Universal trip report with 2 and 4 year old.

[motraveler]

Okay, here is my stab at a trip report. I just got back yesterday and I'm just typing...not even planning out what to say...we'll see how this goes.

To give you some background. We went to Disney last year (in January) with just the older kid. So, he was 3 1/2 when we went to Disney and we stayed at All Star Movies. So, that is what I have to compare to. This year it was me (4 months pregnant) and my hubby and my 4 3/4 year old son and 2yr, 2 month old daughter. Last year at Disney we tried not to rent strollers and we found out how much my son hates to walk...always wanting to be on Dad's shoulders. (mind you...my kids aren't petite kids either. My girl weighs about 30 pounds and my 4 yo weighs over 40 pounds.) So, this year we intended on renting a stroller everyday.

Okay, Arrival:
Bought the Mears transportation for the trip from the airport to the hotel. We arrived on Sunday around 5. We waited around 15-20 minutes for a van. Then, we had to make 3 stops before our hotel and the driver had the a/c blasting (it was only 50 or 60 degrees out!) and the jazz music a little too loud too. He waited through 3 stoplights (long ones) for a left turn arrow to turn into one of the hotels. I know, this is not his fault....but traffic was clear multiple times and my kids had already been travelling for over 6 hours so lets get the show on the road. We asked him to turn the air down and he did. I know, this is all petty stuff...but my point is...maybe a taxi or driver service is the way to go b/c this was torture to my kids. =) The trip back was wonderful...we were the only pick-up place so we went straight to the hotel..so I'm kind of split on what I really think about Mears. Depends on how much patience you have after travelling all day.

The hotel: We stayed at Royal Pacific Resort. Really nice looking resort. Check in was quick (not peak season) and painless and we were on the 3rd floor so we didn't even have to go up/down in an elevator...that was nice. One thing we noticed throughout our trip was the lack of other kids. I expected there to be lots of kids, maybe a playground, maybe a place to get a kid friendly breakfast...none of this existed. I felt like it was a hotel that catered more to conference goers or business travellers..which seemed odd since it was affiliated with the theme parks. I mean, we saw kids at the pool, and waiting for the boat and shuttle to Sea World..but I'm not sure where they were otherwise. It was too cold to use the pool most of the time we were there...so a playground would have been a nice addition. Not that I felt my kids were UNwelcome...but I didn't feel it was catered to kids. Breakfast options that I saw was room service or the Islands Dining room that offered more for breakfast than we needed. I noticed in the Loew's literature that kids 10 and under should receive a welcome package. We didn't get that. We asked for a portable crib and that was delivered with a "care package" for the baby with baby lotion, shampoo, powder (travel sizes) and single use diaper cream etc. That was a nice touch. Jake's ended up being our favorite place to eat at the hotel (we actually only tried it and the sushi bar..which offered the same kid menu as Jake's). The chicken quasadilla was what I got all 3 times we ate there and I liked it alot. The onion rings were good. My hubby got the bi-plane twice which he said was pretty good...the potatoe salad was really good. The kids "dessert" fruit plate was only 3.00 and came with quite a bit of fruit and I thought the kids macaroni and cheese was good too. The sushi bar was good and had a good variety. Their japanese bagel (basically a philly roll) was good and the Mexican roll was good (was spicy with the jalepeno in it) and we also had the caterpillar (I think that was its name)..it had strawberries on top..was also good. So, overall a good experience.

The BIGGEST selling point of the resort was the FOTL passes. The longest line I ever saw was probably 35 minutes (except pterandon (yeah, I know I spelled that wrong) flyers) and we never had a wait at all. Simpsons was the longest wait for us and that was all a wait on the ramp before the inside part. I would never go back to Universal and NOT stay on property (kid-geared or not) because this was the nicest perk of any hotel anywhere. Not to mention...even with it not being peak time and my kids being small and most the rides we would ride DON'T have a long line...you don't have to walk as much because there isn't all that back and forth stuff with FOTL. My hubby and son walked onto Spiderman 2-3 times when there would have been a 20-30 minute wait otherwise. I LOVE FOTL! I really didn't think it would make that big of a difference..but it does. I know Disney can't do this since it has so many resorts...but wouldn't that be nice??

