Universal for Families

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

Hello!

we just returned from our first trip to Universal with our 3 kids ages 8, 5 and 4. I wanted to share some thoughts on our trip in case it helps anyone else, especially those traveling with kind of younger kids.

1. Cabana Bay was an amazing hotel for families. We played every night in their sand play area, they have lots of toys for the kids to play with. Also lots of yard games, and of course the pools. If you have little ones that like splash areas they have a pretty big one that is gated and (at least when we were there) it was very uncrowded. Also if you get the refillable resort mug you can also get slushies with it!

2. We knew going into it that our kids were too short to ride some things. I will say there were several attractions that they were big enough for but they got too scared to try it during the pre show. While we honestly didn't ride a ton together we had SO much fun - my son still liked the roller coaster type rides (but was freaked out by the screen rides), my daughter loved the screen rides (and was freaked out by roller coaster types lol) and our youngest had a blast on the playgrounds. There really was plenty for everyone to do.

3. Child swap was so easy! I love that we could wait together and then the people riding were only gone a short time since you separate so close to boarding. Our favorite child swap room was Jimmy Fallon, loved the clips and Hashtag came to visit!

4. We encountered few kids meals, we only saw them at our hotel and the Seuss eatery. We split meals and I had actually brought Dixie cups and paper plates from home which made it much easier. Refillable popcorn bucket was delicious and a great value!

5. Probably the thing we were most impressed with were the employees. Without exception every one was nice, welcoming and fun. They seemed happy to be there and happy that we were there too.

6. Lastly, the single rider lines were super easy to use for my husband and I to jump on an attraction here and there - super quick and for us was basically a walk in experience.

I hope this helps anyone planning a trip with younger kids! I do think later elementary and older kids could of course do a lot more but we had an awesome time and already can't wait to go back!

Oops forgot one thing - if you have a toddler or preschooler there is a special bathroom back behind the Barney show that has a bunch of toddler sized toilets! The whole restroom is themed like a school and has little sinks too. My 4 year old is still talking about that bathroom lol!

 

[imprint]

Hello!

we just returned from our first trip to Universal with our 3 kids ages 8, 5 and 4. I wanted to share some thoughts on our trip in case it helps anyone else, especially those traveling with kind of younger kids.

1. Cabana Bay was an amazing hotel for families. We played every night in their sand play area, they have lots of toys for the kids to play with. Also lots of yard games, and of course the pools. If you have little ones that like splash areas they have a pretty big one that is gated and (at least when we were there) it was very uncrowded. Also if you get the refillable resort mug you can also get slushies with it!

2. We knew going into it that our kids were too short to ride some things. I will say there were several attractions that they were big enough for but they got too scared to try it during the pre show. While we honestly didn't ride a ton together we had SO much fun - my son still liked the roller coaster type rides (but was freaked out by the screen rides), my daughter loved the screen rides (and was freaked out by roller coaster types lol) and our youngest had a blast on the playgrounds. There really was plenty for everyone to do.

3. Child swap was so easy! I love that we could wait together and then the people riding were only gone a short time since you separate so close to boarding. Our favorite child swap room was Jimmy Fallon, loved the clips and Hashtag came to visit!

4. We encountered few kids meals, we only saw them at our hotel and the Seuss eatery. We split meals and I had actually brought Dixie cups and paper plates from home which made it much easier. Refillable popcorn bucket was delicious and a great value!

5. Probably the thing we were most impressed with were the employees. Without exception every one was nice, welcoming and fun. They seemed happy to be there and happy that we were there too.

6. Lastly, the single rider lines were super easy to use for my husband and I to jump on an attraction here and there - super quick and for us was basically a walk in experience.

I hope this helps anyone planning a trip with younger kids! I do think later elementary and older kids could of course do a lot more but we had an awesome time and already can't wait to go back!

Oops forgot one thing - if you have a toddler or preschooler there is a special bathroom back behind the Barney show that has a bunch of toddler sized toilets! The whole restroom is themed like a school and has little sinks too. My 4 year old is still talking about that bathroom lol!

I'm happy your family had a great time! Excellent report, and I hope others will read your report when they are thinking about taking kids in the same age range.

