Universal with small kids - is there really nothing for them to do?

[mom2connorandcaleb]

My DH really really wants to go to Universal on our trip in October. Mostly because of Harry Potter. We have 3 kids, ages 6, 5, and almost 2. Other people have said not to go because the kids are too young. Is there really nothing for the kids to do? My older 2 boys love Harry Potter too! We are going to have my Mom and Dad with us too so we could possibly have them take the boys to another park while we go. Help, what should we do?

 

[rwdavis2]

There is Seuss's Landing at Islands of Adventure. At Universal proper there is an ET ride, Barney, an animal act and several others. I suggest you head over to www.universalorlando.com and take a look for yourself. I will say much of both parks is geared for kids a bit older.
BD

 

[IdesOmarch]

Absolutely not, there are tons of things to do, Suess Landing (right before Harry potter in IOA) is all kiddie rides, including one of the best carousels, if not the best in the world, HP has a kiddie ride. Jurassic Park has a huge play area for kids that is just terrific (adults too The older kids I think could ride Spiderman, one of the best rides in the park. Then the Universal park also has a ton of things for small kids, not the least which being ET, which is a great flying type ride. ALthough the 2 year old will be limited with most things, but I think that would go for any park. But Universal has baby swap too, so you and your husband can take turns riding the rides while the other baby sits.

 

[Bluer101]

It also depends on their height and being adventurous.

My son has been going since he was 1 1/2. He enjoyed a lot of the sights and shows when he was real young. Then right when he turned 5 he was tall enough for some of the bigger rides, like Jurassic Park, Dudley Do Right, Popeyes, etc. Then at age 6 he was excited to be tall enough for The Mummy. Last trip he just missed Dr. Dooms at age 7 but loves Rip Ride Rockit. Now he is 8 and is now just tall enough for the major coasters, Dragons Challenge and Hulk. He keeps having me measure him leading up to our next trip.

Besides all of major rides there is plenty to do in the parks for all ages plus they have a great baby swap program.

 

[Metro West]

Absolutely not, there are tons of things to do, Suess Landing (right before Harry potter in IOA) is all kiddie rides, including one of the best carousels, if not the best in the world, HP has a kiddie ride. Jurassic Park has a huge play area for kids that is just terrific (adults too The older kids I think could ride Spiderman, one of the best rides in the park. Then the Universal park also has a ton of things for small kids, not the least which being ET, which is a great flying type ride. ALthough the 2 year old will be limited with most things, but I think that would go for any park. But Universal has baby swap too, so you and your husband can take turns riding the rides while the other baby sits.

 

[bumbershoot]

We only have a 6 year old, but he LOVED Universal. As did we!

We didn't even do any of the "big" rides. Biggest was Forbidden Journey, and only I did that for a couple reasons, but Flight of the Hippogriff was good enough for DS. 14 times in a row good enough for him!

The Suess area was fabulous, and he really enjoyed Barney and the Woody coaster in that area. If we'd had more time and it had been better weather he would have enjoyed playing around in the area as well.

Having been there now, I'd take a child of any age, and I would know that there would be things for them to do, enjoy playing with, or just to see.

 

[wahoolio]

When we took the kids for the first time a few years ago, they were 8, 6 and 3, respectively. I was a bit concerned, as I had heard the same things -- that the Universal parks were geared toward older kids. My kids had a GREAT time, and there was plenty to do.

Ditto on the entire Seuss area, the Jurassic Park play area, and some of the other attractions mentioned.

One that has not yet been mentioned which my kids absolutely loved was the Curious George water area, and the Ball Factory in the rear of the water play area. Had I not pulled them out of there, my kids could have spent literally the entire day playing in that area.

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

Thanks everyone! Now I feel better about spending the money!

 

[Planogirl]

I don't think anyone mentioned this but young kids seem to enjoy Me Ship the Olive too. Plus there are all kinds of characters.

 

[*MomTo2Princesses*]

We took our oldest daughter when she was 2, and she absolutely LOVED it. We rode Cat in the Hat over and over and over! Some of her other favorite rides at IOA were One Fish Two Fish, Carosuessal, High in the Sky Trolley Ride. There isn't as much for little ones at US, but Barney's Playland was a huge it. And ET. There are other things to do like Fieval's play area.

She is almost 5 and loves looking back at videos of herself at IOA and US. I think those parks were just as big of a hit to her as Disney! We are planning a surprise trip in September, and we've been hinting around trying to see which parks to go to. She has never been to Animal Kingdom or Epcot, and we can only do either 2 Disney parks and IOA&US or the whole week at Disney. It would be alot more economical for us to do all Disney, but she insists on the Universal parks being some of her favorite.

 

[Mikelly1221]

Saying that there is nothing for small children to do is an exaggeration. However, saying that there is plenty for them to do is also an exaggeration.

I can remember taking my 2 year old (he's 11 now) to IOA and feeling very much limited to the Dr. Seuss area. Since then, they have added a play area to Jurassic Park which would have been fun at the time. But he was unable to do anything else due to the height requirements. I felt very limited and didn't feel like I got my money's worth.

Universal is better, as it does have the Fievel land, Barney, Curious George area. There are also characters and I think smaller children can ride the stationary seats in Jimmy Neutron (might be wrong in that). I do however feel that Universal is a bit limiting for younger children.

