is the meal deal worth it?

[Disneynutbsv]

I was looking at purchasing these for our family, if someone say got a hamburger, fries and a soda, what is the average cost?
Does the meal deal include a dessert? How does this work? thanks!

 

[Future Guy]

Here's a good article on the Universal Meal Deal:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/ej_white/archive/2006/03/28/1769.aspx

 

[Disneynutbsv]

thanks, I don't think it would be a good deal for us...as my dd and I usually share meals...

 

[Charleyann]

This meal deal sounds good! Gosh, my little guy loves food. He'll love this place.

 

[GetGlowing]

We just returned from IOA (and Disney) and the park food prices are crazy expensive. So, if you plan to eat all your meals in the park and pay park prices, then my guess is that yes, the Meal Deal is a good deal. Hamburger w/ fries was $7-$8. Personal pizza was about $7. Hot dogs were $4.99. A large coke was about $2.50. But note that drinks aren't included in the basic Meal Deal package unless you pay an additional charge.

DH and I don't eat much in parks. At IOA we split a double cheeseburger and fries platter at the cafe across from Spiderman and were satisfied.

 

[Kevenswife2]

If my family of three all had meal deals do you think anyone would notice us sharing an 'all you can drink deal' sipper cup? Just trying to save a few bucks.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

While a cute story (emphasis on story, I personally doubt it's authenticity), I don't think the jim hill blog is really that great of a 'review' of the meal deal. I'd love to hear from fellow DISers who've tried it out for themselves.

After crunching the numbers, I don't think it would be a good value for most of my family, excepting my teenage son, who is a bottomless pit. So I'll probably purchase the wristband for him, but just order a la carte for his brother and I.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I was at Universal in March, with tickets I had purchased that included the children's Meal Deal for free. Thank God it was free, because this Meal Deal is HORRIBLE!! Perhaps I have been spoiled by Disney World's Dining Plan, but the choices are so very limited on the Universal Meal Deal, at least for the kid's menu. There are only 3 restaurants at IOA that participate, and 4 at US. The children's menu contains only 3 items at each restaurant. At one restaurant (I can't remember which one at the moment), we couldn't even FIND the kid's menu until we had waited in a long line, and then saw that the kid's menu was posted on top of the serving counter, at the END of the line, but before the cash registers (that part will be important later). When we got to the register, the woman yelled at my 7 year old for getting an adult-sized portion of pasta rather that a kid's meal, but said "I'll give it to you this time, but don't let your mama try to get away with this again". I told her that the kid's menu was not even visible until after we ordered our food, and she screamed "Well then you shoulda come here and asted me what was on the damn thing! I TOLE you I'll give it to you, so quit it!" She then proceeded to lean down right into my daughter's face and yell "NO SHARING! We'll be watching you!"

Not only was the menu limited and the service just awful, but here they have all these yummy desserts in sight, and the only thing my daughter was allowed to get was a stale, overcooked chocolate chip cookie at EVERY meal. I wanted my money back, even though it was free.

I don't know if the adult Meal Deal is any better, but based on our experience, I would definitely recommend avoiding this "deal" like the plague.

 

[Kevenswife2]

I think I would have thrown that 'adult-size' pasta dish right in her face! How horrible to treat a seven year old that way. My DD7 would have been in tears. DH, who's usually pretty laid back, would have asked for a manager...I'm sure of that! That's unforgivable!

How did your daughter handle it?

 

[lyzziesmom]

Oh she was better than I was, LOL! I was shaking with anger - did I mention that throughout this whole thing, I had a broken arm that had happened on Universal property? The first day of vacation, no less?? So, having already dealt with their "customer service" (ha!) for several hours, I was plenty angry but in no mood to complain any more.

But DD just shrugged it off, said "next time we're going back to Disney" and found a table around a corner where the nasty woman couldn't see us, and gave me 1/2 her pasta!

 

[Charleyann]

Is it possible to purchase an adult meal plan for children under 10? My 9 year old wouldn't eat children's menu stuff.

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

we purchased the meal deal for a family of 5. This was quite an expense for us. But to try it at least once was our goal. It takes about 3 meals in the park on one day to get the full value for one park. I don't think I would do it again unless I had it for both parks because we float back and forth between them during the day and the inconvenience of have to return to the other park to eat was the biggest pain of all.
I believe we probably would have been better off to purchase as we go, instead of the wristbands.


The one good thing is it allowed us to try restaurants we have never been in or ate at.

Circus McGirkus had the best friend chicken and the jello parfaits were very good.


Kimberly

 

[suzieqinga]

We tried this Meal Deal for one day during our recent visit, and for my family it was not worth the price at all. The selection was very limited, and at IOA the participating restaurants were all in one area. I thought that maybe they should be spread out a bit so that we could get food on both sides of the park. The lines were fairly long at the restaurants, and they moved slowly! The food was not bad, but it is not what I would have chosen if not for the Meal Deal. I did not experience bad customer service, and I thought the huge cookie was yummy! Perhaps for really big eaters (like teenage boys), it's a good deal, but it was not for my family.