Universal with babies

[Tara1988]

My nephew wants to go to universal for his 6th birthday. My oldest son is about 2 months younger than him and they are best friends so he wants us to join them. We were already planning a Disney trip around that time, so it won't be too much of a problem to add on universal and just make our trip a little longer. The problem is, we also have a younger son who will be almost 2 and a new baby girl who will be 3-4 months. I did plenty research and feel confident about taking them to Disney, but universal is a completely different beast for those ages. So... Talk to me about baby wearing, breastfeeding, things my youngest son can do. I know there aren't a ton of rides for them, but is there any at all a newborn can ride, or will we just be taking turns and having to sit out with her on every ride. I remember their baby swap system was a whole lot better than Disney's when my oldest was 16 months, but I've never been with a baby that couldn't walk, let alone sit up by themselves.

 

[PantherPete]

There are not many toddler rides at Universal. And off the top of my head, I'm not sure there is anything suitable for a newborn. Maybe Cat in the Hat. Maybe the carousel. That is about it. The toddler should be able to do those plus a few others, possibly Woody Woodpecker and maybe E.T. I think Minion Mayhem would be ok too.

I don't think having a newborn there would be frowned upon though. Breastfeeding is generally accepted just about anywhere these days even by the most uptight folks. Easy for me to say because I'm a dude, but if you treat it like any other public place, you'll be fine.

 

[schumigirl]

There are first aid stations around the parks that have nursing stations if you wish to do that to feed your child a little more privately. I have seen ladies Breast feeding in the parks......one was sat opposite me in the Owlry......had no idea that's what she was doing as she was so discreet till she moved the little tot........no one batted an eye lid. Same as anywhere public I suppose.

Not sure about sitting on any rides with a baby in your lap.......you'll probably need to baby with swap with that child.

Have a look at the park maps........www.universalorlando.com

It has all the rides and any restrictions that each ride has........also has where the first aid stations are in the parks. And a whole load more info on anything you can think of.

 

[mkwj]

We were just there with our 9 month old. Having her made it better in some ways. The child swap is a thousand times better than Disney's. I always used the rooms to nurse my daughter. My older two loved that they got to ride the rides more than once without having to go back and stand in line. The only ride she could do was the carousel. She was just happy being outside and riding in her stroller. I took my sling for standing in line.

 

[atricks]

The Hogwarts Express you can do the lap sitting with, and they'll park your stroller in the back of the train car. That and shows are about all you can do with the baby. The Barney show is pretty well done.

 

[JOCAmom]

We took our grandson last year when he was 10 months old. There wasn't much for him to ride.....only Hogwarts Express and the carousel both of which he loved. Your toddler should have plenty to keep him interested. Camp Jurassic and the Curious George area would be great places for him to run off some steam. There is also an area is Seuss Landing with water spouts and things to climb on that he would probably enjoy.

My daughter breastfed my grandson at the parks. She didn't bother with the first aid stations since they usually weren't convenient to where we were at the time. She would just find a slightly secluded bench/place to sit and feed my grandson. Nobody gave her a second look. Most people are so busy looking at everything else, they never even notice a breastfeeding mom.

When we went through the lines, we all just took turn holding my grandson. But if baby wearing is what you do normally, it would probably be much easier for you in line. We had 4 adults and one older teen to help with the baby so passing him back and forth was easy.

 

[kohlby]

It's been a while since I took a baby to Universal so I can't remember all I did. My first with-kids trip included Disney and Universal and had a barely 3 year old and a 2 month old. Those two kids went again about 6 months later. About three years later, we went with three kids, with the baby of the moment being 11 months.

It's really easy when they are babies. They may want to nurse constantly and need lots of extra diaper changes if they are still in that newborn phase, but otherwise, it's pretty easy. I had a sling and the baby stayed in the sling. I also had a stroller with recline but the 3 year old of the moment used that. (One exception - the trip that had an 8 month old was a baby going through a phase where she could only sleep lying down so she used the stroller for a nap. The 3 year old used it the rest of the time).

I like that child swap has everyone together. So, even if the baby can't ride or 2 year old can't ride, you still get to stay together and the 2 year old will get to see things in the line. They also often have a show/movie playing in the child swap rooms.

I've breastfed all over Disney and Universal. My youngest has sensory issues which made him not able to even taste solids until he was 2 years old - meaning, he nursed for all his calories. At 11 months, his frequent nursing isn't all that unusual. I nursed him at both Disney and Universal several times a day into toddlerhood and past. It was never a big deal. I did not use the nursing rooms since it's so much easier just to nurse where ever you are.

Though there aren't a lot of rides for 2 year olds, there are a lot of things for a two year old - like the little play area in the Dr. Suess area, Camp Jurassic Play area, Me Olive ship to play on, Jurrasic Discovery Center, Curious George Play area, Fieval play area, the shooting ball place near Curious George, the talking fountain, Animal Actors show, etc.

