My DS 4 is crazy about Spider man and I feel guilty not taking him to Universal

[sphere99]

We are going for 7 nights and bought 6 day hoppers then I find out about the spider man thing at Universal. Has anyone gone? Is it worth the hassle of us going over there? Cheapest way to get there? we didn't plan on renting a car.

 

[Aimeedyan]

are you talking about the Spiderman ride, that is hands down the BEST ride in the US? It's pretty wild, he may not even be tall enough, depending on his age. But absolutely freakin awesome.

Don't sweat this trip - next time you go, head to Universal. There aren't a huge amount of kids rides at IOA or US anyways. Don't feel guilty.

He'll LOVE WDW and won't even think about Spiderman =)

 

[Sandyincanada]

I have to agree that Spiderman has to be the best ride ever. I'd jump off and go straight to the back of the line, lol. But for a 4 yr old? hmmmm, I think I would check height limits on their website first just incase. www.usf.com

I think Universal/IOA is as great as WDW (but different) but the height limit might get you off the hook this trip, lol worth a check.

 

[frstimer128]

If you don't tell him that spiderman is in town, then he won't know that he is missing anything....right? Unless he already knows...

My DD loves Nickelodeon but I can't make it to US so she has no idea that we are anywhere in the vicinity.

 

[SondraD11]

I wouldn't feel bad about not taking him to Universal this trip. Just relax and enjoy your time at Disney. You may find that his favorite "attraction" is the hotel swimming pool. One thing you might consider is allowing time to browse through the Universal gift shop at the airport if you are flying to Orlando. They had a nice selection of Spiderman souvenirs the last time I was there in February.

I've been trying to find the best way to get from a Disney hotel to Universal for a one day visit without a car with little luck. I would be interested in any responses you get to that question as well.

Sondra

 

[swilphil]

I think the Spiderman ride is a little too intense for a 4 year old even if he's tall enough, and my 4 year old rode Tower of Tower this summer. Don't tell him Spiderman is at US, and he'll never know the difference. The only way I would do Universal is if I could split my stay and have at least on night onsite at one of their resorts.

My son kept saying on our last trip that he was going to see Thomas the Train. It made sense to him since he was seeing all his other favorites at WDW that Thomas would be there too. Once we got to WDW, he didn't bring up Thomas at all.

Before your WDW trip you could take your son to see The Incredibles movie. I read on another thread that they already have the characters somewhere in the park--MGM maybe? I'm sure once the movie is released in a few weeks there will be an even larger Incredibles presence. I'm very excited they are finally going to have something new to appeal to little boys.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

In 2000, we took our 4 and 6 year old to IOA and thought that it was a BIG waste of money. They only thing they could do was Suess Landing. We were ready to leave by 2:00. I would wait until he is older.

Lori

 

[SnowWhiteIsDreaming]

My DS was 4 when we went to Universal/Disney last year. He loves Spiderman so that was the first ride we went on. Once the ride began, I reached over and held on to him as tight as I could (and my DD7 was between me and him so it wasn't easy to do!). The ride whips around corners sooo fast I thought he might slip right out of his seat! He hated the ride and so did DD. But the thing he liked the most was posing for a picture with Spiderman and talking with him - Spiderman asked if he'd ridden his ride. DS was so happy to tell him he rode it, but didn't want to tell him how much he hated it!

DS's favorite ride at Universal was Men In Black (although that one spins - it's not as bad, and I (and the CM's) made sure I put him in the center seat. DD loved the Cat in the Hat ride.

Universal is fun, but if you don't have time...wait for your next trip and make it a nice, long one so you can do a day or two at Universal without cutting into your Disney trip. And stay at one of the Universal hotels for a night or two so you don't have to wait in any lines!

-Karen

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm a roller coaster enthusiast, and think that IOA must be pretty close to heaven on earth---it is one of the few parks I haven't been to yet that I *really* want to visit. But, after reading up on the offerings at IOA/USO, I've decided that with a DS4 and DD6, Universal is best left for a few years from now, and Disney is probably better bang for the buck. but, once the youngest reaches "Bolliger & Mabillard height" (4 1/2 feet---tall enough to ride Dueling Dragons) we'll be all over those parks like white on rice.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We've been to Universal and love it! The first couple of times we went to Orlando we stuck to WDW, which was fine.

There is a 40" height restriction at Spiderman. When we brought our son at 3yo he didn't like the ride and thought he was really falling. He liked it at 4yo, however. I would suggest waiting until your son is at least 42" tall since that opens up the number of rides he'd be able to go on, that is unless you were planning on going back soon.

T&B

 

[HollyJoy]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. There will be so much for him to do and see at WDW, that he won't even be thinking about Spiderman!

