Have a ? for families who are somewhat conservative

[wbarkhur]

First I am not trying to start any debates of any type. I am just looking for some advice and was hoping to find someone who may be able to help us enjoy our vacation, and make some decisions.

We have five kids, DD 12, DD 10, DS 7, DS 6, and DS 2 3/4 (at time of travel). We are somewhat careful about what we let them watch on TV and movies, read in books, music they listen to ect.. We are really by no means extreme, we really just try to limit the amount of sex, violence, drugs, and language that they are exposed to. We know that they are exposed to all types of things at school, we just want to keep somethings out of our home. We are not trying to push our views on anyone else, I was just hoping to find another family/person who is also conservative in this way that could answer some questions/concerns I have.

Ok here is our situation. My family is taking our first trip Orlando in Nov. We will be there for 14 days, and so we planned on going to Universal for 2 days, one day at each park. The more I looked onto Universal I started to wonder if it would be something we would enjoy, there are parts I think we would but not so sure about others. We would not be visting any of the new Harry Potter attractions, and at home we don't watch simpsons, or shrek so I am not sure that we would go on these either. I am not sure about the Men in black, revenge of the mummy, and terminator rides either, still trying to find info on them. I asked what the people on the Universal boards thought, and most told me that it would just be a waste of money for us, and that maybe we should just go one day to both parks to just see the things we will enjoy.

So what I was hoping was to find a family or person who considers themselves conservative that had gone, and what their experiance was. Did you enjoy Universal? and do you have any advice on things we might want to avoid? Can you really even enjoy both parks in one day, or would we just be runing the whole time? Thank you for any help, and sorry it is soo long, hard to explain in short form. Thanks again.

 

[feezle]

Sounds like the Studios would be a waste of time for you. I don't know about IOA, I have never been there. I don't know that I would bother.

Edit: Although Revenge of the Mummy is just a roller coaster and MIB is pretty much the same as Buzz Lightyear. I don't think you would have anything to worry about with those rides. I still don't think it would be a worthwhile trip. With the removal of BTTF, I don't think it is a worthwhile trip for me and I like most of the rides you mentioned.

 

[sparklynails23]

It doesn't sound like Universal and IOA is for you. Albeit, HP Land can easily be avoided, but the whole fun/excitement/attitude there doesn't seem like it would fit your family.

 

[laceemouse]

If I were you, I would skip Universal all together. We are fairly conservative (we homeschool) and we don't let our kids be exposed to garbage, especially when they were as young as yours are. We do allow Harry Potter, but that is another story.
Universal, the original US, is a lot of shows. The shows are all based on movies, most of which were popular years ago and, you are right, are not exactly kid movies. Even families that allow Men In Black, the Mummy movies, etc. often don't let kids watch that stuff in elementary school. Those are pretty scary and not very interesting to little kids anyway.
Also, the shows at US are, in my opinion, nowhere NEAR as good as the shows at Disney. They are more on par with Six Flags stuff.
The newer park, Islands of Adventure, is pretty much ALL thrill rides. Most of your kids are too young for the kinds of mega-G force rides they have there. Did you check height restrictions? Can they ride much of anything?
The Shrek show is okay, not great (we have seen the movies, but we don't love them.) The Terminator show is okay, not great (it really would not make sense if you have not seen the movie.) We are familiar with The Simpsons but are not fans. I sat off of that ride when we went because I have extreme motion sickness. I'm glad I did, my kids came off feeling queasy.
The Seuss section is okay, not nearly as good as anything that Disney has. What do you think you want to do at US/IOA?
The best things there, for us, were the Blue Man Group show at City Walk, and the Emeril's restaurant there, one of the best meals I have had in my life!
I would just stick with Disney if I were you, unless your husband and older kids LOVE coasters, which we don't. The shows are not worth the price of admission IMO. Twister and Jaws are just LAME

 

[We_love_WDW]

Can you go on the rides like Shrek, etc. without having seen the shows/movies? Have you tried looking on you tube for people who video taped those rides?

