Universal with a 5 year old

[Tink_83]

So I have one day this summer where I will be down in Orlando and can either do a day at MK or try out Universal. I've always had it in my head that Universal is more fun for older kids and looking over the rides I'm inclined to think that is the case but I wanted to see what other people had to say on this. I will say a lot of the rides look like fun and I know at some point I will plan a vacation to Universal I'm just trying to decide if this year is the year to try this... Thank you in advance for input!

 

[SG131]

There are definitely some things for younger kids to do at universal too, but in my opinion there’s a lot more for a 5 year old at MK than Universal. Universal’s rides tend to be a bit more intense and quite a lot of them use 3D technology. I’m not sure how your child feels about 3D glasses, my 5 yr old is ok but I know plenty of kids that don’t like to keep them on. Personally, I’d do MK now and save universal for when he or she is a little older and gets into Harry Potter.

 

[Tink_83]

Thanks! That’s what I was thinking I just didn’t want to make that assumption without at least asking first!

 

[ml sumner]

My son is 7 and we are thinking about doing Universal maybe next year. For now it seems like MK has had the most to offer him without being to intense. He still hasn't rode Space Mountain but he may give it a try this trip. We are slowly introducing the Harry Potter movies to him and he has watched the first 4. I say wait another couple of years on Universal and enjoy MK!

 

[princessebird]

MK is probably better. That being said, we've taken my daughter to Universal when she was 4, 5, and 6 (and we are going again in a few weeks before our passes expire). I know every kid is different, but my kiddo loves Universal. She's loved Seuss, the Pteranodon Flyers, Minions, and Flight of the Hippogriff for a while now. In the last year she can't get enough of Gringotts, FJ, Simpsons, SpiderMan, and MiB. She's now asking if she can go on Kong and Mummy. Would she like MK more? Maybe. And we are planning to go there soon. But I've never offered MK because I'm not willing to do the planning and stressing on it for the short trips that we've been taking. UOR is truly relaxing (well, with the EP it is). And I know that when we eventually go to WDW, "relaxing" won't necessarily be in the vocabulary.

 

[fit4life2]

There is plenty to do for most 5 year olds at universal. I took my two kids there when they were 5.

You have the following rides they might like:

• Minions
• The cat in the hat (similar to Winnie the Pooh ride)
• One fish two fish (similar to dumbo with a cool water twist)
• Carossousel (a carousel)
• Flight of the hippograph ( an easy roller coaster maybe similar to goofy?)
• Storm force acceleration (spinner ride)
• Spider-Man, transformers( similar 3D rides)
• Simpson’s ( similar to star tours)
• Water rides if you want to get soaked
• ET - dark ride
• Shred 4 d - theatre with moving chairs
• Men in Black ( similar to buzz)
• Woody woodpecker roller coaster (never been on it)
• Twirl and hurl ( another dumbo ride)
• I haven’t been on Jimmy Fallon’s but from what I read similar to minions
• My kids liked the Harry Potter train rides, and did gringotts and like the wand show.
• My kids like Jurassic Park which i’ll Compare the drop to splash mountain.

In my option just as much rides for the kids, in fact my kids will do more rides in one day at universal than at magic kingdom or any other Disney Park.




Universal doesn’t have the princesses or iconic Disney characters and not the nostalgic rides for the parents to share with their kids.

 

[Tink_83]

There is plenty to do for most 5 year olds at universal. I took my two kids there when they were 5.

You have the following rides they might like:

• Minions
• The cat in the hat (similar to Winnie the Pooh ride)
• One fish two fish (similar to dumbo with a cool water twist)
• Carossousel (a carousel)
• Flight of the hippograph ( an easy roller coaster maybe similar to goofy?)
• Storm force acceleration (spinner ride)
• Spider-Man, transformers( similar 3D rides)
• Simpson’s ( similar to star tours)
• Water rides if you want to get soaked
• ET - dark ride
• Shred 4 d - theatre with moving chairs
• Men in Black ( similar to buzz)
• Woody woodpecker roller coaster (never been on it)
• Twirl and hurl ( another dumbo ride)
• I haven’t been on Jimmy Fallon’s but from what I read similar to minions
• My kids liked the Harry Potter train rides, and did gringotts and like the wand show.
• My kids like Jurassic Park which i’ll Compare the drop to splash mountain.

In my option just as much rides for the kids, in fact my kids will do more rides in one day at universal than at magic kingdom or any other Disney Park.




Universal doesn’t have the princesses or iconic Disney characters and not the nostalgic rides for the parents to share with their kids.