The boat ride was nice too. Walking all the way through City Walk to get to the parks is kind of a long walk...so this was very nice. Overall I give staying on site a thumbs up. We did get to use the pool a little our second to last day and it is a nice pool. (okay, I'm going to post now so I don't lose all this stuff...see more in next post.)

 

[motraveler]

Day1 we went to Universal Studios. Rented the stroller and headed over to Simpsons. Son (4 yo) and I rode it and he liked it alot. It was a good ride.

Hubby and son went and rode MIB. Daughter and I headed over to play area. Fieval's was closed. Everything...all the slides and everything (and it was after 11:00 when it was supposed to open). I asked a park employee about it and she said she would check ...she said just the water slide should have been closed. Went down to Curious George area. All water was turned off which was good b/c it was too cold. We wandered around there some and played in the foam area. Met the boys after they road Woody's roller coaster. Went back to Fieval area and it was all open except water ride. The lady I had asked earlier saw us and said she didn't know why it was closed and it was open now. We played over there for a while. The one ball pit area where my son was too tall to go into was fun for my daughter but she couldn't get out on her own. We had to send my son in there to lift her up to the first step so she could get out. Seems a little weird. But, overall a decent play area. Next was ET. I bought my son this movie the week before we left and he'd watched it 3 times already. He loved this ride...my daughter...not so much. Spilled us out into the ET shop and had to buy my son and ET doll. He loved it.

We then headed over to Jaws. FOTL was really nice here as the wait looked kinda long and we went right on. My son was at the edge (on the side) and I'd informed him it was a fake shark and overall he seemed to like the ride ok...but he did scream at one point. (which was pretty funny). My daughter still didn't "get" the whole point of why we were there and pretty much looked scared the whole time. Good ride though...even if it is cheesy and old. I like it. (I rode it probably 18 years ago (is that possible? Am I that old?) and thought it was great then...technology obviously has come a long way).

This took us through the carnival games and we got suckered into the shooting water game. This isn't SO terrible. Had to have 4 players to get the "big" prize so at 3 bucks a person we paid 12 dollars (daughter had to play too so son could win...yeah, we are suckers and we know it) and he won a Patrick doll from Spongebob. He gets so excited when he "wins" that it is worth it. Stopped at the Disaster ride. This was interesting and entertaining and FOTL again was NICE. You think with technology today they could actually use footage taken with our group in the replay. But, we got the idea.

Next up was Jimmy Neutron and Shrek. Jimmy Neutron looked neat but daughter and I were in the non-moving seats and it wasn't that great from there. She was more interested in watching the people in the moving cars than the movie. Shrek was good. I love 4-D movies. The galloping was a little intense...but otherwise good.

My son wanted to ride ET again and my daughter and son were fighting over the doll all day so went back that way and rode it again and let her pick out her own ET doll (she picked the same one of course). Then we saw the Animal Actors. The kids enjoyed the show...it was cute.

For lunch we ate at IFFF and paid 42 dollars for lunch! Meal deal would have been a good idea but we didn't plan to eat dinner in the park. We ate dinner at Hard Rock and had good food and bad service.

Day 2 coming up.

 

[donaldduck352]

Great so far!! Goes to show that US has plenty for kids to do!!

 

[motraveler]

Day2 was at Islands of Adventure. Went into CW to eat at Cinnabon (yum)! (once we got in the park we realized they had one in there too). Walked toward Spiderman first and my son got to meet him. He really does interact well with the kids! He's awesome. We took some of our own pics but also bought theirs...very cute. Hubby and son went on Spiderman ride and were back in no time (thanks to FOTL). Onward towards Jurassic Park area. Had to go through carnival game town and do the water game. Only needed 2 players this time at 5 dollars a shot...so 10 bucks for son to "win" Punch (thats what he calls the Incredible Hulk). Daughter thought she should be able to win something too...so 10 more dollars so she could "win" a decent sized dog. Hubby and Son went on ahead to ride Pterandon Flyer (sp?) and when we got there I could see them in line still and I called him to warn him the sign said it was an hour long wait. I think my son would have liked it...but an hour in line is a long time. They came out and we all climbed on the Camp Jurassic net/cave system Very cool! We spent a while there and thought it was pretty neat.

