Is there any info on the seating arrangements on the rides? Also, if a car takes say four people and there are three in your group, will the fourth place be left empty or will the CMs put someone from another group in there?
usually if people are in groups I found the Cms keep them together but if there is a spare seat next to you and a person willing to go 'solo' then yes they will be put with you...especially if the ride is busy.
Although we have always been at very busy times we have never really had to share a 'car' with anyone else.
Buzz takes 2 per car and one of us has usually ridden alone whilst DD rides with the other.
Only once did I have someone else seated next to me on BTM - rest of the time Ive ridden alone. Problem with riding this alone though is that you do slide about more in the seat.
Rides like Small World, Storybook ride and Pirates we have usually had other people in the boat but not on the same row as us
Just got back today and did Crush's Coaster, Rock n' roller coaster and Thunder Mountain rides all twice (amongst others). On the first ride each time I rode solo (none of the rest of the family is in to roller coasters) and on each second ride, I had someone sit next to me. Depends purely on the CM I suppose. Either way, the rides were enjoyable.
It might be easier to list those you won't be able to ride. You can exclude any that have height restrictions, so that's all the roller coaster rides plus Autopia. Peter Pan's Flight and Star Tours in Disneyland Park are probably out as well as they can throw you round quite a bit. In the studios, Armageddon is stated as unsuitable for children under 1.
However, you can always make use of the Baby Switch option where you only have to queue up once and the adults ride one at a time while the other takes care of the baby. May not be so fun on your own, but at least it means you can do all the rides you want.
Personally I'd say 8 for Armageddon, At 5, my youngest took Phantom Manor in his stride, got a bit spooked by Snow White but laughed about it later, rode BTM 5 times in a row, but was absolutely terrified on Armageddon, without giving anything away the effects in there are very realistic and when the adults started screaming, DS was terrified, I missed most of the effects because I was desperatley looking for the door to take him out. Oh and the pre-show is mind numbingly boring too IMHO.
If she can sit down, and you are seated next to her, I think she'll be allowed to ride. But you will have to hold onto her (you do get thrown around a little in the ship). There is a bar which comes down over you both.
She'll have to sit down herself on both Dumbo and the Flying Carpets as well, with you beside her. She can't be on your knee for the rides.
my horrible lot were totally unphased by armageddon.
i remember when we went to universal studios though when ds1 was 12 months, he didn't much like people screaming at king kong.
i was wondering how many rides children had to be able to sit up independently for.
ds2 is only 4 months.
when we went last time i think ds 1 sat on my knee on buzz lightyear but i don't know if he was meant to.
mainly i'm hoping we'll be able to go on potc!!!
I don't think you will have a problem with POTC. You are sat on a bench seat in a fairly large boat/barge. There are no restraints which is a reasonable indication as to how 'safe' the ride is.
If you haven't done it, there are a couple of surprises along the way, but I won't spoil it for you. As long as you are holding on to your youngest you will be fine.