To US or not US...that is the question...

[TXMama09]

Okay y'all...we have just recently started discussing our next trip to The World in June of 2016 (Star Wars weekends for the first time!). DS will be 6.5 at the time, and I was thinking he MIGHT enjoy a day at Universal Studios. We are COMPLETELY a Disney family, so this is completely out of the comfort zone.

IF we decide to do a day at US, which park would be best for a 6 y/o? He's not a Harry Potty fan, he IS an Avengers fan, but from what I can tell those attractions might be a little much for his age. I need input from experts! TIA!

 

[jm106]

We took our kids in October, yds was 6.5 ods was 8. Totally loved it, so much so that we are going for a day in June and not Wdw(they have been 4x.) I don't think you have tone a Harry Potter fan to appreciate it enjoy it. Yds was too short for forbidden journey.
There were no rides that were too much for him but he loves thrill rides. I love despicable me, transformers, men in black in U.S. Side but islands of adventure has spider man and characters to meet. They have a ride like tea cups that super hero themed and meet and greets. The drop one like TOT he didn't meet height for, neither of my kids did but both love TOT. . I would look at height restrictions and ride videos.
I found both had plenty to do and filled the days.

ETA- if you get a park to park you can do both and pick features in each plus ride the train in WWoHP. I would watch a few of the hp movies with him before to get more into it. My kids and I listen to the audio books as well

 

[TXMama09]

So would it be better to get the park-to-park, and try to visit certain things in each park, if we were only going to stray from WDW for one day?

 

[jm106]

Your call. There is plenty to do in each, I did 2 day park to park and missed things. This time I have one day. I would look at pics and videos to help you see what there is to offer.

 

[katyjeka]

Our girls loved both but the Dr. Suess area in IOA has the edge. Although our best character interaction of any park was Scooby and the Gang, followed by the Grinch. Scooby and the Gang were AWESOME! Kids are still talking about them. We LOVE Disney but have to admit they were the best we've had in over twenty years.

 

[JaxDad]

If you haven't done so already, you should also go through the Universal forums on this board. There are lots of trip reports with pictures and comments.

 

[seascapemvy]

Okay y'all...we have just recently started discussing our next trip to The World in June of 2016 (Star Wars weekends for the first time!). DS will be 6.5 at the time, and I was thinking he MIGHT enjoy a day at Universal Studios. We are COMPLETELY a Disney family, so this is completely out of the comfort zone.

IF we decide to do a day at US, which park would be best for a 6 y/o? He's not a Harry Potty fan, he IS an Avengers fan, but from what I can tell those attractions might be a little much for his age. I need input from experts! TIA!

I think the biggest question is the cost of the tickets. I want to go sometime but I have annual passes to WDW and so it costs nothing to spend another day at a Disney Theme Park or Water Park. US's problem is that it costs too much for a park to park ticket and you need to buy park to park if you want to ride HE.

 

[kathy884]

We did a one day park to park on our last trip and very much enjoyed our day there, and . As other have said, though, it is expensive. Their web site is showing those at $147 pp -- ouch. All of the parks have pricing incentives to pay considerably less per day for multiple days, but for us we only wanted to take one day out of our vacation for Universal, and what we did worked out really well for us. We just wanted to see the Harry Potter areas and do a handful of other attractions -- We actually, though, had time to do 10 other things on top of Harry Potter -- more that what was on our must do list. // We love all the parks in Orlando -- SeaWorld is our favorite, followed by Disney, and then followed by Universal -- but OMG even our third favorite Universal with the new HP areas is something else. // Bottom line is that I think you would like Universal and think it is worth visiting, but how many days at Disney are you doing on your trip -- fourth day and on at Disney are super economical. And do you really want to spend that much money to experience this? If I were in your shoes with children that young and no one who was a HUGE Harry Potter fan, I personally don't think I'd fork out the bucks for this unless you are feeling bored with Disney and really wanting to try something different. And if you are and haven't been to SeaWorld I'd actually suggest that before Universal if you are looking to add something outside of Disney (but that's an arbitrary recommendation where I don't really know your family's interests)

 

[Indychick]

I would totally do a 1 day park to park pass. Depending on the day I might even add on the front of the line pass. I took my son when he was 9 and my stepdaughter was 7 at the time and they loved it. HP is amazing, I would go even if he isn't a big fan, it is way cool even if you aren't. Make sure to get some butterbeer

 

[drnp]

I did the park to park 1 day pass a few months ago with our DDs 6 and 4. US was great for the Despicable Me, transformers, and Simpsons rides. They also liked the Dr Seuss stuff in IOA. If I had to pick just one to limit cost, it would be US, but am glad I did the park to park. We took the Hogwarts Express to cross over and walked back. The parks are very close.

 

[itchin2go]

So would it be better to get the park-to-park, and try to visit certain things in each park, if we were only going to stray from WDW for one day?

This is what we did. We are a very Disney family, but had always wanted to try Universal, and we did so for the first time this past November. I'm glad we tried it because otherwise, it would be a question mark in my mind. I don't think we'll go back any time soon.

I don't think there's a whole lot to do for little ones, but I'm basing that on a friend who took her then-4-year-old, and she said there was precious little for that age group.

My daughter was 13 at the time of our trip. They did Gringott's, Hippogriff, HP train, Spiderman, Jurassic Park ride, Simpson's ride, and some other stuff. They were very impressed with several of the rides. However, the parks are just not as "magical" overall. They're more like typical amusement parks - well done, mind you, but not Disney.

I will say that Diagon Alley pretty much blew my mind. It's as immersive and visually stunning as you can get.

 

[TXMama09]

Thank y'all so much for the input! It's been very helpful to our planning! It's looking like we are going to wait a few more years before taking time out of a Disney trip to do US...it's just too expensive and not enough stuff that I think DS would just fall in love with. Again, thanks so much for the help!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

However, the parks are just not as "magical" overall. They're more like typical amusement parks - well done, mind you, but not Disney.

Definitely not a sentiment shared by everyone. We would take the Universal parks over Disney any day. We've done them all, and its the Universal parks that hold the "magic" that keep us coming back. Different strokes for different folks. Every time I read the statement "its not Disney" when comparing Universal to The Mouse, I always think....and thank God for that! Certainly we are an anomaly on these boards, but our family keeps returning to Universal and the Seaworld parks while Disney felt very "one and done".

I don't find the Universal parks to be "typical amusement parks" at all. That's a description I'd use for Fun Spot or a Cedar Fair park.

 

[itchin2go]

Definitely not a sentiment shared by everyone. We would take the Universal parks over Disney any day. We've done them all, and its the Universal parks that hold the "magic" that keep us coming back. Different strokes for different folks. Every time I read the statement "its not Disney" when comparing Universal to The Mouse, I always think....and thank God for that! Certainly we are an anomaly on these boards, but our family keeps returning to Universal and the Seaworld parks while Disney felt very "one and done".

I don't find the Universal parks to be "typical amusement parks" at all. That's a description I'd use for Fun Spot or a Cedar Fair park.

Glad you enjoy the Universal parks so much. There is much to like, it just didn't "do it" for us. I liked the proximity of the hotels to the parks .... and some of the rides were amazing. As I said, Diagon Alley was something else. I'm glad we tried it, but no one in the family really wants to go back.