US or IoA for not-so-adventurous 6.5yr old girls?

[JoeF]

In addition to WDW Magic Kingdom, I was thinking of hitting up one of Universal's parks in Orlando on 1/30 with my twin daughters (I do worry about the HP event causing crowds that weekend).

I'm trying to figure out which single park would be best for them, since the park-to-park ticket would add another $150-$200 for a family of four.
We originally considered LEGOLAND (but it's 45 minutes away and we've heard some say it's kind of boring and you can't spend a whole day there if you're not doing the waterpark). Epcot seems geared towards older kids, and Hollywood has a bunch of stuff that's closed down for the Star Wars thing.

So would you recommend UNIVERSAL or Islands of Adventure for twin 6.5yr olds who don't like anything fast, scary, or that has too much stimulation/sensations (like those simulators you get into that jerk you around)? They LOVE the slow rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, shows like the Monsters Inc Laugh Factory, and enjoy tame rides like Dumbo. NOTE: I'm hoping to convince them to try Splash Mountain (if it's not too cold) since there's really only ONE thrill, and it's over in 2.5 seconds.

If you think I'd be better of going elsewhere, I'm all ears (except we can't do SeaWorld since the wife saw BlackFish; and even though I'm a vegetarian supporter of animal rights/activism, I'd be willing to forsake the moral highground for my kids on ONE occasion).

 

[Kivara]

IoA has Storm's teacups, Flight of the Hippogriff (kiddie coaster), the Dr Seuss area (4 rides...one squirts a bit of water), and several playgrounds (if you chose IoA Jurassic Park playground is THE BEST...even DH & I love running through that one!) I would say everything else is more intense, including the shows, IMO.

Studios has a large playground, Barney (if they like him), Woody Woodpecker kiddie coaster, ET, Animal Actor show, Men in Black (kinda like Buzz Lightyear), and the parade.

 

[schumigirl]

Have you looked at the Universal website?

It has the park layouts and all the rides with height restrictions too.......would give you an idea of which park they would enjoy more.

www.universalorlando.com

 

[kohlby]

Look up both and see what they would like. My kids used to prefer IOA but now they prefer US.

My kids also love Legoland and we're always there from open to close when we go. Granted, they close early when we go, since it's the off-season, but we still spend the full day there. We originally thought EP wasn't for young kids but tried it anyway when my eldest was 3 years old. It was his favorite park! We spent three days at EP on our last Disney trip. My youngest was 5 years old then.

At 6, my older two kids favorite parks in order were EP, IOA, MK, US, DHS, huge gap, AK. They didn't go to Legoland for the first time until 7 and 10. (My youngest was 4 then). Our last trip had kids ages 6, 9, and 12 for Legoland. My 6 year old asked to do a second day at Legoland on our last trip. (We didn't though as the older two kids were good with one day and that adds expense! We did do 6 days of US/IOA on that trip though).

*Any chance you're a homeschooler? If so, Legoland has a great homeschool ticket deal.

 

[JoeF]

schumigirl: I went to the website and looked at both parks, and googled almost every ride for videos, BUT it was soooo close, and so hard to tell that I figured I'd ask the pros. One park seemed to have a lot of simulators (I think Spiderman would likely terrify them), and the other park seemed to have coasters that might not be tame enough--though I'm betting Woody would be okay (I read that it's a good starter coaster).

Kivara & kohlby: Well, now I'm leaning EPCOT since we're right next to it at our Resort (Disney's NOLA Riverside), but IoA is still in consideration because they do love Dr. Seuss, and I've heard great things. It's good to hear LEGOLAND is fun. I think we'll wait and go to Legoland when it's warmer and we can do the water stuff--plus I think the Lego Hotel looks fun.

 

[princessnicchia]

I like Epcot for kids. We went a few years ago when my kids were 10 and 8 (so a little older than yours, but neither of my kids are real daredevils) and they LOVED it. There was actually a lot of fun things to do---the lands themselves were cool, they had a Phineas and Ferb interactive game that was a hoot, and overall it was a way better time than I expected, because we went there because my stepmother loves Epcot and really wanted to go. Like you, I thought it would be boring and not much for them and we walked away having had a great time.

 

[JoeF]

Thanks all.
I'm amazed at the prices. WE just paid $945.12 for 2 adults, 2 kids--1 day at MK, and one day at Epcot. Add another $200 for Medieval Times, and $400 for NOLA Riverside Resort, and this is adding up fast. (That was the FL resident discount + we got $25 restaurant cards for each ticket--so that's $200 back assuming we can find a place to use them.)

 

[squirrel]

Thanks all.
I'm amazed at the prices. WE just paid $945.12 for 2 adults, 2 kids--1 day at MK, and one day at Epcot. Add another $200 for Medieval Times, and $400 for NOLA Riverside Resort, and this is adding up fast. (That was the FL resident discount + we got $25 restaurant cards for each ticket--so that's $200 back assuming we can find a place to use them.)

It's like that if you split your vacation and do WDW and Universal. If you pick one and do it for the whole trip it's cheaper. Adding extra days to WDW or Universal tickets makes the cost go down per day.