Cinematic Spectacular Dining

[caroli]

Hi

Did someone tried this? What can you eat at Lombardi's? What's included on the price (and what no)? How good is the viewing area?

Thanks

 

[ScottJayhawk]

Would love to know as well.....

 

[Metro West]

I probably won't do this dinner so all I can offer is what's on the website:


Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular Dining Experience
Make it an evening to remember with exceptional cuisine and unforgettable movie moments. First, enjoy a delicious meal at Lombard’s Seafood Grille. Choose from an array of entrees including fresh seafood, pasta, sandwiches and more. Afterwards, you’ll have access to an exclusive viewing area for the new nighttime show, Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular–100 Years of Movie Memories. Relive Universal’s most iconic films in this stirring entertainment tribute to one hundred years of movie memories.

Location: Lombard’s Seafood Grille Deck
Times: 4pm to 7:45pm (Dates and Times subject to change)
Price: Adults $44.99, Children $12.99


RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED
After reserving and purchasing your dining experience online, you must call 407-224-7554 (EST 7:30am–10pm Mon-Sat; 7:30am–9pm Sun) up to 24 hours before arriving to confirm your table.

 

[JessicaR]

This has always been my location for viewing the other Cinematic show they had. So I'm guessing the are closing off the outdoor area unless you pay to dine there?

Food is good but I wouldn't pay that pp to dine there.

Guess we'll be finding a spot near Mel's from now on.

 

[vincentc77]

The wife and I did it last week. You get to choose from a seperate menu. Each received an appetizer. On the entrees. Looked like all but the lobster was on the menu. I chose slamon (i believe there were three fresh fish choices) the wife had a sirloin. (There was no desert selection in the dining room. You receive a seperate ticket to come back before the start of the show. You have the complete deck for viewing selection. You also have unlimited selection of pastries, coffee/tea/bottled water to enjoy during the show. Price included gratuity and non-alcholic beverages. Are drink tab was waived, for my wife's steak had to be sent back three times due to rareness... this was done by the manager without us asking. Food was better than average. Wait stuff was friendly, but unorganized.

 

[ScottJayhawk]

You have the complete deck for viewing selection.

Thanks for the feedback - how was the view from the viewing area? Is it crowded?

 

[vincentc77]

Perfect view. Just make sure to get there early to get a table, otherwise you'll be standing. Try get a viewing on the side of the building, not the rear. I would say there was around 30 people.

 

[caroli]

The wife and I did it last week. You get to choose from a seperate menu. Each received an appetizer. On the entrees. Looked like all but the lobster was on the menu. I chose slamon (i believe there were three fresh fish choices) the wife had a sirloin. (There was no desert selection in the dining room. You receive a seperate ticket to come back before the start of the show. You have the complete deck for viewing selection. You also have unlimited selection of pastries, coffee/tea/bottled water to enjoy during the show. Price included gratuity and non-alcholic beverages. Are drink tab was waived, for my wife's steak had to be sent back three times due to rareness... this was done by the manager without us asking. Food was better than average. Wait stuff was friendly, but unorganized.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Mr. Pig]

Our travel agent claims that this is being discontinued by Universal in Sept. We would like to do this in Oct. but there is not a lot of info on the web on the future of the dining option or even if the show will be scheduled when we are there.

 

[BuenaVistaBound]

Just booked this for the Fourth of July, I was surprised they still had availability. I'm expecting a massive crush of crowds, and thought that it would be a good idea to have a reserved space for viewing the show. I'll report back after next week!

 

[caroli]

Just booked this for the Fourth of July, I was surprised they still had availability. I'm expecting a massive crush of crowds, and thought that it would be a good idea to have a reserved space for viewing the show. I'll report back after next week!

Great! Thanks

 

[macraven]

Our travel agent claims that this is being discontinued by Universal in Sept. We would like to do this in Oct. but there is not a lot of info on the web on the future of the dining option or even if the show will be scheduled when we are there.

dates for this show is online at UO website.

 

[Brit_Jude]

I tried to look at the availability for our trip 17 thru 31 July. When the calendar comes up I can't click on any dates. Wonder if the is no availability and it's already booked up for our dates, or if something is wrong with my computer.....or my computer skills lol....

Anyone else had any issues?

 

[pixeegrl]

Check your dates here (I checked and they are available) hope this helps!

