1 day or 2 days for a 4.5 year old??

[eskimopie]

Right now we have two days planned at Universal in October. We are debating cutting it down to 1 because of our 4.5 year old daughter. I am just wondering if there is enough to do for a 4.5 year old for 2 days, or if we should send my husband the second day and she and I check into the hotel early and have an extra day at Disney.

Things to note about her:
She is adventurous and will try things like roller coasters, however she is on the shorter side at only 39 inches right now so her rides will be limited.
She loves characters and loves Disney, so I am not sure if she will be aware that the are not there to meet.
She has no idea who Harry Potter is and that is a huge reason my husband and I want to go there, so I don't know if that will be too much for her after a day.

Thoughts?

 

[hermionesnape]

Right now we have two days planned at Universal in October. We are debating cutting it down to 1 because of our 4.5 year old daughter. I am just wondering if there is enough to do for a 4.5 year old for 2 days, or if we should send my husband the second day and she and I check into the hotel early and have an extra day at Disney. Things to note about her: She is adventurous and will try things like roller coasters, however she is on the shorter side at only 39 inches right now so her rides will be limited. She loves characters and loves Disney, so I am not sure if she will be aware that the are not there to meet. She has no idea who Harry Potter is and that is a huge reason my husband and I want to go there, so I don't know if that will be too much for her after a day. Thoughts?

Introduce her to Harry. My daughter was almost 3 1/2 when SS was released in theaters. She keep asking to see the move about the boy in the "sun" glasses. Took a while to realize she meant Harry. It was the first movie the sat trough without talking. The first three movies are all PG and IMO perfectly appropriate for a 4 year old. Even if you don't introduce Harry to her there is lots of fun stuff for her age. So I would keep you original plan of 2 days. Much less of a rushed feeling.

If she can add three inches between now and October (or buy her some shoes that add a bit of height). It opens up more options as does adding on just 1 inch. Here are the rides and height requirements.

*Revenge of the Mummy® - Must be at least 48"
MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™ - Must be at least 42". Children between 42"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster® - Must be at least 36". Children between 36"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
The Simpsons Ride™ – Must be at least 40". Children between 40"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
*Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit® - Must be at least 51" and no more than 79".
E.T. Adventure - Must be at least 34". Children between 34"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem - Must be at least 40". Children between 40"- 48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion. Persons under 40" must experience this attraction from an adjacent stationary seat.
TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D - Children between 40"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.


*These rides have "test seats" available so that guests can determine comfort and fit for themselves before riding.


Universal's Islands of Adventure®

Jurassic Park River Adventure® - Must be at least 42". Children between 42"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
Pteranodon Flyers® - Please note that Pteranodon Flyers® is designed for children 36" - 56" inches tall. A child meeting this requirement must accompany guests over 56 inches tall. Children between 36"-56" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
*Dragon Challenge™ - Must be at least 54"
*Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls® - Must be at least 44". Children between 44"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges® - Must be at least 42". between 42"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
*Incredible Hulk Coaster® - Must be at least 54"
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man® - Children between 40"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
*Doctor Doom's Fearfall® - Must be at least 52"
The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!™ - Children between 40"-48 "must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.
*Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ - Must be 48"
Flight of the Hippogriff™ - Children between 36"-48" must be accompanied by a Supervising Companion.

 

[eskimopie]

Thank you! I was just starting to second guess it, but I am sure she is going to love it!

 

[bumbershoot]

She has no idea who Harry Potter is

How did you manage that???? My son simply saw our books and the DVDs of the movies that were out when he was little, and was intrigued. We homeschool so he wasn't introduced to it from others, but once he was 5 we joined the YMCA and wow do those kids talk! Every single movie we still don't let him watch (and we're fairly liberal in many ways, movie-wise) he knows EVERYTHING about, thanks to his peers.

Plenty of non-HP fans have enjoyed Wizarding World and still don't care about the stories. It's a lovely place and I bet Diagon Alley is going to be equally as nice. Although we are weird and let DS see POTC at 3, we didn't start watching HP 1 until well after we had read the book to him once or twice...so at 4 he wouldn't have known the stories, but he sure did see the pictures on the books and DVDs!

There are play areas (the ball play area beyond Curious George water play area is pretty darned awesome) and smaller rides like Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster that I think she can ride, and interesting characters to meet.

I'm not sure if they are always out, but we have met Whos in the Seuss area; they are AMAZING. They are absolutely beyond any face character Disney could EVER create without just copying them. They look exactly like a Who should look, but they are face characters. No cover-your-face-typ masks. Makeup (prosthetics). When DS met them, they had a 5 minute long conversation with him about how cool it is that he's homeschooled; that has NEVER happened at Disney... It was so neat.


Even with Disney...when DS was that age, the trips were for us. He was there because that's where he belonged, and we found things he liked during the trip that was still for us. Now he's nearly 10 and seems to think the trips are for him...silly silly boy.

 

[mjohnson96]

There are a lot of characters at Universal that she can meet. My youngest DD who will be 4 this trip loved meeting Sponge Bob, Dora, Woody Woodpecker (whom she thought was a KU JayHawk), Minons, and a few others. Over on the IOA side at Suess Landing they the Cat and the Hat characters and she had to get her picture with as many as possible. Heck she might not know who HP really is but I could not drag her away from some of the live shows or sites at WWOHP since they caught her attention

For her she loves all the different rides, and is a thrill freak already. I would say to stay with 2 days so you have time to see everything and just enjoy yourself. That way on the 2nd day you can go back and either see those things you didn't get to the first day or revisit areas that you really liked.