Doing Universal while staying at Disney resort or before?

[sherezada]

Hubby and I are driving down with our kids 5 and 2 (will turn 3 on the trip). We'll arrive in FL Late Thursday night and will be returning the following Saturday (total stay- 8 days). We we will be staying with one of my aunts who lives close to Universal and then we have AoA LM rooms reserved from Sunday to Saturday. Since my parents will also travel to FL to go with us to Disney, hubby and I are planning to leave the kiddos with them while we go to Universal on our own (we have 3-day tickets-don't necessarily need to use all 3 days or all be full days).

So our current plan is
Arrive Friday to aunt's house (my parents will also be staying with another family member in the same neighborhood).
Fri-Sat-Sun Leave the kids with my parents and go to Universal
Sun- Check in at AoA resort
Mon- AK
Tue-MK
Wed-Epcot
Thu-MK
Fri-HS
Sat-Check out at resort. Drive back

However, I'm feeling guilty that after that long drive my poor kiddos might be bored 3 days straight having to be with their grandparents while we're at Universal. I'm wondering if we should:
1) Bring them to Universal one of those days
2) Move one of the Disney days up to Sunday and intermix one of the adult-only Universal days while we are staying at Disney resort. I'm thinking they might have more things to enjoy there (even a walk through AoA-POP) than at my family's house.

What should we do?

 

[Mary2e]

Why don't you spend 1 night at Universsal so you can get front of the line access?

 

[sherezada]

Why don't you spend 1 night at Universsal so you can get front of the line access?

Not really concerned about front of the line access. We don't mind making the regular lines at Universal.

 

[crazylady]

Yeah for parents and babysitting! If you're not concerned about staying at Universal for the FOTL access, I would intermix the days between the parks. At your kid's ages, I preferred to go to the parks every other day. It was always nice to take a rest break every other day and be refreshed for a long park day on our park days. Also, if some of the kid's off days are at AoA they will really be able to utilize the resort facilities that you might be too rushed to enjoy otherwise.

 

[CinderElsa]

They're so young that I don't think Universal would have much to hold their interest, and they'll probably have much more fun with their grandparents, especially since you've got a week of Disney planned. You don't want them to burn out.

I would, however, definitely consider moving one of your Universal days to the middle of your Disney days to give everybody a bit of a break.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Back from recent Universal trip, and with HP- FotLA/EE is worth every penny!
That said, I think Universal now has more to offer the little ones. US has changed for the better in recent years.

To your original question, we tend to like to do one world then the other. I tried to go back to WDW once for dinner, and we all bailed. I used to always aim to US first, but US has improved enough that we were happy to do US second. Touring US is much easier than WDw (but we had fotLA). We just went where we wanted instead of trying to run around getting to FP's on time.

You still won't see a ton of strollers at US, but there are a number of fun things to do with little ones. Seussland is adorable. There's a kind of hidden away splash park/playground with all kinds of silly Seuss stuff. They also toned down Cat in the Hat! It used to spin like crazy, but now it doesn't. It's tame like Imagination, but better. Plus other attractions. The WDW carrousel is classic, the US one is whimsical.

Walking around both Harry Potter areas is just amazing. The little one might be scared of the dragon in Diagon Alley, but otherwise both HP areas are fine fun. The five year old is just a bit young for a wand, but oh- they will enjoy watching kids use them.

I suppose it depends in part how tall the two year old is. If your younger child is under 34, then maybe hold off. If the child is 36" plus, I think you 'll find a fair amount to keep her/him busy. Minion Mayhem has non-moving seats for kids under 40". To ride ET, one must be 34", but it is very tame. US/IoA has two Dumbo-type rides. Both are more fun than WDW's.. One Fish Two Fish and Twirl n' Hurl. Shrek has no minimum. I think you can also request non-moving seats (not 100% positive). ( I count 23 attractions for kids that are at least 36" and can ride w/adult, another 4 attractions added at 40", and another 4 attractions added at 42".)


Beyond that, Universal's ride swap is WAY better than WDW's. You get to stay together for the queue, then just split up for the three minute attraction. As soon as the ride is over- you go to the swap room, and the swapping adults get to ride right away. At WDW, guests have to endure the FP queue+preshow, which can sometimes be quite long (Soarin'!!!!! Space Mtn!) the US version is WAY better!

