Our Family Vacation – Part 3: Universal Studios & Aquatica

  

It may seem a little strange to be writing about a summer family vacation in springtime, but I promised I’d share the details of our Universal Studios experience. I feel I need to follow through, and my personality simply won’t allow me to write about anything else until this vacation blog is complete!

 

Preparing for Universal Studios 

Universal Studios uses a non-affiliated organization, the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), which specializes in professional autism and neurodiversity training and certification, to aid them in verifying if an accommodation is needed.

Through the IBCCES, an individual can apply for an IBCCES Accessibility Card (IAC). The IAC is a digital card that streamlines the process for individuals who may need accommodations to various attractions (including Universal Studios) to be able to participate.

Having an IAC does not guarantee the park will grant the accommodation but merely provides the park reassurance that the individual has an exceptionality that would warrant an accommodation(s) to have a successful visit. In this case, Universal Studios would determine the appropriate queue accommodation based on the the individual’s specific needs.

Confused yet? 

The Process  

To apply for the IAC, individuals must register with IBCCES at accessibilitycard.org within 30 days of when they plan to visit the attraction. Unlike the Disability Access Service (DAS) at Disney, the IBBCES requires medical proof of the need for an accommodation. Medical proof must come in the form of a document that is to be provided by a medical professional, school or government entity that provides some insight into the required accommodation. For Tyson’s application, I did not have time to get a note from his doctor, so I uploaded his Individual Education Plan (IEP) document from school. One must also upload a recent picture of the person requiring the accommodation as this will be used for the digital card. 

Tyson was granted a temporary IAC upon completion of the application and in our experience, within 24 hours the temporary card was revised to processed and valid for 1 year.  

When completing the IAC application, you must select which attractions you plan to visit and for what dates. Therefore, when the application is approved, this information is provided to each theme park and they follow up directly with you to discuss your accommodation needs. 

At the same time I had received the IAC for Tyson, I was also trying to purchase our park tickets for Universal Studios and for some reason using their online system was not working (remember we booked this trip 2 weeks before we departed so all the things needed to be done ASAP). When I called the customer service number for the park, I mentioned that we had received the IAC and were waiting on a call from Universal Studios to discuss. They simply transferred the call and within a few minutes, Tyson was granted the Attractions Assistance Pass (AAP) for our upcoming visit.  Additional information about the AAP and the accommodations they offer can be found here.

Like Disney, Universal Studios offers access to a shorter queue line for attractions, which you can purchase on top of your ticket price called an Express Pass. I was told by Guest Services that Tyson’s AAP would act exactly like the Express Pass and therefore we did not need to purchase that separately. And the most amazing part was the AAP would be granted to our entire party. I thought it would be best to purchase the Express Pass for Lincoln and Mark as I thought Lincoln and Tyson would probably not be visiting the same rides. However, I was told this was not necessary. The AAP would be applied to each ticket, irrelevant whether Tyson was on that ride or not. This is in contrast to Disney, which requires the person granted the accommodation to be on the ride for the family to use the DAS. 

Simply amazing! 

Just like planning for our Disney visit, I did a lot of research before traveling to Universal Studios by reviewing the different themes within the park, food options within the restaurants and of course rides that would be suitable. I also showed Tyson numerous Point-of-View (PoV) videos so he could get a feel for what he might experience on the ride and make decisions on which rides he would like to do. 

He was very excited to ride the Trolls Trollercoaster and that was the only ride on his list. 

Like Disney, Universal Studios has a great app that allows you to view attraction wait times, locations of character meet and greets, and restaurant menus. I highly recommend downloading the app before you visit. 

 

Our Universal Studios Day 

Although I talked about Disney in Part 2 of this series, we actually visited Universal Studios before Disney. The reasoning behind it was that we had all planned to go to Universal Studios, and if visiting these attractions ended up being too overwhelming for Tyson, at least we would still have had the chance to enjoy one park day together as a family.

