Almost every vacation we have done since the birth of our son in 2011 has been a Theme Park vacation and we have loved making these memories with him. Yes doing the parks with a Infant or Toddler is much different then doing it with only adults. But its still awesome in new ways. We did WDW and UOR with our son at 7 months old, Disneyland and Universal Hollywood at 14 Months, UOR and a Cruise at 24 Months, WDW and UOR at 32 Months, and just got back from UOR again with him at 38 Months. We became Universal Annual Pass Holders when we did the Cruise but as as you can see we have taken him with us to Universal at many different stages.
I would say that while its important that you do stuff to keep your young Toddler entertained you also shouldn't sacrifice keeping yourself entertained ether. So don't miss out on many of the great adult attractions because you have a Toddler. My wife and I both like Universals Child Swap system compared to Disney's.
At Disney's you walk up to the attraction entrance and ask for a Rider Swap Card. The person riding then enters the Standby (Or Fastpass if you have a Fastpass+ booked) and waits to go on the attraction while the other parent or child wait outside or go do something else. After the parent has waited in line and rode the ride and meets back up with the family the waiting parent then takes the Rider Swap Card and waits there turn to ride in the Fastpass Line (they do not go standby). The biggest advantage to Disney's system is the waiting parent can take the child to do something else while waiting. If used right with Fastpass+ reservations you can esentially get two Rider Swap cards that are good to be reused within 30 days (a change that came with fastpass+). So that basically gives you an additional 2 fastpasses for a repeat attraction.
At Universal the entire party will wait in the Standby (or Express if you have it) line. Be warned that this will get you a bunch of WTF looks from people who truely believe your going to try and take that Infant on the Mummy. Annoying Guest looks aside when you get to the load area Universal has a Child Swap room nearby where a Parent and the child go to wait while the other Parent goes on the ride. Once done that parent goes in to the Child Swap room to wait with the child while the other parent goes on the line with practically no wait at all. So at Universal you are able to get thru the attractions quicker as you don't have to rewait in a line.
You asked above and I can verify that Yes you can use Single Rider with Child Swap. My wife and I do it all the time. All of you go in to Single Rider then at the Load area the waiting parent and Child are sent to the Child Swap room. You both are still riding as Single Riders so its fine. The only attraction that you cannot do this on is Escape from Gringotts as the que setup to get to the Child Swap room is opposite that of the Single Rider Line.
The Bad thing about Universals Child Swap is that there are people who abuse it. While waiting in Child Swap rooms I have seen countless people come up thru the attraction exit and enter the Child Swap Room. They wait for a minute or two then there whole party goes to the ride load area as if they had been waiting. Once in Forbidden Journey I saw some people do this and a team of Universal Security came running up the steps to wait for them to return from the ride. I have also seen people who do have children and have waited in the line. But in Child Swap they don't just take one ride each. They take multiple rides switching off one after another giving themselves 5 rides on the Forbidden Journey without rewaiting to ride.
Because of people trying to take advantage of the Child Swap we noticed a new program in place while visiting in December. We don't know if its a trial or fully implemented but many attractions gave us a piece of paper to turn back in when the waiting parent returned to ride. Some attractions gave us the Slip right at the entrance. Others gave it to us in the Load area before splitting our group. I see the advantage of the slip by cutting down on the cheaters. But it kinda sucked too as some attractions my wife would just walk up the exit and wait in the Child Swap room while I waited in the regular line.
Remember that your schedule will be determined by the Child. This made our Disney days much more difficult then it did our Universal days as we just wing whatever we are doing at Universal. Although Universal Doesn't have much for kids we have always had a great time with our child. Just give them plenty of time to run around the play areas and do rides that they can do every now and then as well. know your child's boundaries as well. Although our son could go in the Terminator Show he never has. Although he has done fine on Disaster and Twister. Take it slower and make sure you keep him feed, hydrated, and rested when they want to.
I know every child and family is different but below are the links to the trip reports i've wrote from our time at the parks with him. The early ones could give you an idea of touring with a Infant/Toddler around your kids age. If you have any other questions then please ask and I will try to answer as quickly as I can.
(Sorry for the links to Disboards. I've just now realized I haven't finished some of my Trip Reports i've shared here as well. Sorry everyone)
Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando (7 month Old Child):
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2918943
Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood (14 month Old Child):
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3034271
Universal Orlando and Caribbean Cruise (24 month Old Child):
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3211288
Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando (32 month Old Child):
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3304482
Sorry I haven't started the one for my most recent trip yet.
