7 days at Universal/IOA with small kids 4/29 to 5/5

[jenrose66]

Our family just got back from our first trip to Universal. I wanted to post some things about the parks that might help families with small kids who are considering a trip.

I have two boys ages 6 and 8 and a 4 year old daughter. My kids are tall for their age. Everyone was over 42 inches and oldest DS was tall enough to ride everything.

I think the kids enjoyed the Suess area most. We rode those rides every day. The boys also really enjoyed the Harry Potter area. My oldest DS was chosen at the wand show and he was so excited. (as an aside, I wasn't planning on going to the wand show, we literally stumbled in line for it). To him it was very real though and doing "magic" was a highlight of the trip for him. I can tell we have a wand collector on our hands as I think he proceeded to examine every wand they had available for sale. My DD wasn't really impressed with the Harry Potter area, but she was a big fan of butterbeer.

We rode (and rode and rode) the Hippogriff coaster. As far as the other rides, not so much. I thought my kids would find the castle cool, but they didn't. My son didn't want to do forbidden journey and even though everyone was tall enough, none of the kids wanted to ride Gringotts. I wasn't going to force them, so we did child swap...(that's gonna be a theme of this trip). The kids did enjoy the Hogwarts Express too. They also liked talking to the knight bus driver and looking at the goblin in the window along the waterfront.

The kids really enjoy Splash Mountain at Disney so I thought the River Adventure was a safe bet. I was wrong. The kids were terrified and crying by the time we got off and I felt really bad.

I will say that the simulators are quite intense. Much more so than Star Tours (which is what I imagined the rides would be like). On the first ride my kids even cried on Minion Mayhem and the Simpson's Ride. However, once they got off they wanted to ride again, so we did those rides several times during our trip.

Oldest DS rode Transformers and liked it, but the other kids wouldn't ride. We all did Spiderman. Oldest DS and my DD rode it twice, but once was enough for my middle DS.

Everyone liked the Shrek Show and we watched it twice. We attempted the Posiden walk thru but had to leave before getting thru the first room. The kids loved the Fivel play area with the water slide and climbing ropes. They also enjoyed the woodpecker coaster. While middle DS thought ET was a cute alien he thought the ride was too dark and didn't want to do it more than once.

Oldest DS really enjoyed the Jurassic Park Discovery Center. He did all the exhibits there and talked to the workers with the fossils and stuff. My other two didn't really care about the stuff there but went with the flow.

All the kids enjoyed the parade.

I will say that Universal does child swap very well. They have a room set up with kid friendly shows on where you can wait while the adults take turns riding attractions. With the express pass and child swap, DH and I were able to experience everything with very little waiting which kept the kids happy.

I do think that Universal is more expensive than Disney, which was a surprise. I mean, the tickets were much cheaper. Our family of 5 got 3 kid 3 park unlimited tix from Maple Leaf Tickets and one Adult 3 park unlimited ticket and we bought one Power Pack annual pass for the hotel discount. The grand total for this was an even thousand dollars, where as comparable tickets to Disney would have been about $1900. However, Universal food is outrageous and not very good. They have very slim pickings for kids. We ate at the Harry Potter area and even with the two boys sharing a meal and DD and I sharing, our bill was $70 after drinks, etc...Merchandise also seemed more expensive than Disney. For example, they had a Harry Potter notebook, it was like one of the Mead composition notebooks. It was $25! That's crazy. The kids were thirsty so I got them a bottle of pumpkin juice to share and that was $7.50. I think the flaming moe was $8. It's insane! DH really likes coffee mugs and specifically travel mugs. He couldn't find one mug that he liked enough to buy. We usually buy multiple mugs on our Disney trips! I wanted a keychain but most were in the $13 to $18 range. They just didn't appeal to me enough to spend the cash.

With that said, the final verdict from the kids was mixed. Oldest DS said he like Universal better than Disney because it had cooler stuff. Especially the Harry Potter area. Middle DS and DD said they prefer Disney but that they really enjoyed their time and would like to visit again someday, but they'd rather see Disney again first.

