Visiting Universal Orlando with Young Kids? Here’s What You Need to Know

A family vacation to Universal Orlando Resort is an exciting adventure that promises unforgettable memories. But, it is also a significant investment of your time, energy, and money. So, what’s the key to making your dream trip a huge success? In this post, I’ll share 10 essential things you need to know to make your visit with young kids less stressful and more fun.

My husband and I took our son, age 7, and daughter, age 4, to Universal Orlando Resort for the first time in February 2024. I compiled the following 10 essential things to know after our three-day vacation visiting Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, two of the Resort’s theme parks:

1. Researching before you go is worth it. Researching and planning in advance is the number one thing you can do to make your visit a smashing success. Explore the Universal Orlando Resort website and read blogs like this one! I also recommend checking out the Discover Universal Blog and the Unofficial Guide website. And, don’t forget about printed guidebooks. I checked out “The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando” from our local library. It really helped me determine which attractions would be appropriate for our kids and plan what our days would look like. As part of your research, you should also:
   • Check height requirements for rides and attractions. This will help you plan your days and manage your kids’ expectations about which rides they can look forward to experiencing.
   • Check for temporary attraction closures. There were several kid-friendly attractions that were closed for renovations when we went. But, we didn’t know until we stood in front of the renovation signs and wondered what we should do instead. Again, this will help you plan your days and manage expectations.
   • Print park maps. Universal Orlando no longer offers paper maps in the parks. If you prefer looking at a printed map rather than one on your phone, you will want to print before you go.
   • Make dining reservations. If sitting down to a great meal is important to you, you’ll want to make reservations as far in advance as possible. We wanted to eat dinner at The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium in CityWalk, for example. But, we were unable to get a reservation even though we tried a week before our trip. You can make reservations via the Universal app or online.
   • Locate nursing facilities. Special nursing facilities are available at Universal parks. At Universal Studios, you can find one in the First Aid Station at Family Services, located to the right of the Lost And Found, and at the Health Services main station, located on Canal Street in the New York area. At Islands of Adventure, you can find one in the First Aid Station.
     
2. The Universal Orlando Resort smartphone app is a must-have. We used this app before our trip and throughout our stay to check wait times, look at park maps, and order meals for pickup.
   
3. Staying at one of Universal’s onsite hotels comes with great perks. We stayed at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort and had a wonderful experience. In addition to amazing pools and other amenities, staying at an onsite hotel comes with some perks, including:
   • Early admission to the parks by up to one hour. I highly recommend taking advantage of this, especially if you are visiting during peak season or on the weekend. Your wait times for getting into the parks and riding some of the more popular attractions will be reduced, not to mention that you can explore the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before the big crowds arrive. You can check park hours in the Universal smartphone app or website.
   • Complimentary transportation to the parks. We really enjoyed our water taxi rides to and from Sapphire Falls. If your hotel is not located on the canal, it will offer a shuttle service instead.
   • Universal Express Unlimited Ride Access. The Universal Express Unlimited pass enables you to skip the regular lines at many (but not all) of the park attractions an unlimited number of times. Typically, Express Unlimited passes must be purchased in addition to park admission tickets and range from $124.99-$319.99 per person per day. But, the passes are included with your reservation if you stay at one of Universal’s three premier hotels: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort. If you want Express Unlimited passes, it could actually be cheaper to pay more for a premier hotel than to stay at a non-premier hotel and buy Express Unlimited passes separately. You’ll just have to do the math for your particular situation.

