Complete guide to Universal Orlando with toddlers and little kids

Last updated on June 21, 2024

We were told not to bother with Universal Studios while the kids were little. People said we wouldn’t be able to make the most of it and there wouldn’t be enough to entertain the little ones. But it turned out to be one of our favourites. 

It’s home to some of our kids’ favourite theme park experiences in all of Orlando. From Minions Land to Seuss Landing and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, they were enchanted. There’s no doubt the park leans more heavily towards thrill-seeking attractions (it has THE best rollercoasters), but there’s also plenty for little kids too. And that side of things is growing all the time, especially with the new DreamWorks Land, which is heavily kid-focussed.

Here’s our guide to getting the most out of Universal Orlando with toddlers and little kids. It covers both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida, plus a bit on Volcano Bay waterpark too (definitely the best waterpark in Orlando!). 

If you’re heading to California, see our guide to Universal Studios Hollywood with toddlers (we went when Otis was tiny!).

And we also have guides to Disney World and Disneyland California.

What is Universal Orlando?

Okay, let’s start with the basics as the amount of Universal Studios parks and their similar names does get confusing! Firstly, there are two Universal Studios in the USA: Universal Studios Hollywood in California and the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. This post is all about the Universal Orlando Resort (I have a separate one on Universal Studios Hollywood).

Universal Orlando Resort has two theme parks (Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida), one waterpark (Volcano Bay) and a shopping district (CityWalk). In 2025, a third theme park, Epic Universe, is set to open. 

This post is an overview of all of the Universal Orlando Resort, but we also have individual posts on Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida that go into more detail about the individual parks and their rides. 

The first Universal Studios was the one in Hollywood, which started as a film studio. It then opened its doors to the public for tours before slowly developing into a fully fledged theme park based on Universal’s films. It’s still a film studio today.

Following that, the Universal Studios theme park brand was born and more parks opened around the world, including the Universal Orlando Resort, which was created to compete with Disney. There are also Universal Studios in Beijing, Japan and Singapore.

The Universal Studios theme parks are known for their themed lands and rides that are inspired by the studio’s films, TV shows and popular culture, from E.T to Harry Potter. They also have a reputation for catering to older kids and adults with more grown-up theming than Disney, and some epic rollercoasters. While somewhat true, this post also shows how Universal Studios has plenty for kids too. 

*Note that it’s only Universal Studios Hollywood that is also a working film studio, so you can’t do backlot tours in Orlando.*

Is it worth visiting Universal Orlando with little kids?

The answer to whether or not it’s worth visiting Universal Orlando with kids is personal. It’ll depend on your budget, time, where you live, what you and your kids are like, and what your priorities are. But if you’re worried about there being enough at Universal Orlando to entertain kids, then the answer is definitely yes. 

From Seuss Landing to Toon Lagoon, Minions Land and the new DreamWorks land, there are rides and play areas that toddlers and little kids will love. And services like rider switch and single rider lanes mean that the adults/older kids can have a chance to go on the bigger rides too. 

On the other hand, you might be wondering if now is the best time to go to Universal Orlando with your kids, or should you wait until they’re older, which leads me to the next question…

What’s the perfect age for Universal Orlando?

Universal Orlando is so diverse that it’s hard to name a perfect age to visit – different ages and tastes will enjoy different aspects of the park. For example, Seuss Landing at Islands of Adventure is aimed squarely at toddlers/little kids, and older ones might find it too childish or the rides too gentle. So to get the most out of that area, you’d want to go when the kids are small. But is it worth going for that alone? I don’t think so, unless you have plenty of cash to spare and/or the kids are huge fans of Seuss. 

The same goes for DreamWorks Land at Universal Studios Florida – this one is aimed at slightly older kids than Seuss Landing, but still a younger demographic than the rest of the park. To get the most out of that area, the kids would likely be under 11.

But, if you look at the parks overall, the vast majority of the rides are for thrill-seeking kids and adults. If you’re only going to Universal Orlando once and you want to make the most of it by going on as many rides as possible, then wait until the kids are around 11 – or whatever age it takes for them to want to go on scarier rides.  

The largest minimum height at Universal Orlando is 54 inches (138cm) for the Hulk Coaster, so your kid needs to be that tall if they’re to ride everything. 

