Kids too young for Universal Studios???

[KCheatle]

Having returned from the world in May, I have started to think about my next trip. The hubs and I know we want to go in December 2013, so the timing is planned.

First Question: Are my kids are old enough to enjoy Universal Studios? I have not been there since 2005, and quite frankly, when I went I stayed on the Islands of Adventure side so I really have no recollection of what the Universal side even has?

My kids will be 7 (almost 8) and 3 (almost 4) when we go and I just have no idea if they would really enjoy Universal Studios? Is it worth the hassle and extra ticket price to go there with kids that age?

They do watch Shrek and Despicable Me. Right now they don't watch Nickelodean, but who knows? That could change with my older one. It's just been so long since I've been there I'm wondering if it is a "friendly" park for kids that age?

Second Question: Should we do Universal first and stay off site or should we get a taxi from our Disney hotel to go for a day in the middle of our trip?

 

[captainkidd]

Absolutely not. My boys are 5, 5 and 11 and they love Universal.

I wouldn't go to Universal unless we stayed on-site. The hotels are so nice, the walk back is awesome, and Universal Express is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[KCheatle]

Absolutely not. My boys are 5, 5 and 11 and they love Universal.

I wouldn't go to Universal unless we stayed on-site. The hotels are so nice, the walk back is awesome, and Universal Express is the best thing since sliced bread.

Which hotel at Universal do you recommend?

 

[captainkidd]

Which hotel at Universal do you recommend?

We always stay at Royal Pacific. The rooms are a bit smaller than at the Hard Rock, but the hotel overall is absolutely gorgeous. It's also the least expensive of the 3 on-site hotels. I prefer the pool at the Hard Rock, but that's a cool thing about Universal. You can pool hop if you're staying at any of the resorts on site.

The only one we haven't stayed at is Portofino. It looks very nice and it has the biggest rooms, but the resort is huge and the theme isn't as much fun as Royal Pacific or Hard Rock.

 

[flynnibus]

US has shows.. which are friendly to most ages. T2 is loud with guns.. which some small ones won't like. It also has the kid area. Rockit and The Mummy of course are full on coasters, but you're probably height limited there anyways. Should be able to ride things like Simpsons, MiB, etc.

IOA is worse in terms of less content for them.. but I'd start by looking at the attraction list for both parks and see what are even available height wise. US certainly has plenty for an 8 year old.. IOA you may have to skip more, but there is still lots to see. JP area, Harry Potter, Suess, etc.

Family of 4.. stay in the Royal Pacific and get express pass for everyone. It's certainly the way to go.. especially if you do 2 days at the park.

We would stay offsite on the travel day.. then hit the hotel first thing in the morning to check in and get your passes... then stay the night at UNI.. checkout in the AM.. hit the parks for the second day, and that night switch to your next location. 1 night at UNI, but two park days with express pass.

 

[sgtmgd]

They should enjoy either or both parks..I ususally set aside one day at IOA while at Disney...Im not sure Universal would hold my interest for an entire day...but it certainly does at IOA...We have contemplated staying on site the hotels look great and like Disney the perks and convienence are appealing...I would feel like I just cheated on my DW if I did stay at one of the Universal properties

 

[lebeau]

We have girls the same age as your kids. For my girls, Universal would be a bit of a waste. But it depends on your kids. Personally, we're going to wait until they are older. I figure in a few years we'll take a non-Disney Sea World/Universal trip. By then HP 2 will be open and the kids will be old enough to experience more of the parks.

 

[dave&di]

We always stay at Royal Pacific. The rooms are a bit smaller than at the Hard Rock, but the hotel overall is absolutely gorgeous. It's also the least expensive of the 3 on-site hotels. I prefer the pool at the Hard Rock, but that's a cool thing about Universal. You can pool hop if you're staying at any of the resorts on site.

The only one we haven't stayed at is Portofino. It looks very nice and it has the biggest rooms, but the resort is huge and the theme isn't as much fun as Royal Pacific or Hard Rock.

