Universal with young children

[AndyPhillips]

Hi! Is it worth going to Universal with young children (ages 3, 5 and 8)? Seems to be a lot there for the older ones but not so much for the younger ones. Not sure if it is worth spending the time at Disney and saving the admission fee.

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks

[griffy]

I took DS on his first visit when he was 4 years old and he loved Universal. He went on Men in Black, Jimmy Neutron, Shrek 3-D but especially loved the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster and that part of the park.
It is your decision at the end of the day but my DS did enjoy himself and we even went back on another day during that holiday.

[gpoll]

We went in Feb 2007 ours kids then were 2, 4 1/2 and nearly eight. Our eldest loved it, as did my husband and me, (grand parents were with us so they took the youngest while we rode) there are areas for the little ones but we bought a seven day pass as they were very cheap but only went for the one day, and have decided we will not revisit until they are all a bit older, it is personal choice and depends what your children enjoy ours do not really like roller coasters, it was all the water rides that our eldest really enjoyed.

[BevS97]

Take a look at this thread, (http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=139803) I've indicated which rides in each park are suitable for any age - meaning from baby to granny. Some of the non bold rides may be suitable for your kids, but many will not.

Personally, we didn't find a lot there for our 2, aged 4 and 10. And a lot of things we thought they would like they didn't, like Shrek 3D which terrified them both (and they loved the movies).

We went years ago when DD1 was 3 1/2 and then waited until this last trip to try again, and we won't be back until they are both much braver in terms of big rides.

[chris16sarah7]

We decided not to go with our children who are the same ages as your youngest two, we thought we might leave it till they are a bit older, however your oldest child will find lots of fun things there

[rusty30]

Although DH and I loved these parks before the kids, I dont find them that great now. We last took them when they were 3 and 5 and they were bored rigid. On top of that my 3 year old managed to escape from an unmanned exit in the play area and ended up near the lake - what an awful day that was :(

We wont bother going back until they are MUCH older -for us it was a waste of money. If your kids like the Super Heroes like Spiderman then there is more at IOA but again, this was something mine have no interest in at all!!

[jcjcjc]

Well my 2 year old loves it at universal,seeing Barney and playing in his garden, the the play area near ET, plus ET ride, the animal show,shrek 4D,my 2 year old has been on Jaws and loved it, she also loves the blues brothers, there are also many things to do and also many great things in IOA aswel for those ages as my 2 year does a fair bit.
So yes from me

[Leanne1977]

My boys age 7 and 5 would be gutted if we weren't doing these, they are 2 of their favourite parks!:thumbs-up

They love the theming of IOA and my youngest in particular likes the Cat in the Hat area. Then you have the Spiderman ride, Bilge Rat Barges, Dudley Do Rights(which they can both do in a few weeks!), Jurassic Park River Adventure, etc , etc. There is loads to do for them. Add to that, meeting Spiderman and other characters.:)

I must say my boys do love the rides and the faster the better for them. You may be a little more restricted if your children are more nervous.

One of the best waterplay areas can be found at US. Its the Curious George area and my two would happily play in there all day. They also love Shrek 4D, Jimmy Neutron, Terminator, The Mummy(my eldest), Woody Woodpecker coaster, ET, Jaws, Men in Black, and they will love The Simpsons soon I'm sure.

I don't think we could do a trip and not visit to be honest.:wave:

[AndyPhillips]

Is The Mummy ok for 7 y/o? I had heard that it was really unsuitable for under 10's. Was unsure whether it was ok for eldest or not.

[Bozza]

Mads, who was 4 1/2 or so, absolutely loved both Universal parks last Summer, particularly the Woody 'coaster', the Flying Unicorn and the Cat in the Hat ride. In fact, with FOTL access, we rode the latter to at least 10 times each consecutively. (We also tricked her and took on Jurassic Park)

In fact, combined with the fantastic Hard Rock Hotel, I reckon we had a better time on Universal property than Disney property on that particular trip. I know I wasn't looking forward to downgrading from the HRH to Caribbean Beach!

[Harry]

Our daughter first went when she was 4 1/2... we bought a 2 park 1 day ticket as although me and the wife had done Universal and IoA plenty of times before we felt that a 4 1/2 year old choices would be limited.

We found there was quite a bit more she could do that we originally thought at the time (she was borderline getting on men in Black and Bluto's)... so Universal Studios was ideal but we felt if we had just spend a single day in IofA then it would have been a bit boring for her as apart from Spideraman, Bluto and Cat in the hat stuff there was not a lot else she could have ridden..

[dawnjess]

im taking my 3 and 8 year old next month, i will let you know when we get back what they thought of it

[sunkisser]

My DDs 5 & 7 love universal/IOA. We rode the flying unicorn 10 times! They are not big coaster fans but this one is very smooth.We laughed all the way round the 'cat in the hat' ride. The interaction with the grinch and other dr seuss characters was fantastic.
Having her photo taken with Scooby doo was the highlight of my youngest DDs day.

[Leanne1977]

Is The Mummy ok for 7 y/o? I had heard that it was really unsuitable for under 10's. Was unsure whether it was ok for eldest or not.

The height restriction is 48" and my son made that last year at age 6. He was thrilled. I made sure he knew what sort of ride it was and I wasn't worried at all about the coaster side of it as his fave coaster is Rock'n'Roller coaster. I did wonder if it would scare him more with the theming. But he loved it and went straight back on for another go.:thumbs-up

I am sure some 6 year olds would be petrified on it but you know your own children best and whether or not they would be ok. I know my 5 year old would love it but unfortunately he isn't big enough yet.:(

[jcjcjc]

I was concerned that toddlers only have to be old enough or capable to walk one step to be ok to get on cat in the hat yet imho it is not safe for very young toddlers due to the spinning and nothing much to hold onto, yet next door the train ride that secures the toddler/child so much they cant move,they say you have to be a certain height and my 2 year old stretched only just made it on the ride, that to me doesnt make sense.