Nothing is the same! I need a refresher on Universal.

[DannyDisneyFreak]

It's been 17 years since my last time at Universal Studios and SO MUCH has changed, all the rides are different except for ET and they were building IoA last time I was there. Nickelodeon Studios is gone, my favorite rides of all time (even more than any Disney ride) Back to the Future and Hana Barbara is gone. I'm really upset about hearing ET might be closing to make way for the Smurfs I hope to make it to ride ET one last time. Can you guys give me what is most important for me to know in a nut shell? I plan on doing my research but it would be nice to have a little introduction. My biggest questions are: 1.) Should I even attempt to go to both parks in one day and how big are the parks compared to Disney parks? I don't really remember the size of Universal. We have a 5 and 9 year old and won't be doing coasters. 2.) What should we expect for wait times for rides and what should we expect for park crowds? We will be going either the 5th or 11th of January. 3.) What is your number 1 tip anyone should know about Universal? Ok thanks for the semi-newbie help!

 

[macraven]

start here:

www.universalorlando.com


learn the layout of the parks and what is in them.

find out the restrictions for the rides and see pics of the entertainment.


also read up on:

www.citywalk.com


familarize yourself with layouts of both parks. know where the RR are located, first aid and eateries.

read up on what foods will be at each eatery.

since you are going only for one day, make a list, based on the website of what you want to do.

use the child swap rooms as there might be some things your 5 y/o will not or can not participate in.

plan to snack in the park and end the evening with dinner at city walk.

read some of the trippies as many include pictures of their day in the parks.

buy a one day, one park ticket but upgrade to a park to park ticket while you are at the darkside if you decide while there to hit both parks.

with schools not going back into session the first week of january, you might find the 5th with more in the park than planned.

changes of rides/shows are refreshing at the darkside.
you will enjoy what has replaced items from 17 years ago.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

start here:

www.universalorlando.com

learn the layout of the parks and what is in them.

find out the restrictions for the rides and see pics of the entertainment.

also read up on:

www.citywalk.com

familarize yourself with layouts of both parks. know where the RR are located, first aid and eateries.

read up on what foods will be at each eatery.

since you are going only for one day, make a list, based on the website of what you want to do.

use the child swap rooms as there might be some things your 5 y/o will not or can not participate in.

plan to snack in the park and end the evening with dinner at city walk.

read some of the trippies as many include pictures of their day in the parks.

buy a one day, one park ticket but upgrade to a park to park ticket while you are at the darkside if you decide while there to hit both parks.

with schools not going back into session the first week of january, you might find the 5th with more in the park than planned.

changes of rides/shows are refreshing at the darkside.
you will enjoy what has replaced items from 17 years ago.

The Darkside! Lol I love it, that's what I will be calling it from now on. My fiancé is not the Disney freak like I am and she is really looking forward to escaping WDW this trip, she says I'm obsessed with Disney. I'm sure I will get a lot of eye rolls calling it that.

Tell me about child swap rooms, I've heard of child swapping but not sure what these rooms are???

 

[damo]

There are no plans right now to close ET for the Smurfs. It was just a concept tossed out in a survey.

The child swap rooms are little family rooms at the ride loading/unloading platform. The family goes in line together and once you get to the loading platform, one of you stays in the family room with the child while the rest of the party rides. When the party is done riding, the adult who stayed with the small child swaps with one of the adults who just rode and the party gets to immediately ride again. It's a great system.

 

[macraven]

the child swap/family rooms are available for many of the rides.

it is an a/c room with seating, sometimes with a tv on, where you can wait with a child that does not or can not do that ride.

you will find famiies in there with children of all ages or adults waiting for their party that is on the ride.

you let the TM/team member at the front of the ride that you need to use the child/family room for this ride.

your party that is not going on the ride will wait there for you.
if you need to swap out another person, you have a short wait.


for example, if you want to do the forbidden journey ride at ioa, the 5 y/o may not want to do it.

the 4 of you go to this ride and wait in the family waiting room.
one adult rides with the 9 yo while the other adult waits with the 5 yo.

when the adult and 9 yo return to this room, the other adult will be able to ride while you wait with the 5yo.

the 9 yo that went on the ride with the first adult can ride again with the second adult.

some peeps use the family room if they have an elderly person with them, or someone that just can't do the ride.

