8 year old granddaughter- Universal???

[Pucks104]

We are taking dear GD to Disney for 7 nights in April ‘22. She is just now reading her first Harry Potter book. Would she enjoy Universal or will she be too young at 8 yrs? The trip to Disney will be her first. If we spent some time at Universal for HP World how many days should we spend there vs at Disney?

 

[TwoMisfits]

We are taking dear GD to Disney for 7 nights in April ‘22. She is just now reading her first Harry Potter book. Would she enjoy Universal or will she be too young at 8 yrs? The trip to Disney will be her first. If we spent some time at Universal for HP World how many days should we spend there vs at Disney?

She will absolutely love Universal and not even want to go to Disney, if my last few kids are any indication.

But if you only have 7 days total in April 22, I'd split 3 days Uni, 4 days Disney. Get a park-to-park ticket so you can ride the train between the parks...

 

[Pucks104]

She will absolutely love Universal and not even want to go to Disney, if my last few kids are any indication.

But if you only have 7 days total in April 22, I'd split 3 days Uni, 4 days Disney. Get a park-to-park ticket so you can ride the train between the parks...

Never heard of a park-to-park train. Where do I find information?

 

[crazylady]

My kids loved Universal at that age. I would do 2 days at Universal.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Never heard of a park-to-park train. Where do I find information?

It's the Hogwart's Express ride - you can only ride that Harry Potter ride with a park-to-park ticket (vs a single park per day/ticket)...

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/rides-attractions/hogwarts-express

 

[MinBz]

My daughter has been to universal since she was 3yrs old but really feel in love with the Harry Potter sections of Universal at 7years old. She’s now 8 years old and are currently here in Orlando. We are doing Disney first and every day she asks when we are going to “Harry Potter Land”. She’s still enjoying Disney but she’s super excited about universal (we’ll go in a couple days).

 

[RogueX]

The Harry Potter section is so immersive, it's wonderful. The Hogwarts Express is a fun experience and the train really does look like the train used in the movies.

 

[fredandkell]

For HP fans, Universal is spectacular. Be aware that she may be too short for some of the rides though. I took my son at 10 for the first time and he was just tall enough to ride everything.

 

[bchbetha]

Great for an 8year old! I would recommend at least a night onsite so you can wake up and be super close to the action, with early entry. Plus, if you stay at Hard Rock, Portofino or Royal Pacific you get express passes included (1 night in the fancy hotel actually gives you 2 full days of EPs- check in and check out day). The EPs are like the best version of fast passes with no scheduling and you can use them over and over again. That frees up your time so you can do wand tricks, sightsee and eat all of the great HP themed treats as opposed to waiting in line for rides and not having a lot of time to explore.

 

[Mikeb1892]

I'm sure you're going to get many Pro Universal responses here in this forum. I would also recommend that you post the same question in one of the Disney Forums to get the "other side of the coin". From what I've experienced, most Pro Universal people are also Pro Disney, but it doesn't always flow the other way so take what you hear in the Disney Forum with a grain of salt. Since it will be her first trip to both Disney and Universal, I'm sure she will have a wonderful time at all the different parks. If it was me, I would try to tailor the trip to what she is currently interested in and go from there (ie maybe skipping Epcot unless she you think she'd really like most of the attractions there). Another point to consider is there will be a tremendous amount of walking and those little 8 you legs might get tired. We've always had our most successful days doing rope drop and touring until lunch-ish, then back to hotel for a quick swim and nap, then back to the parts for the evening. Bottom line would be DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO SEE EVERYTHING. That is most important. Neither property is going anywhere so don't feel like you have to try and cram everything into this trip. Have fun and enjoy!

 

[ksdaveb2003]

Based on Mike's post above, one more thing to know is that the Universal resorts, particularly the three express-level resorts (PBH, HHR, RPR), are all much closer to both parks at UOR than the resorts at WDW. I have been going to WDW since 1972 and UO since 1996 and I have found that we spend much less time transporting to the parks at UOR than we do at WDW.

 

[cfoxga]

Our kids were 8 and 10 on our first trip, and they had a blast. Both were (and still are) big HP fans. No matter how many times we go or how long, they always have a blast and immediately ask when the next trip is. As they've gotten older (13 and 15), they've grown to love other areas like the Simpsons, Spiderman, and Transformers.

Doing both Universal and Disney in the same trip will be expensive, there just isn't any way to avoid that. The first two days are the worst, whereas the cost/day dramatically drops for longer stays (or multiple trips with an AP).

I usually recommend 3 days minimum, staying onsite to really experience UO (at a deluxe resort for the EPs if possible). One day dedicated mostly to each park, and a 3rd to hit favorites. But DW has so much, that cutting it down to 4 days makes you miss a lot there. So in this case, 1-2 days might be better. If cost is not a factor, a single day doing a VIP tour would work. A 2-day trip staying at a deluxe resort for one night would also be a good option, if you are willing to give a second day to UO...