Well, let me set the stage for our park day adventure. 

What no one prepares you for is the significant time lapse from the moment you arrive on Universal property until you are inside the park gates and approaching your first ride. 

We parked, walked, lined up, and walked some more. 

It was super hot (34°C). 

The lineup for security was straightforward. I was a little nervous as security requested each of us to walk individually through the metal gate detectors but Tyson handled it like a champ. 

We then proceeded to the Universal City Walk area to access the park. 

You then line up again to get a printed copy of your ticket and have your picture taken as you enter the gates to the park. 

As we were availing of the AAP, we then needed to visit Guest Services to have the AAP applied to our tickets. Unlike Disney which has fancy wristbands and/or plastic cards for admission, Universal Studios simply has a printed paper ticket. The AAP is just another ticket to accompany your admission ticket that would need to be scanned at each attraction. (I would recommend wearing a lanyard to hold your ticket, if not you would need to take this small admittance out of your pocket/wallet every single ride.)  

We entered the park and everyone (well almost everyone, as excited as teenagers get) was excited to start our adventure. We walked (some more) but something didn’t seem right. 

I was expecting to see the Minions sign but there were no Minions in sight. I had watched lots of videos about Universal Studios and the sign seemed like it would have been a prominent feature near the entrance, so I wasn’t quite sure how we missed it. 

We kept walking but still no sign of the Minions. Tyson kept pointing to this ridiculously large, green rollercoaster. 

No kid, that is not going to be our first ride.

We circled back and I asked someone where Minion Land was. 

Well …… 

Despite all the planning, all the watching TikTok videos, all the researching, we had entered the WRONG PARK. 

We were in Islands of Adventure and not in Universal Studios. These two themes are adjacent to each other.

I am not sure if this is a common occurrence or just an us thing but I feel someone should have mentioned this in the many videos I had watched.

Back to Guest Services again to change our tickets. 

By this time, we were more than an hour in since we parked and people who will remain nameless were starting to get cranky. 

And the heat was just unbearable. (Note to self: pick a cooler month when planning a vacation that requires significant walking.) 

Luckily we were able to change our tickets and we were back on our way again. 

We see Minion Land and for the first time in a long time, Lincoln is excited to do something with Tyson. Although we had agreed to separate, Lincoln said he wanted to do Minion Land with his little brother. 

We get to the first attraction, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion, and go to enter the lineup for the attraction only to be faced with Problem #2.  

I had forgotten to ask for an accommodation for the stroller and the attendant told me the stroller had to be parked outside. Bummer!

This was not going to work. Depending on the lineups for each of the attractions, I was concerned Tyson would not be able to wait patiently in line, especially when he was excited to get on a ride. 

Back to Guest Services again. 

Sigh. 

Did I mention it was so hot? 

This time I ventured back to the entrance alone and let the rest of the family start the fun day. 

Although I was apprehensive of how Tyson would make out on his first attraction and I was melting with the heat, I quickly made my way back to Guest Services for the THIRD time to request the accommodation. I got some strange looks as I bolted back to the entrance with an empty stroller. 

Despite our rocky start, when I met back up with the family, I could tell from their smiles that everything had gone well at Villain-Con. Lincoln was so happy and proud he suggested we all go on Despicable Me Minion Mayhem next. 

If I could engrain one memory in my mind forever it would be Lincoln watching Tyson on the Minion ride and both kids smiling. 

These types of moments do not come easy for us – both kids participating in 1 activity and not just enjoying it, but loving it. 

The picture does not do this memory justice. 

Tyson seemed to have done his own “research” about Universal Studios as he knew exactly where he wanted to go next …. the entrance to Illumination Theatre. 

I had seen a very small crowd of people (perhaps 10-15) gathered on one of the side streets and passed by it, but Tyson insisted with his pointing that we check it out. 

Little did I know this was the location for the Illumination Theatre, a character meet and greet. 

