Toddler Guide For Island’s of Adventure Rides, Play Areas, height requirements (Universal Orlando)

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There’s a lot to do at Islands of Adventure on your next vacation to Orlando. Since Universal Orlando Resort is mostly geared towards adventure seekers, it can be a little hard to know what toddlers will enjoy at the park, and what rides they qualify for height wise. 

Out of all the Orlando Theme Parks, Islands of adventure has some of the most restrictive height requirements, meaning that you’ll need to do some pre planning when it comes to what rides toddlers can enjoy. 

The good news is that there are six options for all toddlers, and another three options for taller 3 year olds at Islands of Adventure. If you are in a mad dash, you can use the universal app to preplan, but the maps can be less than user-friendly sometimes. ⭐ Below you’ll find a list you can use to plan your toddler’s rides! 🎢

Is Island of Adventure good for toddlers?

Yes! Islands of Adventure is the best Universal Park for toddlers that want to ride rides. There’s so many rides here and little play areas that this park takes the top spot for Universal Orlando (and one of the top 3 parks for toddlers in all the Orlando Theme Parks)

Check out the rides for Universal Orlando visiting toddlers on your next vacation.

⭐ Rides for Toddlers at Islands of Adventure

Islands of Adventure is set up like one giant circle. When you first come inside at the giant lighthouse, you can go to the Left for Marvel Land, or to the right for Suess Land. If toddler rides are at the top of your list, I suggest going into Suess Land first, but if you are looking for low crowds and some characters, head over to Marvel land on the left. 

Inside Suess Land you’ll find several toddler friendly rides to enjoy (and lots of little places for toddlers to run and explore).

It can be hard to know which option is the best for toddlers, but we break down all the pros and cons for Universal Resort in this easy to use guide for parents and caregivers!

The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride: Minimum 36 inches. 

Come along on a train ride in the sky with two different tracks, one about sneetches and one about ABC. It is absolutely worth riding twice, or as many times as you can stand it! We really enjoy riding it once in the morning when lines are short, and then another time in the afternoon! The ride queue does not have a/c, so if this is a must do, please do it in the morning! 

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish: Under 48 inches companion required.

This is a small spinning ride like Dumbo at Magic Kingdom, or Kang and Kudo over at Universal Studios. It’s a fan favorite and one we do before we leave, it’s our ‘goodbye’ ride since the line and ride are both pretty short! 

 Caro-Suess-El: minimum 34 inches, under 48 inches with companion 

This is a must do on all our trips for our kids. It’s a simple Suess themed Carousel. Every theme park in Orlando has one, and it’s for a good reason, they are super popular with the younger crowd! 

The Cat in the Hat: Minimum 36 inches 

Another Suess themed ride, but in need of a refresh since it’s geared towards 90’s kids and my kids had no real basis for the ride as we haven’t watched many classics with them. Sure we’ve done the grinch and some books, so they were familiar with the theme, but it didn’t really resonate with them. 

Pteranodon Flyers Minimum 36 inches, under 48 inches with companion 

If you’ve been to Islands of Adventure without kids, you’ll likely have seen this ride and wanted to borrow a kid because of how fun it looks. 

Let me assure you that it IS as fun as it looks and I will be sad when all four of my kids outgrow this ride! 

Hogwarts Express: no height limit

There’s no height limits for the ole trusty Hogwarts Express! You can bring your stroller on this ride, and parts of the queue are in the air conditioning. 

A few notes about this ride though. You’ll need a park to park ticket to enjoy this, and the ride from Island’s to Universal is different than the ride from Universal to Islands 

Honorable Mentions for toddlers to enjoy at Islands of Adventure : 

If I ran the Zoo Play Area 

This is a super cute play area in the Seuss Landing! We love spending some time here in the mid morning, especially if one of the parents wants to ride something with a longer line, the other one takes them to this play area! 

Me Ship, The Olive Play Area 

While I’m not sure about the name ( I have almost no basis for the Popeye character) I do love this boat themed play area, and so do the kids! 

Rides for tall 3-year-olds and perfect for 4 and 5-year-olds at Islands of Adventure

Flight of the Hippogriff: Minimum 36 inches, it is a roller coaster 

This coaster is very similar to Woody Woodpecker over in Universal Studios except it’s just a little bit taller. Or maybe it looks taller. I’m not sure, but it took a lot of convincing to get my toddler to ride this when the Woody coaster took almost no convincing at all! But once they’ve ridden it once, they’ll likely love it. 

Skull Island King Kong: Minimum 36 inches.

The queue and the ride are the stuff of nightmares. Fast Fact, there are 877 skulls in the queue and ride at Islands of Adventure.  While kids can ride it, I’d highly recommend they don’t. It freaked me out and I’m a grown woman. 

I’d compare it like this. If this ride was a movie, it would be rated R. 

The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman: Minimum 40 inches, 3-D ride 

Whether your a spidey fan or a diehard DC fan, you’ll love this web slinging and high flying ride! This is truly one of the best rides at Universal because you’ve got the air conditioning, the thrills based on fun and not fear, and the timeless 3-D effects that still look great 15 years later. 

Best rides for Toddlers- quick list

It is so much fun to take your toddlers with you on vacation. Yes, it’s also a lot of work, but I promise when they are older you’ll have great memories and funny pictures to look back on! 

For Islands of Adventure these are the must do toddler rides:

🎢 Everything in Seuss Landing (4 rides in total) 

🎢 Plus Pteranodon Flyers 

🎢 And The Hogwarts Express! 

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