Give me ALLLLL the advice!!!

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Hello everyone,

I just booked a trip!! I have never been to Universal.. so I need ALL the advice.. but I need to provide some info.

We are big Disney and thrill ride people. I will be coming with my 18 year old daughter and my 21 year old daughter. My oldest daughter has a 3 month old infant that we will be taking along with us.

And.. here comes the cringe.. we are going in July.

But, I am not a commando park goer, so I know when I have had enough. We do not plan to keep the baby there all day and we have planned to take lots of breaks.

We are TOTAL HP NERDS!!!!!! (Well of course.. ) and we don't to do as much as possible. We are going to trade off for big rides as much as possible, but we know it will not always be possible, and I don't mind missing out, as long as my girlies have a good time.

We are staying at the Avanti and got the Harry potter package. We are stay from July 8-July 14th. We have the meal plan for 4 days, we have the 3 park explorer ticket for all the days we are there. We have reservations on Three Broomsticks, Leaky Cauldron, and Shutterbutton? Since we are staying for so long, I thought maybe we would be able to see everything since we have so many days to do it and getting into/ experiencing some things might be tough.

PLEASE... give me good bad ugly.. everything. help me prepare for things, give me advice.. help me!

 

[damo]

You will really appreciate the baby swap. Everyone goes through the queue together and somebody will stay with the baby in the baby swap room which is right at the load/unload area. When the riders get off, someone switches and stays with the baby. It is nicely air conditioned and relaxing for the baby. Just be forewarned that you can't take the stroller through the queue. You might want to have a baby carrier for the queues.

You asked for the ugly, so here is my personal opinion. Personally, with the baby, I would have tried to stay closer to the parks, like at Cabana Bay making it easier to take breaks during the day. If at all possible, I would have splurged on Royal Pacific to give you all express passes, making a summer vacation much more enjoyable. I wouldn't have bothered with the Harry Potter package as there is nothing in the package that you can't just get normally.

We got our first little grandbaby girl this March too!!!!!

 

[Puffy2]

I agree with damo. the heat is a killer. Diagon Alley Universal Studios is more impressive than Hogsmead at IOA. Go to the parks early at opening to avoid heat of the day. Or go late if they are open late. This is why staying onsite would be better - easier to go/leave an go back. Everyone should build up their stamina by taking long walks daily.

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

So , do you think the extra 700 to stay at the Cabana Bay is worth it?

 

[macraven]

Read the stickies and last years trip reports for summer at the darkside

Might give you tips others went thru

All above advice is spot on

 

[gotomu212]

For 6 days I think Cabanna Bay is worth the extra, especially if you'll be taking a lot of breaks and spending a few days at the resort.

 

[macraven]

Reread the thread again as not sure you will find many trip reports doing the parks with a 3 month old in July

You are brand women !!!

First thing I would do is buy a lay down stroller with easy moveability with shaded top
The less sun on the infant the more comfortable baby will be

Maybe consider ear covers for sound
You will hear loud noises in the park and at Potter sections and when walking by coaster ride areas
Baby might not be startled easily then

Study the online park maps for all first aide, baby rooms and restrooms in the park
And check the ways to reach them
With heavy crowds, less frustration for you

Also the best help I read here, move to an onsite hotel

Being close to your hotel would be a great advantage for all

If you have issues going back to the onsite hotel, go to guest services for help
They can possible help you with that so you don't have to deal with walking or use the bus

 

[wgeo]

How many days of tickets did you buy? I'm wondering if you bought 6 days worth of tickets if you looked into the price comparison with an annual pass. Depending on your tickets (and whether you could get a refund) the annual pass may actually be cheaper. Also with an annual pass you can get some pretty significant discounts on onsite hotels.

But assuming that you are locked into your current hotel/ticket package, don't worry you're still going to have a great time. You just need to set up your expectations the right way. It will take you longer to get anywhere so you will be moving at a slower pace, which means more time to soak in the atmosphere. If you plan on staying in the parks, as stated above - look at the maps now to plan out good, cool places to take a break with the baby. Pick out your favorite things and plan to spread those out among each of the mornings that you are there, that way you'll know that you'll do those, and consider everything else that you fit in as a bonus.

Hopefully a parent with a kid still in a stroller can chime in with some stroller advice. But overall, don't worry, take it slow and enjoy yourself, you don't need to be commando to see everything at Universal especially with that many days.

If you are HP nerds, I'd recommend doing that area first thing, but also if you take a break during the day, go back and see it again at night too.

 

[damo]

So , do you think the extra 700 to stay at the Cabana Bay is worth it?

For that length of time in the middle of summer with an infant, I definitely do. We brought our year old nephew a couple of years ago in September and it was sweltering. We stayed at Royal Pacific and if was a lifesaver to just be able to hop the boat back to the hotel for a break. The parks are open long in July and you have lots of time to take a nice afternoon break and go back to the parks at or after dinner when it is cooler.

We did mornings at the park, afternoon back at the hotel and then evening back at the park.