And who happened to be there but our favourite Despicable Me character – Vector. 

For anyone not familiar with the Minions or Vector specifically, google “Despicable Me Vector – tiny toilet”, it’s hilarious. 

Despite our small hiccup, I had so much confidence that I beckoned Mark, Lincoln and Meagan to go have fun and try the bigger rides and me and Tyson would hang out and seek out DreamWorks Land. 

What a fun day we had! 

Me and Tyson may have ridden the Trolls Trollercoaster four times in a row. He loved it. 

As this was his first time on a rollercoaster, I was a little nervous he might get scared so I reached out and held his hand during the ride. Each time we rode any of the rides, he would reach out to hold my hand. It’s funny now when I think of it, as he was the brave one and loved all the thrill-seeking rides. 

For some reason, Universal Studios did not feel as overwhelming as Disney. Although it was quite busy, I never felt congested with people. 

I also did not feel the sense of urgency I did when visiting Disney, like I needed to make the best use of my time to fit it all in. 

Things were going so well …. 

Then Mark may or may not have fractured his rib on a ride (let’s see a show of hands for anyone out there who feels their husband needs as much, or perhaps more, supervision as their children). 

Lincoln was excessively complaining: about the heat and how tired he was and his feet hurt. Like seriously, who wears slides to a park when you know there will be a lot of walking involved. 

We decided a food break, with some time out of the sun, was needed for everyone. Although there were many restaurants on-site, the vote was to leave the park and go to Raising Kane’s, which Lincoln had been excited to check out since we arrived in Florida. 

For some reason, crinkle French fries and homemade chicken fingers were exactly what everyone needed. 

Luckily for us, when choosing our accommodations we decided on a central location so heading back to our rental house was convenient. 

Now with food and a little break, myself and Meagan were ready to head back to Universal Studios and get the “most of our money”. Both of us are good travel buddies and have the same mindset on vacation, wanting to make the most of our limited number of days and soaking up every single minute. 

Well, plans to head back to Universal Studios alone and hit up the more adult, thrill-seeking rides were derailed when Tyson hopped out of the pool and insisted on accompanying us. 

Who would have guessed when just the week prior I was freaking out that this trip was a bad idea, that Tyson, Meagan and I would be leaving Universal Studios at closing? 

What a special day we had! 

And what a great park to visit for kiddos needing a little extra. 

The AAP was amazing – I never felt Tyson’s accommodations were more easily met. 

The difference between the character meet at Disney and Universal Studios was vast with pros and cons on both sides. Disney did not honour the DAS for character meets, therefore you had to lineup – which is fine if your kiddo is capable of waiting in an hour or longer lineup.  Universal Studios did ensure your wait time for character meets was reasonable and doable for a kid who is not capable of waiting. However, I felt the experience was a little rushed – perhaps that is why their lineups were shorter? Disney has many more character meet opportunities and photographers (for their Memory Maker package). Universal does not have photographers at their character meets but they will take a picture for you. 

Overall, we had a great day despite the mishaps. As you probably can guess I’m a glass-half-full vs glass-half-empty type of person. 

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AQUATICA

As mentioned earlier, the IAC is for multiple attractions and another attraction that we visited that accepted this card was Aquatica. 

When we arrived at Aquatica to receive the accommodation we had to proceed to Guest Services, show the IAC and then Tyson received a special bracelet that indicated he had the Ride Accessibility Pass (RPA). I had emailed Accessibility Services several times before we arrived to ask a few questions but I never got a response.  

As I sit here and recall my thoughts about our visit to Aquatica I am trying to put my general feelings about swimming and water parks aside.  

Water parks are not the place for me – I am a poor swimmer; I dislike the water and I have an intense fear (most of the time) that I will drown. 

But I try very hard not to pass on my fears onto my children. 

So off to Aquatica we went.

Still trying to be positive, Aquatica is an autistic parents’ worst nightmare. 

