Ride Planning HELP

[eeyorethegreat]

We will be making our first trip to Universal/IOA in August. Here's the travelling party : Me , My Mom who will use an ECV as she can walk but not the strenuous walking that is involved at the theme park. She had knee surgery several years ago and standing or walking for long periods is just not doable. DS 15, DD 14, DS 12 and DD 10. Dh will not be able to join us as he is on active duty.

Here's the thing though my kids are interested in the big thrills at US/IOA, I simply can not handle anything that has a sharp drop. Some people are afraid of snakes or thunder I am afraid of sharp drops- really it is a major phobia. I did ride Spash as WDW once and cried hysterically the entire way through. I shook so bad my DH had to help me out of the log at the end of the ride. I can ride Kali and the little drop in PoC and Maelstrom I can manage with just a bit of panic. Anything more than that and I am a basket case. I fear that I will get on something and only too late realize that I have made a very bad choice. I know to stay away from the roller coasters but what other rides should I pass on as well. Or maybe a better question is what CAN I ride withought being in a toltal meltdown? I don't have a problem with my kids ridding on their own together. Another consideration is that (shhh)
my mom has a condition that has left her without hair so she wears a wig. She is worried about riding something that will be so jarring that her wig will fall off! (She holds on to it during the scene in Dinosaur where it roars at us- all the ride photos are of her holding her hand on top of her head!

What rides do you advise that would be ok for Mom and I so 1 I am not hysterical and 2 her wig isn't falling off? Any advise on what we can do while we are waiting for the kids to get off the rides we can't/won't ride?

Any help at all I will greatly appreciate as we get closer to the trip I get more and more stressed over this issue. TIA!

 

[Claire-Bear]

Sounds like Universal Studios will be more your place!
US has simulators (Terminator, Simpsons, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron - provided you don't mind slight jolts), E.T. (gentle ride), Jaws (boat ride with a shark, but no drops etc), Men In Black (providing you don't mind a little spinning - it's like a giant moving arcade game you sit in), Twister (if your mum doesn't mind standing up), Disaster (again, if your mum doesn't mind standing for the pre-show) and a good mix of shows shows (Animal Planet, Horror Make-up, Beetlejuice, Barney). There is a gentle kiddie coaster in Woody Woodpecker zone too with kids play areas.

Islands of Adventure has more of the thrills.
You shouldn't be too bad with Spiderman, as long as the slight jolting isn't a problem (it's a moving 3D simulator). Popeye and Bluto is a good raft ride, providing you don't mind getting wet. There's a tea-cup style ride (Storm Force) and a variety of gentle rides in Seuss Land. Pteradon Flyers is a gentle hanging ride, but you must be accompanied by a child to go on it. Again there's also a couple of shows and kids areas. The mildest coaster there is Flight of the Hippogriff - you might like to queue up with your children, let them ride it, and wait for them. Same for most thrill rides they are tall enough to go on and feel confident about going on as a little group without you. Forbidden Journey is an upcoming dark ride, but its meant to be quite jolty.

The ones to avoid for sure:
Rip Ride Rockit - coaster
Incredible Hulk - coaster
Dragon Challenge - coaster
Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls - water drops (like Splash Mountain)
Jurassic Park River Adventure - has a big water drop at the end, although just the one
Dr Doom's Fearfall - vertical drop ride
Revenge of the Mummy - not too bad a coaster per se, but you go backwards etc and it's in the dark

Here's a link to the most recent brochure which has maps and height limits etc.
http://www.universalorlandovacations.com/pdf/2010_UNI_brochure.PDF

 

[eeyorethegreat]

Thanks for the input I can definitely do jolts and spins! Actually I have never had problems spinning in fact one of my faves is the tea cups and I know many people can't stomach the spins. For me it is truly just drops.