Is Universal OK for ASD kids? Any hints or tips?

[ireland_nicole]

I'm sure some of y'all have answered this a lot, and I appreciate your patience, but I didn't see any current threads addressing this specific issue. We're by and large a Disney family; we try to go once a year, and my kids who both are on the autistic spectrum love it.

We're planning our trip for next september, and I realized that the new WWOHP should be open by then, so I'm researching spending most of one day and the morning of another there to avail of the pass, and then doing our usual week at WDW after.

My question is, I've been looking at the universal website, and other then the specific "kids areas" everything looks completely terrifying. Is that actually the case, or is it a marketing ploy... because I'm a little concerned that there will be nothing but a small "kiddie" area of the two parks for them.

TIA for any help. I went to Universal when I used to live in FL, but haven't been in, shall we say, a very long time (I think 1996 might have been the last time) and all I remember is eating at the HRC, getting soaked in Feivels, Jaws, and disaster.

 

[damo]

Well, not really terrifying but for kids on the autistic spectrum they would have the potential to be very overstimulating. It is really tough to judge since we have a few families on the boards with kids affected by autism that totally love Universal.

Try checking out the new website. It has more videos and maybe have your kids take a look too.

http://beta.universalorlando.com/home/home.aspx#

There are some great play areas in the parks with balls, water, slides and interactive things. Do your kids like Dinosaurs? There is a wonderful Dinosaur exhibit.

 

[yaytezIOA]

1.Marvel Super Hero Island-Overstimulation. Not a lot to do for kids. Maybe Spiderman but that is a dark ride with glasses and explosions.
2.Toon Lagoon has a kids play area...a giant boat that they can squirt people as they pass by.
3.Jurassic Park has Camp Jurassic with a bunch of caves to explore, water guns to squirt people with nets, and a little kids coaster. They also have the discovery Center with loads of games and activities for the little kids. The River adventure may be a little too intense.
4.WWoHP-who knows
5.Lost Continent-Has sindbad and Poseidons Fury....that one may be a little too much
6.Seuss Landing-Come on...it's dr. seuss.
USF
1.Shrek, and Jimmy Nuetron, both inside rides...probably good for everyone
2.Twister, indoor tornado stimulation...maybe a bit much
3.Mummy-indoor coaster....bit much
4.Disaster-I dont know on this one. the ride is not as intense as it use to be, and it is 80% show. Humorous
5.JAWS-Boat ride with sharks popping out of the water-explosions, and guns. You decide
6.Men In Black-Buzz lightyear with style.
7.Simpsons-Simulator. Eh, I dont care for it, but millions do, and its not 3d. Think an amped up version of Soarin
8.Then you have the whole kid zone which is full of water areas, barney, an animal show,ET, loads of characters, etc, etc, etc.
There are other shows spread throughout the park, and a lot of different characters walking around as well. I think that for the whole family there is enough to keep the little ones, even though they are autistic, occupied and not too stimulated, and have mom and dad satisfied as well.

 

[circelli]

We are going to Universal Studios again this year and our ds's will be 5 & 3 1/2. Last year when we went they were 4 & 2 1/2, they can't wait to go back!!!
It all depends om what your children like. IMO there is nothing terrifying only LOTS & LOTS of fun
I hope this helps you a little

 

[yaytezIOA]

I might clarify a little and say my kids are 8 and 12. We've been going since they were 3 and 5. They are in love with Universal, and know the park like it's no one elses.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Thanks y'all, I really appreciate your input. I guess to put it in perspective, they Love, love love Disney, love splash mountain (although scared a bit of the drop) love BTMR, scared of HM.

Do you think it's worth going most of one day and part of another if we're pretty much doing seuss (definite), the few sim rides like MIB, simpsons, the other kids area and WWOHP- and the dino exhibit, DS loves his dinos to an extreme degree, but probably not the ride, they completely freaked out on Dinosaur.

We're commited to going, cause DH, DM, DD and myself are massive HP fans, just wondering if there's enough to keep us occupied that long. I really appreciate all of your responses; it's helping me to feel a lot more prepared.

