Universal & IOA with a 2 year old

[Guest]

Has anyone been to either of these parks with a 2 year old ?
I really want to go, but I've read that although there are things there for little ones, theres not a great deal.
I don't want to be doing baby swap all day, its not fair on ds, I'd rather leave it untill he was a little bit older

[BevS97]

Alex,

in my totally honest opinion, I wouldn't go. We went when Katie was 3 1/2 and she didn't get to do much.

At IOA there is Suess Landing, and she went on the Carosuessel (which is excellent), and there is a water park which was fun. There is a ride like Dumbo but with water spraying you, but she wouldn't go on it, and there is the Cat in the Hat which is a ride through but quite rougher than I was expecting and Katie hated it. Circus McGurcus do a show with the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2 which was pretty good, although it also features the Grinch who Katie didn't like.

Other than that, there wasn't much for her - she played in a boat Me Ship Me Olive, and we went in the Dinosaur Research Center.
Even the Playarea in the Jurassic Park area was quite scary as it makes dinosaur noises.

I absolutely loved the Spiderman ride, but you are right, you can only do so much baby swapping so we really didn't do a lothere, and I think we left just after lunch.

At universal, Katie loved Barney, in fact we saw him twice, there is also a very good play area by the Barney show - it is packed right after the show but half an hour later it was deserted.
We tried her in the Hanna Barbara show (which I think has since closed) but she hated it. She did like the Blues Brothers who perform in the streets, but really that was about it. I think now sheis a bit older she would like Woody Woodpeckers Coaster, but you have to be 3 to ride that. The other 2 play areas, Fievels and Curious Georges where both full of older kids, so I wasn't really happy letting her loose on her own in them.


I think these are superb parks for older kids and adults, but I just didn't find much at all for Katie and I don't think you can expect them to spend all day babyswapping while you ride the rides - it's not fair and they will get bored and grumpy, not making for a fun day out.

I think we will try these parks again in December when Katie will be 6, I am hoping she will enjoy them better then

Bev

[Macman]

We took our 6 year old to IOA and US on both our last trips 2002 and 1999, in IOA in 1999 she was still 2 and I must admit she did get a bit frustrated because her bigger sister was allowed to go on more things than her. US was fine and she loved the kiddie bits and the shows.

Having said that I could not imaging going all that way and not going to IOA, it’s the best and my favourite park. As Bev said there is more to do in US, so why not get a park hopper pass and go into IOA early do a few of the bigger/baby swap type rides and then stroll over to US and play in Woody Woodpecker play land or Barney etc. I know I’m being selfish because, I want to go in the park, but its MY/YOUR holiday too. Maybe park hopping is a compromise that could keep the whole family happy.

Last year I started a post about taking children on to rides that they didn’t want to go on such as the roller coasters and Spiderman etc, most people thought we were wicked, but last year my 6 year olds favourite ride was tower of terror, she went on it 3 times if we hadn’t taken her on it for the first time she would never have tried it at all. My advice is go take the kids on as much as possible and if they don’t like it then don’t make them do it again and once you’ve tried it hop over to US for some more rides. The “Dumbo type ride” that Bev mentioned is called “one fish two fish” buy the book and read it to your 2 year old, its very good for young children and when you get there she’ll be dragging you on to the ride.

[Guest]

Thankyou both
I didn't know that you could buy a 1 day hopper.
After reading some of the posts on the Dis, I've decided now that we will go.
I would like to buy the hopper, but do they work the same as the Disney ones where you can add an extra day if you want to? That would be good because if all went well at Universal, I could add on a day and do IOA another day.

[BONZO]

Hi,


I got this information through ioacentral

Port of Entry

1. Characters are often out and about. This might interest your kid, and you could get a good picture out of it.
2. There are lots of shops here. Some of them sell merchandise that can be found throughout the park, but some of them are unique. The Ocean Trader Market comes to mind.
3. There are tons of neat things to look at if you just take the time. For instance, in one of the nooks there is a jail, but its prisoners have escaped. The bars have been bent with a rope made out of pieces of cloth tied together leading safely to the ground, and the words "See ya!" are written on the wall. Islands of Adventure is full of stuff like this.

