Mom & tween trip tips?

[micheleq]

Going to Universal 4/28-5/1 with my DD11, my friend and her DD11 (both girls turn 11 right before the trip). My friend and her DD have never been, and I don't think her DD is as adventurous as mine. My DD likes all the simulators (including FJ) but is still a little intimidated by the big coasters.

Any tips on fun activities that we can do besides the parks? We have park-to-park tickets (3 days) and plan on spending time at each park, but I think we'll need some non-thrill rides/activities.

Staying at PB, so there will be lots of pool time

Any mother-daughter tips for kids at this age would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[schumigirl]

The Orlando Eye is only 5-10 minutes away on IDrive

It's fun to do and Sugar Factory has opened up there........I would bet both the girls would love it there.......desserts look amazing!

At Citywalk they have two separate mini golf courses. Both are good, but do them at night particularly the haunted side......it is fabulous at night.

 

[dixonsontour]

My DD is a definite tween

She loves the mini golf at citywalk. The interactive wand to do the spells is a must do. My DD also loved the bowling and lazy river at Cabana bay if pool hopping is in your plans. A big pink simpsons donut is also a must do for DD.

These are my two trip reports in case they help

http://www.disboards.com/threads/he...complete-17-days.3471391/page-5#post-55401923

http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...october-2014-universal-food-complete.3418576/

 

[buzzrelly]

Definitely plan on buying the interactive wands! My kids spent hours wandering around with those!

Here is the link to my trip report from last year with DD11 and DS13…

http://www.disboards.com/threads/th...pril-2015-trip-report-completed-8-23.3415168/

 

[Lynne G]

when my DD was that age, though she was (and still is) a roller coaster junkie, she liked playing in the pool at the Hard Rock. Something about rock music you can hear underwater was fun to her. Also liked what the above girls liked, mini golf, wand, and food treats. She also really liked the pet show, and the horror make up show. And both my teens have always liked PB more than the other 2 onsite hotels.

Have a great trip!

 

[dixonsontour]

Mine really liked Blue man group too.

She knew about them as they are in the Disney channel show Shake it up Chicago Japan special.

 

[elaine amj]

3 days is not a massive amount of time - it's probably just enough if you want to do everything in the parks, including shows. We have done 3 sets of 3 day trips...and on our last trip, we were still doing new things. My DD even liked the super corny Sinbad show. If your DD is a kid at heart, take some time out for Seuss Landing. The play area is adorable and the rides are very cute. We didn't go on the High in the Sky Trolley Ride until our last trip and we loved it. Very Disney-esque.

You'll find there are only 3 actual roller coasters in the whole of USO - Dragon Challenge, Rip Ride Rockit (the BEST), and Hulk (we found it too jarring - maybe better after refurbishment?). And there's a reason Dr Doom doesn't have a line (you shoot up once - which is fun but not hugely thrilling, then bunny hop back down). Motion Simulators are the name of the game there, so your DD should be able to ride pretty much everything.

We did lots of treats - the ice cream at Ben & Jerry's is yummy (Emack & Bolio's at Hard Rock Hotel is even cheaper). Special meals at places like Mythos or any of the fun spots in Citywalk is cool.

My DD is into rides, so my alone time with her was spent doing rides, rides, and more rides. With my DS, he wanted pool time and chilled out, stroll-around time. So we pool hopped, played in the hotel game room, and ate candy.

 

[micheleq]

Thanks everyone! All great tips! And I especially appreciate the links to the trip reports. I find TRs so helpful! One of these days I need to focus and write one myself

 

[kohlby]

I have both an adventurous child and a non-adventurous child. The 10 year old loves all the rides she's tall enough for. It's pretty easy for us to do rides for all - sometimes people wait while the others do it. Rider swap is really easy too. And unlike Disney, they will let you do rider swap with kids plenty tall enough to do the ride who are too scared to do it.

My kids loved Blue Man Group. They didn't want to do the wands at all so we didn't buy any. We did 6 days this past Nov/Dec so I was surprised no one wanted to do a wand. I expect someone will do a wand on our trip next month though it won't be my daughter.

Universal allows pool hopping. We hopped to the Hard Rock pool on one trip and my kids really liked it.