Suggestions for 7 year old?

[DAZY3BYZ]

Hoping you Universal experts can help. We'll be going to Universal/IOA for two days in April for the first time. We have 14,11 and 7 year old boys. What are your suggestions for the 7 year old? He's pretty adventurous but not crazy. He rode EE, Space Mountain and TOT at DW. What do you think we should try and what should we avoid? Just trying to have a plan. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[damo]

Sounds like he'll be able to do pretty much everything. Has he done Rock 'n Roller Coaster?

 

[calgarygary]

A 7 year old that is adventurous? You may not need much of a plan - maybe bring yourself a chair to sit in while he does Spiderman over and over and over....

 

[lindalinda]

How tall is he? When my son was 7 he wasnt tall enough for Hulk or dueling dragons. If he isnt tall enough you would need to plan where to take him while his brothers are riding those. People might tell you to "child swap" for those rides but personally, I think that sucks for a kid, esp if his siblings can ride. You may want to split up for part of the day to make sure he is able to do something else. There are lots of other things to do, so dont worry about that, I just think he might feel bad to have to wait around while the others ride.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

Sounds like he'll be able to do pretty much everything. Has he done Rock 'n Roller Coaster?

He hasn't done RnRc. He wasn't tall enough when we were there last year. He's not a big 7 year old. Just now 48 inches. So he could ride this year.

 

[damo]

You might want to take him over to Flying Unicorn while the older ones do Dueling Dragons and Storm Force Acceletron while the others do Hulk if he is too short.

However, do take him the the Dueling Dragons queue at least once. Once you get to the end of the queue hop into the child swap and take the back door exit which puts you back into the exit line.

 

[damo]

You can check all the height restrictions here.

http://www.universalorlando.com/pi_height.html

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

How tall is he? When my son was 7 he wasnt tall enough for Hulk or dueling dragons. If he isnt tall enough you would need to plan where to take him while his brothers are riding those. People might tell you to "child swap" for those rides but personally, I think that sucks for a kid, esp if his siblings can ride. You may want to split up for part of the day to make sure he is able to do something else. There are lots of other things to do, so dont worry about that, I just think he might feel bad to have to wait around while the others ride.

You are reading my mind. He would absolutely HATE waiting around for a child swap and he is on the small side, only 48 inches. He's big in his mind because of having older brothers to keep up with. I was planning on splitting up for part of the day with one parent taking the older two and one taking him. Just was concerned about having enough to keep him entertained, esp. at IOA. He would really hate the real kiddie stuff. He just thinks he's too old for that stuff. The older brother thing again.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

You might want to take him over to Flying Unicorn while the older ones do Dueling Dragons and Storm Force Acceletron while the others do Hulk if he is too short.

However, do take him the the Dueling Dragons queue at least once. Once you get to the end of the queue hop into the child swap and take the back door exit which puts you back into the exit line.

Thank you for the suggestions! Why the Dueling Dragons queue? Is there something about it he'd like?

 

[damo]

Thank you for the suggestions! Why the Dueling Dragons queue? Is there something about it he'd like?

The Dueling Dragons queue is very long and dark and filled with skeletons and hanging stuff and is just very well done. It is an attraction itself. Nothing jumps out at you or anything like that but it is very cool.

 

[damo]

Are you staying onsite? If not, plan to get there at least 45 minutes before the parks open to get the main rides done before the masses arrive.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

Are you staying onsite? If not, plan to get there at least 45 minutes before the parks open to get the main rides done before the masses arrive.

Not staying onsite. Staying at a DTD hotel. Thanks for all the advice. We are definite believers in early arrival. We'll be there on 4/17 and 4/18. Is this generally a crazy time to go? Thanks also for the tip on the Dueling Dragons queue. Sounds like he would love it! Wouldn't have thought of going thru since he won't be able to ride.

 

[damo]

Probably not too bad. Easter is on the 8th I think so the Spring break weeks should be done by then.

 

[bubba's mom]

Our DS was 7 last summer and he had a blast!!!! There was plenty for him to do....(altho, he was just tall enuf--54"--to do the Hulk & DD...which was a relief cuz he's a coaster fanatic!). He did it all....tried everything at least once! Believe it or not, Cat in the Hat ride was a favorite of his, MIB, Spidey, Jimmy Neutron and Shrek...ok, some of them sound "kiddish", but believe me....your whole family will love 'em!!!