Best Tips for Universal Orlando Resort with Toddlers
This post is sponsored by Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog!
In February, I had the privilege to travel to Orlando with my family and experience all that Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort had to offer! It’s important to be able to stay somewhere that has plenty of things for kids to do, in order to keep Aimery busy. I can guarantee you that our family had the best time with everything this resort had to offer!
Universal Cabana Beach Resort is located in beautiful Orlando, Florida. The resort is inspired by the 1950s and 60s, and even our room was decorated as if we were living in that era! As we arrived at our room at Starlight, we were welcomed with personalized room cards and lots of candy in a paper retro car - Aims thought it was the coolest thing! Everyone at Cabana Bay was so welcoming and joyful, which allowed us to enjoy our stay even more.
Universal Cabana Bay Resort is truly mesmerizing. Their rooms give off the same joyful vibes that the resort does. There are 2,200 guest rooms, including family suites with kitchens! The room we stayed in had two queen beds with a pull out sofa couch, offering more than enough space for our family as a place to stay while spending most of our time at the parks. With our family comes a lot of clothes (we always overpack!), and I loved that our room had a large closet with lots of storage space. In the kitchen, there was plenty of cabinet space to put all of our food, drinks, and anything else that we had! It felt so good to be able to come back to our room after a long day at Universal and cook in our own kitchen, which was fully equipped with all of the necessary pots, pans, and silverware.
Should you choose to eat out during your stay, Cabana Bay has many different restaurants and food options to choose from, all of which keep the theme of the 1950’s and 60’s going! Being able to wake up and enjoy a plentiful breakfast at Bayliner Diner was incredible! But wait... There were Minions who joined our breakfast as well, how cool?! If you’re a coffee drinker like I am, you know it’s important to have coffee close by! Thankfully, there’s a Starbucks located right in the lobby! Again, Cabana Bay came to the rescue with their poolside bar and grill offering a variety of food and drinks for our family! It’s convenient because while my husband and I sat poolside, Aimery was close by making s’mores!
Did you know that when you stay at Universal Orlando Hotels, you are able to get into the parks before the public? It was great having the opportunity to get more ride time and beat the crowds, especially with a toddler! We never had to worry about parking or taking an hour Uber to Universal Parks because the hotel offers a free shuttle bus, so it’s always quick and easy to go from place to place. We were also just steps away from Universal’s Volcano Bay, which is so convenient during the warmer months! If you decide to stay at the resort to swim, there’s multiple pools, waterslide, and even a lazy river!
If you download the Universal Orlando app during your stay, it allows you to easily plan your park days. The night before, we mapped out the day by choosing the rides we wanted to go on! We planned around Aimery’s nap schedule which allowed us to make the best plan for the day. On the app, you can see all rides (with height requirements), wait times, and also decide where to eat and shop. We went with the 3-day ticket with express unlimited, and I truly believe that paying the extra to skip the regular lines was 100% worth it, especially with kids. We were able to get on most rides with under a 10 minute wait. Another thing to take advantage of is the Child Swap - I NEVER heard of this until this trip, but Universal Orlando offers child swap for most of the adult rides so both parents can have a turn on rides without both having to wait in line. The other parent and child wait in an air conditioned family room!
This trip to Universal Orlando Resort was so needed for our family and definitely a vacation we will never forget. You can read more about the resort and their amenities here.