And finally, children under 2 don’t have to pay to get into the parks. So, while under 2 is very young for Universal and there’s only a handful of rides they can go on, this is a good time to go if the adults are keen to experience Universal and don’t mind taking turns to ride everything.

Is Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure better for toddlers and little kids?

Before we went to Universal Orlando, I thought Islands of Adventure was going to be better for little kids (largely because of Seuss Landing and the Jurassic Park play area), but in the end my kids preferred Universal Studios Florida, mainly because they’re obsessed by Minions! 

And this is really what it comes down to: what are your kids most interested in? If the answer is Dr.Seuss then Islands of Adventure is your winner. But if they love Minions and DreamWorks characters, like Shrek, Trolls and Kung-Fu Panda, then Universal Studios might be a better choice. I suggest reading both my posts on Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida and seeing which has the most rides, attractions and characters that will appeal to your kids. 

How to buy Universal Orlando tickets

It can be a bit mind-boggling, trying to work out what ticket is best for Universal Orlando, but here’s a quick guide about the things to consider.

1. Do you want a park-to-park ticket?

You can buy tickets for individual parks, or park-to-park tickets, which allow you to visit both theme parks in one day. You can also get a ticket that allows you entry to Volcano Bay as well. On average, a single park ticket is $120 and a park-to-park ticket for Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida is $170, so a difference of $50. 

You can only add Volcano Bay for tickets of more than two days, and to add the water park only costs about $10 extra. 

There is more than enough to do in each theme park to fill a single day, so if you’re visiting for three days, you could buy individual tickets and stick to one park per day. The downside of this is that it gives you less flexibility. Plus the only way to ride the Hogwarts Express is with a park-to-park ticket as it connects the two theme parks. For Harry Potter fans, that extra $50 is probably worth it.

Also, if you’re with little kids, I think it’s possible to do all the toddler/little kid-focussed attractions in a single, albeit fairly long, day – so you could just but a one-day park-to-park ticket. However, I think two days would be better and allow for a more relaxing visit.

2. How many days are you going for?

The more days you go to Universal Orlando, the better value the tickets become. Although I’ve just said that it’s possible to do all the toddler/little kids attractions in one day, I would recommend going for longer if you can. 

We did both theme parks and Volcano Bay in two days, but I would have quite liked an extra day to allow more time for rest. If you can afford three days, do it, but if you only have one, it’s possible (just skip the waterpark).  

Also, there are often deals where you buy three days and get another two free, which would allow you to do things at a very leisurely pace, spending more time relaxing at the water park/hotel. 

3. Are you buying an Express Pass?

I talk more about the Express Pass below, but do factor this into the ticket price. It’s more expensive than the Genie+ service at Disney, starting at around $80 per day for a single park. It costs more if you want to cover both parks and Volcano Bay.

Remember, you don’t have to buy one for everyone in your party – for example, you could just buy one for the adults so they can jump on rides quickly while the other adult takes care of the kids.

Also note that if you stay in one of the Universal Orlando Premier hotels, you get a free Express Pass for everyone in your group, both on the day you check in and out (I’ve written more on this in the accommodation section below). 

4. Are you staying at a Universal Resort hotel?

If you’re staying at a Universal Orlando Resort hotel, you can get combined hotel and ticket deals. Book both at the same time to see what’s available. 

5. Is your child under 2?

Children under 2 don’t have to pay to enter the parks, so take advantage of this if you can.

6. Where to buy your Universal Orlando tickets

You can buy tickets directly through the Universal Orlando website or through third parties like Undercover Tourist and Get Away Today. The third parties sometimes have better deals, especially when it comes to combined hotel and ticket bundles. 

How to get to and around Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando is much more compact than Disney World, so it’s overall much easier to navigate. The entrances to the two theme parks are right next to each other, joined by CityWalk. And there are even resort hotels that you can walk to from the parks – and there’s a boat for some hotels.

How to get to Universal Orlando will vary depending on where you’re staying. If you’re in an official Universal hotel, you have access to a free shuttle bus or water taxi. The buses drop you off at CityWalk and the boat takes you to the park entrances. A few hotels (Aventura, Cabana Bay, Loews Saphire Falls, Loews Royal Pacific, Hard Rock and Loews Portofino) are also connected to Islands of Adventure via a walkway. Cabana Bay is the furthest along the walkway and it takes 20 minutes to get from there to the parks. The buses run every 15-30 minutes. 