We stay at the Portofino and love it BUT I agree the other 2 are better for children.

 

[mbisenius]

As an adult, I've visited Universal twice in 2007 and 2010. During the last trip, we had already started planning our extended family vacation to Orlando over Christmas, and although my nieces (who will be 7 and 5) are huge Shrek, Dr. Seuss, and Harry Potter fans, we decided it's not worth visiting until they are older. For us, the rides and shows they can't/won't enjoy (MiB, Jurassic Park, Hulk, etc.) outweigh what they'd be able/want to do (ET, water rides, etc.). Also, there are things they are too old for (the Barney play area) but too young to enjoy (Revenge of the Mummy ride although they're tall enough). For me, it seems that Universal is geared for older teenagers more than young children.

Also, although it was only two of us in 2010, we stayed at Disney and hired a towncar to pick us up two days during the middle of our stay (it was our honeymoon gift to ourselves). We did like splitting up our vacation just to have a change of pace.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/youngin-at-universal-is-it-worth-it.839235/

I got some great responses to my thread on almost the exact same topic this week.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The only thing keeping us from going to Universal w/our girls is height. I know there are lots of fun things w/o height restrictions, but my girls are quite tiny and DD5 (who will be 6 in Aug) would be crushed if she couldn't ride Harry Potter Forbidden Journey. She's still upset that she didn't measure up to the 42" height requirement for a ride on her field trip the other day...and this was just a crummy carnival style ride. DD3 is under 40" (hoping she will hit that mark by Nov), so there's even more she can't ride. I just can't see paying the price of admission at Universal until they can ride more.

I think it's worth going and would be a lot of fun IF a) your children are tall enough to experience a good portion of the rides OR b) you think there is enough to keep everyone happy and make you feel like you got your $s worth if they don't meet the height requirements.

 

[englanddg]

I'm going to Universal for the first time since 2004 with the chiddler (7, soon 8). We're staying on property at the Leows Pacific. I'm hoping all goes well.

I found this thread informative, thanks!

 

[jpittore1]

We went in March 2012 and stayed at the Hard Rock. It was only a 5 minute walk hotel to park gate! There was no waiting for the boats and if you didn't want to walk there were several bicycle rickshaws that will ride you back and forth, too.

My children are 12 and 15 and rode 100% of the rides. I feel we could have gone when my youngest was 9 based on thrill rides and height requirements.

 

[coltow]

We haven't taken our kids yet. They are 8 & 5. Our main reason is the height requirements. They have too many attractions with heigh requirements that the younger one does not meet. It's a waste for us to spend the $ to go over there and then not be able to take both kids on all the rides. We figure we'll take them in a few years when they both can meet every requirement

 

[Todd L]

We love universal studios and Have been fortunate enough to stay at all 3 on site hotels. They are all beautiful but I really Prefer Royal Pacific. Its much more relaxed and It seems more family freindly than The Other resorts!!

 

[englanddg]

We love universal studios and Have been fortunate enough to stay at all 3 on site hotels. They are all beautiful but I really Prefer Royal Pacific. Its much more relaxed and It seems more family freindly than The Other resorts!!

That's good to hear, because that's where I'm staying this coming trip.

 

[disney magic 06]

We were an adults-only party, but we did comment that there wasn't an awful lot for SMALL or less daring children, although height restrictions in general seemed to be less stringent than we experience here in UK. We saw people taking tiny children on quite intense rides.

 

[msmit002]

We're taking DS7 to IoA in August. He's read the first 6 HP books, loves the movies, beat the two Wii games etc. etc. It would be silly if we were that close to WWoHP and not took a day to visit. The rest of the park is just gravy for him.

BUT! I also have a little mini Yao Ming on my hands. He's seven and a half and 59.75" tall. He will probably hit 60" by August. So in his case, he can ride anything and everything and he's a real daredevil so it's the perfect age for him.