 

[damo]

Wow, thanks for the Barney bathroom info. I wish Disney had more of these. Those big noisy toilets are awful for toddlers.

Can you give a bit more info? Does the Barney attraction have to be open to get to the bathrooms? Do you go through the interactive area to get to them?

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

I'm not sure if the Barney show has to be open - they seem to be the closest bathrooms to the Curious George play area as well. If you go back near the Barney statue and look to your right there is a cute little park area, the bathroom is a little brick building near the back. I never would have found it on my own, we happened to ask someone when we went to the show. It really is nice for little ones!

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

Oh and no, it's not through the interactive play area, you'll have to exit that building and go out through the park \garden looking area ☺

 

[macraven]

I do appreciate you sharing your experiences at the park !

Many ask if the parks have enough things to do for pre schoolers

I see a lot of families in the parks with little ones but we don’t get a lot of posters to share here
So

 

[Lilbunnyk]

Thanks for sharing. We are going in January with a 1,3 and 4 year old. I’m happy to hear that there are things for the little kids to do!

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

Thanks for sharing. We are going in January with a 1,3 and 4 year old. I’m happy to hear that there are things for the little kids to do!

Have fun, we had a great time! If you're a Disney regular you're going to love their stroller parking sections - I think the most we saw was maybe 7 or 8 in the Diagon Alley "Pram Parking", it was so much easier!

 

[Andie16]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! We are thinking of taking our kids ages 8 and 6. If you get a chance would you mind sharing your children’s favourite attractions? Also if any attractions were unexpectedly scary for your kids that would be really helpful info.

 

[bchbetha]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! We are thinking of taking our kids ages 8 and 6. If you get a chance would you mind sharing your children’s favourite attractions? Also if any attractions were unexpectedly scary for your kids that would be really helpful info.

My youngest was scared in the line for the Mummy and never made it onto the ride. Good thing because that would have scared them too. He was 8. Shame though because it is an awesome ride! He would have liked the ride part but not themeing.

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! We are thinking of taking our kids ages 8 and 6. If you get a chance would you mind sharing your children’s favourite attractions? Also if any attractions were unexpectedly scary for your kids that would be really helpful info.

My 8 year old son's favorites were Men in Black, Woody Woodpecker coaster, Bilge Rat Barges and Flight of the Hippogriff. He got nervous during the Despicable Me pre show (it was our first ride) and jumped over to join me and his little sister on the non moving seats. He really enjoyed the show and just skipped the moving seat.

My 5 (almost 6) daughter's favorites were Minions, Jimmy Fallon, and Kang and Kodo's Twirl n Hurl. She was very nervous about "coasters" this year and got very scared on Woody Woodpecker, they actually let her off the ride right before it started. She did ride Hippogriff though (which is much faster) but didn't want to do it again lol.

4 year old daughter loved the Barney show, One Fish Two Fish, the Seuss trolley and all of the play places. She was scared of all of the characters besides Betty Boop lol.

For 8 and 6 year olds there are a lot of rides they can do! My kids are more on the timid side when it comes to rides and we still had an amazing time! ☺

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

Hello!

we just returned from our first trip to Universal with our 3 kids ages 8, 5 and 4. I wanted to share some thoughts on our trip in case it helps anyone else, especially those traveling with kind of younger kids.

1. Cabana Bay was an amazing hotel for families. We played every night in their sand play area, they have lots of toys for the kids to play with. Also lots of yard games, and of course the pools. If you have little ones that like splash areas they have a pretty big one that is gated and (at least when we were there) it was very uncrowded. Also if you get the refillable resort mug you can also get slushies with it!

2. We knew going into it that our kids were too short to ride some things. I will say there were several attractions that they were big enough for but they got too scared to try it during the pre show. While we honestly didn't ride a ton together we had SO much fun - my son still liked the roller coaster type rides (but was freaked out by the screen rides), my daughter loved the screen rides (and was freaked out by roller coaster types lol) and our youngest had a blast on the playgrounds. There really was plenty for everyone to do.

3. Child swap was so easy! I love that we could wait together and then the people riding were only gone a short time since you separate so close to boarding. Our favorite child swap room was Jimmy Fallon, loved the clips and Hashtag came to visit!

