Does FOTL work in restaurants too?

[scarboroughmom]

If there is a line at a full service restaurant in the parks, does the FOTL pass work? What about the Citywalk restaurants? Thank for any info.

 

[Notatourist]

No. It doesn't. You can look into priority seating, if you're staying at one of the onsite hotels, but there is NO Front of the Line access for food.

 

[robvia]

It's best to visit the park restaurants when they open, at about 11-12am. You may not be starved, but you'll be hungry by the time your food arrives. If you don't want to go that early, then show up at 4pm for dinner. Most of the bars in the parks have happy hour at this time. So you can have a few drinks for less, and then eat before the crowd arrives. Bascially head to the restaurants an hour early. Your food will also be served faster at these times.

 

[Cinderella822]

I'm not sure now, but I thought I heard that if you show your room key, you get priority seating at the restaurants at the parks and City Walk, just not the hotel restaurants. Is that true? If not, can you call ahead of time to make reservations?

 

[Colorado DISers]

I'm not sure now, but I thought I heard that if you show your room key, you get priority seating at the restaurants at the parks and City Walk, just not the hotel restaurants. Is that true? If not, can you call ahead of time to make reservations?

I've heard this also. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[gschmerl]

ANy time I've been to Universal I've shown my room key for next available seating at City Walk and park restaurants. We have been seated within five minutes at the Hard Rock Cafe when then line was wrapped around the building. Your room key is not work miracles though...if a lot of other on site people are there before you, you will wait. The hotel restaurants do NOT give you next available seating and neither does Emeril's.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

the whole FOTL or 'front of the line' term has been badly misconstrued. a room key in a Citywalk restaurant doesn't get you an immediate table, as the EP line in the parks let you walk onto any ride. you still have to wait in a separate line, and that wait may vary. you're given preference over walk-ins, but that's it. you can accomplish the same thing by stopping by the dining kiosk in citywalk, US, or IOA and making a priority seating. the only true value of your room key is you can use it when the PS's are gone for that time slot at that restaurant. if that's the case, you're still going to have to wait.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

We have had very varied experiences with PS. Once we were there for dinner and had to wait about 90 minutes with PS. Luckily we were over at the Lone Palm snacking and drinking! When we were finally seated we learned that Jimmy Buffet was performing in Orlando that night and the concert was being simulcasted to the restaurant. As a result, the tables were not turning over.

On the other hand, when DH and I were there back in January, we waited 5-10 minutes to even put our name in. We showed the room key and our AP (priority seating for AP in January due to it being passholder appreciation month). We were told that it may be 30-40 minutes even with PS. I figured we'd hit the shop and sip a 'rita or two. The gadget started flashing before I even walked over to the shop!

The one other time we used the room key for PS we were seated immediately. This was for the character b'fast at Confisco. We did not have a reservation. When we arrived, we were told the wait would be 30 minutes. We sat down to wait. After a few minutes, I remembered that we would get PS with the room key, so DH went back to the hostess stand with the room key. We were seated right away.

 

[hookem59]

If you like eating at the Hard Rock, look into their All-Access club, which gets you next available seating and a rebate of sorts on purchases (a $20 credit for every $200 spent). We collect the hurricane glasses, and have used our card for several years to bypass the lines all around the country.