 

[Pooh's World]

We are taking dear GD to Disney for 7 nights in April ‘22. She is just now reading her first Harry Potter book. Would she enjoy Universal or will she be too young at 8 yrs? The trip to Disney will be her first. If we spent some time at Universal for HP World how many days should we spend there vs at Disney?

2 days is enough for Universal.

I doubt she will do or can do any of the adult roller coasters anyway.

 

[HashberryOTG]

I would take travel options into consideration for an 8 yr old (heck, I do it for myself!). Pick a resort near her favorite Disney park, and aim for a deluxe resort at UO. Having the freedom to easily take a mid day break makes things so much less stressful. I still remember trips with my parents from when I was that young (not Disney, but other theme parks). They are great memories.

I would help her prep by providing movies that showcase rides or areas at both theme parks. Gets her super excited and will make the rides more memorable if she can relate something to it. And you can include your favs in the prepping too. If the trip is all about her, be open to breaks when she gets too overheated or tired. She won't remember (I wouldn't anyways) if a few rides get missed, but she will remember if she's tired and grumpy half the trip. Sit down restaurants or some of the short films around the parks do wonders as well.

 

[AJA]

As much as we love Universal (our trips are about 3 to 1 over Disney now) at that age I would just concentrate on Disney for a first visit, one week trip.

6 parks in 7 days is exhausting for a fit young 20 something. It can get overwhelming for a lot of kids.

Especially if you know you will probably be able to return to Orlando within 2-3 years. That would give her more time to read the books and see the Harry Potter movies. Then you could visit Universal along with her favorite Disney parks (my daughters favorite parks were Animal Kingdom and Epcot at that age, she would have happily skipped Magic Kingdom!)

 

[keishashadow]

We are taking dear GD to Disney for 7 nights in April ‘22. She is just now reading her first Harry Potter book. Would she enjoy Universal or will she be too young at 8 yrs? The trip to Disney will be her first. If we spent some time at Universal for HP World how many days should we spend there vs at Disney?

Is she enjoying the book/the movies? If answer is yes, she will be in her element at U

check out the minimum height requirements for the various attractions to avoid any disappointment

strongly suggest doing WDW first on any split trip to avoid finding yourself comparing line wait times via having the deluxe property FOTL perk

since she hasn’t done Disney either, I suggest 5 nights on-site there (5 days in the parks), switching over to U for 2nights (3 park days) if possible

 

[Pucks104]

Is she enjoying the book/the movies? If answer is yes, she will be in her element at U

check out the minimum height requirements for the various attractions to avoid any disappointment

strongly suggest doing WDW first on any split trip to avoid finding yourself comparing line wait times via having the deluxe property FOTL perk

since she hasn’t done Disney either, I suggest 5 nights on-site there (5 days in the parks), switching over to U for 2nights (3 park days) if possible

She hasn’t seen any of the movies as yet. Her mom (my daughter) is adamant that DGD read first and have a chance to form her own view of the HP characters before seeing how they are portrayed in the movies.

 

[keishashadow]

She hasn’t seen any of the movies as yet. Her mom (my daughter) is adamant that DGD read first and have a chance to form her own view of the HP characters before seeing how they are portrayed in the movies.

Smart. I let my kids watch the corresponding movie after they finished the book

 

[fivikse]

As much as we love Universal (our trips are about 3 to 1 over Disney now) at that age I would just concentrate on Disney for a first visit, one week trip.

6 parks in 7 days is exhausting for a fit young 20 something. It can get overwhelming for a lot of kids.

Especially if you know you will probably be able to return to Orlando within 2-3 years. That would give her more time to read the books and see the Harry Potter movies. Then you could visit Universal along with her favorite Disney parks (my daughters favorite parks were Animal Kingdom and Epcot at that age, she would have happily skipped Magic Kingdom!)

I agree with this post. Our daughters were probably 9-10 years old for their first universal trip, but we had done WDW a few times already. They had read the first four HP books and we only did two days at Uni. At that age, they preferred the WDW parks overall (but loved the HP areas at Universal, they just weren't interested in much else). Now they much prefer Universal.

For a first trip with an 8 year old, I would also recommend sticking to WDW. Then when she is a bit older, I would do a trip focusing on Universal with a couple days to revisit WDW favorites.

 

[SPSRAS]

We did just one day at Universal during a Disney trip with my daughter. We did 1 day MK, 1 day AK, Rest day, 1 day Universal, 1 day MK. From previous experience I think with kids less is more in Orlando and trying to fit everything in can just result in unhappy cranky kids. We went to Universal knowing that we were not going to do anything other than Harry Potter. We had one day park to park tickets- started in Diagon Alley and then rode Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade where we finished the day and exited out from IOA. For us it was perfect - no one in our group was interested in any of the other Universal characters or thrill rides. I will say even though we only experienced a fraction of what Universal has to offer it was absolutely one of the best days we have ever had in a theme park and worth every penny. Be sure to head straight to Ollivanders to sign up for the wand experience.