4. We encountered few kids meals, we only saw them at our hotel and the Seuss eatery. We split meals and I had actually brought Dixie cups and paper plates from home which made it much easier. Refillable popcorn bucket was delicious and a great value!

5. Probably the thing we were most impressed with were the employees. Without exception every one was nice, welcoming and fun. They seemed happy to be there and happy that we were there too.

6. Lastly, the single rider lines were super easy to use for my husband and I to jump on an attraction here and there - super quick and for us was basically a walk in experience.

I hope this helps anyone planning a trip with younger kids! I do think later elementary and older kids could of course do a lot more but we had an awesome time and already can't wait to go back!

Oops forgot one thing - if you have a toddler or preschooler there is a special bathroom back behind the Barney show that has a bunch of toddler sized toilets! The whole restroom is themed like a school and has little sinks too. My 4 year old is still talking about that bathroom lol!

Thank you for sharing. We are planning our first trip with a 5 and 12 year old, so it is nice to see some tips from a family with kids at different ages.

 

[neverenoughtime]

Thank you so much for sharing. We have not been to Universal since 2008 and we are looking forward to going in a couple of weeks. The one thing I was a little worried about was if there was stroller parking and you have eased my mind. Will definitely have to look for that Barney bathroom, my daughter would love it.

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

Thank you so much for sharing. We have not been to Universal since 2008 and we are looking forward to going in a couple of weeks. The one thing I was a little worried about was if there was stroller parking and you have eased my mind. Will definitely have to look for that Barney bathroom, my daughter would love it.

Stroller parking was easy to find and had clear signage - also not crowded at all when we went! Have so much fun!!

 

[angryduck71]

@PrincessDaisyDuck -- from one duck to another -- what a great report. I hate when I see parents think their kids are too young for Universal. My kid's first theme park was universal. He was 3 or 4... in the stroller... saw the Hulk, pointed to it and said, "I wanna ride THAT!!" I told him not yet, but when he was older... he LOVED the Seuss rides then (especially the sky trolley one -- even though we had the one-ride-only express pass, the attendant let us use it as many times as we wanted for that ride). As he got older, I feel that experience with the Hulk (I reminded him of it over and over) made him a thrill seeker. He's never really been afraid of any ride... and was so excited when -- at age 7 or 8 I think -- he was just tall enough to ride Hulk finally. But, all those years between, he loved doing different things (the pools at the resorts included). You just have to know your kid and know that, even when young and they can't do EVERYTHING, there is something for everyone. (Now, at age 12 -- next month 13 -- he has proclaimed he is "too old" for Disney other than Galaxy's Edge. LOL. I keep saying, "well, I'm 35 years older than you and I will NEVER be too old for Disney!")

 

[Bethany10]

Probably the thing we were most impressed with were the employees. Without exception every one was nice, welcoming and fun. They seemed happy to be there and happy that we were there too.

This was our experience too, everyone working, from the ride handlers to the people picking up the trash were incredibly friendly.

if you have a toddler or preschooler there is a special bathroom back behind the Barney show that has a bunch of toddler sized toilets! The whole restroom is themed like a school and has little sinks too. My 4 year old is still talking about that bathroom lol!

Ok, when my now big 10 year old DS was a toddler this would have been a Godsend. He was terrified of the self flush toilets, and then my DH taught him how to use the urinal. Only he was too short to get it to self flush, and would insist that I go in and flush it. Of course, the statement mom can't go into the boys bathroom didn't make sense to him. I can't tell you the number of times I have called into a mens bathroom to see if anyone was in there so I could flush the freaking urinal for him. sigh. Things that are going to get brought up when he brings home a significant other.

Finally, as a non coaster person, for those of you who have little ones, we loved Seussland and Cat In the Hat is one of my most favorite rides in the park. The train was cute, but not nearly as neat as CITH.

 

[angryduck71]

Finally, as a non coaster person, for those of you who have little ones, we loved Seussland and Cat In the Hat is one of my most favorite rides in the park. The train was cute, but not nearly as neat as CITH.

LOL -- I totally agree with this. Especially after my boy made me ride the trolley/train about 300 times in one day. I think we've only ridden it once one other trip. I think he burnt out too!