 

[yaytezIOA]

I honestly can't tell you. Harry Potter is not open, and I dont know what they're going to have. I can tell you that right now, as it stands, if you want to do the whole park....without HP....a day and a half is just about right.I can do both parks in six hours....but that's without your children. My kids are older and we hustle....but as it is, for a relaxing day without a lot of fuss, I would definately say that as it stands...you can do everything at the park in a day, day and a half to be on the safe side. Especially if you're not riding coasters. Throw Harry Potter in the mix, I dont know. No one does. Check back in a year when it opens....and September of 10? Bit optimistic if you ask me.

 

[damo]

Thanks y'all, I really appreciate your input. I guess to put it in perspective, they Love, love love Disney, love splash mountain (although scared a bit of the drop) love BTMR, scared of HM.

Do you think it's worth going most of one day and part of another if we're pretty much doing seuss (definite), the few sim rides like MIB, simpsons, the other kids area and WWOHP- and the dino exhibit, DS loves his dinos to an extreme degree, but probably not the ride, they completely freaked out on Dinosaur.

We're commited to going, cause DH, DM, DD and myself are massive HP fans, just wondering if there's enough to keep us occupied that long. I really appreciate all of your responses; it's helping me to feel a lot more prepared.

MIB isn't a sim ride but an interactive target shooting of aliens ride.

If your son is an extreme dino fan, there is lots to keep him occupied for a few hours right there without riding the ride.

Sounds like they would be able to do many of the rides (probably two days worth). They wouldn't do Mummy, Jaws and perhaps Terminator at USF. The rest would likely be doable. They wouldn't do the coasters and Jurassic Park River adventure or Dudley do right at IOA.

 

[ireland_nicole]

oops, yep I'm really glad I'm asking these questions. Dudley do right looked fun on the video from IOA, and my kids meet the height requirement... something tells me theres more to this ride?

 

[damo]

oops, yep I'm really glad I'm asking these questions. Dudley do right looked fun on the video from IOA, and my kids meet the height requirement... something tells me theres more to this ride?

If they don't like the drop on Splash Mountain, they won't like it on Dudley.

 

[ireland_nicole]

got it! Thanks so much!

 

[Coach81]

I'm sure some of y'all have answered this a lot, and I appreciate your patience, but I didn't see any current threads addressing this specific issue. We're by and large a Disney family; we try to go once a year, and my kids who both are on the autistic spectrum love it.

We're planning our trip for next september, and I realized that the new WWOHP should be open by then, so I'm researching spending most of one day and the morning of another there to avail of the pass, and then doing our usual week at WDW after.

My question is, I've been looking at the universal website, and other then the specific "kids areas" everything looks completely terrifying. Is that actually the case, or is it a marketing ploy... because I'm a little concerned that there will be nothing but a small "kiddie" area of the two parks for them.

TIA for any help. I went to Universal when I used to live in FL, but haven't been in, shall we say, a very long time (I think 1996 might have been the last time) and all I remember is eating at the HRC, getting soaked in Feivels, Jaws, and disaster.

My oldest son is a high-functioning autistic child. He LOVES Universal and Islands of Adventure. He does it all.. and I am very happy to report.. with little to no problems. My suggestion would be to try to slowly introduce the different areas to your children via maps and perhaps you-tube videos and see their reactions. If they are properly prepared perhaps you will be pleasantly surprised.

God bless you, and have a wonderful vacation!!!

 

[SNylund]

The poster above and some of the others are probably your best information on this, just to add my 2 cents.

I think Mummy and Jaws are the only 2 really scary rides (this will differ as do opinions on this) Now my kids love them and are not scared but if you have special circumstances you may want to test these first.

