Going to universal for 3 nights in sept-no dining plan-ideas please

[lisam427]

hi everyone. in september i booked 3 nights, four days at the doubletree hotel near universal, with no dining plan. this is our first trip to universal. we usually go to disney and have the dining plan. do any of you have any pointers on how to do meals as cheaply as possible? any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

The last time we wre at Universal they did have a dining plan. They had certain restaurants (all CS type) that you could eat at all day, as many times as you wanted. It was a good deal if you eat a lot. Check Universals website or post on the Universal boards section of The Dis.

If you have a car, there are a million places to eat right near Universal that would be less expensive than eating at a TS at the park. I'm not sure where the Doubletree is, but you might even find places within walking distance.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There are quite a few place on both Kirkman Road and Major Boulevard for dining, as well as in City Walk. And if you range a little further out you will hit International Drive.

 

[fuzzy164]

I did a quick search on Google for dining on International drive and it came up with a ton of places. There's Ponderosa, Cici's (my favorite) Cattlemans steak house, Sizzler and more buffet's, american, oriential and seafood places than I can write here.
They seem to go from cheap (Ponderosa has a 3.99 breakfast buffet) to very expensive (all you care to eat seafood $$$$). I would suggest check out the area near your hotel and don't forget the I-Trolly can get you around if you don't have a car.
If you want to do take out or quick meal, there is a Sonic or a Fil-A Chic around SandLake road.
Hope this helps
Fuzzy164

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I'm not sure how cheap you want to do your cheap meals but there is a Wendys, BK and McDonalds within 2-3 blocks of the Doubletree in addition to a slew of restaurants (Red Lobster, Sweet Tomatoes, IHOP, Denny's, etc.) the other direction on I-Drive.

There are also take out restaurants at Citywalk that aren't outrageously expensive and you can always order Giordano's pizza for delivery.

 

[webray]

Don't most restaurants give you a AAA discount.

We find that Universal is much more cost effective than eating in Disney restaurants. Good food too.

 

[indimom]

Our room included a fridge. You could eat out of the room at least one meal a day. Also, keep your eye on Doubletree's website. I changed my reservation twice to cash in on discounts - and one of those discounts was free breakfast every morning of our stay. That went a long way since it was a good sized buffet, not just cereal and muffins. We went to WalMart for groceries and there are tons of chain places to eat near there. I know we saw McDonalds, and ate at ChickFilet and Golden Corral. There were plenty other options nearby as well. We did have a car though.

This is a bit off topic, but I thought I'd add that you could save on parking at Universal if you don't mind walking a bit. We left the car at the hotel and walked to the parks every day. It took about 15 minutes for us (ranging in age from 8 to 37).

 

[secretpantssam]

I just looked this up because of this post, but this seems like a really great deal!

http://www.universalorlando.com/Theme_Parks/Dining/mealdeal.aspx

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Like I mentioned before, it's a good deal if you eat a lot. If not, you can eat at CS places for less than $19.99/day. They are only open from lunch on, but you can eat as many times after that as you want.

 

[amshowers]

Since you are going in sept. the parks do close early so you may want to do the meal deal/ with city walk, where you buy the meal deal and add the citywalk deal for 6.00 more. So for 26.00 per adult and 16.00 per child you can eat all in the park and can a nice dinner at one of the city walk restaurants after the park closes. We really enjoyed the food at the Latin Quarter and Pastamore is pretty good to. All the info you need is in the link from the previous poster. Mousesavers also has links to coupons for other City walk restaurants.

 

[lisam427]

thank you all for posts !!!! great tips and ideas!! thanks again for all your imput!!!

 

[NJR]

Just there last month, and really enjoyed the "express breakfast" at Pastamore (CItywalk). For $6.99, you get a really nice-sized breakfast (two eggs scrambled, *real* sliced fried potatoes, croissant, and coffee or juice. After that breakfast, we would not need much for lunch, maybe share a CS meal or just nibble on granola bars etc... The best thing was that once we were finished, we were just a 2 minute walk away from the parks - great way to start the day

 

[kaytieeldr]

If you'll have a car - Cafe Tu Tu Tango on International Drive, right next to the "castle" hotel.