Universal with small children

[crebok]

Would small boys ages 4 and 2 enjoy Universal. We took them both to Disney this past February and our oldest (3 years old then) loved it. We bypassed Universal that trip since we thought the boys were too young. However, given that my boys like SpongeBob, Spiderman, etc... is it worth our money to go there? If should we hit both Universal and Islands of Adventure? Or is one more appropriate than the other?

What are the crowds like in early December?

 

[phamton]

I can't add anything more than what Barry has written on kids at Universal/IoA. You can find it here: http://www.usoinfo.com/Parkinfo/kids.html

It should help you make a decision.

As far as crowds in early December, the parks are not crowded at all in early December. Your kids will love seeing all the Christmas decorations at Seuss Landing. It is called Grinchmas and is really fun for kids.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I have 4 year old twins that have been going every month since they were 2. They LOVE Seuss landing. We ride those rides over and over. They are both now tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides like Spiderman and Jimmy Neutron (you can still ride JN if you are below 40 inches but you have to stay in a stationary postition. Both of them love Jaws, they can both do Twister and Earthquake. Storm Force is like Teacups but a little faster. That one is always a fav. The Woody Woodpecker coaster and the Flying Unicorn coaster are really liked too. You only have to be 36 inches to ride those so if your 2 year old is big for his age he might be able to ride it. They have a great Curious George play area and a fievel playground. The Barney show is something we always do and they Barney playground is nice too. We do the child swap alot on the big rides and we usually sit outside and eat popcorn (or feed it to the birds like my daughter does) and wait. They aren't very good at waiting normally, but they always do good there. ROTM has a family waiting area with a Mummy cartoon is playing. My kids love it so much. I have been wanting to find out if it is available to buy because they love it that much.
Our favorite restaurant is Margaritaville. They have a great menu for kids and the kids menu is actually a parrothead mask! They love that. If you eat there after 5pm there are people walking around on stilts making baloon hats for the kids. We eat there as a family of 5 for under 50.00 at dinner.
We are regulars so if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

 

[crebok]

Thanks for all of the details on Universal. My 3 yr old, who will be 4 when we go to the park is 40", my 2 yr old is 36". Were most of the rides you were mentioning at Universal or Islands of Adventure? Should we plan to do both?

Also, someone recommended the Christmas events at Universal. I see that they don't start until Dec 10th. Originally we were going to arrive 12/1 and depart 12/10. Is the Christmas stuff at Universal worth me shifting my trip back a couple of days?

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Oh yeah, you have to do both. I couldn't see doing one without the other. There are so many good things at both parks. Check out the map at www.universalorlando.com

 

[wendypooh]

On our last trip my ds was 4. We did both parks, he loved it all, and could ride on almost everything. He even rode on spiderman......... he didn't like twister, and was too small for MIB--which we didn't understand, since he was able to ride spidey....... oh well!! He loves spongebob and shrek........ so he loved that part. I know they don't still have slime-time, but we were on the show! He loved E.T. --- for a lot of the rides, etc..... we rented movies pertaining to what he would see, like, e.t., cat in the hat, shrek, etc... etc.... so that he would be familiar with everything. He loved it so much, and had a blast. I think your little one's will have a blast!!! If it were me, I'd change the trip by a few days if you can, so that you can enjoy the christmas festivities!!! p.s. at margaritaville, my ds loved the erupting volcano!!!!

 

[phamton]

Originally posted by wendypooh
he didn't like twister, and was too small for MIB--which we didn't understand, since he was able to ride spidey

The height requirements for Spiderman and MIB are different.

http://themeparks.universalstudios.com/orlando/website/phi_guest_services.html#height

MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™ - Must be at least 42”
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man® - Must be at least 40”

 

[zaxmom]

We have been going since mine were almost 2 and 4. They are now 4 and 6. They love these parks. There really is a lot they can do. If you have to pick, there are probably more rides at US than IOA for your youngest one to do. I would try and do both if you can. Universal is very economical when it comes to multi-day tickets. You can probably buy 2 day + 1 day free if you have enough time. Even though you will be there in a slow time. You might want to consider staying on site while you are there and take advantage of Front of The Line. It really helps with young kids and makes it easier for Mom and Dad to ride the bigger rides with parent swap if they want to. These parks are perfect for young boys. They have Cat in The Hat, Superheroes, Dinosaurs, Aliens, Flying cars, and all those great characters. Very few princesses!

 

[wendypooh]

Phantom........... Thanks!!!! Actually, we knew what the height req.'s were for both.......... not only are they posted on the link you sent, and the literature that you can get from anywhere pertaining to the parks, it is also posted outside of each ride!

Perhaps I didn't word it correctly in the prior post, but our "confusion" was that he was permitted to ride period.
He actually wasn't tall enough for either one, however he was permitted to ride spiderman. Clearly the req.'s were not being enforced on that day. Anyway, to the other poster, he loved both parks, and had a wonderful time, as I'm certain your little one's will also!!

 

[Mainebound]

We spent 3 nights at HRH in March with our boys ages 2 and 4 and we all had a GREAT time. Having been a WDW fanatic for so many years, we had never even considered Universal, but boy were we missing out. We were floored by how beautiful the hotel was, how easy and convenient everything was, how easy it was to navigate the parks and resorts, and how much there was to do for our boys. The level of service everywhere was every bit as wonderful as WDW, as was the food. We will always spend more time at WDW because it has 4 parks and 2 water parks, but now we will ALWAYS spend at least 3 nights on site at Universal when we go to Orlando. As a matter of fact, our stay at HRH is already planned for March 05!