What are the anytime attractions/shows at Universal, IOA, & Seaworld?

[raestr]

We are a family of 6, 2 adults and 4 children ages 8, 4, 4, and 2. We will not be staying on-site and are debating the Express Plus Passes. Are there any attractions or shows that you can visit pretty much anytime of day at Universal, IOA, or Seaworld without a long wait? Are there any attractions with shorter waits in the early evening as opposed to mid-day?

Thank you.

 

[damo]

The parks usually open about half an hour early. If you get there then, you can ride all the main stuff and then do the shows when it gets busy. At Universal there is Fear Factor, Barney, Animal Actors, Beetlejuice, Blues Brothers and some smaller character performances. There is also the whole Curious George playland which is huge and tons of fun.
At Islands of Adventure there is the Jurassic Park playground, another play area in Suessland and another one on Me Ship the Olive. You can visit the Jurassic Park Discover Centre and explore there, see the Sinbad show, watch the superheroes parade and get pictures. All of those things are wait free.

 

[raestr]

I plan to get there when the park opens (thanks for letting me know it opens early on a regular basis), but with small children, we generally have to cut the day short. I was looking for some things we might be able to do if we we were to come back later in the day or early evening.

Thanks again!

 

[Metro West]

I plan to get there when the park opens (thanks for letting me know it opens early on a regular basis), but with small children, we generally have to cut the day short. I was looking for some things we might be able to do if we we were to come back later in the day or early evening.

Thanks again!

Seuss Landing is a blast and I'm sure the kids would love the Curious George play area. I haven't been to the Barney area but that's an option too and Curious George and Barney are in the same area.

If you go to Sea World, make sure you do the Pet Show...it's really cute and there's a whole new kid's area near the Shamu stadium that opened last year.

 

[raestr]

Thank you for the info. about Seaworld. I do have the Pets Ahoy on the itinerary. My problem with Seaworld is that there are so many shows. At Disney World we tried to get to the shows and parades at least 30 minutes early to get good seats, but my children don't wait well. Mainly the 4 year olds. They get bored just standing around doing nothing. Do you have to get to the shows more than 15 minutes early at Seaworld? I would assume you would for the really big shows like Believe and Blue Horizons, but what about the Clyde & Seymour show and the Pets Ahoy show?

I am going to try to entertain them better this time. I have bubbles and party blow-outs for them to play with in line. The Party blow-outs are the paper things that are rolled up and they stretch out when you blow on them. They aren't horns. They shouldn't get on other people's nerves nearly as much as my children jumping up and down or fighting with each other in line.

 

[DocOck]

To me by far my favorite "shows" are the Terminator and Shrek 4-D, both are 3-D movies that have live action blended in with the movie, really great stuff.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned the Sinbad show (Not sure if its still running right now) and the Poiseidon's Fury which is kind of a show, its not a ride, its more of a 3 part show. That one is pretty cool, but the first 2 3-D movie shows I mentioned are great.