My DH really liked Universal. He said he preferred it to Disney hands down, even the theming. I really enjoyed Universal. I have a soft spot for Disney and it was really hard for me to plan a trip to Orlando without visiting Disney property. But once I was on Universal property I didn't find myself missing Disney. I liked the on site Universal Hotel and I LOVED express pass. If Disney were to offer express pass as a perk for their Deluxe Resorts I would spend the extra cash to get that perk hands down! Not waiting for things was awesome

I would love to visit Universal for an extended 3 or 4 day long weekend with just DH. I think the rides at Universal are actually more fun than the Disney rides, but they are definitely for an older crowd than my kids.

I don't see us returning to Universal as a family until my DD is at least 8 years old, which would be another 4 years. I think kids need to be around that age to fully appreciate the attractions without being terrified of everything.

 

[denluvsdisney]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. It helped whet my appetite for our trip on June 4.

 

[yellowfish78]

Thank you! This was a big help for me - taking my (taller than I thought) five year old in August. Mine loved Star Tours, hated the ET movie, and I had planned on a lot of time spent in Seuss Landing and the Jurassic Discovery area.

 

[damo]

Interesting that you found food more expensive. When we did comparisons last trip, we found Universal to be cheaper for almost identical items.

 

[smiths02]

Thanks. I have a large age gap in my kids, oldest is almost 9 and twins are 2.5.
I think we will have to wait for Universal.

 

[hopemax]

Interesting that you found food more expensive. When we did comparisons last trip, we found Universal to be cheaper for almost identical items.

We find the same. But what we love about Universal is the variety. I can compare the menu at, say Pizzafari and Louie's and the pizza prices U - 5.99/slice, or 13.99 for 2 slices and a salad, D - 9.69 slice+salad, but at Louie's I can also get Fettuccine or Spaghetti, and 2 sandwich options vs 1. The also share a similar item in Chicken Caesar U - 8.99, D - 9.19, very close, but slight edge. Chicken & Ribs is interesting because the chicken is exactly the same price, the ribs are cheaper at Disney, but the combo is cheaper at Universal. Burgers, I think Universal runs $1 cheaper.

What Universal also has is: signature items. Like the Pumpkin Juice, Butterbeer and other WWoHP drinks or Flaming Moe. And Disney has been slow to jump on the signature item bandwagon, so it makes it hard to compare. WDW has LeFou's brew which is $4.99, without the cup, $9.99 with. Dole whips and floats, I guess. WDW has jumped into the "collectible container" market. Frozen drink ones in Hollywood Studios for $8, with a little soda, turn your dole whip into a $8.79 purchase at the Polynesian, by getting a bowl, tiki glasses, the ocarina one at AK. If a person wanted a simple soda it costs basically the same in both parks $2.99R/$3.19L (Disney is 3.29 for L), Frozen lemonade/Cokes are the same $3.99. Floats U - $3.59 D- $4.49. Universal also offers the refillable cup option, which can work better for budget minded (we always have it, just to get it filled with ice water, which keeps the spending in WWoHP in check, because those drinks DO add up fast).

Without a plan of attack, Disney and Universal can both get quite pricey. Watch out for $4 Gilly Water vs $2.75 elsewhere without the different label or bottleshape or $2.50 at Disney. I watch the candy at Honeydukes too. There are great options at $5 or $6, but I've stayed away from the $10 Fizzing Whizzbees, and I've only bought 1 chocolate toad because of the price. A lot of times people put a lot of legwork to find WDW's budget friendly options, I don't know how many hours I've spent on AllEarsNet over the years. I wonder if the same research is put into the days at Universal, or if the more laid back flavor, gets people sucked into the traps of the expensive options that they've trained themselves to avoid at WDW (Touring Plans.com has Universal menus as well as WDW). Eating in WWoHP may not be the best choice in terms of budget, but it's so easy to get drawn in, especially if HP is what you came to see. But at the end of the day, if you accidentally end up spending an extra $100 on food, but $900 less on tickets, I would call that a win and a learning experience.