 

[MollyAnna]

Our family is pretty conservative as well (although I must say we all really enjoy Shrek!). We've been to Orlando 4 times and we planned to visit Universal Studios on our last trip. However, after reading up on all the rides, we decided against it. We don't do Harry Potter, either, and I just don't think it's for us. Anyway, we used a couple of days to head to the beach instead, which was a big hit and something new for all of our kids. Next time, we're going to Kennedy Space Center and Sea World if we have extra time. I just remember thinking that if we didn't like it, it would be a pretty expensive disappointment so we put that money elsewhere and had a wonderful time. Have fun on your trip!

 

[JUJU814]

We are also quite conservative and have had no interest in Universal. Actually our kids I think would be a little young. I haven't been since 1995!

I was wondering is it worth going just for the Dr. Suess area? What else is there for small kids?

 

[livndisney]

Can you go on the rides like Shrek, etc. without having seen the shows/movies? Have you tried looking on you tube for people who video taped those rides?

Shrek is not a "ride" it is a 3D (4d?) movie.

 

[ireland_nicole]

We had planned on a universal day, but the more I researched it, the more I realized that there really wasn't anything there that I would really feel was appropriate for my kids; especially not at $79 for the day. We're just adding an Epcot day so that we can take afternoons off and lounge by the pool at the house we're renting.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I'm personally not a conservative, but I can totally understand your viewpoints. I'm chiming in with US probably not fitting for your family. Our household is full of HP fans, and as much as I want to pop over there, I just can't justify the expense or the other attractions - they have no appeal for us. I also agree with the others who suggested adding another park day or maybe even consider a pool/relaxation day. Are you planning to dedicate any days to walking around DTD? Resort hopping? What about touring Celebration, FL? Taking a shopping excursion over to International Drive (I-drive)?

Best wishes!

 

[jmartinez1895]

We have never planned a trip to Universal because we feel that it would expose our children to things we don;t want them to see. We always do Disney. They enjoy it and we do to.

 

[happymommy]

I took my family to Universal once a couple of years ago to give it a try. I must admit, I was sucked in with the discount tickets (I think they were less than $99 for the week).

Personally, I found the whole atmosphere much less "family" oriented than Disney parks. I feel like at Disney, everyone from a baby to a grandparent can feel pretty comfortable. Universal seemed to me to appeal more to the teen and young adult age, plus it wasn't as classy to me. I recall the beer stands looking more pronounced (now, I do drink, and enjoy wine and beer at Epcot, but it just feels classier there).

Now, my 13 year old son would probably love to go back, but he's (get this) afraid of roller coasters! So, all the big roller coasters would be a waste for him. I do enjoy trying some roller coasters, but the theme of the Disney ones is just so much more appealing to me.

If I were you, I'd find other fun things to do in the area. Downtown Disney is fun, and there are great restaurants there. My kids could spend two weeks at Innoventions at Epcot! I can't seem to ever drag them out of there. One fun trip, they got to learn how to make paper in a recycling demonstration. That paper was so treasured!

Just my opinion, but I agree that you could definitely skip Universal.

 

[CoffeeCup]

DH and I are in our 60's, and we love going to Disney World at least once a year. Two or three years ago we bought tickets for Universal Studios, and we hated it there. Even though we're definitely not old fuddy-duddies, we didn't like the atmosphere of the park. The employees were not friendly, some were extremely rude, the park seemed dirty with trash thrown everywhere, and no one seemed happy there. We had multiple day tickets, but we left early the first day and didn't go back again. Universal was just a large amusement park, in our opinion. DH loves roller coasters and other thrill rides, but after trying a few there, he was not impressed. We saw only one show, and while we enjoyed the music, we both commented on the "slutty" appearance of the performers. There were some good street performers that we enjoyed. I'll admit that since it was extremely hot when we were there with a heavy rain storm, we weren't in the best of spirits that day, but it took only a few hours for us to realize we didn't enjoy the park.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

First I am not trying to start any debates of any type. I am just looking for some advice and was hoping to find someone who may be able to help us enjoy our vacation, and make some decisions.

We have five kids, DD 12, DD 10, DS 7, DS 6, and DS 2 3/4 (at time of travel). We are somewhat careful about what we let them watch on TV and movies, read in books, music they listen to ect.. We are really by no means extreme, we really just try to limit the amount of sex, violence, drugs, and language that they are exposed to. We know that they are exposed to all types of things at school, we just want to keep somethings out of our home. We are not trying to push our views on anyone else, I was just hoping to find another family/person who is also conservative in this way that could answer some questions/concerns I have.