NOTE: Universal's Cinematic Spectacular will not take place on the following dates: 9/6 - 9/8, 9/19, 9/21 - 9/22, 9/27 - 9/30, 10/4 - 10/7, 10/11 - 10/14, 10/17 - 10/21, 10/24 - 10/28, 10/31, 11/15, 12/5.

 

[Brit_Jude]

Check your dates here (I checked and they are available) hope this helps!

NOTE: Universal's Cinematic Spectacular will not take place on the following dates: 9/6 - 9/8, 9/19, 9/21 - 9/22, 9/27 - 9/30, 10/4 - 10/7, 10/11 - 10/14, 10/17 - 10/21, 10/24 - 10/28, 10/31, 11/15, 12/5.

Thanks pixeegrl - I swear the calendar was all grey yesterday. Seems to be working now. I even got Hubby to look yesterday, in case I was doing something wrong.

 

[pixeegrl]

Thanks pixeegrl - I swear the calendar was all grey yesterday. Seems to be working now. I even got Hubby to look yesterday, in case I was doing something wrong.

Glad I could help maybe they were updating it yesterday!?

 

[BuenaVistaBound]

Just booked this for the Fourth of July, I was surprised they still had availability. I'm expecting a massive crush of crowds, and thought that it would be a good idea to have a reserved space for viewing the show. I'll report back after next week!

Just got back, did this dinner on the Fourth of July. It was crowded, as we expected. The menu at Lombardi's was good and we had a good meal, but the service was terrible. I don't know if it was because of the volume (although dinner wasn't very crowded), a bad waiter, or the fact the we were eating a pre-paid dinner, but it took over two hours to get through our meal. We sat there for a half hour before anyone brought us water. I'm all for a leisurely pace, but we had a 7:30 reservation and literally rushed outside to see the start of the show at 9:30.

The dessert buffet was pretty weak, so I wasn't too upset that we missed it. The two pastries I grabbed as we hustled past the table were not good. There wasn't a seat left on the deck, but a very helpful busboy went and got us chairs from the dining room. From what I could see across the lake, there is plenty of good viewing from other parts of the park. Ironically, we felt penned in at the very crowded restaurant while other parts of the lake's perimeter looked open. However, our view was very good and I obviously can't speak to what the other folks were seeing. Others have posted that there were 30 people during the show and we easily had 100, so this is probably not too common.

The only beverages that I saw was coffee and tea, if there was anything for kids to drink it was either gone or inaccessible. The show itself is okay, a lot of old movie clips (which I like) mixed to music and themes likes 'Heros' and 'Monsters'. I was disappointed that there wasn't much fireworks in the show, especially since it was the Fourth.

Taken as a whole, I didn't feel ripped off or anything -- the price for a family of four was modest, we had good food and a good spot to watch the show. I can't help but compare this to the Wishes dessert party, which is a far superior experience, in terms of food, the show, and the value of having a reserved spot. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I wouldn't do it again. The two worst parts, our table service and the crowd outside, were probably unique to the holiday night that we went. If a sit-down meal is part of your plan during a day-long visit to Universal, this is a pretty good option. Just don't save room for dessert

 

[wilma-bride]

BVB, thanks for the feedback. Are you able to confirm what the menu choices were? Is it the same menu as during the day except you only choose an entree? Is there any more detail you can give about how this wroks as we are considering it next month.

 

[BuenaVistaBound]

BVB, thanks for the feedback. Are you able to confirm what the menu choices were? Is it the same menu as during the day except you only choose an entree? Is there any more detail you can give about how this wroks as we are considering it next month.

I didn't compare the menus point-by-point, but it was definitely a separate menu. I was happy with the choices, as I said, the food was good. You get one appetizer and one entree, we ordered drinks off of the bar menu which we paid for separately. The menu is on their website, there is a separate kids menu.

As far as how it works, it appears that they give you a ticket for re-admission to the outside area after you've eaten (we watched many people coming in while we had dinner). Again, we had a terrible waiter who didn't know what to do and just walked us outside after we finished eating. Actually, you just prompted me to look at the website again and I see that the price of the tickets included a gratuity, so I actually tipped this clown twice! Thanks for ruining my day Wilma!! I kid...

After you purchase the ticket package online, you have to call to make a reservation for a table, so if you have a tight schedule it's tough because you have to buy in before seeing if they have your time available.