 

[SnackyStacky]

I'm going to go AGAINST the crowds on this one!

Do a little research, and check the height requirement. If your son is tall enough, try to plan a day at Islands of Adventure for that ride alone. It really is, hands down, one of the best rides in the world. It is somewhat intense, and only you can be the judge of how he handles intensity.

I still wouldn't say anything to your son about it, just in case it doesn't work out and you never make it to Universal, but it is an AMAZING ride.

 

[sphere99]

My son kept saying on our last trip that he was going to see Thomas the Train. It made sense to him since he was seeing all his other favorites at WDW that Thomas would be there too. Once we got to WDW, he didn't bring up Thomas at all.

Oh he asked about this too! We actually went to "day out with thomas" last year before vacation and now he thinks he gets to see thomas before vacation every year, yeesh. He does NOT know that Spider man is at US but he assumes he will be at WDW and I dont' want him disapointed. Its just that its going to cost quite a bit more to go to US one day, we will have to rent a car instaed of using a town car service, then tickets for one day is about $150 for the 3 of us, since we already bought our 6 day hoppers for WDW we can't lessen that. sheesh I dont know. Oh btw he does not like intense rides but he is 43". But then again it might be worth the $250 for a picture with spidy!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

You can still do the town car service and either take the town car back and forth to Universal or use Mears to get to and from Universal.

You would take a hit on your 6 day hoppers, but would have them to use another trip since the unused day never expires.

If you get a 1 day Universal ticket it won't have park hopping abilities, but there is plenty to do at Islands of Adventure that it shouldn't matter. If you want to be able to hop between the two parks you could get a two day pass and use the other day your next visit, but that of course would cost more. They also have 1 day, 2 park tickets, but I don't know how much more that costs than a regular 1 day ticket.

At least your son is tall enough to do all but the big rides at IoA, with maybe the excpetion of Dudley Dooright (44" restriction).

T&B

 

[capnho]

I hesitate to post this because it's so silly, but this is a pet peeve of mine (I even wrote about it in my blog when the last Spider-Man movie came out!)

Spiderman is not the correct spelling. It's Spider-Man. Two words, hypenated.

Again, I'm sorry about this but it really gets to me for some reason. I'm the same way about people who call Mr. Spock from "Star Trek" Dr. Spock.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by capnho
I hesitate to post this because it's so silly, but this is a pet peeve of mine (I even wrote about it in my blog when the last Spider-Man movie came out!)

Spiderman is not the correct spelling. It's Spider-Man. Two words, hypenated.

Again, I'm sorry about this but it really gets to me for some reason. I'm the same way about people who call Mr. Spock from "Star Trek" Dr. Spock.

LOL, I've never thought of that. How about just typing SM and calling it a day? We all have those pet peeves. One of mine is people writing "alot" instead of "a lot". It was drilled into me in high school and it bugs me when it's written wrong.

T&B

 

[DizBelle]

Originally posted by capnho
I hesitate to post this because it's so silly, but this is a pet peeve of mine (I even wrote about it in my blog when the last Spider-Man movie came out!)

Spiderman is not the correct spelling. It's Spider-Man. Two words, hypenated.

Again, I'm sorry about this but it really gets to me for some reason. I'm the same way about people who call Mr. Spock from "Star Trek" Dr. Spock.

Gee, I thought it was "Spiderman" like "Phil Spiderman". There's "Goldman" and "Steinman". So, why not "Spiderman?"

That was for the Friends fans out there....

 

[sphere99]

Spiderman is not the correct spelling. It's Spider-Man. Two words, hypenated

Hate to disagree, well ok I dont hate to but all of my sons "logo" items read: Spiderman on the box, on the item, even on his notebooks. everything reads Spiderman. Perhaps in the olden days they wrote it out that way, but now it is Spiderman.

 

[crazelion]

Spiderman ride is the best Ride in Orlando, Florida. It's not be miss. I love that. Just be sure your son meets the height resistations before get him excited about the ride.

P.S. Check out the US and IOA board this site. To get the best deals. AAA offer discounts on tickets and some food places there.

 

[lkc0538]

My very hesistant, not liking roller coaster 5 year old DS LOVED Spiderman or Spider-man this summer. We had a real quick trip to Flordida this summer and had one day to spend at a park-since we already had a trip planned to Disney (that we leave for in a couple weeks ) we decided on Universal. We loved it so much, we are now planning another day there when we go back to Florida in a couple weeks. It was hands down our favorite ride there, and my 5 year old won't touch a roller coaster, and he is small for his age (like 10th percentile). If you have the luxury of time in having a day to go, I'd definitely recommend it. I also have a DS 7 who loved it as well. I'm not sure how often you get to go to Orlando, but if it's not all that often, IMO it's worth a day!