Ok here is our situation. My family is taking our first trip Orlando in Nov. We will be there for 14 days, and so we planned on going to Universal for 2 days, one day at each park. The more I looked onto Universal I started to wonder if it would be something we would enjoy, there are parts I think we would but not so sure about others. We would not be visting any of the new Harry Potter attractions, and at home we don't watch simpsons, or shrek so I am not sure that we would go on these either. I am not sure about the Men in black, revenge of the mummy, and terminator rides either, still trying to find info on them. I asked what the people on the Universal boards thought, and most told me that it would just be a waste of money for us, and that maybe we should just go one day to both parks to just see the things we will enjoy.

So what I was hoping was to find a family or person who considers themselves conservative that had gone, and what their experiance was. Did you enjoy Universal? and do you have any advice on things we might want to avoid? Can you really even enjoy both parks in one day, or would we just be runing the whole time? Thank you for any help, and sorry it is soo long, hard to explain in short form. Thanks again.

We've looked into going to Universal during our trips, but have chosen to pass. Instead we've spent a day at Kennedy Space Center and the beach - and loved it. If you are wanting to stay closer to the Orlando area, try researching Sea World (I'm sure our children would love to try it!).

 

[sksjasams]

It seems like it would be an awful lot of money for a family that size to go to US/IOA for just a few select attractions. It's really more a matter of what you and your family are interested in. I would say the same thing whether you were conservative or not.
Unless your older kids are really set on Universal Studios/IOA, I would say spend one day at Sea World and one day at the beach (maybe Cocoa Beach so they could see the Atlantic). Of course, may you already have those in your itinerary.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[*pixie*dust*]

A friend of mine took her 3 children to Universal. They are a very conservative family. My friend said that going to Universal was a big mistake. That there was too much violent, scary stuff for her kids. She also was not happy with the amount of "toilet" humor, that was also present at many of the "family" type attractions. They have been back to Disney since that initial trip but she said they will NOT go back to Universal or IoA.

 

[singnring]

Definitely a moderate conservative family here.

We have homeschooled since 1992 (I have a 12 year span between children) and we are very careful about the things to which we expose our kids.

We do not condone the HP stuff, Shrek, Simpsons, etc.

We have looked into US many times, as people keep telling us we need to go.

But when we look at what they have to offer, we realize it just isn't for us.

We keep thinking we must be missing something, hence, the reason we keep looking into it.

This thread has helped me see that we aren't missing anything; it just isn't for us.

Sounds like it isn't for your family either.

I would do as others have suggested and spend your money @ KSC and Sea World. We love both.

 

[samshane]

We are not a conservative family - but I have to say that we went for 2 days on our last trip and I wish we would have just spent the extra 2 days at Disney. But we got a military deal and couldn't resist. I have a daughter who hates anything scary/loud/ fast and she didn't go on many of the rides. Many of the rides were motion rides... we got kind of bored after so many of those.

We mainly went because Jaws is my favorite move of all time and I wanted to do that ride (oh, and we couldn't beat the military ticket deal). The kids did enjoy MIB and Spiderman a lot though. It was dead the day we went so we went on those rides repeated times.

My 2 cents - I would skip it... we have no plans to go back when we go in November.

 

[nmmom95]

Definitely a moderate conservative family here.
We do not condone the HP stuff, Shrek, Simpsons, etc.

Please do not take this as an insult in any way, but what is it about Shrek & HP that you find offensive? The Simpsons, which we actually watch, does have some objectionable material. I do not consider myself conservative, although I do monitor what my kids are exposed to. I probably just "let more fly." I am actually just interested in hearing an opinion on this. I have ABSOLUTELY no judgment on what is appropriate. Each family and child is different. I don't even let my kids necessarily see the same things. (One scares easier)

 

[tricia]

I will chime in as someone who loved Universal, and my boys did too. Although, I waited until just recently to go there. We were waiting for the boys to be a little older.

OP, I think even without your conservative views that it may be best if you skip it this year. I found that there just wasn't enough for the younger set to enjoy. My boys were 12 and 8, had they been much younger (or shorter than that) they would not have gotten enough out of it to be worth it.