The crowds were incredible, especially during the hot Florida summer months.

The water park is huge making it difficult to stay connected with family members if you separate (and with no phone physically on you, makes it impossible to reach one another). 

The food is outrageously overpriced. I may or may not have paid $13 US for a Dip n’ Dots. 

And then there was this: 

This picture does not do it justice. It is massive!

Before I tell you about our Aquatica experience, let me tell you about the IAC and how it works at Aquatica. 

As mentioned above, when I applied for the IAC, multiple attractions accepted this card and Aquatica was one of them. A complete guide to Aquatica’s accommodations can be found here:https://aquatica.com/orlando/help/guests-with-disabilities/. 

Basically, in a nutshell, the RPA allows the user to stand in a virtual queue and return to the ride or depending on the ride, access a shorter line (considered Special Access). 

Only Tyson was granted the bracelet but if he was riding, his entire party (up to 5 people) could avail of the accommodation. Aquatica provides a list of all their attractions (Ride Accessibility Program) which you can review in advance to determine which accommodation would apply for that ride.   

Aquatica also has a lovely sensory guide for each ride, pool and amenity clearly marking which senses will be affected when using this attraction.

Aquatica has lockers on site to store all your items. Although they are very pricey, it is not reasonable to think you can just leave your items on a chair and hope for the best. The park is huge and using the locker allows everyone to access their items independently when needed as it has a code-based lock.  

The food is very pricey and unfortunately, you are not permitted to bring anything on-site except for water. Exceptions are made for individuals with special dietary needs.  

Our Aquatica Day 

For me personally, our Aquatica day was the most challenging of our trip. 

Tyson was very excited to get going (and difficult to keep attached to us) but before you could set foot in the pool, we needed to apply the sunscreen, visit Guest Services, and secure all our items in a locker.  

We decided to ease into our day by taking in the wave pool. I of course not being a strong swimmer wanted to grab a lifejacket in case Tyson ventured into the deep end – which of course is where he made a direct B-line too. 

Unfortunately finding a lifejacket to fit was a little challenging – there were plenty of kid jackets to choose from but not as many adult ones, at least at the wave pool entrance. One thing I did like was the life jackets were color-coded so you could easily see the sizes at first glance.  

After hitting the wave pool for a bit, Lincoln was anxious to try one of the rides and the ride nearest to us was the KareKare Curl. 

It is worth one’s while to check out a YouTube video of this ride. By far, the most frightening experience of my life. 

You are seated in a tube that twists, turns and spins, then you exit the tunnel and go hurling up a 35-foot wall (KareKare) at death speed to reach the top to then descend down.  

Honestly, it feels like you are flying! 

Oh, and lucky me, I got to experience it all back on so when we reached the top of the wall, I got to come down backwards.  

Usually, I spend so much time ensuring Tyson is okay whenever he is with me but for this ride, I was completely focused on not dying. When I finally regained my composure, I looked over to see him laughing and smiling. 

Well at least one of us enjoyed it! 

As soon as he reached the bottom, he made the sign for “more”. 

I can’t believe I agreed to go on the crazy ride again – I figured it wouldn’t be so bad this time around as I knew what to expect.

WRONG! 

But the kids and Mark loved it! 

We spent some time in the lazy river, which is not lazy by any means and it was a little challenging to keep myself within arms reach of Tyson. Although a great little swimmer I was nervous about us separating and feared if that happened, I would never be able to find him. 

Although we had been to Aquatica before, I somehow had forgotten just how massive this water park was.  

After some time in the lazy river, we made our way back over to the wave pool. Tyson, of course, was determined to get as close to the end of the pool as possible—you know, the spot you’re definitely not supposed to be in, marked off by that rope that practically screams “Do Not Enter.”

And then he eyed the Walkabout Waters – or what I like to call the Water Fortress of Death.

It was at this time that the family parted and Lincoln and Mark decided to go explore on their own.  