 

[CPanther95]

Hello!

we just returned from our first trip to Universal with our 3 kids ages 8, 5 and 4. I wanted to share some thoughts on our trip in case it helps anyone else, especially those traveling with kind of younger kids.

1. Cabana Bay was an amazing hotel for families. We played every night in their sand play area, they have lots of toys for the kids to play with. Also lots of yard games, and of course the pools. If you have little ones that like splash areas they have a pretty big one that is gated and (at least when we were there) it was very uncrowded. Also if you get the refillable resort mug you can also get slushies with it!

2. We knew going into it that our kids were too short to ride some things. I will say there were several attractions that they were big enough for but they got too scared to try it during the pre show. While we honestly didn't ride a ton together we had SO much fun - my son still liked the roller coaster type rides (but was freaked out by the screen rides), my daughter loved the screen rides (and was freaked out by roller coaster types lol) and our youngest had a blast on the playgrounds. There really was plenty for everyone to do.

3. Child swap was so easy! I love that we could wait together and then the people riding were only gone a short time since you separate so close to boarding. Our favorite child swap room was Jimmy Fallon, loved the clips and Hashtag came to visit!

4. We encountered few kids meals, we only saw them at our hotel and the Seuss eatery. We split meals and I had actually brought Dixie cups and paper plates from home which made it much easier. Refillable popcorn bucket was delicious and a great value!

5. Probably the thing we were most impressed with were the employees. Without exception every one was nice, welcoming and fun. They seemed happy to be there and happy that we were there too.

6. Lastly, the single rider lines were super easy to use for my husband and I to jump on an attraction here and there - super quick and for us was basically a walk in experience.

I hope this helps anyone planning a trip with younger kids! I do think later elementary and older kids could of course do a lot more but we had an awesome time and already can't wait to go back!

Oops forgot one thing - if you have a toddler or preschooler there is a special bathroom back behind the Barney show that has a bunch of toddler sized toilets! The whole restroom is themed like a school and has little sinks too. My 4 year old is still talking about that bathroom lol!

Nice having a vacation that doesn't make you feel like you need a vacation by the time its over, isn't it?

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

@PrincessDaisyDuck -- from one duck to another -- what a great report. I hate when I see parents think their kids are too young for Universal. My kid's first theme park was universal. He was 3 or 4... in the stroller... saw the Hulk, pointed to it and said, "I wanna ride THAT!!" I told him not yet, but when he was older... he LOVED the Seuss rides then (especially the sky trolley one -- even though we had the one-ride-only express pass, the attendant let us use it as many times as we wanted for that ride). As he got older, I feel that experience with the Hulk (I reminded him of it over and over) made him a thrill seeker. He's never really been afraid of any ride... and was so excited when -- at age 7 or 8 I think -- he was just tall enough to ride Hulk finally. But, all those years between, he loved doing different things (the pools at the resorts included). You just have to know your kid and know that, even when young and they can't do EVERYTHING, there is something for everyone. (Now, at age 12 -- next month 13 -- he has proclaimed he is "too old" for Disney other than Galaxy's Edge. LOL. I keep saying, "well, I'm 35 years older than you and I will NEVER be too old for Disney!")

Ha, that is awesome!! I'm 35 and still too scared to try the Hulk lol! It looks SO fun though maybe next trip if I can get myself to do it lol!

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

This was our experience too, everyone working, from the ride handlers to the people picking up the trash were incredibly friendly.



Ok, when my now big 10 year old DS was a toddler this would have been a Godsend. He was terrified of the self flush toilets, and then my DH taught him how to use the urinal. Only he was too short to get it to self flush, and would insist that I go in and flush it. Of course, the statement mom can't go into the boys bathroom didn't make sense to him. I can't tell you the number of times I have called into a mens bathroom to see if anyone was in there so I could flush the freaking urinal for him. sigh. Things that are going to get brought up when he brings home a significant other.

Finally, as a non coaster person, for those of you who have little ones, we loved Seussland and Cat In the Hat is one of my most favorite rides in the park. The train was cute, but not nearly as neat as CITH.

That is so funny! Public bathrooms are so scary for little ones! We actually also saw a toddler stall at a rest stop on our way home, maybe in Georgia? Hopefully it's becoming a trend!