Universal Jan trip quick but thorny question

We’re officially going to Universal end of January! We’ve relied (and shared) on this forum for our two prior WDW trips so hoping to get help for this one. We have 2 day + 2 free tickets, park-to-park, and will try and go to VB on the warmest day that week. We will be off site so no EAP. First off, it’s so nice to not have to commit to a set schedule already and let weather help us out.

My first question has to do with planning VC. It is the one ride DD10 doesn’t think she’s ready for but I don’t want to miss (neither one of us wants to do Hulk). Our default plan is I go by myself at RD one morning and she stays home with DH (he won’t be going to the parks due to inability to ride any rides and will be working) then he drops her off a little later. Theoretically I could then RD VC and ride a couple of times. Alternatively, she goes with me and waits for me outside the ride - at RD so limiting possible waiting. She and DH have both said they are ok with this - I’m uncertain. I know this is an individual choice and dependent on the kid but am wondering how you all have managed these situations when you were solo with your older little kid. Insights and experience super appreciated!

I’d have no worries at all leaving a sensible 10yo to wait alone, but your other option sounds fine too as long as DH doesn’t get caught up with work and not be able to bring her.

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Could she go through the queue with you and wait in the child swap area?

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That’s the main question - where would it best for her to wait for me and will the cast members allow that? I’ve never been so don’t know what that area would look like.

Tell a Team Member at the entrance that your DD will not be riding but would like to stay with you in the queue, they will instruct you how it works and where DD can wait for you while you ride.

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I know it sounds cliché, but you know your child best. I have six kids, and some of them I would’ve been perfectly fine, leaving at 10 years old, and others I would not.

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I used to leave the 14 year old “babysitting” the 11yo but I knew who was really in charge. Lol. I feel ya!

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I always feel like Disney and Universal are very safe places so as long as you trust your kid I think they’ll be safe. I don’t see why they couldn’t wait for you in the child swap room which is very near the ride and lots of team members on other rides (not sure about this one since my kids will ride it now). There’s usually a TV or something to entertain them too.

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If she’s interested in the Jurassic Discovery Center and can be trusted to stay in the building, there’s a lot she could do there. It’s right by the entrance and exit to Velocicoaster. There’s even food and a bathroom. You know your kid best.

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That’s great to know. Thanks for the tip.

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That’s incredible. I didn’t ever see those spaces at Disney but I also wasn’t looking out for them. I like this option too in case she changes her mind.

Another brilliant idea. Thanks!

They don’t have them at Disney (which is one of the things Universal does better) but I have used them with my mom at Universal when my kids were little and they are fantastic spaces. But I also love the idea of letting her play in the Discovery Center. Maybe she’ll get to name a hatching Velociraptor.

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Yes, looking at photos of the child swap areas I think she’ll be happier at Discovery Center and she can hold my phone and call her dad if anything goes wrong :slight_smile: :smiley: The good news is since we will be there 4 days I can wait until the last day to ride. By then we should be experts and perhaps she’ll have changed her mind about riding.

Thanks everyone! This has given me lots of ideas to address this issue and now I feel confident I’ll get to try out VC.

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Fingers crossed for you! Have her watch it from the back porch of Three Broomsticks. It is very intense, I’m not gonna lie though.

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There are rides where I am likely to be kind of pushy and cajole someone into riding, because I know the bark is worse than the bite. But VC isn’t one of them. Even wanting to, and being able to do it twice, my nerve had to be in the right spot for the second ride, and I haven’t mentioned the opportunity in between than I had to pass because my heart wasn’t there at that moment. It is a massively intense ride IMO. Extremely cool. But it will still be there for another year. :sauropod:

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Yes, I think you’re on point! DD10 can do rides that make me so sick and freaked out (think those swinging, air time, almost 180 degree rides) but I have to trust she knows what she can do and cannot. Thanks!

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Good job, mom. You can stand off to the side of Storm Force Accelatron with me and the other moms watching our kids spin around in circles-inside-circles-inside-circles. Our kids can understand when we want to do things they don’t.

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DS14 has constantly opted for no Storm Force. The first time I ever got to do it was last month when it was just me and my 23 year old niece! I’m going to try with DS again next week. I don’t think his objection is the spinning (because that I would understand) - it’s not as ‘thrilling’ as other rides. But I enjoyed the heck out of it!

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Sometimes, I just love to sit in the ride vehicle and enjoy the breeze it generates. Maybe view it as a relaxing break?

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