Would a 9 year old boy like Legoland or Universal?

[fairytalelover]

We want to pick one to take him to but dont know which one he would like better. We heard from many people that there isnt a whole lot to do at Legoland and there are more kiddie rides than rides for bigger kids.

 

[nighttowll]

This isn't really an answer people can give you easily without more information.

I've never been to Legoland, so I can't really compare the two. However, Universal does have many attractions that appeal to that age group. Rather or not they will appeal to your son is something different altogether.

Will he do thrill rides and/or coasters? Is he even tall enough?
Does he scare easily?
Does he get motion sick easily?
Does he like HP, Jurassic Park, comic book characters, Despicable Me, Dr. Sues, Shrek, or the Simpsons?
Are you going during a busy time? Will you buy EP or stay on property? Is he ok with waiting in long lines?

Those are the types of things I would look at when deciding.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would look at the rides on the Legoland site. From my understanding, which was gotten only by reading other peoples' thoughts and not by experience, LL has a pretty narrow age range in terms of enjoyable/rideable rides. First we thought DS was too young on our trips to San Diego, and now I feel he's too old/big. Sigh.

But check them all out on their site, most definitely.

My son has loved Universal since he was 6.5. He is on the taller side, though at that age of course wasn't able to ride the big rides (he's tall but not THAT tall).

 

[Kristie808]

I would have to say Universal. My son is 9 this year, and we are going in a few months. I asked him if he would like to include Lego Land, and he said no... We went to Lego Land 2 years ago, and my impression is that it is more for younger children... but everyone has their own opinions.. good luck! I'm sure where ever you decide to go, your son will have a good time!

 

[dpuck1998]

I've been to both and will not be going back to Legoland. The rides are short and aimed at very young kids. Unless he wants to walk around and look at the structures, the rides aren't far above your local fair with better decorations. If he is at all into Harry Potter he will fall in love with Universal.

 

[RMulieri]

Universal..LEGOLAND is designed for much younger kids.My DD's first trip to Universal was at 9 yrs old and she loved it.

 

[rstout01]

Legoland is fun but, like others said, aimed towards younger kids. However, there are definitely rides there that a 9 year old boy would like, and the theming is great, especially if he loves Legos.

Personally, I would choose one of the Universal parks. Maybe check out Islands of Adventure if he's tall enough for the coasters, and likes them.

 

[fairytalelover]

This isn't really an answer people can give you easily without more information.

I've never been to Legoland, so I can't really compare the two. However, Universal does have many attractions that appeal to that age group. Rather or not they will appeal to your son is something different altogether.

Will he do thrill rides and/or coasters? Is he even tall enough?
Does he scare easily?
Does he get motion sick easily?
Does he like HP, Jurassic Park, comic book characters, Despicable Me, Dr. Sues, Shrek, or the Simpsons?
Are you going during a busy time? Will you buy EP or stay on property? Is he ok with waiting in long lines?
Those are the types of things I would look at when deciding.

Will he do thrill rides and/or coasters? Is he even tall enough? yes and yes
Does he scare easily? no
Does he get motion sick easily? no
Does he like HP, Jurassic Park, comic book characters, Despicable Me, Dr. Sues, Shrek, or the Simpsons? yes
Are you going during a busy time? Will you buy EP or stay on property? Is he ok with waiting in long lines? we are going one day during our 10 day stay at WDW starting Sept 30th. Staying at WDW resort.

Those are the types of things I would look at when deciding.[/QUOTE]

 

[fairytalelover]

He is addicted to legos but the rides just look like little kiddie rides unfortunately. For the price they charge, they barely have anything for older kids which seems odd to me because it's the older boys that really love legos. Oh well.

 

[lazer]

Will he do thrill rides and/or coasters? Is he even tall enough? yes and yes Does he scare easily? no Does he get motion sick easily? no Does he like HP, Jurassic Park, comic book characters, Despicable Me, Dr. Sues, Shrek, or the Simpsons? yes Are you going during a busy time? Will you buy EP or stay on property? Is he ok with waiting in long lines? we are going one day during our 10 day stay at WDW starting Sept 30th. Staying at WDW resort. Those are the types of things I would look at when deciding.

[/QUOTE]

Universal! My son's first trip was this past October and he was 5. He had an amazing time and said he'd rather go back to Uni than Disney next trip. And, he wasn't even tall enough for the coasters.

