Margaritaville's or Hard Rock Cafe?

[maslex]

It's a toss up between these two restaurants. Never been to either. Can ya give me some pros/cons to each?

We are a party of 7 going (do we need reservations)? My family of 4 consists of DH---picky eater...basically burger/fries or meat/potatoes.
ME...I'm pretty adventerous and will try anything (within reason), DS10..picky as well, basically eats your typical kid foods (mac/cheese, hot dog, nuggets, pizza and the OCCASSIONAL burger) DS11, eats typical kid food but is willing to try other foods, usually asks to take a bit of my stuff.

so what's your choice?

 

[OctoberNinth]

Since I haven't been to Margaritaville, I can't decide between the two. As far as the reservation question, when went to Hardrock in October we made 'reservations' at the booth in CityWalk, but when we got there they pretty much told us they couldn't give us that priority since it was so busy.

Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but if you show you stay onsite and show your room key don't they show you right to a table?

 

[micksterlee]

We have eaten at both places and enjoyed them.Both had plenty of the basics offered on the menu.I liked Margaritaville better because of the atmosphere but I am a Jimmy Buffett fan.I thought the music at the Hard Rock was a bit loud.

 

[maslex]

I also didn't see a "kids menu" for Hard Rock, did I miss it or is there not one? I know my youngest wouldn't eat anything off the regular menu and would fare better with a kids menu.

 

[OctoberNinth]

Yes, they do have a kid's menu. My boyfriend and I colored them while waiting for our food. Haha. I'll go find it..

 

[OctoberNinth]

The Lil' Rocker Menu:

Beverages: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Assorted Soft Drinks, and Milk

Cheeseburger

HRC's Twisted Mac & Cheese

HRC Pizza

Jimi Tenderstix- Crisp fried chicken served with honey mustard sauce. served with fries.

Cheese The One- American cheese grilled on our HRC sliced bread. served with fries.

Ain't Nothin' but a hotdog

Spaghetti with meatballs

 

[robvia]

Both places have music over head on TV monitors. Margaritaville gets the crowd going with stilt walkers. When the Volcano goes off, they get everyone to sing Margaritaville. It feels like a party. Hard Rock Cafe has music playing over head, and there's all the memorabilia on the walls. Jumbo Combo Appetizer is a good idea to share with a group of people. Menus are here.
Universal Studios Florida Menus
Cheeseburger in Paradise is a good choice. Scroll down my recent trip report to see 4 pictures of the food.
Portofino Bay Hotel

8pm is rush hour, if you go at that time the wait will be 1 hour. Flashing your magic room key will cut this to 20 minutes. If you'd like things more quiet, go at 05:30pm before the crowd shows up.

 

[bubba's mom]

I have to vote Margaritaville DS always gets a balloon hat there too!

 

[CivilTwilight]

If anyone is a picky eater, I would recommend Hard Rock over Margaritaville. I think that Margaritaville is lost on children...you have to be of a certain age to really appreciate the Jimmy Buffet way of life! Also the food at Margaritaville is a little more adventurous. I think Hard Rock has a better "regular" variety.

If you stay on site, yes, you do get your wait time cut in half when you show them your room key.

Enjoy your dinner!

 

[coastergirls]

Haven't been to Margaretaville but went in October to Hard Rock with 3 children.
It was a horror night and the queues for both were about 1 hr. We were staying onsite so we got a buzzer for MV and were told wait would be no more than 45 mins. We went for a walk and went to Hr and were seated right away. We had a reasonable meal can't remember what we had and the kids had pizza and mac and cheese. Remmebr thinking the kids meals were good and they arrived quite quickly even although it was busy. Have to say I don't think we will go back as the toilets were absolutely disgusting. No toilet roll, filthy rubbish strewn all over the floor, smelly. Have to say I was slightly put off by this. Will try somewhere else this year.

 

[Melisa1]

Margaitaville!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Volcano Nacho's and a margarita sure sound good right now!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LeahA]

Margartiaville.

Fun atmosphere, great food with a large selection, great kid's menu and of course the Margarita's are phenomenal!

We've been taking our kids there since they were babies.
They have fun going there and they know it's a must stop every year!

Hard Rock is nice, but for me, if you've been in one, you've been in them all.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Out of those two, I'd definitely recommend Margaritaville. Our last meal at HRC was so bad even my "garbage disposal" hubby couldn't eat it. We ordered bacon cheeseburgers & the patty closely resembled a hockey puck. This was for lunch, & it was the 1st time we'd been there in a few years. I don't know if you'd have better luck at dinner or not. I'm not the biggest MV fan, but it definitely beats HRC in my book.




bubba's mom,
You're welcome!

 

[calgarygary]

OT - did anyone else have trouble getting out of Margaritaville without buying the Frozen Concoction Maker? 6 months later and I still think I should have bought one!

 

[swanwed6206]

if i had to choose between the two, it would be margaritaville. For me, it is just one of the places I have to go every time I go to Universal. The atmosphere just really puts you in "vacation mode." The wait times were ridiculous last time we went though- so i would probably account for that. I think if you are an on site guest you get a little priority but it didn't help much. I like Hard Rock as well but just not as much ...

 

[tartangirl]

We tend to eat at lunch-time and we all used to really look forward to eating outside at Margaritaville watching the crowds go by but when we last went (last summer) I thought the menu had been substantially reduced and there wasn't that good a choice. I dont know if this was just for lunch or even just if sitting outside.

We tried the Hard Rock cafe and whilst it was OK I thought it was too cold and loud. That said you know what you're getting as all Hard Rock restaurants are the same. Personnally that counts against it for me as we could just go to the Hard Rock cafe in Edinburgh.

Overall I would still choose Margaritaville but if the menu is the same next time we visit we will try the other restaurants as well.

 

[bubba's mom]

bubba's mom,
You're welcome!

wha???

I think I need to post pix from our Margaritaville dinner a couple of weeks ago:


(This one is from last year)

This year:

These are the infamous "NACHOS" everyone loves:

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Great pics! The one of your son with the balloons covering his eyes is adorable.

ETA: I want one of those desserts now! YUM!!!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We tend to eat at lunch-time and we all used to really look forward to eating outside at Margaritaville watching the crowds go by but when we last went (last summer) I thought the menu had been substantially reduced and there wasn't that good a choice. I dont know if this was just for lunch or even just if sitting outside.

We tried the Hard Rock cafe and whilst it was OK I thought it was too cold and loud. That said you know what you're getting as all Hard Rock restaurants are the same. Personnally that counts against it for me as we could just go to the Hard Rock cafe in Edinburgh.

Overall I would still choose Margaritaville but if the menu is the same next time we visit we will try the other restaurants as well.

Have you tried Pat O' Briens? I know a lot of people skip it thinking it's just a bar. The patio is actually quite nice for families. We think their food is better than any of the Cafe's at CW. It's also our fav. CW location for take-out, when we're heading out of the parks & plan a relaxing evening at the resort. Burgers & beignets make a great casual meal by the pool.

 

[bubba's mom]

Great pics! The one of your son with the balloons covering his eyes is adorable.

uh, yeah...that was quite by accident...and we happened to have the camera handy....turned out pretty good!

I LOVE the bignets at Pat O'Briens!!! They are so delicious and the food we had there was pretty good too......



(i am SO gonna gain weight the summer trip