Growing up in Florida, Troy and I would go to Disney at least once a year for school field trips. Gradually, that grew to loving roller coasters, fandoms, drinking around the world, and staying in the parks late at night. We were always with friends, had very little cash, and ended up passing out on the ride home.
Making a big to-do about Disney World was never a thing for our families. But, we thought long and hard about how we wanted to navigate Disney with the girls, knowing that it is probably worth it to do one big magical trip to Florida while they are still little princesses.
So for this year’s Spring Break, we decided to give them an amuse bouche while we were in California. In addition to Joshua Tree, Carlsbad, and sightseeing around LA, we took the girls to Universal Studios Hollywood. They are on the fifth Harry Potter book. Super Mario Galaxy just came out. Z just got over 42 inches tall. It seemed like the best time to test the waters.
Disclaimer: We did not go through a travel agent or third-party booking. This trip was what I could book from home.
Universal Hollywood is only one park and doesn’t have a hotel on property. We ended up buying two-day park passes so we didn’t have to rush. Our hotel did have a complimentary shuttle to the park.
From the start, I could tell that guiding our girls through this theme park was going to be the opposite of how I would’ve attacked it as a kid in the 90s. So here are a few things we did that surprised me:
Be a Camel
Last year, we stopped carrying a standard backpack and got a Camelback. We use it all the time for hiking and in a theme park, it’s the same. We packed trail mix, beef jerky, mini Clif bars, sunscreen, Tylenol, and the empty water bladder. Universal let us refill water at any of the Coke Freestyle machines. This helped us prevent dehydration and consequent dehydration headaches.
Get a Locker
One extra that was worth the mini-splurge was Early Entry passes to Super Nintendo World. We were allowed in the park one hour early to just explore this area. That meant that we had to be at the park by 7:00, allowed in the gate by 7:30, and into the Mushroom Kingdom at 8:00am. Being in California, the morning was a bit chilly. So for the first time ever, I packed everyone a complete second set of clothes.
By 10:00am, the sun was bright and we started to strip down. We rented a locker to keep the hoodies and leggings for the whole day. Fifteen-year-old me would’ve just dealt with being cold.
Also, Super Nintendo World was in the back of the park. This should satisfy all of the people that believe that you should run to the back of the park at rope drop and work your way to the front to avoid lines.
Take a Break
Time was a precious commodity when you must be at the bus by a certain time. Or, if you are staying at an off-site hotel, it would take an hour plus to leave the park, get to your car, get back to your hotel for a nap, and then you’d have to do the whole thing over to get back to the park with severely less enthusiasm.
We intentionally planned this first trip to be two days. We knew that they were going to want more time with Mario and the Wizarding World. Fitting it all in one day would’ve been stressful, especially considering wait times. Universal offers a two-day pass deal, so our first day was up-and-at-em. The second day was a leisurely sleep-in and a double-back to cover anything we missed.
We also took advantage of re-entry and left the park for lunch at CityWalk. I don’t remember eating any solid meals at the parks growing up, let alone bringing my own snacks.
Single Rider Line
There were two attractions that the girls were not tall enough to ride. We didn’t want to be jerks and make the girls stand in lines just so we could enjoy a faster coaster without them. But then, we saw the single rider line.
I took the girls to get their photos taken with Gabby and Poppy, while Troy jumped in line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Instead of having to wait over an hour, the single rider line got him through the castle, on the ride, and back out in 20 minutes. I did the same while Troy was teaching the girls how to perfect their foolish wand-waving and silly incantations.
I appreciate parks that will offer child switch as well. If your partner is good with going solo for a bit, it’s definitely worth it to not feel like you’re shepherding kids the entire time. I might’ve also taken my time in the gift shop after the ride.
Power Up
Universal uses their park app to track ride times, reservations, tickets, wallets, etc. Disney does the same with Genie+. We also bought the girls Power Up bands for Super Mario. This is an RFID tracker that lets kids punch bricks and power blocks, collect mushrooms, and win points throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. After you collect four keys, you can fight Bowser Jr. and recover the stolen Golden Mushroom.
The Power Up band connected back to the park app to track points through the day. The wands the girls picked for themselves also had RFID chips to do the interactive spells throughout Hogsmeade Village. The most interactive thing we did was get the Epcot passport so you could collect stamps from every country. Still the best, in my opinion…
Both these $$ extras really made A&Z’s trip special. I also appreciate that the bands and wands are reusable in all Universal Parks. We did not splurge for Fast Passes or VIP on this trip but there were times where that would’ve been pretty baller. And in a bigger park like Disney, Lightning Lane pass reservations will be our best bet.
Other Things That Stood Out and What We’ll Do in Florida
I really appreciated that the Universal app listed times and locations to take photos with characters. We didn’t have to make reservations, but we did wait in line for some. Princess Peach took about 20mins during our early entry.
We brought an extra battery for our phones. Both phones drained very fast so we needed the boost. Bring extra charging cables so you can charge everything up at night.
The girls are still at the age where they can split meals. Troy and I also split entrees when we travel. This minimizes food waste. I also tried not to give in to so much sugar for the girls throughout the day.
Keep snacks in the hotel room. After a day out, it’s hard coming to the hotel to get cleaned up and have nothing there to eat. We did stop at a grocery store, so we had blueberries and trail mix. I also would’ve liked bagels, yogurt pouches, and popsicles.
The girls still looked forward to the hotel pool at the end of the day.
I put the girls in mostly athleisure and they had their own crossbody purses for their spending money and souvenirs. Tennis dresses worked the best and stayed cute for pictures.
I tried to avoid pulling out my phone while waiting in lines. The park had its own free WiFi, but an analog activity during the wait would’ve been helpful.
If the girls hadn’t seen the movie or show of the attraction we were waiting for, I would show the girls the movie trailer. This was like a teaser for the ride and calmed them down from what to expect. Unfortunately, they stayed pretty scared for Transformers.
We’re planning on going to Disney next February and already the sticker shock has hit. We’re trying to find the right balance of days/nights/parks and hoppers. I don’t think I would’ve normally considered a third-party agent, but maybe for this first time.
P.S. We also promised to take the girls to Universal Epic Worlds once we’ve finished the Harry Potter series on audiobook. I’m hoping that will buy us some time before the next jaunt to Orlando. It makes me feel a smidge better to pair trips with a book goal or interest.
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