And I hope my post isn't taken as a hit on the OP, because it's meant as a reminder that it's easy to get carried away in the moment at any theme park, and for the budget conscious, research ahead of time works just as well at Universal as it does at WDW.

EDIT: I meant to add a little for merchandise. Disney is my primary love, and my house is full of it. So when I go to Universal, I spend little compared to my Disney purchases. But that's mostly because of character appeal, and that's okay. I buy pins at both places, and I'm much happier with the price points at Universal. I've bought T-shirts at both places, but my Universal shirts have held up way better than recent WDW purchases (seams coming undone, images wearing off). And Disney is testing my boundaries with $20 dish towels...I did get the Haunted Mansion ones though.

 

[jenrose66]

We find the same. But what we love about Universal is the variety. I can compare the menu at, say Pizzafari and Louie's and the pizza prices U - 5.99/slice, or 13.99 for 2 slices and a salad, D - 9.69 slice+salad, but at Louie's I can also get Fettuccine or Spaghetti, and 2 sandwich options vs 1. The also share a similar item in Chicken Caesar U - 8.99, D - 9.19, very close, but slight edge. Chicken & Ribs is interesting because the chicken is exactly the same price, the ribs are cheaper at Disney, but the combo is cheaper at Universal. Burgers, I think Universal runs $1 cheaper.

What Universal also has is: signature items. Like the Pumpkin Juice, Butterbeer and other WWoHP drinks or Flaming Moe. And Disney has been slow to jump on the signature item bandwagon, so it makes it hard to compare. WDW has LeFou's brew which is $4.99, without the cup, $9.99 with. Dole whips and floats, I guess. WDW has jumped into the "collectible container" market. Frozen drink ones in Hollywood Studios for $8, with a little soda, turn your dole whip into a $8.79 purchase at the Polynesian, by getting a bowl, tiki glasses, the ocarina one at AK. If a person wanted a simple soda it costs basically the same in both parks $2.99R/$3.19L (Disney is 3.29 for L), Frozen lemonade/Cokes are the same $3.99. Floats U - $3.59 D- $4.49. Universal also offers the refillable cup option, which can work better for budget minded (we always have it, just to get it filled with ice water, which keeps the spending in WWoHP in check, because those drinks DO add up fast).

Without a plan of attack, Disney and Universal can both get quite pricey. Watch out for $4 Gilly Water vs $2.75 elsewhere without the different label or bottleshape or $2.50 at Disney. I watch the candy at Honeydukes too. There are great options at $5 or $6, but I've stayed away from the $10 Fizzing Whizzbees, and I've only bought 1 chocolate toad because of the price. A lot of times people put a lot of legwork to find WDW's budget friendly options, I don't know how many hours I've spent on AllEarsNet over the years. I wonder if the same research is put into the days at Universal, or if the more laid back flavor, gets people sucked into the traps of the expensive options that they've trained themselves to avoid at WDW (Touring Plans.com has Universal menus as well as WDW). Eating in WWoHP may not be the best choice in terms of budget, but it's so easy to get drawn in, especially if HP is what you came to see. But at the end of the day, if you accidentally end up spending an extra $100 on food, but $900 less on tickets, I would call that a win and a learning experience.

And I hope my post isn't taken as a hit on the OP, because it's meant as a reminder that it's easy to get carried away in the moment at any theme park, and for the budget conscious, research ahead of time works just as well at Universal as it does at WDW.

EDIT: I meant to add a little for merchandise. Disney is my primary love, and my house is full of it. So when I go to Universal, I spend little compared to my Disney purchases. But that's mostly because of character appeal, and that's okay. I buy pins at both places, and I'm much happier with the price points at Universal. I've bought T-shirts at both places, but my Universal shirts have held up way better than recent WDW purchases (seams coming undone, images wearing off). And Disney is testing my boundaries with $20 dish towels...I did get the Haunted Mansion ones though.