If you’re staying outside the Universal Orlando Resort, you can drive or take a taxi/ride share to the parks. You’ll get dropped off at the CityWalk car park from where you can take several moving walkways to the start of CityWalk and the entrance to the parks.

From the airport, you can take a taxi/ride share or book the Universal Orlando Superstar Shuttle.

How to get around the parks

Once inside the parks, they are fairly easy to navigate – just make sure you download the app on your phone so you can use the map from there. You can get between the two parks via the front entrances or by taking the Hogwarts Express, which runs between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

A note on strollers

Like Disney, you can hire strollers, both single and double, at Universal Orlando. And if you have a park-to-park ticket, you can take the stroller between the two on the Hogwarts Express. 

Even if your kids have outgrown a stroller in day-to-day life, they might benefit from one in the theme parks as they involve a lot of walking and it can get really tiring for little legs. The strollers are quite expensive to hire, so if convenient, it might be more economical to bring your own.

Tips for planning your time at Universal Orlando

I highly recommend you go to Universal Orlando with some research and planning under your belt (which you’re clearly onboard with if you’re reading this post!). You could just wing it, but if you’re going with little kids and you want to get the most out of it all, it pays to have a plan. 

But how to do that? First off, there is no magic formula that works for everyone as it really depends on your priorities and abilities. But here are some general guidelines that will help you plan things out. 

I’ve also included more details of the plans I made for each Universal theme park within the individual post for each park.

1. Make a priority list of your key things to do

It’s helpful to create a list of must-visit attractions, so you don’t miss out on your family’s favourites. I’d suggest ranking them into two categories: ‘must-sees and ‘nice to haves’. This will help both with the prior planning and making on-the-fly decisions on the day.

I also recommend not telling your children too much about the rides, especially the ‘nice-to-haves’ as that will help to avoid disappointment. Conversely, it can be helpful to show YouTube videos of the rides in advance to help quell nerves/build excitement. Different approaches will suit different kids, so think about what works for your family.

2. Make a flexible plan

It’s good to have a rough itinerary for your day, but it’s essential to keep things flexible, especially with little kids. Wait times vary throughout the day, so it might be useful to juggle things around. Plus, there might be unexpected events, like bad weather, ride closures, or things you stumble upon, like characters, shows and other entertainment. And that’s not to mention your kids’ moods!

There’s no need to stick rigidly to your original plan – allow for some magic along the way. It’s a recipe for disappointment if you expect everything to go perfectly. I tried so hard to make the perfect itinerary, but sometimes the kids just wouldn’t go along with it, saying they wanted to do things later even though now was the perfect time.

3. Pace yourself

Remember that theme parks can be overwhelming for young kids (and adults!), so take breaks, find shady spots, and enjoy leisurely moments to recharge. There’s always something to look at and be entertained by, so even sitting still at Universal is fun. A good way to break things up is by watching one of the shows. Playgrounds are also a great place to have a break. We have details about these in the individual theme park posts.

4. Choose your first ride wisely

There are lots of different theories for which ride to go on first at the Universal Parks, but it’s always going to be a gamble as you can’t predict for sure what the wait times will be on any given day. I go into more detail on this in the individual theme park posts.

5. Think about naps

If your child is at an age where they nap, think about when would be the best time. This is especially important if you have older children who don’t nap. For example, naptime normally isn’t the ideal time for the adults to ride the bigger rides by themselves as then the other adult will be left with two children, one napping, limiting what the other can do.

Also, if your child doesn’t nap in a stroller, you’ll need to plan in a time to return to your hotel (and also choose a hotel that’s close enough that returning won’t severely eat into your day).

How to reduce wait times at Universal Orlando

The golden aim for theme park success is reducing the time you spend waiting in line. There are strategies to keep things to a minimum, but if you don’t have early entry or an Express Pass, you’ll need to accept that some lines will likely be long. 

Buy an Express Pass

The most sure-fire way to reduce wait times at Universal Orlando is to buy an Express Pass. But these aren’t cheap, staring at around $80 per person per day. There are two types of pass: Universal Express and Universal Express Unlimited. The simple Universal Express pass allows you to take the express lane once per each participating ride. And the Universal Express Unlimited pass lets you use it as many times as you like. You can buy passes for just one park or multiple parks, including Volcano Bay. There are limited express passes available each day, so ideally you’d buy one in advance. 