The Walkabout Waters is a water play structure, which is very large with several of its own mini water slides. 

I could in no way let Tyson venture on this by himself with its many exits as I’m sure I would never find him.

Picture this – Tyson travelling at his normal Tyson speed with me trailing behind. It was at this point we came to the wonderful rope bridge. Can I just say this – grown adults are not built to run across rope bridges!

And then I started to get attacked by some kids above. 

Someone in their wisdom thought that putting water guns at the top of the playground would be a nice addition. 

I looked up to see these two children simultaneously targeting me with their guns. 

Seriously, I couldn’t even make this stuff up!

Did I mention I hate water? 

And that feeling of a combination of water, chlorine and sunscreen in your eyes!

But yet, Must Follow Tyson!

Tyson found a water slide however I could not let him go down it because then he would be at the bottom and I would still be on the top. And the attendant would not let us ride together and I could not count on him waiting for me at the bottom.

He was not a happy camper. 

I managed to get him onto a different area of this Water Fortress of Death but each time he could, he would take off running back to the water slide. Luckily, I found one in the Walkabout Waters that allowed both of us to ride separately but adjacent to each other. 

I was soooooooo done with the water playground.

I also thought it was time for us parents to switch kids.

I was exhausted between trying to keep up with Tyson, the intense heat and trying to get over my fear of being in the water. 

Myself and Tyson went back to the lazy river and did a couple of loops and eventually found Lincoln and Meagan. Mark was nowhere to be seen. 

By this time Tyson was ready to go back to the water playground and Lincoln was hungry. 

Tyson had a meltdown and if I was being honest, I wanted to have a meltdown too.

And where was this husband of mine?

We spent some time looking for Mark in the usual spots – the wave pool, the lazy river – but to no avail. It was super hot and my feet were hurting from the hot sand and pavement. 

Lesson learned – never go to a water park in Florida in the summer without water shoes. By the time we left my feet had multiple cuts from trying to walk on the scorching pavement and sand.

We all decided to take a little break from the attractions and have some food. 

When you have an extremely picky eater, even this can be stressful. We snagged some fries for Tyson but it was a no-go. In his defence, it did not look very appetizing – think school cafeteria fries that had been baked.  

So, despite all the energy he has dispelled swimming and trying to escape me, he was only fueled on Goldfish for that entire day. 

After refuelling on sub-par food and very expensive Dip ‘ Dots, we decided to try out a couple more rides, the wave pool and head home. 

Water parks are exhausting.  

If you ask Mark and Lincoln, Aquatica was definitely their favourite day, maybe Tyson’s too. 

I got through it to be a good sport but if I never have to go to another water park (unless it was adult-only with a swim-up bar) I would be happy.

But that’s life – you give and take.

Have you been to Universal Studios or Aquatica and have a story to share? Or is there another park that you thought went above and beyond accommodating individuals with exceptionalities? Please share in the comment section below.

Feel free to check out my tip summary below:

Tip Summary for Universal Studios

• Apply for the IAC before travelling
• Download the Universal Studios app
• Rent a stroller, if needed
• Watch YouTube or TikTok videos to become familiar with the parks before you visit
• Review park guides and sensory information for rides 
• If you have a picky eater, review restaurant food options ahead of time using the app 
• Have a park plan – review attractions you wish to visit and consult the park map to make the most efficient use of your day
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Wear a lanyard for your physical ticket 
• Pack all the necessities (sunscreen, noise cancelling headphones, snacks, Band-Aids, change of clothes for emergencies)
• Wear bright colors on your kiddo so if they do escape (momentarily) they are easier to spot in a crowd 
• Bring a refillable water bottle
• Freeze juice packs or bottles of water to keep drinks cold longer if you visit in the summer months

Tip Summary for Aquatica 

• See tips above and
• Wear water shoes 
• Purchase a waterproof case for cell phones so family can keep in touch 
• Arrive early to ensure you can snag an adult life jacket if you need one