this way the entire family can stay together, wait together and take turns doing a ride.

you don't have to separate and wait outside the ride for the riding party.

do pick up the park guide map when you enter the park.
some info will be listed in it for the child/family rooms for the rides.


nice set up, eh........



from the website:



Swap Your Child. You can take turns going on rides with your kids. Many attractions offer a "child swap" area so you can wait with one child while your other child goes on the ride. In fact, if each kid gets an hour alone with a grown up, they get to be the center of attention which helps him or her feel good and can be incredibly reenergizing for you too.


https://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Ride-Height-Requirements.aspx

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

After doing some research I'm wondering if there would be much my then 5 year old boy will enjoy, he loves transformers and is just over 40 inches already I just don't know if he would be scared. He is pretty brave but he hasn't done anything at Disney too intense. He loved Pirates and Haunted Mansion, and even Astro orbiters (the spinning rocket thing in Tomorrowland, is that the name?) but I think that's the most intense I think. He wasn't scared on the backlot tour when the truck explodes in the canyon, is the ex-earthquake ride any worse I can't remember over a decade ago. Twister, T2-3D, whatever else, how do you think a typical 5 year old do?

 

[ChristineOH]

After doing some research I'm wondering if there would be much my then 5 year old boy will enjoy, he loves transformers and is just over 40 inches already I just don't know if he would be scared. He is pretty brave but he hasn't done anything at Disney too intense. He loved Pirates and Haunted Mansion, and even Astro orbiters (the spinning rocket thing in Tomorrowland, is that the name?) but I think that's the most intense I think. He wasn't scared on the backlot tour when the truck explodes in the canyon, is the ex-earthquake ride any worse I can't remember over a decade ago. Twister, T2-3D, whatever else, how do you think a typical 5 year old do?

If you are not doing coasters, you can do both parks in a day.

Check the ride height requirements. My youngest was only 4 when we went, but he was too short for many of the rides, including the river raft ride, etc., that he was tall enough for at Disney.

Your DS5 is at an awkward age for Universal. Too big too be thrilled by Dr. Seuss are and too short for a lot of other stuff. He will surely enjoy a few attractions in the Seuss area, but it isn't enough to make a day of it.

The Spiderman ride is pretty awesome-- scary, but my kids liked it. We went two years ago, so I can't speak to the new rides.

You will surely find things to do, but only you can decide if it's worth it. We did it because my oldest LOVES Harry Potter and coasters. We decided not to go back until my youngest is around 8.

 

[damo]

After doing some research I'm wondering if there would be much my then 5 year old boy will enjoy, he loves transformers and is just over 40 inches already I just don't know if he would be scared. He is pretty brave but he hasn't done anything at Disney too intense. He loved Pirates and Haunted Mansion, and even Astro orbiters (the spinning rocket thing in Tomorrowland, is that the name?) but I think that's the most intense I think. He wasn't scared on the backlot tour when the truck explodes in the canyon, is the ex-earthquake ride any worse I can't remember over a decade ago. Twister, T2-3D, whatever else, how do you think a typical 5 year old do?

check these out for information....

https://www.universalorlando.com/Rides/Rides-For-Kids.aspx

https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Parks/Interactive-Play-Areas.aspx

https://www.universalorlando.com/Shows/Kids-Shows.aspx

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

If you are not doing coasters, you can do both parks in a day.

Check the ride height requirements. My youngest was only 4 when we went, but he was too short for many of the rides, including the river raft ride, etc., that he was tall enough for at Disney.

Your DS5 is at an awkward age for Universal. Too big too be thrilled by Dr. Seuss are and too short for a lot of other stuff. He will surely enjoy a few attractions in the Seuss area, but it isn't enough to make a day of it.

The Spiderman ride is pretty awesome-- scary, but my kids liked it. We went two years ago, so I can't speak to the new rides.

You will surely find things to do, but only you can decide if it's worth it. We did it because my oldest LOVES Harry Potter and coasters. We decided not to go back until my youngest is around 8.

My daughter is 9 and she was tall enough for ToT so I think she will be okay on stuff, she didn't like ToT, "never again!" In fact lol I bribed her to go in with me for $20 to just try it out I hoped she'd like it. I don't think we will do IoA but it will depend on the budget. The kids aren't into HP so that's not a draw, the only thing that seems would be for us would be Spider-Man and possibly Jurassic Park if we wanted to get wet. I didn't really look into IoA too much though.

