The kids are SO excited for Spiderman, Minions, and OMG Harry Potter.
Can the kids of those ages do those attractions?
I only have the one kid so once we were done with a height my brain moved ON, plus my kid was always tall, so I'm out of touch. But do make sure.
And there are no main Potter characters there. The Knight Bus conductor and then choir stuff. Depending on how liberal you've been with the movies at their ages, they might have NO clue who or what those things are.
The baby swap concept is so much better and makes more sense at Universal than Disney. Also, they seem to advertise it and encourage it a lot more. However, Universal seems to have always had it planned out, with the fact that you have actual rooms in order to wait in on top of that, you get to sit and relax in air conditioning. It makes sense though they'd be prepared, because it is geared for a more mature audience. However, I like the fact that Universal thought about that ages ago and planned accordingly.
Disney's concept seemed so obscure I had to actually look it up years ago. The idea of having to wait outside of the entrance seems ridiculous to me, considering most of the time that means you're essentially waiting in the heat and sun. I bet children and parents are thrilled to do that... Then on top of that, you have to go through the FP line, where as at Universal you walk from the room onto the ride. Which typically is only a few feet away.
Disney gets a lot of people trying to sneak little kids on. I think that's why they don't want little ones anywhere near loading zones.
And back when the swap pass allowed you the whole day to ride, smart parents took their kids elsewhere, so they were NOT just waiting. They were doing something.
Also which hotel in US to consider if there there for 2 or more nights?
If the adults will be riding the big rides, go with an express pass hotel so you can do things quicker.
I think that little ones CAN have fun at Universal, but it takes planning and patience on the part of the adults. The adults have to be willing to spend time at Barney. To spend hours at the Fievel playground, at the Curious George area, in the ballpit behind CG, at the Jurassic area. The adults can't just give those areas short shrift and then move on; those will BE Universal for the little ones so you have to give them all the time they want. Which is another reason to get the EP hotel, so that one parent can hang out with the kiddies, doing Barney AGAIN, while the other adult goes and plays for an hour or two. Then switch it out.
Assuming Animal Actors is still going on, DO IT. I had never gone, not in all my UO trips, and not in 3 separate park days at USH, but we finally caught it last Saturday, and it was so good! I love the pets show at Seaworld in San Diego, and don't know why I kept letting AA go unseen.