After that we stumbled across Mythos and I remember reading all the rave reviews about the rissotto (sp?). Went in for a bite. The prices are actually very reasonable I thought. The kids meals were cheaper than regular meals at counter service. My hubby opted for a burger and I got the daily rissotto special. Well, I was disappointed in mine. It tasted fine. But it wasn't ALL THAT that everybody raved about. When others talked about it they had unique sounding ingredients (wasn't there a lot with blueberries and the like?) and mine was spinach rissotto and beef and veggies and some sauce. Mine tasted like a better version of a lot of frozen meals I eat for lunch at work. I'll probably get reamed for saying that..but thats about what it was like. Kids pizza was good and hubby's burger was decent.

After lunch off to Seuss Landing. Son met Cat in the Hat. Daughter loved the Carousel (Caro-seuss-sel) and wasn't sure of what to think of the Cat in the Hat ride. We also rode One Fish Two Fish and went to ride the Seuss Trolley (not sure of the name). My daughter was about 1/2 an inch too short but the girl said we could try it and see if they stopped us upstairs. Noone said a word so we rode it. We also spent some time in the "If I ran the Zoo" area and then worked our way out.

While waiting for the boat my kids played on the big stairs area (the place with astro-turf type grass) and had a ball. Why do we even go in the park if they are happy playing on large steps (ledges). =)

Day3 is next...Sea World.

 

[motraveler]

Day 3 was Sea World.

Took the hotel shuttle to Sea World...left at 9:40. Not a long trip at all. Bought tickets at the gate (weren't sure if we were going or not so I didn't buy any discount tickets ahead of time) and it costs us 215 dollars for 2 adults and 1 child. It kinda hurts when you see exactly how much the tickets cost and they aren't rolled up in a package deal and for only one day. But, that is what we were here for! Got our stroller and started walking...then decided we had to go back the other way to make it over to Shamu's show for the 11:30 show. The other show was at 6 and our bus back was at 5:25 so we HAD to see this show. Walked over there and saw people were already lined up so we waited too. Got pretzles and cheese for a snack/breakfast and waited. Got in and went a couple of rows back on the upper level avoiding the "soak zone" as I'd heard you get pretty wet and walking around a park wet didn't sound like fun to me. (and it was still a little chilly out in Orlando). Show finally started and it was a pretty neat show and the kids enjoyed it. Of course as most people say...I would recommend seeing this show. The lady in line in front of us said you need to get there 45 minutes before show time to get decent seats. She also said Blue Horizons was better than Shamu's Believe and that the Clyde and ???? show was hysterical and not to be missed. Also...when I saw the seats said "soak zone" instead of "splash zone"...I just thought they were exaggerating a bit. They aren't. Those folks down front got soaked...repeatedly. It was fun to watch but I would have hated to be one of them!! You've been warned. =)

Off to Happy Harbour. Son rode a couple of rides in there but we were disapointed because all the signs indicated you had to be 42" to ride and daughter wasn't. Even the carousel! The kids played around on the net system here but my daughter was too small to do much on her own. Camp Jurassic was MUCH better. About the time we were leaving Happy Harbour we noticed the signs on the rides that said they had to be 42" tall or with an adult. DUH! Why hadn't we read the signs sooner? She could ride everything but the roller coaster. She REALLY enjoyed the crab that went up and down and rode it at least twice if not more. So, Happy Harbour ended up being a hit.

From here we went through the shark encounter which was pretty neat and then stopped and ate lunch at the Spice Mill. Hubby and I both got cheeseburgers. They were the most expensive worst hamburgers I've ever had. They were terrible. (no taste at all). French fries were good. Kids had hot dogs and enjoyed sitting outside seeing the birds.

Also saw the penguin exhibit and turtles and dolphins. Neat stuff we can't see at our own zoo. Son wanted to ride Journey to Atlantis so hubby and him did that. He liked it but didn't like that his shoes were soaked and stayed in the stroller most of the rest of the time we were at the park. Stopped by the manatee exhibit but just the outside part. The kids were wore out (I think the week was starting to get to them...they are used to mid-day naps). We walked toward the front as it was getting closer to time for us to go. We got some treats and enjoyed sitting outside and people watching.

