Universal Orlando Resort Attractions

Best for Young Kids
An obvious pick for the youngest visitors to Islands of Adventure, Seuss Landing is equally fun for grownups who grew up with these irresistible characters. The bright colors and strange shapes of the rides make you feel like you're walking through the pages of one of Seuss's books. There are five different rides here, but our tops picks are The Cat in the Hat, and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. The Cat in the Hat is dark without being scary, and kids will love watching Thing One and Thing Two destroy the house, just like in the book. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish reminds us of the Dumbo ride, but with fish and water. Kids can control the height of their fish to get sprayed (or avoid getting sprayed) by fountains. The trolley train is also worth a ride; be sure to pick the track that travels through the cafe, it's great fun to spy on the people eating their lunches below.

Best for Elementary Age Kids
Seriously, the groundbreaking Amazing Adventures of Spiderman ride is just as cool now as it was then. The virtual reality world created by the awesome 3-D film (you wear glasses throughout the ride) with live special effects and a moving car are nothing short of spectacular. You feel like you're racing through the streets and climbing buildings alongside Spiderman. The best part is a 400-foot freefall experience. Younger kids might get a little spooked. While not particularly scary, it's an intense ride. If this ride proves a little too much, try the Jurassic Park River Adventure.

Kids who want to get wet will enjoy Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, which is not your typical barge ride. While normally you have a least some chance of escaping unscathed, there's zero possibility of not getting soaked on this one. It's a surprisingly long ride, with intense rapids and water coming at you from every direction. True to its name, you will come off looking like a drowned rat. But it's well worth it!

Best for Tweens and Teens
If they love thrill rides, the Incredible Hulk Coaster will not disappoint. If they're on the fence, skip it. This green beast starts by launching you through a tunnel where you'll reach 40 miles per hour in two seconds, and then out the other end, where you drop into a zero-g roll. The rest is a blur, but for the coaster junkies: You'll reach a height of 150 feet and top speeds of 67 mph. There are seven inversions and two subterranean trenches.

For the slightly-less-daring, try Dr. Doom's Fearfall, which is a free-fall ride. You'll count down before getting launched 150 feet into the air, then freefall back down to earth. Think Tower of Terror with a different theme.
Teens and tweens will not want to miss the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which we cover separately below.

Universal's CityWalk is a short stroll from the parks and there you'll find a variety of restaurants including Bob Marley's, Emeril's, Jimmy Buffett's, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Latin Quarter, NASCAR Sports Grille, NBA City, Pastamore, and the Hard Rock Cafe. The Orlando Hard Rock Cafe has more pieces of rock and roll memorabilia than any other location (it's also the biggest Hard Rock Cafe anywhere) and has plenty of family fare like burgers, nachos and steaks. Also in CityWalk is Hard Rock LIVE, a 3,000-seat concert venue where you can catch big-name bands as well as other, smaller events. Karaoke lovers will want to visit the 440-seat club/restaurant Rising Star, where you can sing karaoke nightly, complete with backup singers and a host. At CityWalk you can also see Blue Man Group, or catch a movie at the 20-screen IMAX theatre there.

Best For the Whole Family
There are plenty of attractions at Universal Studios that will suit the entire family, and we always try to do these together at the start of the day, then divide and conquer in the afternoon. Kids of all ages will love The Shrek 4D show, so it's a good place to start. The 3D movie leads you through a series of adventures in an effort to save Princess Fiona. The special effects are cool without being too much, kids will like feeling their seats moving beneath them and getting sprayed with water. The E.T. Adventure is a classic, and definitely a must for the whole family. Don't expect any mind-blowing special effects, as this ride hasn't changed much over the years; but the simplicity is part of its appeal. Parents, actually, may appreciate this ride more than kids, who might be expecting more. Fans of the movie will love soaring past the moon on a bicycle.

The Simpson's ride is another one everyone can appreciate. You walk through a giant head of Krusty the Clown to get on the ride, where huge IMAX screens create a 3D experience that takes you through Krustyland and Springfield. Fans of the show will appreciate that all the character voices are done by the original stars.

Best for Young Kids
A Day in the Park with Barney will appeal to the very young (under 2) crowd. The half hour features Barney and pals onstage singing and dancing. It includes some cute special effects like snow and leaves falling from the ceiling. There's a play area with sand to get messy in, and a fountain that plays music. If it's a warm day, pack a bathing suit and let the kids run around in Curious George Goes to Town, a sprayground with water fountains and hoses. Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster is a kiddie coaster perfect for brave little ones, and with a height requirement of just 36 inches, it's great for ages 3 and up.

Best for Elementary Age Kids
Despite the fact that it's showing its age, kids will still love JAWS. It's one of those attractions you can't visit Universal without seeing. Again, you won't be blown away by any of the effects (head over to Islands of Adventure for that) but it's loads of fun anyway. You take a guided boat ride around Amity with a skipper, which culminates in an encounter with Jaws. The 32-foot, 3-ton shark moving toward you at 20-feet-per second will make you jump, even if you're expecting it.

