silverspark7
My oh my what a wonderful day
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2003
- Messages
- 172
We did a long weekend trip after a conference I attended in May with my DH and DD2. 3 days was pretty perfect. We had the "park hoppers" and enjoyed switching back and forth, although we found ourselves in IoA a LOT. I was surprised at how much there was to do for toddlers!
In IoA, DD LOVED Seussland! We spent a good chunk of time in the splash area. She was right at 36" so able to ride the Cat in the Hat, which we basically walked on every time. She also loved One Fish Two Fish (kind of like a wet Dumbo ride) and the carouseussel! We got to meet the Grinch and Lorax, huge hits at bedtime in our house.
Mom and dad got to single rider swap a few times for Jurassic Park, we both waited only 5 minutes. Single rider is the way to do baby swap if you only have two adults. Otherwise you have to park the stroller and tote your kiddo through the long queue, then wait in a holding area to ride. We didn't baby swap once. It was easier for one to take the kid in the stroller and go to a kid friendly area or keep her in the shade while napping. We were able to walk on or wait only a few minutes for Hulk, the two HP rides, Men in Black, transformers, and ripsaw falls. Sometimes the single rider line was closed, but we just moved on.
DD also loved Harry Potter area. She was fascinated with the Gringott's dragon and all the little shops. The shopping is not really stroller friendly so it's might be smart to park it and wander around. Knockturn alley was cool (literally, it is air conditioned!) and we loved riding the Hogwarts Express between the parks.
Food wise, we avoided City Walk. The Loews Sapphire actually had two great options on site. We ate at strong water tavern (surprisingly kid friendly) and enjoyed mixed small plates from a tapas-like menu. Amatista is the larger restaurant and we are there twice. Great coastal/ Caribbean food. The fish sandwich is awesome.
In Park we enjoyed both the Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron. We had fish n chips, a turkey leg, and Shepherd's pie at Broomsticks and it might have been my favorite meal. At Leaky we had breakfast which was very good. We also ate gyros at Fire Eaters grill in IoA that were good for quick service Park food.
We made sure to take advantage of the awesome pool at the Sapphire by going back in the afternoons to cool off and rest. Of course, most of our time was dictated by the 2yo (and whether agree napped) but she was such a trooper and had the best time. She was able to ride several of the rides (no height limit and 36"+) and still talks about One Fish Two Fish and "saving ET" even after a few weeks since the vacation
She also got to enjoy Feivels play area (with waterslide accompanied by mom). I was skeptical because I had heard Universal was too thrill heavy for toddlers, but they've done a great job of incorporating spash pads and playgrounds for the littles. 3 days was a good amount to feel like we really saw what we wanted to.
Excited to ride the CaroSeussel:
For those of you with trips coming up, hope you have as much fun as we did!
In IoA, DD LOVED Seussland! We spent a good chunk of time in the splash area. She was right at 36" so able to ride the Cat in the Hat, which we basically walked on every time. She also loved One Fish Two Fish (kind of like a wet Dumbo ride) and the carouseussel! We got to meet the Grinch and Lorax, huge hits at bedtime in our house.
Mom and dad got to single rider swap a few times for Jurassic Park, we both waited only 5 minutes. Single rider is the way to do baby swap if you only have two adults. Otherwise you have to park the stroller and tote your kiddo through the long queue, then wait in a holding area to ride. We didn't baby swap once. It was easier for one to take the kid in the stroller and go to a kid friendly area or keep her in the shade while napping. We were able to walk on or wait only a few minutes for Hulk, the two HP rides, Men in Black, transformers, and ripsaw falls. Sometimes the single rider line was closed, but we just moved on.
DD also loved Harry Potter area. She was fascinated with the Gringott's dragon and all the little shops. The shopping is not really stroller friendly so it's might be smart to park it and wander around. Knockturn alley was cool (literally, it is air conditioned!) and we loved riding the Hogwarts Express between the parks.
Food wise, we avoided City Walk. The Loews Sapphire actually had two great options on site. We ate at strong water tavern (surprisingly kid friendly) and enjoyed mixed small plates from a tapas-like menu. Amatista is the larger restaurant and we are there twice. Great coastal/ Caribbean food. The fish sandwich is awesome.
In Park we enjoyed both the Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron. We had fish n chips, a turkey leg, and Shepherd's pie at Broomsticks and it might have been my favorite meal. At Leaky we had breakfast which was very good. We also ate gyros at Fire Eaters grill in IoA that were good for quick service Park food.
We made sure to take advantage of the awesome pool at the Sapphire by going back in the afternoons to cool off and rest. Of course, most of our time was dictated by the 2yo (and whether agree napped) but she was such a trooper and had the best time. She was able to ride several of the rides (no height limit and 36"+) and still talks about One Fish Two Fish and "saving ET" even after a few weeks since the vacation
She also got to enjoy Feivels play area (with waterslide accompanied by mom). I was skeptical because I had heard Universal was too thrill heavy for toddlers, but they've done a great job of incorporating spash pads and playgrounds for the littles. 3 days was a good amount to feel like we really saw what we wanted to.Excited to ride the CaroSeussel:
For those of you with trips coming up, hope you have as much fun as we did!
