Need help/advice with ride choices--please!

[roadtripper]

Hi all!
We are WDW junkies heading to Universal for the first time during Pres Week, mainly to do WWOHP with DD, but want to have a great experience overall. The wild card is DS, 14, who uses a wheelchair and has developmental delays. He doesn't like most roller coasters, but will do Thunder Mtn sometimes. For comparison's sake, his favorite WDW rides are Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, It's a Small World, Pooh, Indy Speedway, TTA, Kilimanjaro Safari, Triceratop Spin, Toy Story Mania, Great Movie Ride, Soarin, Nemo. Can some helpful Universal experts look over my potential ride list and help me decide which ones he may like? Also, please critique my WDW comparison rides if they are way off. He also loves shows, and I would love advice on the "can't miss" shows. He loves Shrek, but usually hates 3D (hated It's a Bug's Life) so I don't know if that will be do-able. Any advice appreciated!
Sinbad show—Lost Continent--is this good?
Hippogriff--maybe?
Cat in the Hat—like Pooh
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish—like Dumbo
CaroSeuss-el—merry go round
Seuss Trolley Train Ride(both sides) like TTA
Blues Brothers Show--good?
Beetlejuice show?
Disaster?
ET Adventure--scary??
Woody Woodpecker roller coaster—like Goofy’s Barnstormer
Storm Force Acceleratron—like teacups
Simpsons—like Star Tours
Bilge Rat Barges—like Kali (if warm enough)
Back to the Future—like Star Tours
Pteranodon Flyers—line is not accessible?
Men in Black Alien attack—like Buzz? Or like Dinosaur?

 

[mesaboy2]

Hi all!
We are WDW junkies heading to Universal for the first time during Pres Week, mainly to do WWOHP with DD, but want to have a great experience overall. The wild card is DS, 14, who uses a wheelchair and has developmental delays. He doesn't like most roller coasters, but will do Thunder Mtn sometimes. For comparison's sake, his favorite WDW rides are Buzz Lightyear, Dumbo, It's a Small World, Pooh, Indy Speedway, TTA, Kilimanjaro Safari, Triceratop Spin, Toy Story Mania, Great Movie Ride, Soarin, Nemo. Can some helpful Universal experts look over my potential ride list and help me decide which ones he may like? Also, please critique my WDW comparison rides if they are way off. He also loves shows, and I would love advice on the "can't miss" shows. He loves Shrek, but usually hates 3D (hated It's a Bug's Life) so I don't know if that will be do-able. Any advice appreciated!
Sinbad show—Lost Continent--is this good? Not done it, but most say no.
Hippogriff--maybe? Like Goofy's Barnstormer.
Cat in the Hat—like Pooh Yes, but spins more.
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish—like Dumbo Yes, but closer still to Aladdin's Magic Carpets due to water elements
CaroSeuss-el—merry go round Yes
Seuss Trolley Train Ride(both sides) like TTA Yes
Blues Brothers Show--good? Don't know
Beetlejuice show? Don't know
Disaster? A show, but takes too long IMO. Can't think of a WDW equivalent.
ET Adventure--scary?? No, but there are police with guns IIRC.
Woody Woodpecker roller coaster—like Goofy’s Barnstormer Yes.
Storm Force Acceleratron—like teacups Yes.
Simpsons—like Star Tours Yes, but Simpsons might be better IMO and has a HUGE screen.
Bilge Rat Barges—like Kali (if warm enough) Yes.
Back to the Future—like Star Tours Gone--replaced by Simpsons years ago.
Pteranodon Flyers—line is not accessible? Don't know for sure, I've done it once and would have thought it would be, the queue is up a ramp that I would have thought would be accessible.
Men in Black Alien attack—like Buzz? Or like Dinosaur? Closer to Buzz.

My answers in red.

As for Bug's Life, is it the 3D aspect of it or the extra stuff like the sensations of bugs crawling, etc? I've not done Bug's Life but have read about it--Shrek doesn't have much of that. He might still like it!

 

[roadtripper]

mesaboy2--Thank you SO much for the info! A few more questions:
Can you control spinning on Cat in the Hat, like Buzz? DS doesn't mind spinning, but DH does!
Does ET have any drops?

To answer your question, it was the bug zapping, loud noises, and smells that he hated at Bug's Life--not 3D, although he will probably take the glasses off. Doesn't like Philharmagic either though-- noises are too loud.

 

[mesaboy2]

No problem.

You cannot control the spin on CITH, but it's not too bad. There's maybe 4 or 5 parts of the ride where it spins, probably about the same number and speed as Toy Story Mania does between games.

ET doesn't have any drops that I recall. It's very gentle and my DD6 loved it. A close WDW equivalent is Peter Pan's Flight.

If it was all the other stuff on Bug's Life that bothered him, then you're probably okay on Shrek. I recall a little bit of effects (the seats bounce and "thump" some, maybe a spray of water a la Mickey's PhilharMagic but not much else I remember), but the Shrek-ness of it will probably make it a thumbs-up for him. (ETA: It is as loud as PhilharMagic I think, so maybe that will turn him off. Can't answer everything for ya!) My DD6 does not want to do Bug's Life because of all the extra stuff--which is why I haven't done it. I probably should have just taken her on it without telling her, but there were enough adults on here who said it creeped them out that I didn't want to risk it.

Look at my sig: WDW vets for a long time before HP opened at UO. We liked Universal enough (especially with DW and Harry Potter) that I bought passes for a year to try it out instead. It doesn't have the same quantity as WDW, but it has enough to hold the family's interest for a half-dozen visits this year. I'm sure we'll dial back our visits to Universal again once the passes expire, but it's good to know there are other decent theme parks in the area.

 

[Tink2Day]

Lost Continent? If he loves shows this is similar to Indiana Jones, only a B movie version. It has some loud noises, fire etc but not really anything that I noticed bothering or frightening to young kids. I believe it is wheelchair accessible as you walk through the show. The TM overacted a bit but it had some kind of neat effects.
We just walked straight in and the show started, although nothing had a wait of any measurable time when we were there, not even the FJ.

My sister thought it was neat, I thought it was cute but a bit cheezy, still worthwhile as it just took 15-20 minutes, had some audience participation (verbal oohs and ahhs stuff) The theming around that area is nice as well. We did it on our way out of the park.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

The Blues Brothers show is VERY GOOD. It consists of a sax player "Jazz" who is very talented, the Blues Brothers (singers), and Maybelle (Aretha Franklin-esque character and singer). The show is fun, the three singers are very talented, and they encourage you to dance. It's a fun street show and should not be missed!

The Beetlejuice show is a rock & roll style show with very talented actors/singers dressed as the Universal Monsters (Beetlejuice, Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein & his Bride). Beetlejuice does make some "adult" jokes, but they are the kind that kids will not understand. There are some pyrotechnics and explosions, but is a fun show!

Disaster is a fun show/ride. The setup is long, but everything works together. I like it.

 

[roadtripper]

Thanks for all the replies! It looks like there will be a lot that he can do and will like. We are looking forward to our trip

 

[cheshireqt]

We were not sure what to expect with Beetle juice, but we thought it was a great show! We will see it again when we go back this summer. Lots of 80s songs
Here is a link to a review of the show:
http://www.theotherorlando.com/contents/chapters/1a/beetlejuice.html

Link to some videos showing pieces of the show:
http://wn.com/Beetlejuice_show_live_at_universal_studios_florida_part_1

 

[torinsmom]

You can get stationary seating on Shrek if you think the motion will bother him.