 

[canadakath]

I think this is very dependent on the child. DS1 was 9 when we went to Legoland and loved it - and there was no way he would have been ready for Universal. They are not all little kid rides - the coasters are perfect for kids like mine who want a bit of a heart-thumper without going upside down. He is also completely into Lego so the displays were just as much fun as the rides for him. There was definitely enough to fill a day - at a nice relaxing pace compared to WDW.

Next year our DS2 will be almost 9 and we will hit Universal for the first time. Totally different kid - loves the thrill rides and is into Harry Potter. They both want to go back to Legoland as well so we will do one day there, but I think that will be the end of that park for us.

You know your kid best!

 

[fairytalelover]

I think this is very dependent on the child. DS1 was 9 when we went to Legoland and loved it - and there was no way he would have been ready for Universal. They are not all little kid rides - the coasters are perfect for kids like mine who want a bit of a heart-thumper without going upside down. He is also completely into Lego so the displays were just as much fun as the rides for him. There was definitely enough to fill a day - at a nice relaxing pace compared to WDW.

Next year our DS2 will be almost 9 and we will hit Universal for the first time. Totally different kid - loves the thrill rides and is into Harry Potter. They both want to go back to Legoland as well so we will do one day there, but I think that will be the end of that park for us.

You know your kid best!

Our son has already been to Universal in California and loved it. He rides all the big coasters at DL/WDW (space mountain, matterhorn, big thunder, expedition everest etc....) little baby rides wont cut it. But he just adores all things Lego

 

[KorbensMomma]

I would say go to IOA/US then one day spend time and play at the LEGO store at DTD

 

[fairytalelover]

I would say go to IOA/US then one day spend time and play at the LEGO store at DTD

yeah that's pretty much what we will probably do. I just dont understand why legoland only caters to tiny kids.

 

[pcstang]

I've been to both and will not be going back to Legoland. The rides are short and aimed at very young kids. Unless he wants to walk around and look at the structures, the rides aren't far above your local fair with better decorations. If he is at all into Harry Potter he will fall in love with Universal.

This.

 

[mab2012]

OP - it sounds like for your family, Universal is the better choice. If your child is only interested in going on thrill rides, it's true that you won't find that at Legoland.

That said, for the benefit of others who might be reading this thread, I don't think it's accurate to say that "Legoland only caters to tiny kids". For a start, there are many, many 9-year-olds in the world who aren't ready for big roller coasters. We've been to Legoland twice, most recently when our kids were 5 and 8. On this last trip we were able to talk the kids into all four coasters, but they were still a little intimidated by the faster ones, and really weren't begging to go again. They're certainly not thrill rides, but we're not talking about the caterpillar coaster at the local fair either. They're "real" roller coasters with sizeable drops, they move at a decent clip, and they have non-trivial height restrictions. Younger kids (<5) will not meet the height requirements for the bigger coasters, even with a parent.

On our previous trip we visited with some family that included a couple of 11 year-olds, and they had a good time.

It's really about the theming. There are a lot of large Lego models and a couple of Lego themed shows in addition to the rides. I would guess that most big Lego fans of any age would enjoy visiting at least once. Whether they'd enjoy it more or less than a visit to Universal depends on the individual.

Legoland is also quite a lot cheaper than Universal, if you plan ahead. You can almost always find "buy an adult ticket and get child admission free" coupons, which brings the cost for a family of four comfortably under $200. A single day at one Universal park would cost more than twice that much. Plus another 40% if you want the Hogwarts express. Granted, the "kids free" benefit is smaller for a family of three.

My family will be visiting Universal on our upcoming trip, for the sole reason that my 9-year-old is desperate to visit the Harry Potter world. I don't expect we'll get either of the kids on any of the big coasters this year, and I imagine there is still at least one Legoland visit left in our future.

YMMV.

 

[cgattis]

My son had asked several times to do Legoland, but it never really fit in our plans. This March, we finally (with two kids get in free tix) took him, just turned (then) 10 and DD13. Yeah. We waited WAY too long. My kids adore Legos (my sons floor is covered in Star Wars Lego and DD has all the Potter sets) and the movie. But the rides are SO small/slow....the only one they really said they enjoyed was the mad mouse style one--whatever it was called. The highlight was definitely walking around looking at the displays--still not worth $200 for 4 of us, IMO. The highlight for me was the sky platform thing and the gardens--I remember going to Cypress Gardens as a kid, so that was cool. And the tree is awesome. I say if you have any desire to see it, don't wait--mine were way too old for it. But given the choice, mine would've chosen Potter all day.