Attractions and on-site hotel for 5y/o?

[beccawes7471]

I accidentally posted this under the wrong forum, so now I am trying againLooking for some of your expertise...we are going on a 3 day disney cruise next january. i am thinking about staying on site at universal for 3-4 days beforehand (i was planning on staying a disney wilderness villas) but thought maybe we should branch out. Our son will be almost 6 then, and the universal site is so slow to load on my system, I cannot tell how many attractions/rides will be suitable for him. I saw prev posts about spiderman character breakfasts, etc. but wanted to make sure that this wouldn't be a big waste of money if it was all for bigger kids (although I'm sure my husband and I would love it I am a bit confused about admission prices,etc but I do have AAA and that seems to be a bonus. Can you get a room in January for 200/ngt? Of the three on-site resorts, which do you think is the best for kids? My sister-in-law will be with us too, and we will all be in one room, so wanted to see if the rooms were decent sized. Thanks so much for any input, your board has been so helpful already!

 

[JessicaR]

Hello beccawes7471 welcome to the boards! I will answer what I can and if you have any questions feel free to ask again, lots of people with lots of knowledge on here.

Jaunary is a good time to go I believe its quiet most of the month aside from holidays. I think you should be able to keep your $200 goal a night at Royal Pacific using your AAA. Now would be too soon as those rates arent even out yet. Lately they have been releasing the discounted rates closer to the dates so for many that like to book early it isnt always beneficial. You said your son will be six but how tall? Thats what makes the difference in what he will be able to ride. There is plenty for a six year old at Universal/IOA.

I have 2 boys and really do feel my boys enjoy these parks more due to their characters offered and themes. The spiderman breakfast gets great charater interaction reviews but just lukewarm opinions of the actual food. All say its worth it for the characters so we will be trying it next time too. Your son isnt too young hes at a great age to enjoy this.

The Royal Pacific is loved a lot by all famlies and couples. The pool is a huge draw for the kids although it has no slide is a offers an interactive area with all sorts of water cannons and blasters and a large ship that fills and tips water out onto the kids ( ummmm big kids too ) The grounds are very beautiful and the staff at this property is my favorite. Great food options as well and you also have city walk so close (walking distance) for many food and shopping and entertainment options.

The standard rooms ar RPR are around 325? sq feet and have 2 queens it should be fine for the 4 of you. They can also for a charge have a roll away brought in.

 

[Figment22]

You mentioned that the Universal site was slow loading for you. I've copied the height requirements for the USF/IOA attractions from their website for you, this way you'll be able to determine what attractions your son will be able to experience:

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS®

Revenge Of The MummySM- Must be at least 48".

Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast™- Must be at least 40”. Persons under 40” must experience this attraction from an adjacent stationary location.

Back To The Future The Ride® - Must be at least 40” ; 40” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™ - Must be at least 42” ; 42” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster® - Must be at least 36” ; 36-48” must be accompanied by an adult


UNIVERSAL’S ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE®

Jurassic Park River Adventure® - Must be at least 42” ; 42” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Pteranodon Flyers® - Must be at least 36” ; 36” to 56” must be accompanied by an adult. Guests over 56” must be accompanied by a guest meeting this requirement.

Dueling Dragons® - Must be at least 54”.

Flying Unicorn® - Must be at least 36” ; 36” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

The Cat in the Hat™ - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Caro-Seuss-el™ - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish™ - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls® - Must be at least 44” ; 44” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges® - Must be at least 42” ; 42” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Incredible Hulk Coaster® - Must be at least 54”.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man® - Must be at least 40” ; 40” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Doctor Doom’s Fearfall® - Must be at least 52”.

Storm Force Accelatron® - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.


We've been lucky enought to stay at all three Universal on-site hotels and my sons liked each of them, but if they had to choose, they'd most likely pick the Hard Rock Hotel. (So would I )

 

[Prince Eric1]

Depending on when you go in January, you could probably beat the $200/night with an entertainment discount. Usually during the value seasons you can get one of the hotels for less than $150 with the entertainment card.
As far as the hotel, it is beautiful with good service and nice rooms, and a really nice pool. Also, once you have used the Front of the line, its hard to go back to standing in normal lines.
As for attractions, there is plenty for a five year old to do for a couple of days, but if you are staying for 4 you may want to venture over to Sea World or throw in another area attraction. At Universal your son should like Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, MIB, Fievels landing, Curious George, ET, Woody's Coaster, and depending on his thrill level the mummy if he's tall enough. At IOA Suess landing is great for all ages with One Fish Two Fish, Carosuessal, Cat in the Hat ride, etc, and the Toon area is fun with Popeye and Dudley Do right. If he likes dinosaurs he will love the Jurassic Park River Ride, and I think every kid I saw loved Spiderman. You also have all of the Marvel characters as well as the Nick characters and Hanna Barbera characters.

 

[beccawes7471]

Thank you all so much, these disboards are the friendliest, most helpful I have ever been on! I think we will def stay on-site and sounds like lots of stuff my son will love doing, he and dh are huge superhero fans. I imagine I will become a frequent poster/participant in the months ahead.Thanks again!-Rebecca

 

[Figment22]

Glad we could be of help. Welcome to the DIS!

 

[msr709]

I agree with most of what the other posters have said except for Jurassic Park ride. I find it a little too intense for a 6 yo unless he very, very fearless. We were with a 7yo and 4yo and while we knew the 4yo would be frightened we expected the 7yo to like JP because he loves dinosaurs but it was the ONLY ride he actually cried after doing it. We all felt so bad about it. He was shaken up for hours after that. I would suggest that one of you should ride it first and see if he'll like it. It was the only thing that I can remember that really ruined it for us for a couple of hours. HTH. Hope you all have a wonderful time.

 

[JessicaR]

I agree with most of what the other posters have said except for Jurassic Park ride. I find it a little too intense for a 6 yo unless he very, very fearless. We were with a 7yo and 4yo and while we knew the 4yo would be frightened we expected the 7yo to like JP because he loves dinosaurs but it was the ONLY ride he actually cried after doing it. We all felt so bad about it. He was shaken up for hours after that. I would suggest that one of you should ride it first and see if he'll like it. It was the only thing that I can remember that really ruined it for us for a couple of hours. HTH. Hope you all have a wonderful time.

The first time we encountered an iff ride that the kids might have been scared on we did exactly what you said, tried it first to decide. Good advice. The funny thing with JP is that my son was 4 when he first rode it the other was 8. My 4 year old loved and still loves it and my 8 year old cried and to this day will do it once per trip but really is frightened by it and he has no problem with Dudley! Every child is so different.

 

[damo]

We've encounted brave little ones on JP and some scared ones. I have found that the ride ops really try to convince parents not to make the little ones ride when they are obviously in distress. It is so nice to see.

You will have so much fun at Universal. I recommend getting your son's face painted with a superhero character. They do such an amazing job, it would be a great memory.

This year, the end of January, we got Hard Rock for $139/night using the annual pass rate. You should be able to get Royal Pacific for about that or less, depending on when you go during the month. You guys will love Royal Pacific. There are no entertainment rates anymore. You will need to get a AAA rate or buy one annual pass for the discounts, depending on the savings available and if it would be worth your while.

 

[phamton]

Here are two articles that give an overview of what kids can do at Universal/IoA:

Kids at IOA

Kids at Universal Studios