way I would pay for going to DHS.

January 15, 2016 at 12:42 PM · I need my muppet fix everything I go to DHS.

January 15, 2016 at 1:01 PM · Using a park hopper seems like even more of a ripoff, tho. You've paid extra for the park hopper, and are going to take the time and effort to hop from a park with twice as many attractions to go to one with a few? The pull of ToT and Star Tours 2.0 must be considerable.
I'm biased; We're Disneyland regulars and park hopping at DLR is so easy it makes doing it at WDW seem less appealing.

January 15, 2016 at 1:59 PM · Park hopping is the only way to get value out of DHS right now. Yes, you pay extra for that privilege, but it's still cheaper than spending a full 1-day admission and getting stuck in the park for the day, because the park hopper offers you the ability to get out and make more of your single day admission. It will probably be common for guests to spend the first part of a day in DAK and then hop over to DHS in the late afternoon, and assuming they made afternoon/evening FP+ reservations for TSMM, ToT, and/or RnRC, they could hit those biggies pretty quickly before finishing the night off with Fantasmic! Obviously that strategy would change when Rivers of Light starts, but that's how I would approach DHS right now. Either that or spend the morning at DHS and then hop to either EPCOT or MK for the evening shows and parades (honestly Fantasmic! at DHS gets old after you've seen it a handful of times - not so much for DL's version).

There is absolutely no reason at this point for a guest to spend a non-park hopping admission on DHS, which leaves them stuck in the ever-shrinking park with very little to do. The terrible food options make the decision to hop out even more tantalizing. Unless you're a compulsive re-rider (particularly for TSMM), you could see/ride virtually everything of importance in DHS in 4-6 hours with good FP+ use or on a slow day.

January 15, 2016 at 4:01 PM · Even with low attendance, which DHS does not appear to have a problem, it is very hard to get a seat at Sci-Fi dining without an advance reservation. Also, many popular rides require a Fast Pass or you have to deal with the long lines. If you're concerned about a half day park, you'll still be there most of the day to get value out of the trip.

January 15, 2016 at 4:44 PM · Geesh, how big is Star Wars land going to be? That's a VERY large space Star Wars is going to take up... and LMA is probably big enough to house an entire mini-land..

January 15, 2016 at 5:18 PM · Seems to me they are taking away too much too quickly, would have liked them to have worked on the toy story area and left the other part of the park alone and then once toy story area was complete start on Star Wars, I guess when both areas open DHS will be a must go place as with all the closures going on its hardly worth going for more then half a day.

January 15, 2016 at 5:36 PM · There's so little left that the lines are really long. Spent two days at DHS in Oct. (my theme park days are about 8 hrs. long. I try to relax on vacation and rarely ever spend those 12-13 hr. days in a park that many do). In all my other trips to WDW, Star Tours & The Great Movie ride were almost walk ons. Not this past year. Stand by was 45 minutes to an hour. Tower of Terror, Aerosmith & Toy Story were impossible without a fast pass. Standby's were close to two hours. Even Voyage of the little Mermaid was a two to three show wait. After all of these closures it will be even worse. LMA was crummy but it was a capacity eater and kept people out of rest of the park for about an hour or more since it took so long to get in and out of there. Rumors are that they are going to do some kind of daytime show in the Fantasmic area this summer. so that might help a little to offset LMA.

January 15, 2016 at 6:43 PM · Too bad....this was the best theme park show in Orlando. Big shoes to fill, for whatever is gonna be taking up the space...

January 15, 2016 at 8:26 PM · LMA is crap. It never belonged in DHS. It was large, out of place and a bore. SEE YA! And oh no, not Honey, I Shrunk the playground. That's an attraction? And the Streets of America, with no attractions, shops or restaurants, just a street facade...please don't take that away! GOOD RIDDANCE! I haven't been to the back of the park in years, because it sucks. Great move Disney. The front of the park is fantastic, the back of the park NEEDS this. See you in a couple of years Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land. And if DHS becomes known as a half day park, then why not go after 3pm when everyone is leaving while crying, "DHS is a half day park...BOO HOO HOO!"

January 15, 2016 at 10:20 PM · DHS was already a half day park. Essentially, they are rebuilding everything past Echo Lake on the left side of the park around the back of the park. The three most popular rides, by far, are remaining open. Too small for a full day park and not worth a full admission. But a good half and half day with AK. A good trade to take a 2-3 year hit for two new lands in a park that has been dormant for a long time.

So what do/have we given up as attractions? One major attraction (LMA), one major annual event (Osborne), a show (Capt Jack Sparrow), A Playground (Honey I shrunk the kids), a long past love studio tour, and a museum/theater.

