Question: Meal/Drink Expenses - Help!

[tinkertiff]

I have been reading these boards for weeks now and decided to register and post. I have learned so much -- THANK YOU ALL for great questions and gracious answers. These boards are AMAZING! Now, I am in need of help from the Universal experts...

My question concerns meal/beverage expenses at the Universal hotels/parks. We are Dis veterans but we will be going to US/IOA for our first trip Aug. 4 - 8 (RPR) . We have no problem spending money on meals/snacks/drinks on vacation - it is expected on a vacation to a theme park. However, I don't want it to go to the extreme - I have read that the meals at the Universal hotels can be very high and bottled water is really expensive. We generally budget $100 per day for meals/snacks for Disney - family of 4 - kids DS 6 & DD 3 (both picky/small appetites). We want to enjoy our vacation, have fun, eat well, but we do have to budget. For example, at Disney hotels and parks, we purchase breakfast - bagels/danish/beverages - for approx. $12 - 15. We have bought the $2.50 bottled water at Disney, but that is as high as we are willing to go! We also have lunch, snacks and dinner in the parks/hotel. We generally stay at the Moderate/Deluxe WDW hotels (AP/FL rates) and have access to microwaves/food courts/shops selling milk, etc.

We are staying at the RPR (E Rate). Can Universal veterans advise the best way/strategies to overcome the high costs? Are meals basically the same costs? Bottled water costs in parks & hotel?? Does the room contain a mini-bar that we could use to store milk, bottled water, etc. Coffee maker to make oatmeal for DS?? I have read about the $$$ bottled water and the $10+ frozen drinks by the pool. Ouch!!! For the first time in my life, I'm considering bringing a toaster oven, b'fast food, blender and Bacardi! I would rather not have to do these things - after all, I am on vacation!!! But, I don't want to drain my bank account either.

We desperately need some budget advice from Universal experts. We have no problem spending money on our vacation, but I don't want it to be far beyond what we are used to. I would like to order a drink by the pool without going into shock. I sipped a Pina Colada poolside at the Coronado during Spring Break for $6! I need to be able to have water and milk available for my kids. I feel like a fish out of water because this is our first trip to USF resort. HELP!!!!!! Thanks so much in advance!!

 

[Nan]

With our family - youngest is 14-we averaged $10 per person per meal when we ate in the parks. Of course, you won't have to spend that much with your little ones. There are kid's meal choices and you and your husband would probably have enough to share at some places - like Enchanted Oak in IOA and Monster's Cafe in US.

There are others who are more expert in this with exact prices, quantities and all, but that is my experience from 3 visits to UO.

We have always been pleased with the food offerings. Most park restaurants offer a nice, big fruit cup, chicken tenders, cheese pizza and things that children usually like. Each park has a bakery close to the entrance with pastries, muffins, etc. for breakfast. That is what we usually do. Many people bring food to have in their room, utilizing a cooler and ice from the ice machine. I have found that you can take a bottle of water or soda and snacks into the park, if you like.

City Walk has a good choice of family restaurants, as well.

Nan

 

[tscurley]

We always bring a soft side cooler for the room since you do not typically get to use the refridgerator unless you want to pay an outrageous sum of $25/day. We take a towncar service from the airport that allows you to have a grocery store stop on the way. We buy milk, juice, water and snacks. We fill the cooler every day with ice. We eat breakfast in the room and always take a backpack with several cold bottles of water. It doesn't last all day at the park, but if you can avoid at least buying 4 bottles a day at the parks, it's more than worth it!!

We went to Universal/IOA last year and are going again this year. I really don't think the prices are any higher here than when we went to Disney. Hotel restaurants are high, but that is typical. My kids always seek out the Pizza Hut pizza at IOA. They are around $6, and most of the time they share one!

We also eat somewhere at City Walk in the evenings, rather than the hotels! Lots to choose from!

 

[Lewisc]

I don't think the prices are any higher than Disney BUT unlike Disney (but like most deluxe hotels) the hotels don't have food courts. There is an IHOP near RPH (not sure if it's walking distance).

Unlike Disney the Universal hotels charge hotel guests for self parking.

 

[tinkertiff]

Thanks to both of you for such kind, quick responses. You confirmed what I was thinking. I think that we will stop and get a small styro cooler and ice water/milk/juices for the room/time at the hotel - leave the minibar alone. From what I have read, that is almost a necessity unless you are on unlimited vacation funds. For breakfast, we will get something light in the park and maybe have the breakfast buffet one day for a change. I have learned a lot about eating in the parks and have reviewed some of the menus - thanks to all of you! Seems like the park prices are comparable to WDW. Over the years, I stopped bringing in so many snacks in the backpack - my kids are not big eaters and the snacks were getting crushed/nasty in the backpack - we just were not eating them. We eat our meals and get popcorn or ice cream in the park - we are only a family of 4 with small kids that have small appetites. With a large family, I can see how it would get pricey very quick though. With the heat and to save a bit, we will probably need to bring a couple of waters in the backpack for the morning and after a swim, bring more later. I also learned about the refillable drink cups at the parks - interesting! Will check that out as well. We will use our AP/AAA cards to get 10-15% off meals/snacks - that will help. We may have to skip those $10+ frozen drinks poolside! (Has anyone brought their own wine coolers in???? I could ice a couple of those as well.....Please advise. ) We will definitely go to Citywalk for dinner vs. the hotel restaurants - I believe the selection and prices will be much better. Heard Margaritaville was great. Also, I am going to try Mama Della's - heard it was good, reasonable, and kids should have good choices there.