Thank you for this. We've already been to MK (3 times over the last 2 years). But those rides do sound like fun; I guess my follow up to this was that there were some that I wasn't sure how scary it would be for her. So, on that list I was most concerned about the Jurassic Park ride, is it scary? Like are the dinosaurs scary in it? Some of the other rides like MIB I could have her watch before we went so she would be prepared. Is that what other people do, have their kids watch the movies so they get excited about the rides? If so is there a recommend set of movies to watch before going. Like Harry Potter, MIB and Shrek to start with? Thanks again for the help!

 

[fit4life2]

Jurassic Park ride is dark towards the end with a big trex right before the big drop. The rest of the ride is a gentle boat ride.

I wouldn’t have kids watch MIB, don’t think it’s neccessary. But have them watch Harry Potter and shriek.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Since you've already been to MK several times I'd say maybe give Universal a shot this time around. Switch it up.

I do think that Universal as a whole (both Studios and IOA) are geared more towards older but they both have enough things to do with younger children and Seuss's landing is great for kids. If they are not afraid of a little height The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! is cute (even for an adult I like going on it). I do agree about the 3D aspect so keep that in mind. There are kids play areas too. A good list from other posters too.

In the end I think it's what you are comfortable with with the rides, shows and attractions available that may interest you and your 5 year old may like. MK is something familiar but Universal can be an exciting new adventure. I think both places are the same in that one time going with a certain age can be different the next time you go with a different age.

 

[atricks]

Yeah if you've done MK a lot, the kids areas at Universal tend to be much less crowded so they'll likely get to do more. Suess is pretty great and there's the If I ran the zoo play area there. Camp Jurassic is IOA's version of Tom Sawyer Island, and the flyers there requires a kid to ride. Also Me Ship the Olive play area next to Popeye.

Studios side has Barney (good show for kids and an indoor playground), Fivel, Curious George (the dry ball factory at the back there is amazing) and the Animal Actors show. Woody's Nuthouse Coaster (Sudios) and Hippogriff (Islands) are the kid coasters at Universal.

The lower crowds in the kids areas are really nice.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

So I have one day this summer where I will be down in Orlando and can either do a day at MK or try out Universal. I've always had it in my head that Universal is more fun for older kids and looking over the rides I'm inclined to think that is the case but I wanted to see what other people had to say on this. I will say a lot of the rides look like fun and I know at some point I will plan a vacation to Universal I'm just trying to decide if this year is the year to try this... Thank you in advance for input!

My five year old daughter had a blast at Universal last September. She is a big thrill seeker, though. She wants to ride coasters- the bigger the better. Her first coaster was Flight of the Hippogriff (rode it when she was two) and she still loves it.

In September she loved Spider-Man, Gringotts, FOTH, Jurassic Park, ET, Bilge Rat Barges, and Ripsaw Falls. She really enjoyed a lot of other things, too, like the play areas and the shows.

Your daughter won’t be able to enjoy some of the Universal attractions like Barney, Woody Woodpecker, the Caroseussel, Pteranadon Flyers, and the play areas much longer. I’d say take her while she’s young.

There were only a few things she couldn’t do (or didn’t like):

Fearfall
Forbidden Journey
Hulk
Rip Ride Rocket
Mummy
King Kong (she did this but didn’t like it).

There are a lot of things your daughter can do- certainly plenty to fill a full day.

 

[wookiebeck]

I took my kids when they were that young. There were definitely swatches of time where it was not about the rides. There is a watery playground area in Seussland that they would have stayed in all day if I didn't pull them out. Even the jumping water fountain in City Walk is so much fun for kids in the summer! The playground at Camp Jurassic has caves (like on Tom Sawyer island) and rope climbs and more water cannons. They loved watching the baby dinosaur being born in The Jurassic discovery center. They thought it was real! God, I miss those cute days.

 

[jenrose66]

So I have one day this summer where I will be down in Orlando and can either do a day at MK or try out Universal. I've always had it in my head that Universal is more fun for older kids and looking over the rides I'm inclined to think that is the case but I wanted to see what other people had to say on this. I will say a lot of the rides look like fun and I know at some point I will plan a vacation to Universal I'm just trying to decide if this year is the year to try this... Thank you in advance for input!

I LOVE Universal. After being avid Disney goers we decided to try Universal in 2014. My kids were 4, 6 and 8. We stayed 6 nights and had a blast. We enjoy Universal so much we haven’t been back to Disney as a family (though I travel there with my mom).

That being said. Given the age of the child and being that there is only one day...I’d do Magic Kingdom.

 

[jenrose66]

Jurassic Park ride is dark towards the end with a big trex right before the big drop. The rest of the ride is a gentle boat ride.