Not a lot of loss, even with a 3 year build out, for what we will be getting. Don't do a slow rebuild that will take forever like in FantasyLand. With this much gone, cut the hours with fewer attractions and power through the construction. There's hard deadlines to meet to maximize the payback:

Star Wars Land front section opening for Star Wars 8 in 2017
Toy Story Land for Toy Story 4 in 2018
The rest of Star Wars Land with Star Wars 9 in 2019

January 15, 2016 at 10:36 PM · WDW will always be the leader on terms of visitor traffic due to its sheer size and scale but the 2014 annual report on visitor traffic to Orlando showed WDW share has decreased from 74% to 70% while Universal has increased from 16% to 20%. I would not be surprised or shocked if Disney loses another 4 percentage points to Universal by the time Avatar opens.

Disney should really fast track the new lands because I wouldn't be suprised if Universal makes an announcement regarding Nintendoland this year once Skull Island opens

January 15, 2016 at 11:23 PM · LMA is a pretty good show, but without a lot of repeatability. I saw it two or three times in all my WDW visits, and could never get anyone else interested in seeing it with me. It's one of the long in the tooth shows which are ready to bite the dust at DHS.

January 16, 2016 at 12:05 PM · I agree with many of you that it is not such a big deal, the "Studio" or backstage theme is outdated for several reasons (and Robert has explained that people want more fantasy nowadays instead of knowing how things work or how movies are made, which you can always find online anyway). I love the idea of making this park more "immersive" and I think it is a great move. The problem is the "transition time" that may feel a little empty but I still think there are plenty of things to do in this park though, and they have added fireworks on top of Fantasmic! There are dancing parties with the characters, there are character meeets and greets. I am sure Disney will keep us occupied there anyway...

Another great idea if you don't want to get a Park Hopper is to use some of the time to go to Disney Springs, it was recently renovated and it is a great use of time!

Also consider: it is not full price unless you only go to WDW for one day but most people get packages or multi-day tickets. If you get 5 days for example, the cost per day is only $63... If you live nearby, the Florida Resident tickets are even more affordable!

January 16, 2016 at 12:29 PM · I'm amused the that biggest rides in Epcot and DHS are Soarin, Toy Story and Tower of Terror, when those rides are middlin at Disneyland resort. Granted that ToT is better at DHS, but still...it shows the lack of quality rides at Epcot and DHS.

January 16, 2016 at 1:49 PM · I'm Disney's biggest defender and I still agree with most of the points being made in this thread. LMA was a very cool show, and is kinda mature for a Disney attraction (unless of course people getting shot and killed is what you associate with Disney) but it's only worth seeing a couple times a year. I'm going to miss it, but it's not a huge loss by any stretch.

And DHS is definitely only worth a 1/2 day until all the expansions are done. Maybe I'll just visit later in the day; do as many of the following attractions as possible: Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, Midway Mania, Tower of Terror, Rock'nRollercoaster; and after you've done those finish it off with Fantasmic. Or you can just use the extra day you would normally use for DHS to do something outside the parks. You could do Disney Springs like Cecilia said; or you can do one of the water parks, or walk around your hotel and see if there's anything interesting to check out.

January 16, 2016 at 9:46 PM · Is the Earful Tower being removed as well, though later in the year? The word is out. Not happy about this one.

January 17, 2016 at 9:58 AM · So I wonder if Indy is spared...for now. I would hate to see that show go! Everybody has given up on the good stunt show except Disney and USH. Even after all these years, both still look outstanding

January 17, 2016 at 8:27 PM · It's funny everyone calling for them to lower prices so they can continue to visit DHS. Here's a thought, maybe Disney operations doesn't want everyone visiting DHS while it's under construction...

If 8-10 million will pay money for a half-day park why would Disney comp tickets to cram in 12 million and make a miserable experience for all?

January 18, 2016 at 12:36 PM · Keith: The Earful Tower is also being removed. I suspect it is mostly because of the re-theming and name change. This park won't be a "Studio" anymore, Disney has said they want to make it a more immersive experience instead of backstage. Rumor has it the new name will be "Disney's Hollywood Adventure" but nothing has been officially announced yet. Some people are saying "Florida Adventure" but I doubt it because of the Hollywood theme of the front areas of the park that are not being removed. Someone joked in a disney facebook group the other day that the name will be "Identity Crisis Kingdom"; I thought it was hilarious!

January 19, 2016 at 8:19 AM · We just did a three-day trip and skipped DHS entirely. I like the headliners, but it wasn't enough for a short trip. If I had a week and park hoppers, we'd spend a morning there at most. I expect they'll still get a lot of quick trips, but full days won't be normal from many guests.