[Murph2]

Re: Universal Suggestions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
"Be sure to take advantage of their front of the line restaurant seating policy too. We didn't know about it the first year we stayed onsite and waited in the long lines"


Didn't know about this, what exactly is it, like the express lines for the rides?

We are doing Universal, Royal Pacific, then Disney (Animal Kingdom) wow a week from today we leave!!!!! SO what restaurants, character breakfasts should not be missed?

I just found this thread. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!
Sorry to post it here, but no one saw it on the other thread!

[ddoll]

I answered you on the other thread. Sometimes it takes a few days to get a lot of responses.

There are only a couple of character meals at Universal. One is at the Hard Rock Hotel in The Kitchen. I believe it is offered on weekend nights only. The other is at the Confisco Grill, and I believe that is a character breakfast. Call Universal and ask for dining to make reservations and get more precise information.
General Information: (800) 447-0665, (888) 837-2273, (407) 363-8000

There is also a Luau at the RPR on weekends too. I heard it's very similar to the one at WDW.
As far as which places not to miss, it depends on what type of dining experience you're looking for:
If you want a nice sit down in the parks, I'd recommend Mythos. The food is excellent and the theming is very exciting, both inside and out! It's in IoA across from Poseidon. The Confisco Grille is another great sit down place in IoA, not as formal as Mythos.

For fine dining, you must try Emeril's Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific Resort. It's FAB!
For fun themed dining, try the Hard Rock Cafe or Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.

If you can be more specific in your requests, I can offer more suggestions.

[RowdyRAider]

Originally Posted by ddoll

I answered you on the other thread. Sometimes it takes a few days to get a lot of responses.

There are only a couple of character meals at Universal. One is at the Hard Rock Hotel in The Kitchen. I believe it is offered on weekend nights only. The other is at the Confisco Grill, and I believe that is a character breakfast. Call Universal and ask for dining to make reservations and get more precise information.
General Information: (800) 447-0665, (888) 837-2273, (407) 363-8000


If you want a nice sit down in the parks, I'd recommend Mythos. The food is excellent and the theming is very exciting, both inside and out!

I will second that Mythos has the food to go for! Soo so good!!!

But if it's character dining you want, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you DO NOT do a Universal character breakfast. As I said in my other posts, Universal's character performances are just terrible. They do not get into character and thus give a terrible performance and ruin the meeting experience. No, please, if you really want to dine with characters, do it with Disney. Again, not trying to get a fight started again. But ya'll know me. When it comes to characters for ANY theme park, I'm like the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket.

[ddoll]

Originally Posted by RowdyRAider

But if it's character dining you want, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you DO NOT do a Universal character breakfast. As I said in my other posts, Universal's character performances are just terrible.

Well, you're more than a little biased on this topic, Rowdy!
We've had some very memorable character interactions at Universal, and I don't think it's fair to say all Universal characters are poor. We've been going there for years and my family has had a lot of fun there. We have character autographs and photos collected to remind us of all the good times there as well.

[RowdyRAider]

Originally Posted by ddoll

Well, you're more than a little biased on this topic, Rowdy!
We've had some very memorable character interactions at Universal, and I don't think it's fair to say all Universal characters are poor. We've been going there for years and my family has had a lot of fun there. We have character autographs and photos collected to remind us of all the good times there as well.

I know it can come off that way at times.

Sorry ddoll, not being biased just because I'm in entertainment for WDW. You know why I get so frustrated with Universal's characters? Because of all the cartoons I ever grew up on, Universal owns the majority of all my favorites. Popeye, Dr. Seuss characters, Marvel characters from my fave comic books. Those are my faves. And EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to Universal, the characters are like "yeah, I'm here, whoop de doo." Plus their suits are unkept and falling apart. Maybe I'm just used to the Disney quality. But they are my faves, even over the Disney characters, and it just bugs me to see them performed as such.

[ddoll]

Well it seems that like everything Disney, there are widely varied experiences for all of us:
some rave about a restaurant while others find the service and food to be below standard.