 

[ChristineOH]

Oh, your 9 yo will be tall enough for the rides, but if she's not into thrill rides, she may not want to ride them.

If you're only doing Florida Studios, and you're not doing thrill rides, you may want to do the two kids play areas. They both involve water, I believe, so you may want to bring swimsuits. Universal has a lot of rides that involved getting very wet. We skipped all of that, because we weren't prepared.

 

[damo]

My daughter is 9 and she was tall enough for ToT so I think she will be okay on stuff, she didn't like ToT, "never again!" In fact lol I bribed her to go in with me for $20 to just try it out I hoped she'd like it. I don't think we will do IoA but it will depend on the budget. The kids aren't into HP so that's not a draw, the only thing that seems would be for us would be Spider-Man and possibly Jurassic Park if we wanted to get wet. I didn't really look into IoA too much though.

There are some really fun little boy things at IOA. The superhero cavalcade is lots of fun and you can get photos of all the superheroes. The Jurassic Park Discovery Center is neat with lots of interactive activities and the Jurassic Playground area is great as well. Don't forget all of the Suess rides and Storm Force Acceletron and the Sinbad show. There is plenty there to keep a 5 year old boy happy for quite a while.

 

[DCTooTall]

changes of rides/shows are refreshing at the darkside.
you will enjoy what has replaced items from 17 years ago.

You forgot the "...Except for Twister".

After doing some research I'm wondering if there would be much my then 5 year old boy will enjoy, he loves transformers and is just over 40 inches already I just don't know if he would be scared. He is pretty brave but he hasn't done anything at Disney too intense. He loved Pirates and Haunted Mansion, and even Astro orbiters (the spinning rocket thing in Tomorrowland, is that the name?) but I think that's the most intense I think. He wasn't scared on the backlot tour when the truck explodes in the canyon, is the ex-earthquake ride any worse I can't remember over a decade ago. Twister, T2-3D, whatever else, how do you think a typical 5 year old do?

Earthquake/Disaster is identical....ride wise. The pre-show and the setup for the ride is different now, but the subway station earthquake is the same. (a little more intense than Catastrophe Canyon in Disney terms).

You will find a lot of simulator type attractions in the Studios, so they aren't TOO extreme. Both Shrek and Despicable Me have "stationary seating" available too so he can experience them if he's too short or you are worried that movement might be too much for him. (DM's ride system is still basically the same thing as Hanna Barbara).

 

[wookiebeck]

You forgot the "...Except for Twister".

IDK. Wasn't the forgettable Ghostbusters show in that building before?

 

[macraven]

i'm still grieving over the loss of the Ghostbusters......

 

[wookiebeck]

Yeah. I wish the new shows could have been added without gutting others to find the space. My saddest loss was Kongfrontation.

OP is right, so much has changed! I almost forgot about the Nick Studios. Ahh memories...

 

[DCTooTall]

IDK. Wasn't the forgettable Ghostbusters show in that building before?

Yes....

But at least Ghostbusters had a plot and was somewhat entertaining. Twister, to me, feels like it's leading up to so much with the pre-show about how destructive and interesting tornadoes can be.... only to have the pay-off be somewhat anticlimactic.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

...feels like it's leading up to so much with the pre-show.... only to have the pay-off be somewhat anticlimactic.

That's what she said

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Yeah. I wish the new shows could have been added without gutting others to find the space. My saddest loss was Kongfrontation.

OP is right, so much has changed! I almost forgot about the Nick Studios. Ahh memories...

I LOVED Kong! Everything that is gone is so sad, if they brought back 1990 Universal Studios I would call it my favorite theme park even over Disney!

I remember tasting slime at Nick Studios, it was like runny pudding.

 

[wookiebeck]

I LOVED Kong! Everything that is gone is so sad, if they brought back 1990 Universal Studios I would call it my favorite theme park even over Disney!

I remember tasting slime at Nick Studios, it was like runny pudding.

Ahh. Sounds like a new thread topic! Good idea Danny.

 

[raeolight]

Thanks for this thread I was ten the last time i was there almost 20 years ago. Excited to go back to what sounds like a totally new park lol. We're going in Nov. Do they decorate for Christmas?