Universal with 2.5 year old

[MommyMeNDisney]

Need help:

My 2.5 year old just became fascinated with Barney. So, I searched the Internet for a place like Sesame Place, but for Barney. I found Barney's Place (I think that's what it's called) in Orlando. When searching for its location and entrance fee, I realized it's inside Universal. The only show times they have available are in January 2017. So now, I'm trying to plan a trip to Universal. From what I can see, entrance in the park is $200. That seems high! I hope that's for 2 days and not one. From what I can see; because DS is less than 3 years old, I don't need a ticket for him.

Since, we have to go inside an amusement park to experience Barney, we may as well do more. I also see they have a show Oh, the Things You Will Read (something like that). We LOVE Dr. Suess books! So, we can do that too.

This is a last minute trip, so not a lot of money to "splurge" on onsite resort hotels.

I found the Clarion Inn and Suites (less than 5 miles from Universal) for 3 nights ($345 total). It will be just me and my DS. I'm planning to take him January 10-13, with the 10th and 13th being travel days. So, in the parks on the 11th & 12th.

Is January 10-13 a busy time at Universal?

Suggestions on things to do with my 2.5 year old (aside from the two shows I mentioned above)? Character meets? Great, kid friendly restaurants?

He's about 34" tall. Are there a few rides he can get on?

Places to rest/baby center in the parks?

Do they have something like FastPasses? If so, what's it called? Does it cost; if so, how much? Do I need a separate fast pass for DS, since he won't have an entrance ticket or can he use mine? FYI: I have NO INTEREST in riding any rides for me. All rides will be for him.

I think the two shows I want him to see are in different parks. To not overwhelm the day, we will do one park on the 11th and the other park on the 12th. So, no park hopping for us.

Sorry for the long post. Thx in advance for your help/suggestions.

 

[damo]

Take a look at the Universal website to see what he might like and be able to ride. You can find prices and such there too.

www.universalorlando.com

There are great play areas that would work well for your little guy.

Which Clarion are you looking at? There are some very close hotels to Universal.

 

[TommyJK]

I would recommend the following:

Rather than doing 2 days in the parks, get a ticket for one day with Park to Park for the following reasons

• It will be cheaper
• For the amount of attractions/shows that your DS at 34" could do, to me you'd be able to do everything in a day with Park to Park rather than doing 2 separate days, one day in each park.
• You would get to ride the Hogwarts Express, and what 2.5 year old doesn't love trains? And there is a story played out on the "windows" that is different in each direction.

Now in terms of things to do that he would likely enjoy:

Universal Side:

• The entire Kidszone area (where the Barney Show is) will have tons of stuff for him, including Fievel's Playland (big playground), Curios George Goes to Town
• Also he'd be tall enough for ET (34")
• There is also the Animal Actor's show in Kidzone.
• Universal Superstar's parade he'd probably enjoy
• Kang and Kodos Twirl and Hurl (think Dumbo at Disney, but with funny aliens from the Simpsons)

Islands of Adventure side:

• Suess Landing as you've noted lot's of stuff here. There is a show "Oh! the Stories you'll hear" in this area and lots of Suess Characters to meet.
• In Jurassic Park, there is another large play land he'd likely enjoy.
• In Toon Lagoon, there is a smaller play area "Me Ship, The Olive"
• In Marvel Superhero land there is Storm Force Accelatron (think Mad Tea Party at Disney)

And as noted above, you'd get to take the Hogwarts Express train back and forth.

In terms of Fast Pass, Universal has express pass but you'd have to pay for it, and IMO a) since you are going mid-week in January you wouldn't need it b) would not be worth it at all based on what attractions you could do with your DS.

I'm not to familiar with Baby rest centers in the park (never have gone with kids that young) so perhaps others could give advice on that.

Hope the above helps.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

Damo - thank you for responding.

