ioa for 9 and 7 year old

[julie1218]

we are going to ioa strictly for wwohp. however, when we finish wwohp, we might as well get some more bang for our buck and see ioa. plus, we will probably go back to wwohp in the evening, so we need to hang out in ioa in the afternoon. what rides would you recommend for a 9 year old boy and a 7 year old girl? girl is on the timid side a bit and boy is average in regards to liking scary rides. we do like to sit and watch shows. any good shows? thanks.

 

[czycropper]

The first time we went to IOA my DDs were 10 & 8 but both are a little thrill ride fanatics so we went on all the coasters. My then 8 year old couldn't go on the Hulk or Dragon Challenge (Dueling Dragons then) because she wasn't tall enough but she absolutely LOVED Spiderman, Ric Saw Falls, the Barges, all of the rides in Suess - actually we all loved those even the 40 year olds . Poseidon show was pretty good - that's the only one we saw at IOA since we really wanted to concentrate on the rides.

There really is plenty to do! You'll have a great time!

 

[TallandGoofy]

Our last trip was several years ago when my now 8 year old son was 4. He does NOT like roller coasters but we still found that there was lots to do and we had a blast (even with no HP).

Favorites:
Jurassic River Adventure - we all love this one...it's one of my favorite rides anywhere. Also - the Jurassic Park Discovery Center is neat - air conditioned and who doesn't like dinosaurs??

Spider-Man - Another really fun one for all of us. Son was a little scared, but came through ok.

Bluto/Popeye Barge - anything that gets you wet...kids love!

Cat in the Hat - we all like this. The whole Seuss Land, too, is fun to walk around and look at.


When my wife and I went before we had kids, we saw the Sindbad show and thought it was pretty fun. I also really like Poseidon's Fury.

Don't short change yourself! That park has alot to offer besides Harry Potter!

 

[cv1990]

Is it just me (Not really a fan of Harry Potter but love WWOHP) or does anybody else think it is strange that a number of people have been on the forum saying they would go to IOA and literally only visit the Harry Potter section?

My younger brother who is 13 is a massive fan but there was no way he was gonna let us just visit the Harry Potter section last year!

 

[julie1218]

Is it just me (Not really a fan of Harry Potter but love WWOHP) or does anybody else think it is strange that a number of people have been on the forum saying they would go to IOA and literally only visit the Harry Potter section?

My younger brother who is 13 is a massive fan but there was no way he was gonna let us just visit the Harry Potter section last year!

i'm really not interested in ioa a bit, and i hope to be proved wrong and find it awesome. that said, when i'm there already at wwohp since, of course, it's free to visit the rest of ioa, so i definitely will. plus, kids have a funny way of making mom look like an idiot. i think ioa is not going to be great, and they'll leave the park that day saying, "harry potter was ok. i really loved suessland though...."

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

My DDs were 10 and 7 last year, and I just posted about DD8 (then 7) on another thread, so I'm copying it since I am lazy that way.

My DD8 was seven and a half last summer when we went, and she liked IOA better than US, but she liked them both. She liked Seuss Landing (Cat in the Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, the trolley train ride, and even the Caroseussel), Flight of the Hippogriff,, Dudley Do-Right, Jurassic Park, Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges and Storm Force Acceleratron at IOA. She didn't do the big coasters, Forbidden Journey, Doctor Doom or Spiderman (she rode Spiderman when she was 4 and was terrified - she still won't ride it ).

At US, she liked Disaster, ET, Jimmy Neutron (closing, but will be open some of the summer), Shrek, Woody Woodpecker and the Curious George play area. She did not like Men In Black, Twister or Jaws. The Mummy was closed the day we went, but it is not really her kind of ride.

My DD10 loved everything, although she did not go on any of the big coasters (Hulk, DD/DC, RRR) - the only upside down roller coaster she will do is Rock n Rollercoaster at Disney since she can't see the loop.

I think you might be proven wrong, OP, about not being interested in IOA. I think Seuss Landing is one of the best-themed lands in all of Orlando, and to me, the attention to detail blows Fantasyland at MK out of the water. I love being there and riding the rides. I always tell people not to skip One Fish, Two Fish - it is infinitely more interesting than Dumbo, and I'd download the theme song to my iPod if I could find it! The WWOHP is so beautifully done - it is not perfect, but once again, the attention to detail for a HP fan is breathtaking.

Hope your whole family has a great trip!

 

[SmallWorld71]

I'm stealing my answer from another thread, too. I was speaking in regards to DD who was 7 1/2 on our trip.

At IOA: Spiderman (her fav), Storm Force, Flight of the Hippogriff, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish and the water rides in Toon Lagoon. She also liked the Dr. Seuss characters; she had no interest in the super heroes.
She did not care for Forbidden Journey, Poseidon or Jurassic Park. She probably would have liked Pteranadon Fliers, but we got caught in a summer storm on the ride, not fun.

You might also want to check out The High in the Sky Trolley ride and the Carousel in Seuss Landing as well for your timid one. If your DS likes Superheroes at all, IOA is the place to be. Also, my boys loved the Hulk and Dueling Dragons but DD was dismayed that she was too short.

And, I will agree with PP, the theming is incredible!

 

[RayRing]

Jumping onboard to collect information for our upcoming trip.
Thanks

 

[fizz13]

just did trip with 9 and 6 year old, both handled FJ really well. outside of that they loved the whole Jurassic park area and we spent about an hour in the discovery centre alone! they loved spiderman and were thrilled to meet him, seuss landing they liked enough but decided it was for babies lol, poseidens fury they quite liked and of course they loved getting wet in toon lagoon, there was more for them to do than I ever thought and don't get me started on U Studios because I wished we had spent more than a day there, they had a blast! so much for them to enjoy. universal all together was so much better than I was expecting and my kids are way more psyched about visiting there again than Disney .
my point: I think you're gonna like it way more than you think you will !

 

[Metro West]

just did trip with 9 and 6 year old, both handled FJ really well. outside of that they loved the whole Jurassic park area and we spent about an hour in the discovery centre alone! they loved spiderman and were thrilled to meet him, seuss landing they liked enough but decided it was for babies lol, poseidens fury they quite liked and of course they loved getting wet in toon lagoon, there was more for them to do than I ever thought and don't get me started on U Studios because I wished we had spent more than a day there, they had a blast! so much for them to enjoy. universal all together was so much better than I was expecting and my kids are way more psyched about visiting there again than Disney .
my point: I think you're gonna like it way more than you think you will !

So glad you had a wonderful time!