Is US really not that good for young children?

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We are planning our very first family WDW trip for next August and I am finding myself in a bit of a quandary. I have read and heard many times that it is better to wait until your kids are older to do US and that the attractions are better for older kids; but to be honest it seems like the characters and attractions at US would be just as appealing to us as those at WDW. My youngest two children are big fans of the PBS television programs and I noticed that several PBS characters have attractions at US (Barney, Curious George, The Cat in the Hat). My older two kids would love the Shrek, E.T., and Jimmy Neutron/Nickelodeon attractions; and me and DH would really like to do the Jurassic Park, Men in Black, and Simpsons attractions to name a few. I am starting to wonder if maybe we should try to squeeze in a day at US or skip one of the Disney parks for US? We will be in Orlando for seven nights and my children will be 2, 4, 9, and 9 during our trip in August. Any suggestions? Thank you.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Each of my children (now 14, 12, 9 and 3) have had APs for US/IOA from the age of 3 on. We visit every time we go to Florida, for 3-7 days out of a 14 day trip and always find plenty to do. We tour the parks at a very leisurely pace and it's amazing to not have to rush, rush, rush to get everything in the way we do at WDW. If the kids want to linger at the Curious George Water Play area all day, that's fine with us, or if they want to spend a long time at the Jurassic Park Discovery Center, that's fine too. No matter the ages, we always find something to do.

 

[Sorsha]

DISCLAIMER: I personally have not been to Universal - please take that into account.

When we were in FL in October, DH and my older kids wanted to go to Uni for a day to see the Harry Potter stuff. We only had one extra day, so decided to concentrate on the Islands of Adventure side, since that's where Harry lives. As I was researching the park, if became apparent to me that most of the rides - no, not all - but most of them, would either scare the beejeebers out of DD7, or had height limits on them that would make them impossible for her to ride anyway. Yes, she and I could have spent all day hanging out in the playgrounds or over in Seuss land, but that really didn't seem to be worth the outrageous cost of a one day ticket.

In the end, we ended up splitting up for that day... DH took the older DDs to Uni, and DD7 and I stayed at WDW for an extra day. I didn't mind - Uni holds no great charm for me as I am not a fan of thrill rides, and I can see Harry next time. DD7 had fun having Mommy all to herself for a day, and the older DDs enjoyed their laid-back day with Dad, who is naturally less worried about thing like schedules and junk food.

 

[CdnCarrie]

My kids (3 and 6) loved both US and IofA. They have been there 3 times.

Actually I think the Universal Parks playgrounds are BETTER then the WDW. I for sure encourage you to take the kids.

Islands - Dr Seuss area is AMAZING!!! as is Olive's boat and the Jurassic Park play area. Honestly if you took your kids to just these areas it would be worth your money and time.

Universal - No matter how many Barney jokes you can think of I have to say the Barney show and play area is one of the best designed kids activity areas I have ever come across. Our first 2 trips we didn't do the Barney show as my kids weren't big fans. Finally went to it this time with the 3 year old and I was blown away by the play area! We went and got his big brother and went back for a play in Barney's backyard.

Curious George ball pit is one of my kids fav things to do in Florida! They LOVE IT!! And my 3 year old was so excited to see Diego! Of course getting him out of the Nick store was hard!!

Fieval's play area is cool too but it may be partly closed off in the low season. Woody Woodpecker rollercoaster is fun too.

For sure you may miss some of the main attractions due to height and fear factor but there is so many awesome kid playgrounds that will keep the smaller ones entertained for a full day.

And we were super impressed with the Spiderman breakfast at I of A. Way better food then most of the WDW breakfast brunches and half the price.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

My kids (3 and 6) loved both US and IofA. They have been there 3 times.

Actually I think the Universal Parks playgrounds are BETTER then the WDW. I for sure encourage you to take the kids.

Islands - Dr Seuss area is AMAZING!!! as is Olive's boat and the Jurassic Park play area. Honestly if you took your kids to just these areas it would be worth your money and time.

Universal - No matter how many Barney jokes you can think of I have to say the Barney show and play area is one of the best designed kids activity areas I have ever come across. Our first 2 trips we didn't do the Barney show as my kids weren't big fans. Finally went to it this time with the 3 year old and I was blown away by the play area! We went and got his big brother and went back for a play in Barney's backyard.

Curious George ball pit is one of my kids fav things to do in Florida! They LOVE IT!! And my 3 year old was so excited to see Diego! Of course getting him out of the Nick store was hard!!

Fieval's play area is cool too but it may be partly closed off in the low season. Woody Woodpecker rollercoaster is fun too.

For sure you may miss some of the main attractions due to height and fear factor but there is so many awesome kid playgrounds that will keep the smaller ones entertained for a full day.

And we were super impressed with the Spiderman breakfast at I of A. Way better food then most of the WDW breakfast brunches and half the price.

Are there Nickelodeon characters at US too? If so, that would be icing on the cake for my kids! I know my kids wouldn't be able to do many of the coasters or thrill rides, but it still looks like there are quite a few things there that would keep us occupied. I am impressed by how nice the kids' areas are at US/IOA. I believe Seuss Landing was named the best kids' area in the world by Amusement Today magazine. Since we wouldn't be doing many of the thrill rides or The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, would it be possible for us to do both parks in one day (maybe six or seven attractions at US including the Barney and Curious George play areas and maybe just Seuss Landing and a couple of coasters at IOA later in the afternoon)?

 

[CdnCarrie]

Characters that I can think of at US - Shrek, Donkey, Diego and Dora, Simpsons, Woody Woodpecker, Shaggy and Scooby, Alex and the Penguins, Barney, Curious George

I of A - Cat in the Hat, Spiderman and other super heros

 

[mjohnson96]

This year DD had her picture taken with Dora and Sponge Bob and then we saw several other characters from the Madagascar moves, Sherk, Scobby Doo, Simpsons, etc over at the Universal Side.

DD turned 8 and finally hit that 48 inch mark and was super excited to ride the Mummy finally. We have been going since she was an infant and there is always something fun for her to do. We also had a new one this year, who was around 7 months during the trip so not much but looking for her but she enjoys people watching

One of her favorite things is the talking fountain over in the Lost Continent area, I hope that when they expand Harry Potter they at least try to keep that around. She will strip down to her bathing suit every time when she goes to argue with the fountain