Tommy - thank you so much for the detailed suggestions! This sounds like a good plan! Thank you for advising me against the Express Pass. I think I will do as you suggested. Yes, my DS loves trains! I will start planning for just one park day, with the park to park.

Is the Hogwarts train unlimited throughout the day or just one round trip? Just trying to plan the show times for Barney and Oh, The Stories You'll Hear.

Thank you again!

 

[Seeker615]

Cabana Bay is pretty reasonable if you are looking for something on Universal Property. Plus it looks to be very kid friendly. It would be easier to get back and forth if you wanted a break. You could walk or take the shuttle.

Staying offsite you would either rely on the shuttles or rent a car or do a cab. We stayed once at the Holiday Inn closest to Universal and we did the shuttles and once took a cab. Nice hotel and we were upgraded to a suite.

We took our 3 year old to Universal many years ago and she loved it. I think your little guy will have a lot of fun. The Seuss area is so colorful and the Marvel and comic book area offer a lot of things to see. Big bright signs and the superheros drive out on ATV's.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

Take a look at the Universal website to see what he might like and be able to ride. You can find prices and such there too.

www.universalorlando.com

There are great play areas that would work well for your little guy.

Which Clarion are you looking at? There are some very close hotels to Universal.

I actually misstated the hotel. It's the Quality Inn and Suites. I can't remember the distance (I want to say 1.2 miles), but I've looked at so many hotels, I could be mistaken.

Do you have any hotel recommendations?

Thanks again for responding.

 

[Seeker615]

Oh and check closing times. Sometimes the parks close early and you might not get to do everything in one day. I wouldn't want to feel rushed.

My 3 year old spent FOREVER in some of the play areas. She loved the kid zone area. Plus you might want to go back and redo a few things if he really enjoyed them.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

Cabana Bay is pretty reasonable if you are looking for something on Universal Property. Plus it looks to be very kid friendly. It would be easier to get back and forth if you wanted a break. You could walk or take the shuttle.

Staying offsite you would either rely on the shuttles or rent a car or do a cab. We stayed once at the Holiday Inn closest to Universal and we did the shuttles and once took a cab. Nice hotel and we were upgraded to a suite.

We took our 3 year old to Universal many years ago and she loved it. I think your little guy will have a lot of fun. The Seuss area is so colorful and the Marvel and comic book area offer a lot of things to see. Big bright signs and the superheros drive out on ATV's.

I wanted to stay onsite for the convenience of getting back and forth and for the possibly of returning for a nap. The Cabana did look kid friendly to me too. However, when I looked 2 days ago, the website said there are no rooms available for that hotel. . The other property hotels were out of my price range for this trip. I will try again though.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm now, even more excited to make this trip happen for my little one! He doesn't watch tv, but for some reason, he LOVES this Captain America shirt I bought him. He wears it EVERYDAY! He gets excited when he sees the shield anywhere. He has a Spider-Man action figure. So, I'm confident he'll enjoy the Marvel area.

Thanks again!

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

Oh and check closing times. Sometimes the parks close early and you might not get to do everything in one day. I wouldn't want to feel rushed.

My 3 year old spent FOREVER in some of the play areas. She loved the kid zone area. Plus you might want to go back and redo a few things if he really enjoyed them.

Thx! I was thinking it might be hard getting my son out of certain play areas to keep our show times. So, I will try to give us later show time options...just in case my son has a different schedule in mind than mama's schedule. Which is HIGHLY likely! LOL For his enjoyment (and my sanity), I plan, but plan to change those plans based on DS's temperament at the time.

 

[Jonny_Duck]

Damo - thank you for responding.

Tommy - thank you so much for the detailed suggestions! This sounds like a good plan! Thank you for advising me against the Express Pass. I think I will do as you suggested. Yes, my DS loves trains! I will start planning for just one park day, with the park to park.

Is the Hogwarts train unlimited throughout the day or just one round trip? Just trying to plan the show times for Barney and Oh, The Stories You'll Hear.

