daily unlimited dining?

[petunia]

Could you tell me about your thoughts/pros/cons or even pics of the unlimited meal plans at aquatica/wet n wild/universal and sea world? We have 4 kids that can eat

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

The specifics of the Universal all day dining plan have changed since I last visited there in January 2012, so I can't comment on that.

Aquatica's all day dining is an excellent value, but the food is nothing special. Its comprised of a roster of limited but universally-appealing selections....pizza, barbecued chicken legs, hot dogs, watermelon, brownies, etc. All food (beverages excepted) must be consumed within the restaurant boundaries....no taking your meals back to your beach chair or cabana. At $15 the pricing is excellent and you can come and go as many times as you please, which is a real plus. You can add a refillable sports bottle for $5, which again is a great value. The food is perfectly palatable but definitely doesn't measure up to the offerings at the Waterstone Grill (the a la carte restaurant on site). We have done both dining options (the Banana Beach Buffet and the Waterstone Grill) and while we strongly prefer the food at Waterstone vs. the BBB, the value of the buffet and the all-day dining is hard to ignore. We have already purchased our Banana Beach vouchers for our August trip (they were only $12 pp on SW's Black Friday sale........where else can we eat all day for $12 pp???). I believe the restaurant opens at 11 am, so you will have to eat breakfast before you arrive.

SeaWorld's all day dining is fantastic. Truly unlimited, breakfast right through until 30 minutes before the park closes. You are entitled to one entrée, one side (dessert, salad, fruit, fries, a pickle, etc.) and one drink each time through the line. Or you can do any combination of those if you don't want all 3. Food options are vast (barbecue platters, pizza, fish & chips, fettuccini alfredo with chicken, turkey bread bowls, wraps, chicken tenders, etc.) and we have found food quality to be consistently great. Our favourites are Voyageurs Smokehouse for BBQ and the Seafire Inn for "sit down" type meals, and Mango Joes for Quick Service. Its wonderful to be able to grab a cold bottle of water anytime you want it, especially if its a warm day.....and my guys love being able to grab a slice of pizza or an order of chicken strips between meals if the tummies start rumbling. If you are spending the whole day at the park, I highly recommend the SW dining . I've already pre-bought mine for August!

Just a side note....the refillable sports bottles can be refilled for the same cost (99 cents, IIRC) at any of the parks. So you can buy a refillable bottle at SW and refill it at Aquatica, BG, Universal, or IOA. Or you can buy a bottle at Universal and refill it at SW, Aquatica, etc. You can bring your cups back year after year and you don't have to pay a fee like at Disney to reactivate your cup . Popcorn buckets follow the same premise .... buy at one park and you can refill it at the others . So those can be a GREAT value too!

 

[angelmom27]

Like Gina said its a good option. Also with the refillable sports bottle you can use your drink credit for refills. We always buy the all day dining and have found it to save us money. The kids love grabbing watermelon slices at times especially in the hot weather.

 

[2girlsmom]

Universal discontinued their all day dine, in favor of a QS dine plan similiar to Disney. The current plan includes 1 CS meal with beverage, 1 snack credit and 1 beverage credit and is $19.99 per adult. They will allow you to share, too, so it CAN still be a decent cost saving option, but only if you maximize the value with the larger platters (ribs, chicken, seafood) for the CS meal, and generally use the snack credit for something on the pricier end like the cheesecake slices or a butter beer (not as pricey but not something you can get every day either).

 

[petunia]

Thanks for the info, also, are there pics of non Disney food on these boards?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thanks for the info, also, are there pics of non Disney food on these boards?

I have a few in my trip reports, but not many from our SeaWorld dining experiences. More from offsite restaurants like Chili's, TGI Fridays, etc.

I will have to make a point of taking more SW meal photos on our next trip .

 

[Pinkgirl]

We are going to do the All Day Dining again at Seaworld this year. Can anyone remind me if the children's wristband was a different colour to the adult? I'm thinking that DD9 would prefer the adult menus and I want to make sure that if I pay full price she will be easily identified as having paid for an adult meal.

 

[angelmom27]

We are going to do the All Day Dining again at Seaworld this year. Can anyone remind me if the children's wristband was a different colour to the adult? I'm thinking that DD9 would prefer the adult menus and I want to make sure that if I pay full price she will be easily identified as having paid for an adult meal.

Yes they are different colors.

 

[2girlsmom]

They are but don't be surprised if she is still asked if she wants kids options. My dd15 has always been small for her age and this year is the first year she doesn't get automatically given kids meals at the parks (though she of course has the adult wrist band).

 

[petunia]

What is the age of kids for the dining at seaworld and universal... is it like Disney, as in 10?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

What is the age of kids for the dining at seaworld and universal... is it like Disney, as in 10?

SeaWorld's child price for dining applies to those ages 3-9:

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/Dine-and-Shop/Dining/All-Day-Dining-Deal

Universal's pricing structure is the same (3-9):

https://www.universalorlando.com/Restaurants/Universal-Dining-Plan.aspx