Seuss Landing

1. If I Ran the Zoo is probably one place you'll definitely want to visit. It's an interactive play area full of surprises for kids of all ages. Be sure to explore every inch of this place.
2. Across from If I Ran the Zoo is McElligot's Pool. Although it's not an attraction, it is still worth a look. Be sure to toss a few coins in the mouthes of fish.
3. The Cat in the Hat is the most thrilling ride in Seuss Landing because of the rather fast spinning feature of the ride vehicles. However, you'll probably want to ask the ride operator to turn the spins off, and they should be glad to do so. This is a great ride with or without the spins.
4. The Caro-Seuss-el is pretty tame and should be fun for all of you.
5. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is another attraction that all of you should be able to do. You might want to get a "two fish" ride vehicle for more room.
6. The Street of the Lifted Lorax is not listed as an attraction, but it's worth strolling through. It's next to the Caro-Seuss-el, and it's basically just a short path to walk through. Along the way, you can put your ear up to one of the Whisper-ma-Phones and hear the story of The Lorax, and then get a look at the Truffala Trees. It's really neat.
7. Inside the Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous, there is sometimes a show performed several times throughout the day. It's a fairly simple show but still worth watching.
8. Sneetch Beach is kind of hidden away on the edge of the island near the water. You can't really walk through it, but you can walk up to the edge and see all kinds of cool stuff.
9. Dr. Seuss' All the Books You Can Read is a shop that sells Dr. Seuss books, but there is also a table full of activies for kids to do free-of-charge. I think your kid would have fun in there for sure.
10. Next to the Cats, Hats, and Things store, there is a small oval-shaped area with a giant egg from the story Horton Hatches the Egg. Again, it isn't much, but it's worth a look. There are countless things in the entire island like this to see. I can't stress enough to take your time and just enjoy the atmosphere.

The Lost Continent

1. Poseidon's Fury is a walk-through attraction, but it does contain loud noises and periods of darkness. I guess it depends on how brave your kid is in order for you to do this attraction. I personally think it's fantastic, but you should decided whether or not you think your kid can handle it.
2. The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad is a stunt show that a lot of younger kids really seem to enjoy. It does contain explosions, so you should probably warn your children ahead of time if this sort of thing bothers them.
3. The Mystic Fountain is located in front of the Sindbad theater. It's basically a talking fountain that takes quite a few people by surprise. You may want to stand back and observe before approaching the fountain.
4. Explore the island. I personally enjoy the port side of each island. It's usually uncrowded and very peaceful, not to mention incredibly beautiful. The backside of Mythos is interesting, and the backside of Enchanted Oak Tavern is secluded with great views.

Jurassic Park

1. There is a dinosaur placed in the foliage from the movie Jurassic Park III for photo opportunities. It's usually pretty popular with both kids and adults.
2. The Jurassic Park Discovery Center is full of exhibits. One of them is a game called "You Bet Jurassic." Some of the other exhibits are "DNA Sequencing," "Beasaur" (which lets you see the world how different dinosaurs see it), and "Discovering Dinosaurs." Probably the most popular and most exciting exhibit, though, is "The Nursery," where every so often you can witness the birth of an actual raptor.
3. Triceratops Discovery Trail is an attraction that you walk through. At the end of the trail, you'll get to see a sedated triceratops. Although the dinosaur is pretty big, it shouldn't scare your little one.
4. Camp Jurassic is another interactive play area. This place may not be as well-suited as If I Ran the Zoo, but you should give it a try. There are lots of nets to climb and slides to slide down. There are also caves to explore and waterguns to shoot as well as a few other surprises.
5. There is a viewing area for the River Adventure, and you and your child might enjoy watching the huge splash the rafts create.

Toon Lagoon

1. Me Ship, The Olive is another interactive play area. Like the others, there are numerous things to do, so be sure to explore it very well.
2. To the right of Me Ship, The Olive is a bridge. If you cross the bridge and follow the paths, you'll find all kinds of interesting things to see including such things as "Plymouth Rock."
3. At each end of the island are Toon Lagoon signs with water fountains for kids to play in. If you don't mind your kid getting wet, it would probably fun to play in.
4. Watching people get soaked can be lots of fun. If you watch Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges and Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, you'll see lots of people get completely drenched.
5. There is a show in Toon Lagoon at the Character Trolley. It's a simple and quick show, but kids seem to love it. After the show, the characters hang around for a bit for pictures and autographs.

Marvel Super Hero Island

1. I don't think any of the attractions here are appropriate for young children (maybe Storm Force Accelatron), but there is a really cool motorcade called Meet the Marvel Super Hereos. Characters such as Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Storm are available for pictures. I highly recommend you check this out.
2. Again, explore the island. There are so many things to see that are easily overlooked.

With thanks to Kevin Boles.

[Macman]

I think I may have misled you slightly; you can’t get a 1-day hopper pass, but I looked online and currently universal are offering a 5 CONSECUTIVE day hopper pass for less than the price of 2 days.

Universal Ticket offer

I bought mine online from them last year.

[Clarey]

This is a brilliant offer we are planning to go to both US and IOA in October. Do you get tickets or vouchers from them?

[Macman]

Last year we received tickets with a sticker over the top stating the special offer and a space for a signature which we had to sign infront of a cast member for the first time and then sign in every time we entered the park.

The offer we were luck enough to get last year was 7 consecutive days, but in the end we only used 4. The queues in October are very light and we did everything we wanted with Poseidon’s Adventure being the only wait, and I wouldn’t bother with that again.

[Clarey]

Thanks Stuart I dont think we will go for 5 days but we will definately go for 2 days and I might as well have 3 days FREE