Thank you again!

It's unlimited. But it only goes one way then you'll need to wait in line to go the other. Since it's Harry Potter it might get fairly long lines.

I'd check Hotwire for a hotel tbh. I go through them often and rarely have any complaints. But then again I go for the fun in the parks and use the hotel as a sleeping place. But the price is right with them imo.

 

[damo]

I'm not sure why things are so booked up for your week. Might be a big convention of some sort. I even checked Drury Inn (which is great) and it is booked up too. I'm seeing a Kitchen and Bath Industry as well as a builder's show. Wonder if that is doing it.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

It's unlimited. But it only goes one way then you'll need to wait in line to go the other. Since it's Harry Potter it might get fairly long lines.

I'd check Hotwire for a hotel tbh. I go through them often and rarely have any complaints. But then again I go for the fun in the parks and use the hotel as a sleeping place. But the price is right with them imo.

Thx! I used to be a diehard Hotwire fan pre-DS. I booked with them with DS, but had to cancel. They wouldn't refund my money, even though I purchased some extra thing the guy on the phone told me would cover situations where I needed to cancel. Well, he didn't tell me it only covered VERY LIMITED cancellation reasons. So, I lost over $200 and they lost a customer. I will NEVER use them again!

Lately, I've been using booking.com. Most of their rates are refundable/free cancellation in a lot of cases, 2 days prior to check-in. I used them to hold the room at the Quality Inn and Suites for this trip. If I don't find anything better/comparable; then, we'll stay there.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

I'm not sure why things are so booked up for your week. Might be a big convention of some sort. I even checked Drury Inn (which is great) and it is booked up too. I'm seeing a Kitchen and Bath Industry as well as a builder's show. Wonder if that is doing it.

Yeah, I'm hoping it's conventions and not people going to universal. I'm really hoping for a non-crowded experience with my munchkin.

Thanks for checking hotels for me! That was sweet!

 

[bumbershoot]

It will be just me and my DS.

I have NO INTEREST in riding any rides for me. All rides will be for him.

OK, so, we totally traveled with DS, and we saw things and did things and didn't just sit in the house staring at the four walls.

But I literally could not imagine doing what you're doing JUST for a 2 year old. For me, if the family wants to go and play, then you take the 2 year old along. But spending all this money and traveling etc just for the sake of the 2 year old? It's not in my nature. I would join 3 zoos and go all year for less than what you'll spend.

And the Barney show is....um...not that great. Even as a kid DS dragged us in there just to "get" at DH. That was his enjoyment of it, to tweak his dad. I suppose a 2 year old might like it more, but I'm not totally sure.

I'm glad you'll be able to walk past all the fun things you can't do with him, because with just the two of you you can't do any of them.

For the amount of attractions/shows that your DS at 34" could do, to me you'd be able to do everything in a day with Park to Park rather than doing 2 separate days, one day in each park.

Yes.

But if you're doing to do this, I would stay onsite at deluxe or buy the EP. Because that wait in line for Barney is a joy-killer IMO and I would rather get on fast. Same with any other ride a little one can do. Get me in and out faster.

I wanted to stay onsite for the convenience of getting back and forth and for the possibly of returning for a nap.

Then do it, and stay at one of the resorts that gives EP. Don't stay offsite if you're planning on naps.

to keep our show times

So...these things happen all day. You don't sign up for a Barney show etc. You go to the area and you get in line,and you wait, then you go inside an area, and you wait more, and then you shuffle into the theater and you see the show. It's not anything you have to keep to a schedule for.

 

[TommyJK]

OK, so, we totally traveled with DS, and we saw things and did things and didn't just sit in the house staring at the four walls.

But I literally could not imagine doing what you're doing JUST for a 2 year old. For me, if the family wants to go and play, then you take the 2 year old along. But spending all this money and traveling etc just for the sake of the 2 year old? It's not in my nature. I would join 3 zoos and go all year for less than what you'll spend.

