Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [130]
Universal Horror Make-Up Show
Map Location 16
This show opens with a bang—or, more specifically, the startling effect of a man running on stage with a knife protruding from his chest. Everything that follows is fast-paced and funny but a good deal edgier than anything you’d see at Disney. The actors illustrate special horror effects on stage including “cutting” off the arm of an (adult) audience volunteer, and you’ll also see clips from The Mummy, The Fly, and An American Werewolf in London, which has an astounding man-to-beast transformation scene.
The Scare Factor
Although the movie clips and general gore level are too intense for preschoolers, most kids 8 and over can stomach the Universal Horror Make-Up Show. Better than adults, frankly. The show has a parental-advisory rating because of the blood and a couple of risqué jokes.
Animal Planet Live!
Map Location 11
This is an appealing show for all age groups, but younger kids will be especially drawn to the animal stars. Kid volunteers from the audience join the fast-paced and funny performance. Showtimes are printed on your map; because of the large size of the theater, this is a great choice for the most crowded times of the afternoon.
Fievel’s Playland
Map Location 13
Fievel’s Playland is cleverly designed and filled with Wild West–style props, including a harmonica slide that plays notes as kids go down it; a giant talking Tiger the cat; canteens to squirt; cowboy hats to bounce in; spiderwebs to climb; and a separate ball pit and slide area for toddlers.
The centerpiece of the playground is a 200-foot water ride in which kids and parents are loaded into two-person rafts and swept through a “sewer.” The ride is zippier than it looks, will get you soaking wet, and is so addictive that most kids clamor to get back on again immediately. The water ride loads slowly, so by afternoon the waits are prohibitive. If you come in the morning, it’s possible to ride several times with minimal waits, but by afternoon, one ride is all you can reasonably expect. Note that the water ride is closed on cold days.
Fievel’s Playland often opens an hour or two after the general park opening. If you ride the big-deal rides and then show up at the playground at the opening time indicated on your map, you’ll be able to try the water ride without much of a wait.
A Day in the Park with Barney
Map Location 10
Designed to appeal to Universal’s youngest guests, A Day in the Park with Barney is actually an enclosed parklike setting with pop-art-style, colorful flowers and trees. Barney appears several times a day in a song-and-dance show, and there’s also an interactive indoor play area for toddlers. This play area is far cooler and calmer than Fievel’s next door, and the nearby shop and food stand are never crowded.
“The highlight of my 2-year-old daughter’s day was the Barney show,” a mother of two from Illinois wrote to us. “The kids sit so close to him and his friends, and the setting is beautiful. I loved watching my little girl sing along during the ‘I Love You’ song at the end.”
Helpful Hint
The Barney preshow is a little uncomfortable—a standing venue with parents having to lift kids up if they have a prayer of seeing the stage. But once you get inside, the area is much more family friendly and designed to let little kids romp and dance along with the music.
Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster
Map Location 14
The Nuthouse Coaster is zippier than you’d guess and kids must be 36 inches tall to ride. Watch it make a couple of runs before you line up with your 4-year-old.
Curious George Goes to Town