Leaving park to eat at CityWalk and then returning to park

[LonandChaCha]

Is that a thing? We will be arriving in mid-May and the parks close at 9:00pm. Is it a waste to leave the park to go eat at CityWalk, for lunch or dinner, and then return to the park?

 

[schumigirl]

Is that a thing? We will be arriving in mid-May and the parks close at 9:00pm. Is it a waste to leave the park to go eat at CityWalk, for lunch or dinner, and then return to the park?

Of course not.

The parks aren`t that big and doesn`t take long to walk into Citywalk from either park.

 

[bchbetha]

I wouldn’t do it if the parks are close to capacity due to re-entry lines. And I wouldn’t do it if I just had 1 day- too much of a time suck if you’re going to a sit down restaurant. CW is close but the time adds up.

 

[shawthorne44]

But, if you worried about getting back in, there is a re-entry line.

 

[LonandChaCha]

And I wouldn’t do it if I just had 1 day- too much of a time suck if you’re going to a sit down restaurant. CW is close but the time adds up.

That's what I was wondering. I keep hearing how close everything is, but still wondering if it's worth park time. We are going 3 full days.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

If you're going in for opening and parks close at 9pm, I for one would recommend a nice leisurely seated air conditioned lunch break. Only reason not to is if parks are at capacity and you would have to wait to re-enter. But really, it's like a 5min walk for that 1hr+ calm cool break.

That said, there are also good options within the park. Just not as good as City Walk.

 

[bchbetha]

That's what I was wondering. I keep hearing how close everything is, but still wondering if it's worth park time. We are going 3 full days.

with 3 days, you have time for a nice, leisurely lunch.

 

[cschaaf]

I’d say it depends. If you find yourself close to the front of either park near lunchtime, or if you want to park hop after lunch, City Walk is a great option.

If it’s 11:45 and you’re in one of the HP areas, you might want to grab something in the park.

 

[puffkin]

If parks are still at limited capacity, your best bet is to make a reservation anywhere (City Walk or an in park restaurant). The food lines are atrocious right now on busy days, and you will wait a very long time for counter service. I would much rather have a bit of a walk and then have a nice sit down meal in air conditioning rather than wait in the long, hot food lines (they were about an hour long this weekend).

There is a park reentry line. It was extremely short over the weekend compared to the regular standby line to get in.

 

[Erica Ladd]

Where is the re-entry line at both parks gor resort guests?

 

[puffkin]

Where is the re-entry line at both parks gor resort guests?

For Studios it was to the right side of the main entry. There was a placard for park reentry and then a separate one for Resort Guests. The long line was for standby and wrapped all the way up into City Walk. Not sure where it is for IOA but I assume it would be similar.

 

[ClapYourHands]

In mid-May, there's a good chance there won't be a need for reentry lines. I know attendance was up and they reached capacity in the weeks before and after Easter, but we went last week, and neither park reached capacity during our 4 days. We came and went as we pleased, and usually took a mid-day break back at the hotel (all of the UO hotels are close enough for that, so Citywalk definitely is). May is usually a lower-crowd time (except for Memorial Day), and while the parks might reach capacity on some other weekends, those lines should be short, and weekdays are unlikely to hit capacity.

 

[Pooh's World]

If you are on the Studios side then I would say go to City Walk. On the Islands of Adventure side almost everything good is way in the back (except for Hulk) so it would be a long walk to get to City Walk

 

[puffkin]

In mid-May, there's a good chance there won't be a need for reentry lines. I know attendance was up and they reached capacity in the weeks before and after Easter, but we went last week, and neither park reached capacity during our 4 days. We came and went as we pleased, and usually took a mid-day break back at the hotel (all of the UO hotels are close enough for that, so Citywalk definitely is). May is usually a lower-crowd time (except for Memorial Day), and while the parks might reach capacity on some other weekends, those lines should be short, and weekdays are unlikely to hit capacity.

We were there last week too! Wed-Fri no issues, but Saturday was packed. I would expect any nice Saturday to have a good chance of hitting capacity.

 

[Tigerlulu]

Ok so want to make sure I’m understanding this right. If we leave for city walk reservation lunch and the park is at capacity, there is a separate reentry line we are eligible to wait in instead of the regular line? I don’t want to get stuck outside when we go in June but we have got to have a sit down lunch everyone will be happy with!

 

[jpkkld]

There are also sit-down options in the parks. We have a very picky vegetarian in our group, so it’s a bit more planning for us, but we’re planning lunches at Citywalk, at our resort, and in the parks.

 

[puffkin]

Ok so want to make sure I’m understanding this right. If we leave for city walk reservation lunch and the park is at capacity, there is a separate reentry line we are eligible to wait in instead of the regular line? I don’t want to get stuck outside when we go in June but we have got to have a sit down lunch everyone will be happy with!

Correct. The lines are clearly marked with placards.

 

[Tigerlulu]

Is it pretty quick to get back in? Or do we still have a good chance of a pretty good wait? I’m bringing a group of 15 in late June...so I know crowds will be up.

 

[puffkin]

Is it pretty quick to get back in? Or do we still have a good chance of a pretty good wait? I’m bringing a group of 15 in late June...so I know crowds will be up.

This is just my personal experience this past Saturday....the re-entry line was about 2-3 groups long, the resort hotel line was about the same and the standby entry was hundreds and hundreds of people. People are constantly flowing out of the park so the priority lines seemed to be moving quickly. I would say at most it was a couple of minutes wait to get back in and not a significant wait.

 

[Tigerlulu]

This is just my personal experience this past Saturday....the re-entry line was about 2-3 groups long, the resort hotel line was about the same and the standby entry was hundreds and hundreds of people. People are constantly flowing out of the park so the priority lines seemed to be moving quickly. I would say at most it was a couple of minutes wait to get back in and not a significant wait.

Thank you! Huge help!