Need Ride/Show Recommendations, Please

[HolySchmoly]

Greetings,

Our family will be making a trip to Universal Studio Orlando and was wondering if someone who's been there or is familiar with the IOA/USF Parks would be kind enough to list the recommended rides and the shows in each of the Parks?

My girls are 13 & 11 and we'd like to know which rides or shows can be skipped over the better, more fun rides and shows at those Parks for our daughters. I realize because of the height restrictions, they won't be able to ride some of the rides, but would be nice if we could know in advance which rides/shows should have priority over the others. Thank you for your time and courtesy!

 

[missypie]

Do they like wild roller coasters?

Are they willing to ride something a bit scary?

Are y'all willing to get wet?

 

[laxcdn]

Unless they are really short, under 52" they should be able to get on all of them. I would say stick to the bigger rides, Hulk, Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, Dudley, etc. My 9 year old son is over 52" and was riding all the big rides.

 

[ky07]

There are alot of rides and shows and like missypie asks do they like thrill rides cause there are alot of great rides at us and ioa just need to know what you think they would like cause universal has something for everyone

 

[HolySchmoly]

Sorry for the late reply. Had to pull a double shift and came home at dawn this morning and I just got up.

My girls tend to stay away from the scary/horror based shows and since my younger girl is about 5' tall, they probably wouldn't be able to go on some of the real wide rides, which will suit them just fine since they can't take scary rides either.

I guess that probably will quite limit the choice of rides they can ride and the shows they can see.

But your replies so far have been great. I at least will know which ones to avoid based on their enjoyment and fun factor. That was what I was looking for. Thank you again for your quick replies. This board is truly great.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My kids DD8 and DS12 love Men In Black ride at Universal Studios. We rode it so much, I got dizzy. They also liked the Jimmy Nutron ride and Jaws. They loved the Horror Make-up show. We didn't get to see the Beetlejuice show that trip but I'm sure they would have loved it.

At IOA, they loved the whole Jurassic Park Section - I got all the dinosaur sounds correct in the Discovery center and someones little boy asked me if I was a dinosaur expert. It was so cute. (I'm not, I just LOVE the Jurassic Park movies.)

We didn't ride the roller coasters - only DH did those and he loved them. They loved the whole Marvel section - Spiderman was their favorite ride at IOA. DD8 loved the Dr. Suess section but DS12 didn't care for it much. Theres a great water raft ride that you will get soaked on - I can't remember the exact name - something about Bluto's Rafts maybe. The kids loved that ride and we did it 3 times. We left that area dripping water. Folks were pointing and laughing but we didn't care - it was fun.

That's what I remember from the trip. We went in April 2007 and made the mistake of not staying onsite so I remember standing in line alot. We didn't get to see or do as much as I would have liked because of it.


Overall, we loved it so much, we are going back this July without the DH. He's got to travel for work so he'll miss it. And we are staying on-site this time.

 

[palavra]

If they like getting wet, definitely go to the curious goerge area at universal. It may sound like it is for preschoolers, but even adults love this area. Also, the Bilge Rat Barges are fun.

 

[Darcy03231]

We were there last summer and I checked with my niece (9) who doesn't like the big rides. Her favorites were:

US - Shrek, Jimmy Neutron, Mummy, Men in Black, Beetlejuice, Hollywood Horror Make-up Show, ET, and the Animal Show. According to her Twister, Terminator and Jaws were ok. She did have fun playing in the playground area.

IOA - She had a good time in Seussland and Jurassic Park. The loved the river raft ride, the Flying Unicorn (small roller coaster) and Dudley Do-Right. She also really liked Spiderman and Storm Accelerator (like the teacups). She didn't do the Hulk, Dueling Dragons or Dr. Doom.

 

[HolySchmoly]

All these suggestions are wonderful! Thanks so much for taking the time to reply!