Jurassic Park River Adventure is probably not too scary but at the end a T-Rex lunges for your boat then you plunge down an 80 ft drop (this may be scary for them)

But you may want to get more info from the others that have autistic children with first hand knowledge, sounds like they didn't have a problem. But they will obviously have more reliable info than me on this. Good luck and have fun, remember it is a theme park and there is a LOT to do for small children of any circumstances I would think.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Thanks so much guys; I think if I can figure out how I might edit the title to make our circumstances more visible; that's a really good idea. I really appreciate all y'all's help, and even bought a guidebook; it's so weird for me being a "newbie" when I know Disney like the back of my hand, and I really appreciate the warm welcome here and all your patience.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I have a DD8 who is high functioning autistic sensory seeking. She LOVES Universal. We went for the first time in April. The crazier the ride, the more she liked it. She rode the Mummy back-to-back 4 times. Now my perectly "normal" --but again, really, what is normal?--DD10 cried thru the mummy and wouldn't go back on it so DH got to ride extra with DD8.

Everyone loved the simulator rides and spinning rides.(Simpsons, MIB, Jimmy Neutron, Shrek,etc). Jaws was a yawner--not terrifying at all. Twister was supposed to be scary but instead we all laughed out loud at the stupid "special effects"--really? A fake cow on a chain "flying" thru the air? We switched off and rode the coasters alone since the kids were too small. GREAT coasters

My DD8 loves Splash Mountain and Kali Rapids at Disney and also loved the water rides at Universal.

I think alot depends on whether your little ones are sensory seeking or sensory avoiding. If staying on property, I highly reccomend PBH. Very quiet, great pool, big rooms, and superb food. Better than Disney. They also have great egg-free pasta which thrilled my DD8 who is allergic to eggs. I have never seen them eat spaghetti so quickly that was not made by me. AND--Sal's pizza was also a hit.

Good luck on your decision. They will love it.

 

[ireland_nicole]

Thanks Amanda;
DD is proprioceptive sensory seeking but auditory sensory avoiding; we pretty much just keep her ear protectors on most of the time. We're planning on just staying at Universal one night, and then going on to Disney for a week; but I thought it was worth it to stay on site for the night. I'm really glad to get your review of PBH, from trip reports and pics, it seems beautiful, although I was also considering RPH for the sand; my kids love, love, love the feel of sand around their feet. I'm definitely going to spend some time with them you tubing and reading guidebooks with them (I think they're kind of starting to get OCD about planning like Mommy) and then I think we'll try it slow with something they should definitely like such as a water ride (they can't get enough water ) or the Seuss area and play it by ear. With the express pass and going in slow season I'm hoping we'll have a little more freedom; it will be interesting at least to see how they do. I have to admit though, I was totally scared of taking them when I first started looking at the parks, but thanks to all of you guys, I'm starting to feel a bit more confident.

 

[damo]

Nicole, PBH has sand at their pool.

Portofino

 

[lauren5406]

My youngest brother (8) is autistic and his first trip to Universal two years ago was fantastic.

The wonderful circumstances surrounding the trip will probably bring a smile to your face. For the last two years (that I know of could have been doing it much longer) Universal has had an Autism Awareness Day for their local Autism Speaks chapter. It was a Saturday near the Orlando Autism Speaks Walk where they offered highly discounted tickets to the immediate family of someone living with autism. The day started with a special "autism families only" viewing of the animal show. They gave out t-shirts and everyone got a FOTL pass.

It was a very special day for a lot of families and Universal was so nice.

I don't live in the area and I'm not associated with either of these groups but we had a wonderful day thanks to the event.

He loved Shrek (even though he won't wear 3-D glasses), Jimmy Neutron, ET, anything/everything in Jurassic Park, Suess Landing, all play areas, the WW coaster, Spiderman, and he even got to meet Spiderman which made his day. Not quite as much as meeting Spongebob but close.

I say go for it, I'm sure you'll have a blast as long as you're well prepared and have adequate expectations!

 

[ireland_nicole]

Thanks! We do the walk here in Austin every year; it's a great moment for us as a family; we actually feel like we're doing something constructive, and it's a powerful feeling to realize that all the people around you understand your reality. Because trust me, that doesn't happen to often if ya know what I mean. It's kind of nice to be part of the group instead of watching it.


Thanks for the info on the pool at Portofino! I didn't realize that, and that makes me very interested!

I really appreciate hearing all of your experiences and ideas, it's super helpful for me, and I'm starting to let go of some of the anxiety surrounding the idea. Y'all are awesome!