Worth bringing the kids?

[deanimal]

My family (myself, DH, DD3, DS2, plus my parents) will be in the Orlando area for two weeks this fall. We mainly plan to focus on Disney, but my husband and I are huge HP fans, so WWOHP is a must see. What I'm trying to decide, though, is if it worth it to bring the kids along, since my parents aren't interested in IOA and they could babysit the kids that day. The little guy's free of course, but it would cost 79 bucks for the three year old. They're both under 40 inches and don't like anything intense or scary.

What do you think? The Suess area looks amazing, but I'm not seeing much else for little ones. They haven't been exposed to Harry Potter yet, so I don't know if they would enjoy WWOHP much. Is IOA worth it for toddlers, or would you save the money and leave them behind to play in the pool if you had the option?

 

[jjl181]

Honestly, if I had the option, I would leave my 4 year old behind. There is not a ton of stuff for her to do. She does like Seuss Landing, but other than that she is mostly in her stroller all day while her older brothers are on the rides, which annoys her. Even at USF, she doesn't know Barney, Curious George, or Woody Woodpecker so it doesn't work for her.
Harry Potter Land is amazing, but it doesn't mean as much if you are not familiar with it. So if you can work it out, enjoy the 'kid free' day, ride all the thrill rides you can, and bring them back when they are older.
Either way, have a wonderful trip!

 

[anorman]

Honestly, if I had the option, I would leave my 4 year old behind. There is not a ton of stuff for her to do. She does like Seuss Landing, but other than that she is mostly in her stroller all day while her older brothers are on the rides, which annoys her. Even at USF, she doesn't know Barney, Curious George, or Woody Woodpecker so it doesn't work for her.
Harry Potter Land is amazing, but it doesn't mean as much if you are not familiar with it. So if you can work it out, enjoy the 'kid free' day, ride all the thrill rides you can, and bring them back when they are older.
Either way, have a wonderful trip!

 

[Magical Kingdoms]

Our parents wouldn't have even dreampt of taking us to Universal when we were that age. it was always Disney. And even when we were a little older they didn't think we'd enjoy it, as we weren't into many of the movies there. I've never seen Jaws, Mummy, or many of the other things featured there (Excepting MIB, ET, Back to the Future, and Simpsons, and perhaps a few others here and there).

We didn't have much of a reason to go until Harry showed up, and that's the main reason I signed up to go on this trip with my choral group (My Mom and Brother are coming along since they purchased tickets) and it wasn't until further researching the park that I found out that most of IOA's theming is centered around things I'm more familar with.

But I'd wait until they're older for Universal, since it's more for the older set (That's why I think it's hard to compare it to Disney).

 

[Brit_Jude]

The kids might enjoy a break and a nice day at the pool. Your parents might enjoy a break from touring the parks too.

 

[mjohnson96]

I would vote to leave them with the grandparents that day. DH and I usually try to spend a half day without the kids when possible. Our kids have a great time there but it is nice to have some adult time too

 

[JoC-UK]

We have always taken ours to universal since they were 8/9 months and they have always really enjoyed it - the characters are less busy and have more time to spend with them as well as some really good rides in Seuss Landing. However we normally go for 3 weeks so have time to go back again without them for some more grown up time.

If this is your first visit and/or you are limited to only 1 day to visit then I would leave them with the grandparents and enjoy some adult time.

 

[kohlby]

My kids loved IOA at 2 and 3. However, it's understandably if you want an adult day as well. We do find there's not enough at US at that age, but plenty at IOA. Only on our last trip was WWoHP open. But our 2 year old was already a HP fan. But even before that, my kids found plenty to do at IOA. So, I do think your kids could enjoy it. But a kid-free day there sounds great too - we haven't been to IOA/US kid-free for 10 years. We still have a blast there, but it's definately a different pace. If the kids don't know what they're missing and would love a day with the grandparents, then I'd go kid-free.

 

[Agent24601]

YEESSSSSS!!!!!! 100 times yes!!!!