Universal with a 9 year old

[bchbetha]

We made our kiddo go on everything he was tall enough for. There were a few he chose not to reride and the line for the Mummy freaked him out so he skipped it.

 

[sportel]

Our youngest was 9 the first time we went. He's rather fearless but a shortie so he rode everything except Hulk and Dragon Challenge. While you could likely do it in one day, if you can swing 2 days I would do that. It will feel much less rushed. Some of our best moments were just waking around the HP areas doing spells and taking it all in. Our kids also loved things I wasn't expecting them to - Jurassic park playground, climbing on Me ship the olive, squirting boats from the water ride. If we only had one day none of those moments would have happened because we'd be rushing from ride to ride- I would be feeling pressure make sure we did it all / got our money's worth.

 

[kohlby]

I have a petite thrill rider too. If you don't want to do something that she wants to do then you can either send her by herself or go through the line with her and then not do it. My daughter loves RRR. She was a mere 46 pounds the first time she did it. The height minimum is with shoes, so she was only 51" with sneakers, first thing in the morning. November is better for the weather but you could make either work likely. Crowds would be low or moderate depending on your specific dates so great times!

 

[gotomu212]

My son is 9 and loves, LOVES universal (sadly he's over Disney and just wants to do universal from now on). I don't mind the thrill rides, but I can't ride them over and over like he can. The great thing with the express pass is we can go together once and then I'll stand in line (or watch the line) while he repeats the ride one, or two, or three more times. With express pass he's on and off in 5-10 minutes.

The one ride I hate with him is Dr Doom Fearfall. I'm a grown adult and it still lifts me off my seat I know he's getting massive air on it and since it's an exposed seat ride it gives me a heart attack every time. It doesn't go upside down but it might be one for you to skip if she's tall enough.

 

[Roxyfire]

Thanks everyone! My DD is approx 51 inches at the moment but hard to know what she will be when we go. We have done the "smaller" coasters/ thrill rides at DW: ie. not space mountain, not the Tower of Terror, not Rockin Rollercoaster, not Expedition Everest. I would be happy to do Space Mountain at least once but didn't know how my DD would react when she was so little and having to sit separate etc. Of course, now my husband is making noises (he'd love to come I know, just don't know if we can work it timing-wise): if he comes, we would still have the upside rule though (which is mostly because my DD is very underweight and I don't know how much of the height requirements are also about width).

We went to DW at the end of August and loved it. DH is an Aussie so we are used to going there and both he and my DD love the heat (and hate the cold). I'm the least heat tolerant of the three of us and I did fine. It was so quiet and empty. Of course, if we went in November, we might be escaping the cold, so.... We would be going around August 27th or so, or November 3rd. We'd love to go for my DD's bday but it's pretty much right at Thanksgiving and we don't want that.

Ok so I can give you some information on the weight/height issue. Mine is 10 and very underweight as well. Likely same height/weight as your daughter. They are able to tighten everything down no problem. We go to six flags locally all the time and it's literally no problem with the inversions. They did once have us swap seats on Forbidden Journey at Universal because I guess he chose the "guest of size" seat by accident and they wanted him on a normal size seat instead. No problem with RRR, either. Don't worry, let her have a shot at the inversions!

 

[bumbershoot]

She's fairly short and extremely slim (and I don't like crazy rides although she is an adrenaline junkie), so we have a rule that we don't ride anything that goes upside down.

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which is mostly because my DD is very underweight and I don't know how much of the height requirements are also about width

Ah. They have nothing to do with width or weight. If they did, they would have width/weight minimums.

My son was 6.5 on our first trip and while he wasn't tall enough for everything, what he went on he LOVED.

Now, the issue with the rides that go upside down at Uni is that they do waaaaaaay more than just go upside down. A loop is one thing, but Dragon Challenge is another LOL.


Rip Ride Rockit, by the way, keeps you in with the waist restraint AND the between-the-leg part of the seat that keeps you from falling out while you're on your back at the start of the ride. I had to look it up after bruising my arm and DH's arm while holding onto him while on the ride. Nothing bad happened; I just got panicked. .

Now you don't have to panic and no one has to get bruised.

not Expedition Everest. I would be happy to do Space Mountain at least once

When you get to WDW, ride EE! It's *way* better than Space at Magic Kingdom (different story for Space at Disneyland by the way).