I love Disney and I love Universal, but I feel Disney is the better value for smaller children and Universal the better value for older children.

 

[txmama]

We took a 4 and 7 year old and they were just wild about the Harry Potter part and also the Suess part. We did not try Studios, just IOA. But if they are HP fans, they will love it!! They loved walking through the castle line; and my husband and I swapped for the FJ ride. They get to sit in a little room and watch the first HP movie while you ride. I don't think they felt like they missed out at all, because they enjoyed the castle tour and movie so much. My 7 year old did not like Hippogriff (it's a little intense). But, they still had lots to do!

 

[HLAuburn]

We've been twice in the last few months - my girls are 2 and 6. My 6 year old isn't exactly "into" HP, but she loves any kind of ride, so she really enjoyed Forbidden Journey and anything she was tall enough to ride (she's right at 48"). My 2 year old could ride everything is Dr Suess (the only one with a height restriction is the trolley/train ride) and Acceltron ride (like the tea cups on steroids ), but other than that, she pretty much just enjoyed riding in her stroller and taking in all the sights.

At Studios, the youngest went on Jaws, Disaster, and a few others and the kids play areas are really fun, too.

I would agree that it's not fair to say there's nothing to do but there's definitely not an endless amount of things to do for little ones, especially the younger ones. I would say 5 or 6 is about the youngest they can really enjoy most of the attractions, but the 2 year old will still have a really good time.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

We took a family trip to WDW when my kids were 4 and 2. We saw a few characters, Barney show, Pets Ahoy, ET ride, and that was just about it. It was Mardi Gras time, there was a concert going on (Hootie and the Blowfish- it was 2002.) The concert was right between the kiddie area and the exit. It was jam packed full of people, TM's were doing a horrible job of keeping the aisle clear, drunks were spilling beer everywhere including on our strollers, but there was no other way out- it was HORRIBLE....I swore we'd never go again. We were supposed to go to IOA the next day and we decided not to even go back.

It's taken Harry Potter to bring us back, and we plan to try it this year. I think we're going to stay onsite for the Universal part of our trip so that if our 3 year old is bored, someone can either park hop or take him back to the hotel to swim. I definitely don't consider the parks preschool friendly, and am prepared that he won't be thrilled with the place, especially US. Like I said, we never made it to IOA that year, but it sounds like there is a little more for them there. I've also learned to do it in the reverse order- last time was such a let down after a week at Disney- this time we're doing Universal FIRST!

Now to be fair, I'm sure those kids, who are going to be 14 and 12 when they go back, are going to LOVE the roller coasters and shows.

 

[cesariofamily]

I am also taking a 7 and 3 year old in Sept. Any tips on splitting up and being efficient for baby swap? I want to try everything but I know my little ones will not tolerate waiting all day while my husband 17 daughter and I ride coasters. Any advice for splitting up?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

As others have said there are plenty of attractions for little one's, the likes of ET have been one of our son's favourites for many years.

One thing to remember if like us you are early riser's and get to the parks before they open, some of the attractions do not open at 9am - not 100% sure on the Suess Landing area but at Universal Studios Barney, Woody Woodpecker and Curious George never open before 10am.

 

[LUVIOA]

I have to agree that there is plenty for little kids to do. In my opinion there is more than Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom combined. Magic Kingdom may have that beat but when you really do a "count" you'll find it's pretty even. The difference is the play areas. My kids can spend hours in Jurassic Park and Curious George. Disney may have more kiddie rides but they're just rides, with long wait times. Set them loose and let them play! My kids never enjoyed the characters at Disney, the sugary sweet talking princesses, or the broadway type shows so US/IOA is our perfect place with a major cool factor

 

[bumbershoot]

...some of the attractions do not open at 9am - not 100% sure on the Suess Landing area but at Universal Studios Barney, Woody Woodpecker and Curious George never open before 10am.

This deserves to be repeated. We thought we could go to that section and get it done before moving on, and we were denied, LOL.

 

[RachelEllen]

We just got back from a trip with our two year old and older DS. I agree with the general consensus. If you just have the little one, however, I think there really is plenty to do, as Suess landing is more than enough for a full day in the heat with a toddler. (Especially if they are still napping)

I really wanted to mention, however, my love for how Universal does babyswap. I'm normally all over Disney and only go to the Universal park for 11 y.o. DS, however, Universal beats Disney hands down for the swap. On every ride that we did, you can wait as an entire family through the line. (They even let us take the stroller through when DD was sleeping) Then, just before the end, there's a comfy, indoor swap seating area. This was so much nicer than having to split up for the wait time and having to either stand in the heat or waste time reconnecting after the ride.

 

[Mikelly1221]

We just got back from a trip with our two year old and older DS. I agree with the general consensus. If you just have the little one, however, I think there really is plenty to do, as Suess landing is more than enough for a full day in the heat with a toddler. (Especially if they are still napping)

I really wanted to mention, however, my love for how Universal does babyswap. I'm normally all over Disney and only go to the Universal park for 11 y.o. DS, however, Universal beats Disney hands down for the swap. On every ride that we did, you can wait as an entire family through the line. (They even let us take the stroller through when DD was sleeping) Then, just before the end, there's a comfy, indoor swap seating area. This was so much nicer than having to split up for the wait time and having to either stand in the heat or waste time reconnecting after the ride.

I agree..Universal does a great job with kid-swapping!