I did notice that the sit down prices for Universal restaurants were cheaper...however, my oldest son doesn't always tolerate sitting thru a meal very well so we prefer counter service. I'm sure it's nicer to do some of the cheaper options in City Walk for eating, but we aren't the type of family that makes it a point to stop being where we are and travel for food...we just want to eat where we are at the time. For Universal I just wasn't wowed by their counter service. I was last in Disney in February 2014 and it was only my daughter and mom and we had a free dining pin so maybe I'm behind on the times with the cost of Disney food Universal felt more expensive to me.

I will also agree with you that Universal shirts looked to be higher quality than Disney shirts.

 

[macraven]

i do both parks and find food at each one where i can deal with their prices.

do find some better deals at the darkside most of the times.
i have my favorites and haven't noticed much of a monetary change over the past 4 years except at a few places in the darkside parks and city walk.
not a huge jump in prices but about $1.

and i know the places at the motherland and darkside to avoid due to food quality or my personal taste.

i figure out my budget months before a trip and buy gift cards to use for eating.
if i don't use them all, then i later figure out which park i came under budget with the food and snacks.

most times i eat what i want and look at the prices second.
i don't go for the cheapest priced foods, but it has happened many times at the darkside for me to spend less per day.

we all have a different budget and taste for meals.
so, it will be a mixed opinion on which park has less expensive dining.

for me, the table service menus are so much cheaper at the darkside in the parks.
a lot of food for less money.

doing the motherland at the park and hotel restaurants do run higher for me especially over the past 5 years.
Biergarten, Le Cellier, Grand Floridian Cafe, Artist Point, etc have really increased in prices
this year i'm going to be avoiding some of those places as i don't want to hit $50 a person for one meal.
my value of food quality has changed on past favorite, hit every year restaurants.

i have no arguement with anyone that feels opposite of my opinion.
it is so much easier and pleasant on the darkside threads to state what is on your mind and it not get into harsh words.
i usually just read the threads but not post on them but did want to express as someone that goes regularly to both theme parks, there are some peeps that has a different thought on the subject.

 

[Robo56]

I think the over all cost savings comes down to doing your homework on park tickets and onsite hotels. I found this out 13 years ago when I first logged onto disboards and was introduced to the smart way of planing a vacation. Those wonderful folks taught me travel lessons in planning I will never forget. These lessons have saved me thousands of dollars over many return trips to Disney and Universal. Universals site I have found is very user friendly. I am taking my grandchildren back to Universal in a couple of weeks. I started watching the onsite hotel prices back at the end of January and was able to lock in great rate first week of Feb for Portofino. Remember even if you lock in your reservation date you can continue to watch prices and if they drop call back and get the lesser price. Also Universal site allows you to look at the menu options of a lot of the restaurants so you can pre plan your dining needs.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think kids need to be around that age to fully appreciate the attractions without being terrified of everything.

My son was 6.5 on our first trip. Big enough to go on a lot, but *scared*. Easily spooked. He still won't go again through Poseidon. He also is still very certain that we all DIE on Tower of Terror, despite evidence to the contrary, so it's not a Universal thing, LOL.

But by our next trip, less than a year later, he was much less scared. So maybe...don't wait 4 years. And, really, Poseidon isn't that great. Not worth changing plans based on a dislike of that, LOL. We enjoy it from the outside now.

I've only bought 1 chocolate toad because of the price

The chocolate frogs? They last in our freezer for months, being used as a small chunk of dessert, or shaving off some chocolate onto ice cream. And the container is supercool for holding small things, plus you get the lenticular wizard card. It's not *just* about the chocolate with the frog? (yes we might have FIVE empty containers in our house...the empty Bernie Bott's beans container is also a neat container for things...we never even ate the jellybeans b/c my family cannot have the corn syrup in the jelly bellies)



We generally bounce back and forth between Disney and Universal in a trip, and generally find the prices to be the same. We do have Preferred APs, but that's only a 10% discount.

Of course, 1 kid vs 3 probably makes a BIG difference.