Wow, that does sound like a fabulous 39th.
Let me proceed to OVER-answer you.
During our first Universal trip, E wasn't brave enough to ride Forbidden Journey, and wasn't tall enough to ride any of the big coasters. He rode Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster, which is about the same as Gadget, though shorter. (how is that possible?) And he rode Flight of the Hippogriff, which is just a bit longer than Gadget. He rode the heck out of those two, but nothing else that was "big".
Spiderman is like Star Tours on steroids, and if you close your eyes you lose most of the feeling of movement, by the way...same as Simpsons, though I compare it to Soarin' more than Star Tours.
Anyway, I was too chicken for everything "big" but Forbidden Journey, Robert was not able to get on the big rides, and Eamon was too little or too scared.
However, it was an AWESOME trip. Eamon amused himself and tortured Robert by making us see Barney. He played in the kid areas (to a certain extent...it's been either way too cold/rainy or way too hot to really get his play on, LOL, during our trips so far). We ate, we shopped, we rode all the other things. ET, especially if the kids have seen it, is pretty amazing if you check your "I'm a grownup" card at the door, LOL.
Wizarding World might not be exciting for *rides* for your daughter, but it's REALLY neat being in that world. Even though it's boiling hot outside (depending on when you go), seeing the "snow" covered rooftops seem to bring the temperature down a little bit.
I'm going to make the assumption that both kids are 48" or above. IF so, there won't be a problem with her waiting at the end, or even with your son just going on the ride alone. They allow 48" and up ride, ALONE, any ride they otherwise qualify to ride. So I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with your daughter splitting apart from you while you and DS go ride something. And they might even let her wait in the swap rooms, which are INSIDE the line. Universal doesn't make swappers split up outside the rides. Swapping isn't really what you're doing, but they might let her wait in there instead of in a giftshop or a bench.
Anyway, despite our lack of riding big rides on that first trip, we LOVED the place. So much so that we went back inside that year, despite not having upgraded to APs. And on the second trip, we upgraded. And this September, we renewed the APs, without a totally solid plan for Universal in mind. (their renewal price at this time is just THAT good)
We love their resorts. They are beautiful. They ENCOURAGE pool-hopping. So we could swim at any of the resort pools that we wanted to. How fun is that? If you have a purchase sent to your room, it's delivered TO your room. Not to Bell Services. They do charge parking, but if you pay for Valet, I hear that you can send a *text* to get your car brought around. (wow) And there is no free transportation from the airport. Sadness. But still, pretty awesome overall. And having the unlimited Express Pass through the resort is the cherry on top, especially if your party doesn't ride everything all at the same time.
Now on our upcoming trip, Eamon has had quite a growth spurt, and will be big enough for EVERYTHING. And he wants to ride EVERYTHING. Oh, help me.
But I'm game, and I'll ride with him. Everything BUT Pteranodon Flyers. I will let Robert do that, assuming E doesn't grow more before the trip. That ride has some of the trickiest rules; you have to be over a certain amount AND under a certain amount. If you are over 56", you have to ride Pteranodon with a child under that (but above the minimum). I have only ridden it once (scared me more than Dragon Challenge or Rip Ride Rockit) and I wait for them to go through the long, long line, and I have watched the Team Members (TMs) have to explain it over and over and over. They even have a special measuring stick that they hold, that shows the minimum and maximum, and people still argue. It's a weird ride. And I hate it. To paraphrase Meg Ryan in French Kiss, "oh the rocking, the rocking..." I hate that thing.
And yet I'm sure I'll be riding Hulk this time.
Robert, unless he has a burst of weight-loss (he's on a much slower losing track than I am...it's just his nature) of an big amount, probably still won't be able to get on all the big rides, but he is still SO excited for the trip. Just *being* in Universal makes him and us happy, and he can still simply look forward to riding the rides in the future.
alllll that said, you need to look at the website, look at the rides. Check out youtube videos of the rides. Read about them (there's a book whose authors' names escape me right now, and I gave my copy away so I can't check the cover...but it's really the only Universal Orlando guidebook out there). Figure out IF there are rides, attractions, and things-to-see that will occupy you guys enough to make up for the big things you might miss. For us, Men In Black is amazing. For someone else, knowing it's like Toy Story, but with guns and MORE spinning, it might make them really sick. Maybe it will be better to wait until your daredevil is even older, so that you feel better about him going on rides and even lines alone. And so that your daughter is older so she either gets more brave OR you are more OK with her waiting on a bench or in a shop, if they won't let her stay in the Swap room.
But you can also check out all the ticketing options. If you guys like waterparks, there's a ticket that allows unlimited access over 14 days to Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, and Wet and Wild waterpark. You can get Universal tickets for a bit of a discount through
Undercover Tourist (just like you can for WDW), so check those out.
There's also a "flex" and flex plus ticket, for much more than the 3 park tickets, that allow:
Enjoy unlimited admission for 14 consecutive days to:
Aquatica
Universal Studios
Islands of Adventure®
SeaWorld® Orlando
Wet 'n Wild® Orlando
plus Universal CityWalk®
Note: the citywalk thing is a "party pass" that you won't need unless you get a sitter for the kids.
It's free admission to the clubs in CityWalk after a certain hour of the evening. City Walk during daytime and early evening hours is just like DownTown Disney.
By the way, for you, dining isn't as easy as it is at WDW. You can get in touch with chefs, but it's not the same level of simple. Check out the threads on the Universal forums for more info on that. I've realized that my ovo-lacto-veggie info just isn't useful for you.
We did RCCL before, and we loved it. I think I said before that I'm walking a fine line between wanting to dislike this cruise and wanting to like it. I cannot afford, quite literally, to fall in love with DCL, but I don't want the money to be a waste. And I want to enjoy the time with my cousins and aunt, especially now that the election is over. Whew!
And yes, it's a 3 night cruise. Almost no time at all! "Hurry up and relax" is what I'll be telling myself.