 

[kohlby]

We have gone with a 2 month old before. The baby hung out in my sling the entire time pretty much. We had a stroller but baby preferred the sling. (Also, we had a 3 year old who used the stroller some). Even if she plans on using a stroller, have her use some sort of baby carrier as well. It will make it so much easier in the lines. Child swap is awesome too! If you're going commando, I really don't think it would be that hard with just an infant. Stop in cooler rides/places at times. Terminator is a nice break. So is the Monster Make-up show. Even things like Shrek and Minions give you a bit of an air conditioning break. That being said, we didn't do July with a baby. We did end of May/start of June. Temps were in the mid to upper 90's on our Universal Days though.

As far as on-site vs off, since you have three adults, it would make it easier for someone to leave and come back if needed since you wouldn't rely on one car. Otherwise, I'd probably just go with it. We were off-site when we went with a 2 month old (and barely 3 year old who was far more difficult than the baby) and it went fine.

*As for the ugly, most of it revolves around our 3 year old that trip, but for the 2 month old, I found it very hard for me to drink enough. I was nursing and I always get super thirsty in the first several months of nursing and need far, far more liquids than the average person. Add in heat, and I was struggling. Don't let that water bottle get empty! And help the mum keep it full too! The other minor issue was that baby was still on the poop 362,277 times a day. That did slow us down some. Nursing was super easy though since we nursed where ever, whenever.

 

[damo]

You also have to keep in mind the length of lines in July. This is peak season and without express, you are going to be waiting a long time in line. When lines are this long, a portion of them are outside in the heat. This is going to add to how tired you are and also how much you get done. This is another reason why you'll want to be at the parks in the morning and evening when temps are down and lines are shorter.

 

[agavegirl1]

Oh my, it's July...I would price out at least one person buying an annual pass and getting room discount for an on site Hotel, preferably one that has the express passes. While not helpful for Gringotts or Forbidden Journey, they are good at so many attractions. A quick walk or boat ride back to the hotel in the heat of the day for rests, pool time, relaxing and refreshing can be priceless.

I do spreadsheets with various scenarios and have found that, while off site is cheaper, I am willing to trade a few more Benjamins for the convenience and time saving of a premium on site resort. Express is priceless so there's that.

As for baby ... yes, a baby carrier so mom can "wear" baby plus a lay down stroller will help a lot. Make sure mom hydrates if she is nursing. The stroller is also handy for baby essentials.

With close proximity to the park, any or all adults can leave and reenter parks as they please with or without baby.

That's just me and this level of US/IOA immersion may not work for you at the price point you need.

 

[kohlby]

You also have to keep in mind the length of lines in July. This is peak season and without express, you are going to be waiting a long time in line. When lines are this long, a portion of them are outside in the heat. This is going to add to how tired you are and also how much you get done. This is another reason why you'll want to be at the parks in the morning and evening when temps are down and lines are shorter.

Very true - with that concern, I wouldn't do CB. I'd do 1-2 nights at one of the hotels that include express, like RPR. (It gets you express for both check-in and check-out day so staying there just one night won't raise your rate by $700 and will get you unlimited express for two days!) And switch hotels to the cheaper one for the remainder of your trip. Our weekend was busy too - it was Memorial Day weekend - but busy parks then weren't the same as busy parks now. Lines got long but it wasn't hard to walk around in most places. (Though, IOA had some crowded stretches still then). We toured smart too - hitting rope drop and doing the more popular rides and then switching over to less popular ones mid-day during peak crowds.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi I agree with staying at one of the closer on-site hotels for a couple of days for the Express pass then moving if you want. You will be very happy you did this. We took my DD when she was 2 and we stayed at PBH best thing we did. The only thing with lowest AP is that the month of July is blocked out. You would have to upgrade to the next one. Good luck

 

[LoopyDoopy]

I stayed at an outside hotel last time I went to Universal. The price for a 3 day ticket was the same as a 2 day. I thought, "Who needs the express pass? We'll just go an extra day." Forget about it! It's not worth standing in line in that heat. I decided after that trip I would be going for two days and using the express pass. the cost of the on-site hotels are steep, but subtracting out the cost of the pass that I already decided I would buy makes it a little more palatable.

 

[macraven]

Loopy my same thoughts also

You do get the ep on check out day


Possible to do a one night stay onsite and spend check out day in the parks

Stay that night at a cheaper nearby hotel if you want to save more money the second night

 

[Seeker615]

I agree with the others that staying onsite is so worth it. It is so easy to get back to your hotel for a much needed break of change of clothes or a dip in the pool. We recently stayed for the second time at Royal Pacific and it we will continue to do so. We bought the annual pass and saved a lot of money on the room rate and we got unlimited express pass which is so worth it!

Other advice? - Stay hydrated and pay attention to the wait times. We had the Universal App on our phones and that really helped us stay informed. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and take breaks in the shade or air conditioned areas.

Do the HP areas early. They are wonderful but get really crowded.

 

[macraven]

More great advice from seeker!