Kids who are fans of Nickelodeon will want to catch Jimmy Neutron, a 3D show with moving seats that's kind of like the Simpsons ride. This one appeals to school-aged kids more for the characters than the ride itself. In addition to Jimmy there are appearances from the Fairly OddParents, SpongeBob and the Rugrats, among others.

The Disaster! show is good for this age group too, especially those who are interested in learning about how special effects are created in movies. It simulates the scene of an earthquake with falling debris, explosions, a flood, and a runaway train.

Best for Tweens and Teens
For this tough-to-please age group it's a toss-up between the Terminator 2 3D show and the Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster. The Revenge of the Mummy is only for the bravest among them. Before the ride begins you are warned of the dreaded curse of the mummy, and led through tombs with very convincing hieroglyphics on the walls. The coaster itself goes flying through pitch black at 45 miles per hour, and encounters fireballs and super- scary mummies along the way. It's really creepy!
Men in Black is much tamer, and will appeal to game-loving tweens and teens. The goal is to defeat the aliens (of which there are 120 different species) by means of a laser gun and gaming system, which is in every seat of the ride. It's similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney. Your score is recorded, and the outcome of the ride is based on how well the riders perform.

Wet 'n Wild is a 30-acre outdoor water park, located just up the road from the parks, that's open year-round, with heated pools during colder months. Older kids will love the thrill slides, like the six-story Brain Wash, which has a 53-foot vertical drop into a 65-foot funnel. The Surge, Bubba Tub, Black Hole, Disco H2o and The Blast are also sure to please. Families of younger kids will appreciate the separate kids' park which has tamer versions of the adult slides, and a huge bucket that fills up and dumps into the pool. Also great for all ages are the lazy river and wave pool, and a huge inflatable ball called Bubble Up that kids can bounce on, then off, into three feet of water.

Wet 'n Wild has several places to eat, with plenty of kid-friendly choices like pizza, BBQ chicken, burgers and corn dogs. You’ll also find cabana rentals and souvenir shops.

If you're planning to visit Wet 'n Wild in addition to the theme parks, you might consider buying the Orlando FlexTicket which allows unlimited park-to-park admission to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Wet 'n Wild, SeaWorld and SeaWorld's waterpark, Aquatica.

Universal's Islands of Adventure is home to the much-anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Wander through Hogsmeade, pass the towering Hogwart's Castle and visit shops draped in fake snow and icicles. It's really beautiful to look at, even with the crowds. Be prepared for shoulder-to-shoulder crowds everywhere. For young children this can be a very overwhelming area to visit because if the lines and masses of people. It's better-suited to school-age kids.

The Rides
There are three rides in Wizarding World of Harry Potter, two of which have been re-purposed from old rides. The one that's entirely new is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which is arguably the most impressive new ride out there, and absolutely worth the wait. The experience begins with a walk through Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (the castle), in and out of various rooms with narration from the Harry Potter actors. Essentially this is the line, but you're kept thoroughly entertained while waiting. Eventually you're led to the actual ride, which moves you on huge robot arms mounted on a track, as you travel on an adventure with the Harry Potter characters and an amazing cast of creatures. This is the one you can't miss; it's like the Spiderman ride on steroids.

Dragon Challenge (formerly the Deuling Dragons ride) is the most plain thrilling ride in Wizarding World, great for older kids and grownup coaster fans. The ride is actually two separate roller coasters, the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail, both of which do loops and run at the same time, often looking like they are about to crash into each other at top speed. The specs for hard-core coaster fans: It's a two-minute and 25-second ride with inversions, including a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops. Flight of the Hippogriff (formerly Flying Unicorn) is the ride you see in all the commercials, with the brown wicker-looking Hippogriff creature, which has the head of an eagle and body of a horse. It's much less intense than Dragon Challenge, best for school-aged kids. If you have an Express Pass, it will only work on Flight of the Hippogriff.

Butterbeer
You'll find street vendors pouring up a frothy concoction of something called butterbeer, which you have to try. Though the version in the Harry Potter books had alcohol, this one tastes like a combination of cream soda, butter and butterscotch syrup, with a thick foam on top. Delightful!

The Shops
At Olivanders wand shop you can choose a personalized wand and take part in an interactive show. Fans of the Harry Potter series will recognize replicas of the different wands from the movie. Zonko's Joke Shop has some interesting novelty games and toys that are great for souvenirs. Kids will get a kick out of the screaming yo-yos, shrunken heads, nosebleed nougat, and extendible ears. Honeydukes is the famous candy shop, and if we had been able to see any of the merchandise, move, or even breathe in here, I might have enjoyed the chocolate frogs, exploding bonbons, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that eager fans waited in line for here. Dervish and Banges is a dimly-lit little shop that sells more wizarding items and dragon-related merchandise, t-shirts, robes and other clothing. Ditto for Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods, where you can buy jackets, scarves, banners, stationery and other gifts.

Our one complaint, along with everyone else in the world, is the lines. With all the money that went into putting Wizarding World together, they might have made it a little larger. Perhaps they underestimated the appeal of the place, but you'll find that the area really is quite small, a fact that's amplified by all the people.