Also note that a handful of rides aren’t included in the Express Pass, so you need to get on these at early entry to avoid the queues, or just accept it’s a long line (for example with Hagrid’s Motorbike).

If you stay at a premier resort, you get an Express Pass included, which can work out more economical than staying at a cheaper hotel and buying the pass separately (I’ve written more about this in the accommodation section below). 

We had a Universal Express pass and found it so useful, especially with the kids who have almost zero tolerance for queues!

Early entry

If you’re staying at an official Universal hotel, you get early entry to one of the parks, an hour before other guests. They alternate which park opens early.

Not all the rides are available at early entry, but it’s a really good opportunity to get on some of the popular ones ahead of the crowds. This is especially useful if you don’t have an Express Pass. I include advice on the best rides to choose at early entry in the individual posts on Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida.

Get to the park on time

If you don’t have early entry, it’s still worth being one of the first to get into the park at official park opening. The lines only get longer as the day goes on. Plus, remember lots of the rides don’t open until then anyway.

Arrive at least 30 minutes before early entry as it’s normal for the staff to let you through the gates before the official opening. They sometimes open the gates around 7:30am and then lead you to an area where there’s a rope that might be dropped a bit before 8am. Also be sure to allow time for security and getting through the gates, which may take up to 30 minutes. 

Single rider lane

Single rider lanes are another big time saver at Universal and particularly useful when you’re travelling with little kids. You can use them for the rides that the kids can’t go on seeing as you’re probably riding them solo anyway.

We’ve heard of people getting onto Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure in just 20 minutes using the single rider lane when the normal line is 2 hours.

Not all the rides have single rider lanes, but the ones that do tend to be the bigger rollercoasters. We have more details in the posts on each individual park.

Rider switch

Rider switch is handy if just part of your group wants to go on a certain ride. Your whole group can wait in the line and then whoever wants to ride takes turns while the other waits in the family room with the child who can’t/doesn’t want to.

This is useful if both adults want to experience the ride with the older/braver kid. Or when you have a baby who is easy to entertain in the queue (we did this with Otis at Universal Studios Hollywood).

However, I think the single rider lane is a better option if you have toddlers/preschoolers and it’s just adults who want to ride as then the other adult can do something fun with the kids while they wait (anything to avoid unnecessary queueing with children!). 

Use the app

Make sure you download the official Universal Orlando app. It has everything from maps to mobile food ordering and info on the current wait time for each ride. And don’t forget a portable charger.

The best rides for little kids at Universal Orlando 

I’ve written two separate posts with a full guide to all the rides at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. But as a quick rule of thumb, these are the most gentle rides for little kids at Universal Orlando.

• All the rides and attractions in Seuss Landing (If I ran the Zoo play area, Cat in the Hat, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and Caro-Seuss-el)
• Camp Jurassic playground
• Me Ship, the Olive 
• Hogwarts Express 
• Storm Force Accelatron 

How to meet characters at Universal Orlando

While meeting characters is more of a thing at Disney, there are some really cool opportunities at Universal Orlando that little kids will love. For example, my kids met a Minion, which was one of the highlights of their entire trip. And they also went mad for the Sing 2 characters too. 

Other characters little kids might love include Dr Seuss characters, Gabby from Gabby’s Dollhouse, Optimus Prime and lots of Marvel superheroes.

I go into more detail about how to meet characters at Universal Orlando in the individual posts on Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. 

Where to eat at Universal Orlando

Someone said to me recently that theme park food is always awful, and I disagree. Sure, it’s not always easy (but certainly not impossible) to find something healthy, but there’s a lot of good food to be had at both Disney and Universal. 

At Universal Orlando, you have CityWalk and the hotel restaurants as well as all the theme park dining options. There’s a lot of choice.