I wouldn’t have kids watch MIB, don’t think it’s neccessary. But have them watch Harry Potter and shriek.

My boys were tall for their age and rode Splash Mountain at 3 and loved it so we were psyched for Jurassic Park and were super happy my daughter was tall enough to ride...well my kids enjoyed it until the dinosaurs got mean (and these are kids who saw the movie). They were terrified and got off all crying. My daughter looked at me in contempt and was like “why did you let me ride that”. Needless to say we haven’t been back on that as a family.

 

[Tink_83]

My boys were tall for their age and rode Splash Mountain at 3 and loved it so we were psyched for Jurassic Park and were super happy my daughter was tall enough to ride...well my kids enjoyed it until the dinosaurs got mean (and these are kids who saw the movie). They were terrified and got off all crying. My daughter looked at me in contempt and was like “why did you let me ride that”. Needless to say we haven’t been back on that as a family.

DD, while she does LOVE roller coasters, does tend to also scare easily. Based on this if we end up going to Universal I'll probably avoid this ride.

 

[bchbetha]

I say give it a try. I think there’s enough to do.
MIB is a fun movie so if you have time to watch it, go for it.
The play areas alone make for a great day!
If you think she can handle a little scare, try Raptor [Encounter- can’t remember name]

 

[cadawson]

I’d do MK or Animal Kingdom with my 5 yr old. I’d save Universal for when she is older. We have 6 1/2 yrs between DD and DS, and DD really wanted to do UO. My DS wasn’t into thrill or intense rides or water-in-his-face stuff at 5. DH took DD around, but I felt there was a lot of waiting around for DS and me. We had much more fun with him at that age at the Disney parks. We’re trying again at age 7 this summer - we’ll see if he’s a little more brave. I think 8-12 is a good age range for first Universal trip - depending on thrill-seeking level. It’s much more intense. He did fall in love with ET and liked Seuss land.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’d do MK or Animal Kingdom with my 5 yr old. I’d save Universal for when she is older. We have 6 1/2 yrs between DD and DS, and DD really wanted to do UO. My DS wasn’t into thrill or intense rides or water-in-his-face stuff at 5. DH took DD around, but I felt there was a lot of waiting around for DS and me. We had much more fun with him at that age at the Disney parks. We’re trying again at age 7 this summer - we’ll see if he’s a little more brave. I think 8-12 is a good age range for first Universal trip - depending on thrill-seeking level. It’s much more intense. He did fall in love with ET and liked Seuss land.

That's the beauty of different strokes for different folks. The thing that made me lean more towards Universal with the OP is that she's already been 3 times already to MK in the last 2 years.

It really just depends on what interest level a traveling party has with the rides/attractions/shows available.

And FWIW there's a lot of waiting around me for because of what rides my husband likes to go on that I don't have an interest in (Hulk, Rip Ride Rockit, etc)..it's still worth it for me. Conversly with WDW I'm usually dragging my husband on many more rides than he cares to go on.

 

[cadawson]

The thing that made me lean more towards Universal with the OP is that she's already been 3 times already to MK in the last 2 years

I’d still choose a Disney park w/ my 5 yr old. If not MK, then AK or HS. If it were just the 2 of us going for a day this summer, I’d take him to HS after Toy Story land opens. At 7, he’s only just becoming interested in Harry Potter. Waiting with a 5 yr old involves a lot of promises of ice cream at UO! OP only has one park day and indicates this won’t be the last Orlando trip for them. Also, OP expressed reservation that UO is especially geared to an older crowd, which IMO it is. That’s what I would do in this situation.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’d still choose a Disney park w/ my 5 yr old. If not MK, then AK or HS. If it were just the 2 of us going for a day this summer, I’d take him to HS after Toy Story land opens. At 7, he’s only just becoming interested in Harry Potter. Waiting with a 5 yr old involves a lot of promises of ice cream at UO! OP only has one park day and indicates this won’t be the last Orlando trip for them. Also, OP expressed reservation that UO is especially geared to an older crowd, which IMO it is. That’s what I would do in this situation.

To the bolded-Which is why it's perfect to try something new

Just about everyone agrees Universal as a whole is geared towards older kids (I def. mentioned it) but it def. has enough stuff for younger kids too--there are things specifically geared towards younger kids.

8-12 year olds may (using your recommendation) be too old for some attractions as far as interest levels at Universal which acts like the reverse of going with younger kids (where there are some things to do that they wouldn't be able to go on or have interest in going on). This also happens at Disney too.

You (general you) just have to figure out if there's enough to do for your (general your) traveling party. But the advice so far has been towards the fact that yes there are things to do at Universal for young kids.