 

[RMulieri]

The baby swap is nice and unfortunately you wont be able to really ride much with a lap infant. There is also not a lot of rides for the younger ones..There are play areas but not a lot of rides

 

[Tara1988]

It's been a while since I took a baby to Universal so I can't remember all I did. My first with-kids trip included Disney and Universal and had a barely 3 year old and a 2 month old. Those two kids went again about 6 months later. About three years later, we went with three kids, with the baby of the moment being 11 months.

It's really easy when they are babies. They may want to nurse constantly and need lots of extra diaper changes if they are still in that newborn phase, but otherwise, it's pretty easy. I had a sling and the baby stayed in the sling. I also had a stroller with recline but the 3 year old of the moment used that. (One exception - the trip that had an 8 month old was a baby going through a phase where she could only sleep lying down so she used the stroller for a nap. The 3 year old used it the rest of the time).

I like that child swap has everyone together. So, even if the baby can't ride or 2 year old can't ride, you still get to stay together and the 2 year old will get to see things in the line. They also often have a show/movie playing in the child swap rooms.

I've breastfed all over Disney and Universal. My youngest has sensory issues which made him not able to even taste solids until he was 2 years old - meaning, he nursed for all his calories. At 11 months, his frequent nursing isn't all that unusual. I nursed him at both Disney and Universal several times a day into toddlerhood and past. It was never a big deal. I did not use the nursing rooms since it's so much easier just to nurse where ever you are.

Though there aren't a lot of rides for 2 year olds, there are a lot of things for a two year old - like the little play area in the Dr. Suess area, Camp Jurassic Play area, Me Olive ship to play on, Jurrasic Discovery Center, Curious George Play area, Fieval play area, the shooting ball place near Curious George, the talking fountain, Animal Actors show, etc.

Is it even worth it for me and the little ones to go? Or should I just send my oldest?

 

[kohlby]

Is it even worth it for me and the little ones to go? Or should I just send my oldest?

I'd go. You will get a chance to ride that way too. My youngest liked the childswap rooms when he was 2, so it wasn't a big deal. It may have helped that we had our backpack with snacks in it too, but I'm sure the tv/movie playing helped. Also, your other child will be able to do the ride twice in a row that way. He liked being able to walk through the ride in most cases. (Mummy was/is the exception as the darkness scares him). I think the only ride we didn't use childswap for was RRR since the line was very short at RRR and there's a nice spot to wait outside.

 

[jannalynn_11]

We have taken an infant, toddler, 5 year old, and grandmother in a wheelchair and found that they all enjoyed it. I second the opinions about the child swap rooms being great; our toddler & 5 year old couldn't ride the bigger rides/roller coasters, but they loved being in the child swap room & feeling like she was part of the action (you can see the loading zone/ride start from most of them, and they thought that was so cool). Also, for anyone even remotely interested in Harry Potter, walking through the castle and then just exiting or hanging out in the child swap room at the end is still very cool!

 

[Kivara]

Dragon Challenge had (quoting my youngest) "worst child swap ever."

It was a narrow hallway-style room with a bench facing a stone wall. That's it.

Besides that one, all the other child swap rooms we did were amazing. (HP movies in the castle's room, Spider-Man cartoons in the Spidey ride's room, etc)

 

[Tara1988]

I'd go. You will get a chance to ride that way too. My youngest liked the childswap rooms when he was 2, so it wasn't a big deal. It may have helped that we had our backpack with snacks in it too, but I'm sure the tv/movie playing helped. Also, your other child will be able to do the ride twice in a row that way. He liked being able to walk through the ride in most cases. (Mummy was/is the exception as the darkness scares him). I think the only ride we didn't use childswap for was RRR since the line was very short at RRR and there's a nice spot to wait outside.

If it was just the one younger one, I would be ok. But with him and a practically newborn, I just don't know if it's worth the trouble. The only adults will be me, my sister and a reluctant grandma who is known for complaining throughout vacations. My husband and I just went for my birthday in October, so I wouldn't be too upset about missing out on the park, just the time with my nephew for his birthday.

 

[kohlby]

If it was just the one younger one, I would be ok. But with him and a practically newborn, I just don't know if it's worth the trouble. The only adults will be me, my sister and a reluctant grandma who is known for complaining throughout vacations. My husband and I just went for my birthday in October, so I wouldn't be too upset about missing out on the park, just the time with my nephew for his birthday.

Ah, okay. I'd still do it since you would have two adults and four kids, making it manageable. (I'm not counting grandma in the adults!) The only issue where Grandma would need to step up would be if neither of the oldest two kids is at least 48". For example, Woody Woodpecker is a two seater. And kids under 48" can't ride without an adult next to them. So, if both kids are under 48", then two adults would be needed to ride with them. (The only other option is to hope someone will help you out. I rode with under 48" kids who weren't mine several times on Woody Woodpecker during our last trip to help out other familes. My youngest barely made 48" and rode that ride over and over and over).