I go into more detail about the options at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure in their individual posts, but these were some of our highlights:

• The Minions Café – our kids went absolutely mad for this, plus it has some healthy options for the adults (loved the crispy cauliflower with edamame and blue rice). The Minions paletas (made from fresh fruit) from Freeze Ray Pops were also a big hit.
• The Galaxy Bowl diner and bowling lanes in our hotel, Cabana Bay, was great for a combined burger and bowling session. It’s a fun novelty to have this in the hotel!
• Trying butter beer is a rite of passage for Harry Potter fans and everyone at Universal, but I personally found it a bit gross (sooooo sweet!)
• CityWalk has loads of options, including Voodoo Doughnuts, pizza, a Bob Marley themed restaurant and more.
• The Circus McGurkus restaurant in Seuss Landing has kid-friendly meals like pasta and the trolley runs right through it, which our kids loved.
• Café 4 on Marvel Superhero Island is a great option for pizza in a futuristic superhero-themed setting
• Also note that you can buy a big soda cup and re-fill it at stations throughout the day through the Coca Cola Freestyle program. To be honest, drinking that much soda doesn’t seem like a great idea, but Steve loves Diet Coke, so he enjoyed this feature!
• The Harry Potter restaurants (Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron) are impressively themed and a big hit with Potter fans.
• Mythos is one of the most popular theme park restaurants in all of Orlando, but it’s better suited to adults/older kids.

Is Volcano Bay worth it with little kids?

We spent half a day in Volcano Bay and the kids loved it at ages 3 and 6. Neither of them can swim yet, so we stuck to the kids’ areas – Tot Tiki Reef and Runamukka Reef – which have shallow pools, splash pads, waterfalls and little slides. And we also took them on the lazy river. They spent hours in the kids’ area while Steve and I took turns to ride some of the bigger slides. 

While it’s definitely more fun to ride water slides together, it was still worth experiencing the bigger ones by ourselves as they are some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen – it’s an incredible waterpark!

And the kids were perfectly happy in the kids’ section, so I’d say that visiting Volcano Bay with little kids is worth it (although it’d certainly be better with kid who can swim!). It’s also a nice change of pace from the theme parks.

We stayed in Cabana Bay, which had a view of the waterpark, so the kids had their hearts set on it from the moment we arrived!

Where to stay at Universal Orlando with kids

There are eight official Universal Orlando hotels, and staying at any one of these means you get early entry to the parks, an hour ahead of other guests. This is well worth it in my opinion, especially as the budget hotels have fairly friendly price tags. 

If you go for one of the premier hotels, you also get an Express Pass, which is valid for both the day you check in and the day you check out. This is a huge advantage as it would cost at least $320 for an Express Pass for a single park for a family of four (and even more for a park-to-park Express Pass).

So if you’re planning on buying an Express Pass, calculate the cost and take that off the price of a premier hotel. You might find that it brings the price down to a similar level of the other Universal hotels. 

When we went to Universal, we found that the premier hotels cost at least $500 per night for a family of four, and the most budget option (Endless Summer) cost $130 per night. When you consider the cost of the Express Pass for two days is around $500 for four people, it cancels out the cost of the hotel if you book for one night. In this scenario, it’s actually cheaper to stay at a premier hotel. But do check prices ahead as they vary a lot throughout the year. Plus, this also presumes that you are only staying at the premier hotel for one night. It’d be much more convenient to stay at the hotel for two nights, so you could do early entry on both days.

Here’s a quick quide to the official Universal hotels.

Premier Hotels

• Loews Portofino Bay Hotel 
• Hard Rock Hotel® 
• Loews Royal Pacific Resort 

Preferred Hotels

• Loews Sapphire Falls Resort 

Prime Value Hotels

• Universal’s Aventura Hotel 
• Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort 

Value Hotels

• Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites 
• Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites 

We stayed at Cabana Bay, which we all loved. It has a 1950s theme that works for both adults and kids, playing on nostalgia while also having plenty to entertain the little ones. There are two big pools, including a water slide and lazy river, and they do nightly s’mores and outdoor movies. It even has a bowling alley! 

The big highlight of the hotel is that some of the rooms look right onto Volcano Bay – we paid the extra for the view and it was definitely worth it. The kids were so excited to look out onto the waterpark and its giant volcano (to be honest, I found it quite exciting too!).

You can walk from Cabana Bay to CityWalk in 20 minutes along the garden path, or you can get the free transfer bus, which takes about 5 minutes. 

Another bonus is that sometimes Minion characters make an appearance at the hotel. My kids went absolutely mad when they saw a Minion there – it was one of the best moments of their trip!

Buy your tickets now!

Ready for your Universal Orlando adventure? Search Undercover Tourist and Get Away Today for the latest deals. 

Found this useful? Share it on Pinterest!