The Universal Orlando Resort is often regarded as being less kid-friendly than its Disney counterparts. While Universal does have more thrill rides, it still offers attractions that cater to guests of all ages. If you’re looking ahead to find the best time for a visit with your children, there are several factors to consider. You can make the most of a Universal vacation at any age. Use these tips to find the right one for you.
For free admission
If you want to take your child to Universal Studios before you have to factor in the expense of another ticket for your vacation, you can get your child in for free before his or her third birthday. The Universal Orlando Resort isn’t generally thought of as being a kid-friendly option, but it does have many highlights that will appeal to tots.
If you have a large enough party to take turns enjoy child-friendly highlights while the others hit bigger attractions, you can successfully do a little bit of everything with your little one along for the ride. Some of the highlights that small children under three might enjoy include:
- Curious George Goes to Town play area
- Me Ship, The Olive play area
- Animal Actors On Location! show
- Fievel’s Playland
- A Day in the Park with Barney show
- Barney’s Backyard play area
- Oh! The Stories You’ll Hear show
- Caro-Seuss-el
- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
- Camp Jurassic play area
- If I Ran the Zoo play area
- Universal’s Superstar Parade
- Shrek 4-D
- Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
For child-priced tickets and meals
If you want to save on your visit to Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure, but you also want to plan a visit your child will potentially remember, aim for early to mid-elementary school age. Child tickets are available for children age three to nine. Children’s menu items are designed for kids age nine and under.
Between seven and nine, you can enjoy a bit of both worlds. It’s slightly cheaper to visit with children in this age range, but these kids are taller, braver, and able to enjoy a lot more. Hitting 36 inches in height will give you access to many popular rides including:
- Pteranodon Flyers
- Cat in the Hat
- The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster
The average height for a three-year-old girl is 37 inches, while three-year-old boys average 37.5, so you may be well within this range, even with a younger child. If you’re hoping to get on some of the wilder rides, you’ll need a few more inches. At 40-inches, you can ride TRANSFORMERS. There’s a 42-inch height limit for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack, Jurassic Park River Adventure, and Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is for guests 48-inches and taller.
For wild rides on your visit
If you want to make sure your kids are able to enjoy everything that the Universal Orlando Resort has to offer, you may want to shell out the sum for an adult ticket and plan to visit with your children when they’re pre-teens or teenagers. This may be necessary for height alone. You have to be 51 inches for Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and 54 inches for The Incredible Hulk Coaster.
Most kids will hit 54 inches in height around 10 years old. To make sure there are no issues at the height stick, it’s usually best to go for an inch or so over the minimum. This will make it clear that you’re well within the acceptable range, and save you the trouble of straightening your back and proving your head hits the stick.
Height limits aside, your children may feel more comfortable riding these types of thrill rides at an older age. You know your kids best. Ride-wise, you’ll get the most out of your visit when your kids are at an age where they’re ready to tackle roller coasters and wild dark rides.
For Halloween Horror Nights
Image: Sean O’Shaughnessy, Flickr (license)
Halloween Horror Nights is the best-known special event at the Universal Orlando Resort. Fans of horror and gore thrill to the realism, rich theming, and attention to detail that Universal puts into its annual Halloween event. If you’re visiting in fall and want to experience HHN, you should plan your visit when the kids are older.
The parks strongly discourage any attendees under the age of 13. If your children aren’t ready to visit the most gruesome haunted houses and events in your hometown, assume they’re not ready for Horror Nights. This event takes over the whole park. It’s not just about the houses. You’ll also find scare zones in the streets. You don’t want to get into the park only to find that you’re trapped near the back with a horrified child and no way back out of the park without walking through yet another dark alley with screaming scareactors. Older teens are best suited to this event, if you want to bring children at all.
You can make a vacation to Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure an unforgettable choice for kids of any age. Consider your preferred agenda carefully to find the right age for your needs.