We're not huge on shows, but the animal show at US was great! It is slightly like the AK bird show, but with all kinds of animals.
Just like WDW, much of the fun of US is the general theming of every land, and that is especially true for toddlers. If you have hoppers, the Hogwarts Express is fun for all ages.

Then, if you've never been to WDW....a few US attractions poke fun at WDW. You might not get the allusions of you've never been to WDW, and that's shame, because they are pretty funny. As much as I love WDW, the jokes are refreshing when you've been trapped in theme park land for a week.

 

[sherezada]

Back from recent Universal trip, and with HP- FotLA/EE is worth every penny!
That said, I think Universal now has more to offer the little ones. US has changed for the better in recent years.

To your original question, we tend to like to do one world then the other. I tried to go back to WDW once for dinner, and we all bailed. I used to always aim to US first, but US has improved enough that we were happy to do US second. Touring US is much easier than WDw (but we had fotLA). We just went where we wanted instead of trying to run around getting to FP's on time.

You still won't see a ton of strollers at US, but there are a number of fun things to do with little ones. Seussland is adorable. There's a kind of hidden away splash park/playground with all kinds of silly Seuss stuff. They also toned down Cat in the Hat! It used to spin like crazy, but now it doesn't. It's tame like Imagination, but better. Plus other attractions. The WDW carrousel is classic, the US one is whimsical.

Walking around both Harry Potter areas is just amazing. The little one might be scared of the dragon in Diagon Alley, but otherwise both HP areas are fine fun. The five year old is just a bit young for a wand, but oh- they will enjoy watching kids use them.

I suppose it depends in part how tall the two year old is. If your younger child is under 34, then maybe hold off. If the child is 36" plus, I think you 'll find a fair amount to keep her/him busy. Minion Mayhem has non-moving seats for kids under 40". To ride ET, one must be 34", but it is very tame. US/IoA has two Dumbo-type rides. Both are more fun than WDW's.. One Fish Two Fish and Twirl n' Hurl. Shrek has no minimum. I think you can also request non-moving seats (not 100% positive). ( I count 23 attractions for kids that are at least 36" and can ride w/adult, another 4 attractions added at 40", and another 4 attractions added at 42".)


Beyond that, Universal's ride swap is WAY better than WDW's. You get to stay together for the queue, then just split up for the three minute attraction. As soon as the ride is over- you go to the swap room, and the swapping adults get to ride right away. At WDW, guests have to endure the FP queue+preshow, which can sometimes be quite long (Soarin'!!!!! Space Mtn!) the US version is WAY better!

We're not huge on shows, but the animal show at US was great! It is slightly like the AK bird show, but with all kinds of animals.
Just like WDW, much of the fun of US is the general theming of every land, and that is especially true for toddlers. If you have hoppers, the Hogwarts Express is fun for all ages.

Then, if you've never been to WDW....a few US attractions poke fun at WDW. You might not get the allusions of you've never been to WDW, and that's shame, because they are pretty funny. As much as I love WDW, the jokes are refreshing when you've been trapped in theme park land for a week.

Thank you for all the info! My daughter (2) is 36" and my son (5) is 41.5" so I'm glad to know there are at least 23 things they can do
If we were to take them, which of the 2 parks would you say would be better for them?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Funny you ask, I looked up both to see how many were in each, and they are pretty evenly split. IoA has Seussland. Us has Minions, ET, Animal show, and Simpsons. the only thing I might skip with the 2 year old is Posiden's Fury. (SP?) It is a walk through, but the wait is oftena bit long, and it is a bit intense with mummy's possessing your soul kind of theme. It has neat water effects though.

At Universal, if you think you could manage two trips inside of 365 days, their low end AP's are almost the same $ as non-AP's. (Unlike Disney) I'd at least consider changing one of your tickets to an AP- especially price in parking savings (though I think you have to go up one level). then US gives a great discount on renewals- unlike WDW.

I know, I sound like a commercial for US. I've been on the DIS for along time. Mostly I always said WDW was much better, but the more I ride Gringottts, and walk through Diagon Alley- the more I'm so impressed with the level of detail. Meanwhile, the new rides at WDW were a letdown, especially when combined with price hikes, and the new complications of touring/dining.

I just feel like WDW has chosen to squeeze customers for every penny, while US is doing all it can to attract new customers.