Just returned...wow!

[hsmamato2]

Just wanted to say- haven't been to Universal in about 12 years (usually at Disney) and wow! We spent a week having a blast there were some cons, but mostly pros! I have to say, the food option at the parks and at Cabana Bay Hotel were wonderful- We all really enjoyed the "quick service" that was so much more..... the park down the road could learn a lot from just that alone! And the easy access to cold clean water everywhere to refill our bottles,what a treat! (again,really Disney?) We had so much fun,and I don't think we saw everything yet.

 

[disneyseniors]

We have been to Universal twice in the last 2 years with another trip coming up in a few weeks! We still haven't seen or done it all. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore in IOA and US that we are going to try and do this time. You are right. The food at Universal is really good. I haven't found a bad place to eat yet. We are looking forward to going to Epic for the first time too. The hotels are wonderful too and the service where we stay is excellent - I imagine it's like there at each resort. We don't go to WDW anymore as the cost does not equate the value we get , but have gladly found Universal and love going there.

 

[Minnie1222]

I go to Universal 2 to 3 times per year. I don't think the QS options at the Premier hotels are superior to their Disney counterparts at all. While the QS in the parks are nice, especially at Epic Universe, nothing beats Satu'li Canteen in my opinion.

 

[hsmamato2]

I go to Universal 2 to 3 times per year. I don't think the QS options at the Premier hotels are superior to their Disney counterparts at all. While the QS in the parks are nice, especially at Epic Universe, nothing beats Satu'li Canteen in my opinion.

to each their own of course.... the "qs" in parks was stellar... a nice place to sit and relax, order right at table, get all types of delicious foods.... I haven't seen the equal- anywhere at Disney for ease and variety. (I like lots of Disney restaurants, but this is another level)

 

[reddog21]

Just wanted to say- haven't been to Universal in about 12 years (usually at Disney) and wow! We spent a week having a blast there were some cons, but mostly pros! I have to say, the food option at the parks and at Cabana Bay Hotel were wonderful- We all really enjoyed the "quick service" that was so much more..... the park down the road could learn a lot from just that alone! And the easy access to cold clean water everywhere to refill our bottles,what a treat! (again,really Disney?) We had so much fun,and I don't think we saw everything yet.

As a frequent visitor to Universal, you could say the variety is a bit better depending on the park, but claiming the actual food is better—I’m not so sure about that. If anything, Universal is learning from Disney. They never used to have seasonal food or change up their offerings, but now, like Disney, they seem to be rotating their food options more often especially at the kiosks.

Any spot in Disney with access to water will happily refill your water bottle—just ask. If you’re okay with room temperature water, there are now plenty of bottle refill stations scattered around the park.

Universal employees aren't nearly as friendly as Disney employees, especially at food spots where you have to order in person or pick up at the counter. I often run into issues with mobile ordering at certain locations, though the sit-and-order mobile service is generally excellent.

We love Universal; it’s a fantastic place to visit and I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

 

[hsmamato2]

As a frequent visitor to Universal, you could say the variety is a bit better depending on the park, but claiming the actual food is better—I’m not so sure about that. If anything, Universal is learning from Disney. They never used to have seasonal food or change up their offerings, but now, like Disney, they seem to be rotating their food options more often especially at the kiosks.

Any spot in Disney with access to water will happily refill your water bottle—just ask. If you’re okay with room temperature water, there are now plenty of bottle refill stations scattered around the park.

Universal employees aren't nearly as friendly as Disney employees, especially at food spots where you have to order in person or pick up at the counter. I often run into issues with mobile ordering at certain locations, though the sit-and-order mobile service is generally excellent.

We love Universal; it’s a fantastic place to visit and I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

I agree with most of this.... but the water thing? nope- I visited both places on last trip....Uni= lots of cold filtered water absolutely everywhere,no waiting or asking. Disney was dismal in comparison. You either have to go in somewhere and ask(=wait,or navigate lines etc) or a few places that I could find to refill with tepid *unfiltered* (read-sulfur tasting) at a random fountain/bottle filler. Clearly not as available or easy to utilize. I highly value the water refills while traveling, in fact for years of traveling other places,I've often thought about how Disney doesn't make it easy to refill a bottle like most tourist areas do. Again, both Uni and Disney have their pros and cons, and I like both for different reasons....

 

[CAPSLOCK]

There's a huge difference between being able to refill your own water bottle with cold filtered water vs having to find & ask someone to fill it for you with maybe-cold water. No interaction wins any day of the week, even aside from water quality/temp.

 

[fatmanatee]

I was just there as well, for the first time in a few years, and although I disagree on the food (it's mostly fine) the water fountains were definitely better. WDW could probably do well to replace some of theirs.

 

[MIChessGuy]

I agree that Universal does better with water service. The Coke Freestyle machines will dispense ice and water at no charge, which I suspect (without being sure) a lot of guests don't know about.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

Just wanted to say- haven't been to Universal in about 12 years (usually at Disney) and wow! We spent a week having a blast there were some cons, but mostly pros! I have to say, the food option at the parks and at Cabana Bay Hotel were wonderful- We all really enjoyed the "quick service" that was so much more..... the park down the road could learn a lot from just that alone! And the easy access to cold clean water everywhere to refill our bottles,what a treat! (again,really Disney?) We had so much fun,and I don't think we saw everything yet.

Definitely want to find time for a trip to do their parks versus Disney parks.

 

[fatmanatee]

I'll say one thing about the food, since this stood out for me: was back late at my hotel (Dockside) and needed something to eat, and it was either the food court or somewhere offsite. Went to the food court, and the options were generally meh, decided to just go with the burger and fries. Go to the station, ask for it, and the guy pulls a pre-made burger and fries out of a weird reheating unit and hands it over. Burger was fine but they made no effort to hide that it was pre-made, I know not to expect too much with the value food courts at this point but that was a first for me.

You can sort of tell that they're making solid efforts at improving their options as they open up new spots. Zero complaints about anything I got at EU, would expect that the food court options are better at the newer hotels and park areas. Disney's also done well in this area though, the food options at Pandora, GE, and Toy Story Land are all pretty solid. Both companies know you can't just get away with cheap theme park theme park food anymore.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Just wanted to say- haven't been to Universal in about 12 years (usually at Disney) and wow! We spent a week having a blast there were some cons, but mostly pros! I have to say, the food option at the parks and at Cabana Bay Hotel were wonderful- We all really enjoyed the "quick service" that was so much more..... the park down the road could learn a lot from just that alone! And the easy access to cold clean water everywhere to refill our bottles,what a treat! (again,really Disney?) We had so much fun,and I don't think we saw everything yet.

Cabana Bay is our Universal home away from home & agree that the food options there are excellent! Just returned last week from All Star Music & 4 days in the Disney parks & we definitely missed the better food options at Cavaba Bay & the UO parks quick serves.

I do agree that the quick services at the Premier resorts are not great at UO - never stayed deluxe at Disney so can' t direct compare.