Universal Studios or Isl. of Adven. for 6-Year-Old Daughter?

[bmccollum]

We've been to numerous Disney parks over the last 4 years with our daughter, who will be days away from turning 7 years old during our upcoming summer vacation. She's done Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, SeaWorld, Aquatica, & Epcot.

We're looking at hitting a different park this summer and are contemplating either Universal Orlando or Island of Adventure & are looking for some opinions on which of the two might be the better one to visit.

She's currently just over 52-inches tall with shoes on. She's o.k. with roller coasters but isn't into any of them that do loops or corkscrews and that sort of thing.

With the above height info. and roller coaster info. in mind, can anyone recommend which of the two parks would likely be the better to visit as far as which one has the most # of remaining rides that she would be able to ride based on her height & her desire to *NOT* ride roller coasters that go upside down & so forth?

Many thanks for any recommendations/opinions!

 

[Bradsdadg]

How does she do with motion type rides? There are alot more of those in Universal. But there are also rides like Jaws and ET. Over at Islands, you have the Dr Seuss part, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter to name a few. My 6 year old isn't big on the coasters yet, but he seemed to like our time in Islands more then Universal last year. Good luck deciding!

 

[TallandGoofy]

Any particular movies/tv shows that she's into? That might help.

I think both parks have things that would appeal to someone her age but it would also depend on what she likes/knows.

Like, my 3 y.o. is a HUGE Barney fan so Universal Studios is a must-do for us this year.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

My DD8 was seven and a half last summer when we went, and she liked IOA better than US, but she liked them both. She liked Seuss Landing (Cat in the Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, the trolley train ride, and even the Caroseussel), Flight of the Hippogriff,, Dudley Do-Right, Jurassic Park, Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges and Storm Force Acceleratron at IOA. She didn't do the big coasters, Forbidden Journey, Doctor Doom or Spiderman (she rode Spiderman when she was 4 and was terrified - she still won't ride it ).

At US, she liked Disaster, ET, Jimmy Neutron (closing, but will be open some of the summer), Shrek, Woody Woodpecker and the Curious George play area. She did not like Men In Black, Twister or Jaws. The Mummy was closed the day we went, but it is not really her kind of ride.

If you can work it into your budget, you could spend one night onsite and get a one-day two park pass and do all of the rides I mentioned in one full day. Staying onsite gives you two days of Express access, so you would only wait a few minutes for each of these rides. Only three rides don't have Express - Rip Ride Rockit (big coaster), Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (doesn't go upside down, but it does throw you onto your back and it is fast - my DD wouldn't go on it), and Pteranodon Flyers (a kids' ride that looks fun but is slow-loading - we have never done it).

If you are not staying onsite and want to pick just one park, I'd give the edge to IOA, especially if the adults want to ride some other rides like Spiderman (which your DD might like).

 

[Bluer101]

We're looking at hitting a different park this summer and are contemplating either Universal Orlando or Island of Adventure & are looking for some opinions on which of the two might be the better one to visit.

If you are looking for something different this summer I would stay 2 nights onsite and visit both parks.

 

[bmccollum]

How does she do with motion type rides? There are alot more of those in Universal. But there are also rides like Jaws and ET. Over at Islands, you have the Dr Seuss part, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter to name a few. My 6 year old isn't big on the coasters yet, but he seemed to like our time in Islands more then Universal last year. Good luck deciding!

She does fine with motion rides and likes them just fine. Her only thing still at this point is not wanting to ride a roller coaster than does any kind of inverted stuff or corkscrews or goes upside down. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[SmallWorld71]

DD was 7 on our trip. She was only 50" so not tall enough for the big coasters. She enjoyed:

At The Studios: Simpsons (her fav.), Men In Black, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron (has this closed?), Woody Woodpecker Coaster, ET, Disaster (because her brother was chosen to be in it); She didn't like Mummy because of the volume of the ride (she has some sound sensitivity), but the coaster part of it is on par with Space Mountain and didn't bother her. She also like the characters much better here: Scooby, Shaggy, Shrek characters, Madagascar characters, Woody Woodpecker, Curious George, Sponge Bob, Simpsons and her old favorite, Dora

At IOA: Spiderman (her fav), Storm Force, Flight of the Hippogriff, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish and the water rides in Toon Lagoon. She also liked the Dr. Seuss characters; she had no interest in the super heroes.
She did not care for Forbidden Journey, Poseidon or Jurassic Park. She probably would have liked Pteranadon Fliers, but we got caught in a summer storm on the ride, not fun.

Overall, there was more for her to do at Universal Studios, but she will tell you that IOA was her favorite. I think this is because she is a big Harry Potter fan.

 

[DCTooTall]

Since nobody provided this information.....

There are only 2 rides at the parks that would go upside-down, and both are located in IOA. The Hulk Coaster and the Dueling Dragons twin coasters.


At Universal Studios, The Rip-Ride-Rock it may appear to go upside-down, but actually flips around to keep you right-side-up while going thru the loop. Mummy also doesn't have any upside-down sections.


Hopefully this information, plus the info others provided (as well as park maps to let you see all the attractions in each park) should help you in your decision.