Oh, and son had to get some pressed pennies. When we go to amusement parks he likes to collect the pressed pennies. They are a complete ripoff that you have to pay 50 cents to smash your own penny...BUT...if I can steer him towards a pressed penny machine when we get off a ride and spend 51 cents on something he enjoys instead of having to buy another stuffed animal from that ride's gift shop...I'm all for it. I encourage it! He came home with at least 9 dollars in pressed pennies and probably lost a few along the way.

I would have liked to have had more time at Sea World to watch another show or two...so I didn't like the shuttle for that reason...but it was convenient otherwise. I know I could have gone back the next day for free with their promo they have...but I also didn't want to spend a whole other day there either. We planned to have some pool time the next day so that wasn't going to work for us. So, you might look into a taxi and park hours and see how much a taxi would cost you and go that route to maximize your money and time at Sea World.

Day4 and 5 coming up...

 

[motraveler]

Day 4 was spent with the morning at IOA. Mostly Seuss Landing and a trip to the Spiderman ride. My daughter was finally really getting into riding rides and enjoyed the Cat in the Hat ride 2 or 3 times this day. The employee at the Seuss Trolley ride said my daughter couldn't ride this time...too short. That ride is so much more tame than Cat in the Hat it doesn't make sense.

Lunch at Margaritaville and then back to the hotel for some pool time. It was still too chilly to play out of the water in the kids area but the kids still had fun. Dinner at Jakes again and then back to City Walk for dessert. The kids wanted to play on the big steps again and then we had TCBY.

Day5 was the day we were to leave. Got up and packed and left the luggage at the luggage area of the hotel. Back over to IOA (after we played on the steps again.) Went back to Camp Jurassic to play on the nets, played in Seuss Land on the way in and out. Daughter rode Seuss Trolley this day.

Stopped at gift shop for more pressed pennies and so son could pick out presents for his cousins at home. By the time we left we were pressed for time to make it for our Mears shuttle (only comes to RPR once an hour and it appears to be at 40 after). The boat was going under the bridge when we came out. Decided to walk back on the path...and it wasn't a bad walk. I don't think it took 10 minutes like they said it would. Got back just in time and went to airport. We had plenty of time there and just hung out and ate lunch etc.

Overall a good trip. Disney appears to have a lot more to do for young kids and families (Peter Pan, Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, train etc etc.) but the parks are also a lot larger and more expensive so there are good and bads to both. Universal Studios was somewhat disappointing to us since we had a 2 year old. It seemed the only rides she could ride were ET and Jaws and those scared her. IOA was better since it had Seuss Landing. We'll do Disney again (when the new baby is about 3 I think!) but Universal is a nice change and a cheaper alternative and FOTL rocks!!!

 

[Metro West]

So glad you had a nice time!

 

[Cyrano]

Great report. Thanks for sharing

 

[Tillikumtrainer]

It kinda hurts when you see exactly how much the tickets cost and they aren't rolled up in a package deal and for only one day.

Day4 and 5 coming up...

you do know you have a second day pass to SeaWorld when you pay at the gate, at the end of your day, you go to the guest relations and show them your entrance pass and you get the second day free.. all of you.. just remember that for next time..

 

[avic77]

Great report.

 

[phamton]

What a great trip report! It's always good to see reports with younger kids. People are always asking what the 5 and under kids can do. Most people think that Universal and Islands of Adventure only have things for adults and teens to do. It was great to read what your kids enjoyed. Stick around the boards as we can always use someone who has experienced the park with young kids to help answer questions.

 

[ZPT1022]

thanks for this! We are pretty sure we're going with the kids for our first trip to Universal in August and it's nice to hear from another family with kids. As much as we love WDW this sounds like a nice laid back alternative

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Thanks for the trip report! We'll be going to Universal with a 3 and 4 year old (and 7 month old) in September so it was very useful. I was wondering if my son would like some of the rides you mentioned your son liked. So that's good to know. My son is a daredevil so I imagine he will like them too. We're planning to stay at either Royal Pacific or Portofino Bay. Sorry to hear it's not more geared toward kids, although my kids have traveled a lot with me for business and stayed at very upscale not-at-all-for-kids hotels and have been fine. So Royal Pacific may even seem kid oriented to them.