First trip to Universal Orlando - Dining, Photo Opps, Crowds, and Final Thoughts

Jeremy Nolen

Earning My Ears
Joined
Dec 4, 2017
Part 4 and conclusion of my continuing series.

Dining in the parks was the one place where I found Universal to be way behind Disney, especially compared to EPCOT. There are a total of 3 table-service restaurants @ USF + IOA, which is a really small number. We did eat lunch @ Mythos and it was a very good experience (excellent service, cool theming, decent food/value for money) but the stand by table wait was 1 hour, and this on a day when the park was not particularly busy. We had made reservations perhaps 3 months in advance, but still - the scarcity issue was significant.

There are a lot of quick service options scattered around both IOA and USF, some of which have pretty clever theming (the HP restaurants, Springfield) and others, not so much. We didn't really eat at any of them, due to combination of long lines and knowing we would be eating a big dinner each evening, but I did get chicken tenders for the kids a couple of times and it was typical cheap garbage food, with ludicrously inflated prices. The award for worst rip-off would have to go to Butterbeer, which was $15+ for a small mug and was pretty disgusting to boot - we threw most of it away (but we got a $0.05 cent plastic 'souvenier mug' to keep!)

Universal partially compensates for the lack of options in the parks with Citiwalk, which has a bunch of restaurants of various types all in one place. And unlike Disney Springs, it's right outside the parks and a pretty short walk, if you want to eat here during the day it doesn't take a huge chunk of park touring time out of your schedule. We tried three of these and had generally good experiences at all three:

Emeril's allows reservations and is a truly excellent dining experience, with fantastic service and food, although it's pretty expensive ($200 with tip for 2 adults and 2 kids, including 2 cocktails for my wife, dessert, and a perfectly made Sazerac for me.) Would definitely eat here again if we come back - the only other park dining experience I've had that can compare is the California Grill @WDW.

Cowfish does not allow reservations (we had about a 30 min wait showing up ~30 min after park close on a low crowd weekday.) Food was interesting and good; I especially appreciated the kid menu 'bento boxes.' Service was OK, not great. Pricing seemed fair; about $100 with tip for 2 adults and 2 kids, including a couple of cocktails for my wife.

Toothsome doesn't take reservations either, and is absolutely slammed-busy after park close. We did brunch here on our last day, no wait for a table @ 11:15AM. Service was excellent and I really liked the steampunk theming; the food was overcomplicated, too sweet/dense, and not to my liking but the wife and kids enjoyed it more than I did. Prices were reasonable for the amount of food; I think we paid about $80 with tip for 3 brunch plates and 2 desserts.

The resorts also have dining options - we had one late night dinner at the 'Bayliner Diner' (really a cafeteria/food court kind of thing) at Cabana Bay, and were pleasantly surprised by the variety of options, food quality, and pricing. Supposedly some of the restaurants at the other resorts are top-notch; we considered trying Tchoup Chop or Bice but we were only there for 3 dinners :)

There are a lot of really good photo opps in the parks, and few of them involve waiting in line to meet characters. We ended up with a nice collection of images from many different parts of the parks - I think the only two areas we didn't really find any good pics in were the main 'backlot' part of USF and the Marvel island at IOA.

Dressing up improved the experience considerably. We were all in variations on Wizarding World costumes 2 of our days, and then dressed as the Simpson family on our last day. Lots of compliments and acknowledgments from the park TMs.

Crowd levels in the off season were not bad at all. I think the longest wait we ever saw for a ride was 30-35 minutes, and on Thurs/Fri the typical stand-by wait was usually 5-15 minutes. I didn't feel like I missed out on much by skipping the Express Pass (but I like that it's an option, especially if you're here in peak season.)

Final thoughts? Universal exceeded my (perhaps too low) expectations considerably. It's not quite as immersive an experience as WDW, but we had as much fun in our 3-4 days as we've had in similar-length WDW trips in the past. I think the main difference is that after 3-4 days, we felt like we had seen all there was to see and were ready to head home, while I've not felt that way even after a full 8 days at WDW.

I do like that Universal requires a lot less advance planning, especially with the low crowd levels we experienced.

Will we be back? Going in I assumed this would be a one-and-done but now I'm thinking we may do another off-season long weekend in the next couple of years. Which is the highest compliment you can give a theme park, no?
 
enjoyed your review, but have to agree to disagree on the butterbeer.:D
I found a frozen BB with a shot of fireball or rum to hit the spot this past summer.
 
enjoyed your review, but have to agree to disagree on the butterbeer.:D
I found a frozen BB with a shot of fireball or rum to hit the spot this past summer.
I tried the frozen Butterbeer at the private DIS Event several years ago...it was good but I could only do a few sips. It was just too sweet for my taste...and that night it was free for the event goers. I just couldn't do it.
 
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I tried the frozen Butterbeer at the private DIS Event several years ago...it was good but I could only do a few sips. It was just too sweet for my taste...and that night it was free for the event goers. I just couldn't do it.

Spouse and I actually get one and split it...it's dessert for me. I love the taste, but yeah I agree: a bit too sweet to drink the whole thing myself. I'm more of a vodka, beer, dry wine gal.
 


Nice to read and hear your thoughts of the dark side

I have the opposite opinions on some things you mentioned

It is what keeps me returning

I bought the butter beer mug the year it came out
Prices back then were much cheaper for the combo mug and Butterbeer
Believe it was just under $10
 
Thanks for your four part series! I found it very interesting. We are headed to Universal in February for the first time. :)
 
Interesting report. I have eaten at Mythos, Confisco Grille, and Finnegans, and I think Lombard's is full service also, but I have never felt a lack of those types of restaurants because we don't eat large meals in the parks very often. I have eaten at several of the citywalk and resort restaurants, which are so close that they are very convenient.

I don't bother with butterbeer anymore, I prefer real beer, but I do like the butterbeer ice cream cones!
 


After many visits, I guess we never considered food options as "in the park" or "on CityWalk" or "at the resorts." I can get from any point of the resort to any restaurant in the same amount of time it takes me at home to hit my favorites, so to us, we just eat "at Universal." Which is why we love it!

As the only foodie in my travel group, I admit that there are a few dishes/table service at WDW I miss, but I just can't overcome the necessity to book it 6 months in advance - needing to be in that park on that day, and that part of the park at that hour. Hence, I haven't been there other than a halloween or christmas party is 7 years.

You are right, there is a lot of average, theme park food in many places, but with all of the options at CityWalk and the resorts, there is no reason not to eat well at Uni. In fact, now I want Orchid Court sushi or a Sal's Pizza really bad!
 
I always chuckle at the people on the Disney DP who are having to plan an entire vacation around food. Seems so stressful. As far as eating, really good theme park food is a myth. If you have the ability, so much better food outside of US and WDW.
 

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