We grabbed an Uber from Caribbean Beach to Doubletree by Hilton, which is about a 20 min walk to Universal Studios.. Using the Uber app we just made sure we selected an Uber that carried a child car seat and the driving just popped it on when he arrived. it was really easy and made travelling between the two property’s very easy with Teddy. https://booking.tp.st/Qg2lPTTT click here to view the many options available to you staying in Orlando.
We considered staying on Universal Studios property but as we were only there a few nights it didn’t seem to justify the cost as the main thing for us was that we were walkable which you can achieve by staying off site. The perks of staying inside are nowhere near as good or cost effective as they are at staying on Disney property mainly as because of its location on International Drive which makes it so walkable from a huge number of hotels. Double Tree was a really nice hotel, great location which a really good sized swimming pool and a lovely outdoor area to sit during the day and evening. There was a restaurant and bar on site which we didn’t use as we ate in the parks but very convenient for guests staying there.
We booked our tickets separately and did a 14 day consecutive ticket which was more than we needed but they don’t seem to offer a 7 day one at the time we went and we wanted the option to park hop during the 3 days we were there so a one day ticket wasn’t worth it x3 (note if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express then you will need the park hopper ticket to experience the attraction as it starts in one park and ends in the other so they will check your park ticket when boarding from either end.)
In general, I would say the Universal parks (Islands of adventure and Universal Studios) are less suited to young children than Disney so if you have less time and have to pick one then absolutely pick Disney but if you can do both it’s so worth it!
There are still many, many things for kids to do and in general the parks are not as busy and the queues with the exception of a few (Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure) are not as long. There is a bit different between the baby/child swap as at universal the children queue with you and as you approach the ride entrance one of you will be directed to a room at the side where you can sit with your little one it’s a bit of an odd system as you may have to queue for hours with a child who cannot actually experience the ride. Saying that Teddy enjoyed chatting to us in the queues and the theming was enough to keep him interested. We didn’t do that many with him to be fair so it was only occasionally, but he did enjoy the attention from us whilst waiting! Whilst waiting for the other rider I tended to take the time to change his nappy and give him some snacks as they had changing facilities.
The hotel pool was nice so we headed back for an afternoon swim but it wasn’t heated like the Disney pool was and even though it was warm enough it did feel really cold so Teddy wasn’t happy in with the splash pad or the small kids pool! We headed back out that evening to city walk which with or without kids in an unbelievable entertainment complex! Pre Teddy we visited most of the bars and restaurants over several visits and it’s one of my favourite areas in Florida I love the atmosphere and you are totally spoilt for choice with food and drinks. We headed for Hard Rock Cafe which is where we eat every time we visit as I just love the Hard Rock restaurants.
The next morning we went straight to Hagrid’s coaster as the queues were fairly lengthy the whole time we were there as it’s a relatively new ride. It is marketed as a family style coaster but it’s a little more intense than that I would say. However that was probably the highlight of the whole holiday it’s an unreal ride, so much twists and turns (and drops….literally) it’s a new Intamin coaster and it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a ride. I think kids probably need to be quite brave to attempt this was especially younger ones as it can be quite intense but the layout and theming was out of this world!
It was raining as we queued for this so Teddy had a great time splashing in the puddles whilst we waited for the ride. Just to note Universal Studios also offer an option to pay extra to skip the queues for the ride, the Express Pass which can be got for free if you stay at one of their deluxe hotels or you can pay for it at the park, $89.99 for a one day ticket covering both parks where you can use it once per each attraction, or $119.99 to skip the rides as many times as you like.
We decided against it as apart from a few rides the majority had fairly doable queues. Over at Seuss Landing Teddy enjoyed a few rides including the Dumbo style, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.
We stayed this evening for the night-time show lighting up the Hogwarts castle which was fairly spectacular, again Teddy fell asleep in his pram which was easy as we didn’t have to rush back to the hotel. Another tip is I would take a pre made bottle of milk with me on our evenings in the parks and his bottle so he could have that whenever he wanted it before bed and then he would drop off and all we had to do was transfer him to his cot when we got back to the hotel.
Next morning we headed to the Hogwarts express which was really cool as Teddy is really interested in planes and trains and in fact any mode of transport…. One of his whole highlights was travelling around Disney and spotting the resort buses as they had loads of them decorated with characters with it being the 50th anniversary, the squealing he made upon seeing one of the character busses was off the chart cute!
Anyway back to the Hogwarts express we went there first thing so there was not much a queue and he really enjoyed the ride across the parks, it’s really interactive how they have done it and a great attraction for the whole family. You are allowed to take prams/strollers and they store them on the train for you and collect them at the other end.
Ok so now another must do, we headed to the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium for dinner, google the menu it’s mind blowing and also order, whatever it is you are ordering, to share! One between 3 will suffice! They make the craziest desserts I’ve ever seen; they also do ‘proper’ food but just go for the desserts/milkshakes the list is endless and it’s so so delicious, and messy especially with little ones
After a mountain of chocolate and ice cream we sensibly headed to the new Intamin launch coaster VelociCoaster based on the new Jurassic park films, it’s an amazing rollercoaster with so much airtime you loose track of where on earth you actually are, but do it, it’s brilliant! We did less rides than we usually would do at Universal Studios with having Teddy in tow but we spend the same amount of time there just did more things that he enjoyed and probably spent a bit more time at the hotel in the middle of the days as these seemed to be the hottest days we had on that holiday so we got out of the sun quite a lot.
If you have older children and they are Harry Potter fans it really is a spectacular place for them in terms of rides/entertainment but also the food options as well it’s so realistic. The queue for the butter beer cart is always lengthy. We always enjoy Universal Studios so much and weren’t sure how Teddy would enjoy it in comparison to Disney but he had a blast so I would always recommend you spend a few days out of Disney to experience the other parks and International Drive itself, it’s a real draw for tourists with plenty of bars/restaurants/shopping malls and other theme/water parks as well. It can also save you a bit of money as hotels are much cheaper than Disney prices yet are still as easy to reach the parks. We wandered back to the hotel and packed up and then it was back in the Uber to Disney for possibly the most unreal hotel experience of our lives!
This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.