And the Barney show is....um...not that great. Even as a kid DS dragged us in there just to "get" at DH. That was his enjoyment of it, to tweak his dad. I suppose a 2 year old might like it more, but I'm not totally sure.

I'm glad you'll be able to walk past all the fun things you can't do with him, because with just the two of you you can't do any of them.




Yes.

But if you're doing to do this, I would stay onsite at deluxe or buy the EP. Because that wait in line for Barney is a joy-killer IMO and I would rather get on fast. Same with any other ride a little one can do. Get me in and out faster.



Then do it, and stay at one of the resorts that gives EP. Don't stay offsite if you're planning on naps.



So...these things happen all day. You don't sign up for a Barney show etc. You go to the area and you get in line,and you wait, then you go inside an area, and you wait more, and then you shuffle into the theater and you see the show. It's not anything you have to keep to a schedule for.

Just a few rebuttal points to this post:

• I'm sure it's just as much for the parent as it is for DS. You can't put a price on seeing the wonder and awe of a child's face when they experience something larger than life like many of the things at Universal
• I'm sure the poster is trying to make a touring plan for themselves, hence the reference to show times, and not the illusion of having to book them.
• I'll stand firm with my opinion of NOT needing express pass. Mid January is a pretty dead period, especially mid week. Everything I suggested to do will have little to zero wait time.

 

[damo]

I'm usually a huge proponent of staying onsite at an express hotel but when the cheapest room is $282/night for a quick vacation with a 2 year old, I'm not sure I'd be jumping at staying there. I'd definitely stay at Cabana Bay or Sapphire Falls but, unfortunately, both are full. (as is Portofino)

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

OK, so, we totally traveled with DS, and we saw things and did things and didn't just sit in the house staring at the four walls.

But I literally could not imagine doing what you're doing JUST for a 2 year old. For me, if the family wants to go and play, then you take the 2 year old along. But spending all this money and traveling etc just for the sake of the 2 year old? It's not in my nature. I would join 3 zoos and go all year for less than what you'll spend.

And the Barney show is....um...not that great. Even as a kid DS dragged us in there just to "get" at DH. That was his enjoyment of it, to tweak his dad. I suppose a 2 year old might like it more, but I'm not totally sure.

I'm glad you'll be able to walk past all the fun things you can't do with him, because with just the two of you you can't do any of them.




Yes.

But if you're doing to do this, I would stay onsite at deluxe or buy the EP. Because that wait in line for Barney is a joy-killer IMO and I would rather get on fast. Same with any other ride a little one can do. Get me in and out faster.



Then do it, and stay at one of the resorts that gives EP. Don't stay offsite if you're planning on naps.



So...these things happen all day. You don't sign up for a Barney show etc. You go to the area and you get in line,and you wait, then you go inside an area, and you wait more, and then you shuffle into the theater and you see the show. It's not anything you have to keep to a schedule for.

Oh, thanks soooo much for sharing! I'm sure your DS is quite fortunate to call you mom.

 

[MommyMeNDisney]

Just a few rebuttal points to this post:

• I'm sure it's just as much for the parent as it is for DS. You can't put a price on seeing the wonder and awe of a child's face when they experience something larger than life like many of the things at Universal
• I'm sure the poster is trying to make a touring plan for themselves, hence the reference to show times, and not the illusion of having to book them.
• I'll stand firm with my opinion of NOT needing express pass. Mid January is a pretty dead period, especially mid week. Everything I suggested to do will have little to zero wait time.

I appreciate the post. No worries though, I parent my child the way I want and allow others the freedom to do the same, without judgement. I don't know if I'll ever understand why people feel it's necessary to tell other people how to spend their money or what experiences to give their child(ren). How exactly does what I do with my child affect their lives?

Again, your detailed suggestions were quite helpful and I greatly appreciate your response. Thx again! You were very helpful!