So even though you've had some negative character experiences, it's important to note that we have personally had some wonderful ones. I'd wager that my kids (all boys) remember the dinner with Spiderman and the Grinch just as fondly as any of the ones at WDW.

[RowdyRAider]

Originally Posted by ddoll

Well it seems that like everything Disney, there are widely varied experiences for all of us:
some rave about a restaurant while others find the service and food to be below standard.

So even though you've had some negative character experiences, it's important to note that we have personally had some wonderful ones. I'd wager that my kids (all boys) remember the dinner with Spiderman and the Grinch just as fondly as any of the ones at WDW.

Very good. I guess I shouldn't be entirely negative. I did like meeting Spiderman. He did great. Other than that has been below par. But that's just in mine eyes. And also keep in mind what is below par to me is probably right on with others because it's my job and I know what I'm looking for and looking at because that's how I was trained. Believe me it's not just Universal. There are days even at WDW I get upset with the performers because they were trained better than that. And to be fair finally one more time, I've seen how Universal trains their characters, and they basically are like "You're here. Great. Here's the character. Go out. Bye." So their training methods are very poor too.

At any rate, characters are the only thing you'll ever hear me rant on. I'm very greatful to hear you've had great character experiences. That at least tells me someone is trying and makes me feel a whole heck of a lot better. SO WHY WON'T THEY DO IT WHEN I'M AROUND!!!

[PhilliesFan]

US and IOA are a lot of fun. Great theme and rides. As far as restaurants, if you can make reservations now, do it, especially for Emeril's. When we were last there, we could not get reservations for Emeril's restaurants. The Kitchen at the HR was very good for breakfast and dinner. Margaritaville was very good and a lot fun. The kids always like the Hard Rock. There was also an Irish theme restaurant which we enjoyed. There was a character meal at the HR, but we didn't try it out. We only did counterservice at the parks, which was fine, and we also left the parks and walked to City Walk for lunch, and then returned to the parks. Overall, the food was very good.

[E&B's Mom]

I think the Front of the Line for US reataurants is for City Walk only (but I could be wrong). Supposedly you show your Universal Resort room key and get on a preferred waiting list. We never had to use this when we went, since we usually eat early. As far as Character Breakfasts go, we did the one at Confisco Grill that had Spiderman, Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 & 2. The character interaction was great, but the food was just basic breakfast buffet fare - nothing special. We prefer Chef Mickey's at WDW much more.

[Piglet75]

You are going to love Royal Pacific - it is one of my favorite hotels - the lobby is gorgeous! DH and I love the breakfast buffet at Islands dining room at RPR - really yummy!!!

Also, the Hard Rock Cafe at City walk is actually the Hard Rock test kitchen and their food is always really, really good. The Front of the Line access is so fantastic! You can use it to go on fun rides like Men In Black over and over.

The front of line access at the restaurants really comes in handy on the weekends too. DH and I once encountered a huge line for hard rock cafe, but with our hotel keys we were seated right away.

All 3 of the Universal hotels are really cool, so something fun to do in the evenings is walk to the other resorts to check them out.

Have fun!

[Murph2]

("I think the Front of the Line for US reataurants is for City Walk only (but I could be wrong")

So does the Front of the Line access work for any of the restaurants or only certain ones?

[ddoll]

This is what the official policy says:

Exclusive Guest Benefits

* At Universal Orlando, everything is within walking distance, including Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and CityWalk. Guests at Universal Orlando’s on-site resorts enjoy exclusive privileges throughout their stay, including:
* Universal Express preferred access to theme park rides and attractions all day, every day.
* Courtesy water taxis and bus transportation between the resort, theme parks and entertainment complex
* Priority seating at select Universal Orlando restaurants and shows
* Complimentary package delivery of in-park purchases to guest rooms
* Resort ID cards to charge merchandise, dining and entertainment throughout Universal Orlando

So I really can't say which ones are the "select Universal restaurants". I'm sure they could tell you when you get there.

[Murph2]

Thanks again... 2 more days!

[E&B's Mom]

You are going to LOVE it! Wish I didn't have so long until our next trip.

[Murph2]

Thanks... we are off tomorrow!!!!