4. There are various ticket and riding options. Choose the ones that work for your family. There are lots of ticket and riding options at Universal, and it’s important that you find the right ones for your family and your budget.
   • Single park vs. park-to-park admission tickets. Universal’s single park ticket allows you to visit either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure during a single day. The single park ticket starts at $119 per person per day. The park-to-park ticket enables you to move between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure over the course of a day and are required to ride the Hogwarts Express. Park-to-park tickets start at $174 per person per day.
   • Universal Express passes. If you want to do Universal Orlando in style and go right to the front of attraction lines (I mean, who doesn’t?!), then you’ll want to consider purchasing Express passes in addition to your admission tickets. As I mentioned above, Universal offers passes that allow you to skip the regular lines at many (but not all) of the park attractions. In addition to the Universal Express Unlimited pass, there is a less expensive Universal Express pass. The Universal Express pass allows you to skip the line one time per participating ride and ranges from $89.99-$289.99 per person per day.
   • Early park admission. If you’re not sure you need Universal Express passes or they aren’t in your budget, take advantage of early park admission. This is what we opted to do. We were able to take our seven-year-old on two popular rides at Islands of Adventure and waited only 15 minutes to ride each one. This is compared to the 60+ minute wait times you may experience later in the morning and throughout the day. Remember, you can only enter early if you are staying at a Universal hotel or you are a premier or preferred passholder.
   • Child swap program. This programs enables parents and older kids to ride attractions they’d like to experience. Each ride has a family waiting room where one parent can wait with their child(ren) while the other parent goes on the ride. The parents can then switch places.
   • Single rider lines. This works exactly like it sounds: If you are willing to experience an attraction by yourself, you can utilize the single rider line. Universal staff will seat you when a single space becomes available. Presumably, this will decrease your wait time.
     
5. Waiting in lines is inevitable. I know this isn’t what anyone wants to hear, but it is the reality at any theme park. The best thing you can do is to do your research and prioritize the attractions you most want to experience.
   • Park admission wait times. Take advantage of early park admission if you are staying onsite and looking to ride the more popular rides and coasters. You should still get in line well before early admission begins, though, as the lines form quickly. For example, my husband and son got in line at Islands of Adventure on a Friday in February at 7:50am, and it took over 20 minutes to get admitted to the park (early admission began at 8am). My daughter and I got in the same line at 8:50am, and we waited for 40 minutes (regular admission began at 9am). Early admission to Universal Studios was not available when we were there.
   • Attraction wait times. We saw some wait times reach over 60 minutes soon after the park opened, and they only got longer as the day went on. This applied mainly to rides geared toward older kids and adults, such as Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and Rip Ride Rockit. However, we also saw wait times for kid-friendly rides, like Hogwarts Express and Men In Black Alien Attack, reach 45 minutes and longer. As I mentioned above, it is important that you choose the right ticket and riding options for your family.
     
6. When you go matters.
   • We visited Universal Studios during the week leading up to Presidents’ Day weekend in February 2024, and we had good luck with crowds and wait times. I think it’s important to note that your experience may differ from what I describe here, depending on when you go. For example, we experienced longer wait times and larger crowds on the Friday leading into Presidents’ Day weekend than we did earlier in the week. Holidays, school breaks (including summer), and weekends will result in bigger crowds and longer lines.
     
7. Having groceries delivered to your hotel is convenient and budget friendly. We ordered from Garden Grocers and got our kids’ favorite snacks, breakfast foods, and cold lunch and dinner items. We ordered online before we left home and scheduled delivery for the day we arrived. Note that Universal Orlando allows guests to bring small, soft-sided lunch boxes into the parks. This was a big plus for us, as it helped keep our picky eaters fed and happy.
   
8. Renting a stroller makes for less baggage. You can rent strollers at the parks or through a stroller rental company. Universal’s strollers are hard plastic, double strollers. We opted to rent in advance from Orlando Stroller Rentals, and they delivered directly to our hotel’s bellhop. We got a single stroller for our 4-year-old, but we chose one that could accommodate our 7-year-old for the occasional ride.
   
9. Requesting kid amenities at your hotel will help make you more comfortable. Think about the amenities you need to make your stay as comfortable as possible for your family and ask your hotel if they can accommodate you. For example, before we left home we requested a room with a bathtub and asked for toddler bed safety rails. Sapphire Falls happily fulfilled both our requests. In fact, the bed rails were delivered to our door within 15 minutes of our arrival.
   
10. Purchasing trip insurance increases peace of mind. If you’re anything like our family, sometimes your kids get sick and plans have to be cancelled. We purchased a vacation package (flight, hotel, park tickets) through the Universal Orlando website and added on the “Cancel For Any Reason” plan. This allows you the flexibility to cancel your vacation up to 24 hours prior to your originally scheduled flight departure time or hotel check-in time.

---

You Might Also Like

---