As a Dis veteran, I am prepared for most prices and although I wish it was a little cheaper, have no problem with it as long as quality/quantity is good. But, I don't want to get "taken" with $7 water or searching everywhere for milk before bed for the kids. Wish these resorts would have followed WDW's lead with small food courts or shops with basics - containers of milk, cookies, etc. (There are always comment cards at checkout!)

If anyone can contribute more ideas or tips, please feel free! Thanks again to all who participate on these boards and the time spent helping others!!

 

[Lewisc]

Mama Delles is fun, reasonable (but not cheap). I stayed at PBH, one of the hotel stores has some "fun food", bottled water, soda and I think milk. Not as extensive as some of the Disney stores.

Unlike Disney offsite stores are a very short drive (from RPH might be walking distance).

 

[taxman]

Having stayed at RP and PB, I actually found the PB to have a better choice of reasonably priced food. RP had much more limited choices. AT RP, nobody gave me a hard time bringing a chilled beer from my room to the pool. However, don't bring glass bottles. We too, tried the cooler in the room thing and found, for the most part, it didn't help with the food. It did keep all the waters, juices and beer cold throughout the day. There are numerous restaruants around IOA and US that give 15% off with your AP (rather than 10% at City Walk restaurants), that you should check out the menus and see if anything hits your fancy. Mythos and Confisco were very reasonable and had good food. Mama Dellas is a fantastic restaurant, but our bill (just me and the wife that trip) was over $100. I would go back there in a heartbeat - fabulous time, great food, and Mama came and sat with us for 10 minutes. That's a spicey meatball! but, it will blow your $100 a day food budget. I have found that going offsite costs just as much as a carefully selected meals on site - and it is less hastle to leave and come back. We will be up in August - this time at the HR - hoping that its restaurants are as good as PB. I have seen posts where people ordered in Italian for the kids to their poolside cabana. We might try that for the kids (7 and 11) and go to a nice restaurant ourselves. Any suggestions/ideas for meals are always welcome.

 

[tinkertiff]

Thanks, guys, so much! Taxman, thanks for the tip on the glass beverages - I would not have thought of it and you are right. If glass gets broken - problems for everyone walking. I can see why it would be a problem. I'll have to look and see what I can find in plastic - we are not really beer drinkers so I'll be limited. Oh well - no biggie if I can't find anything (I was joking about the blender and Bacardi! I'm not dragging all that stuff!). I read a recent trip report where someone spent $72 for 4 frozen drinks delivered to a cabana!! That is insane (and sad too)! Thanks also for the tip on Mama Della's. I looked at the menu - did not look tooo bad. We usually splurge on a character meal at WDW - so Mama's may be our big ticket meal. With my kids, its silly to go to higher end restaurants i.e. Tchoup Choup. Total waste. Without kids - that would be a different story! Will definitely try Mythos and Confisco - sounds great! Thanks! Plus - after a while, one gets sick of "fast food" - wants REAL food. I agree with you re: going offsite for meals - if you have a small family, it is sometimes more aggravation than it is worth - especially at WDW. Large family/big eaters/very limited budget - I can see the need. I think we will do the cooler thing just for beverages for the hotel mainly.

We are really excited and I appreciate all of your tips! I am starting to feel better already! Feel free to advise anything further - I'll take all the advice I can get!! I'll be sure to post a trip report when I return to try to help anyone else out!

 

[kjcolv]

Just returned yesterday from PBH, I thought the food prices were very high, although the food was good. We are WDW and IOA veterans and have found breakfast to be the big savings part of our budget. A basic room service breakfast at PBH was $18 per person, even a quick stop at the deli/takeout was running close to $6 per person. We have a deal where we do our own breakfast, a light lunch and then splurge on an early dinner. We bring the collapsible cooler, pick up a half gallon of milk some cereal in the take along bowls ($.89 each) some muffins, breakfast bars, etc. and eat breakfast in our room while everyone is getting ready. Even if you don't want to bring the cooler we put our milk in the ice bucket and the maid kept it filled with fresh ice. I like having can sodas to keep in the cooler. We rented a cabana at HR and put our own sodas in the fridge, saved us a ton of money!! And yes those frozen drinks at the PBH pool are $7.95 each!!! We tend to stay on property, but there is an amazing McDonalds right around the corner from PBH. Sunday morning they were making waffles and omlettes in a buffet line. It is a quick trip and they have a rather extensive menu and table service!! We ran through there the last morning as we were moving from the $6 self parking to the free AP parking. Breakfast was $10 for the 4 of us. I just find breakfast to be easy to do and save money.

 

[NUHuskies#1]

Hi there,

I'm with Curley and KJ, I really think the best thing to do is a quick stop to the grocery store for breakfast items, milk, juice, snacks, and cans of water,soda and beer as well as a styrofoam cooler to put it all in before arriving at your hotel is always your best option. - No matter which hotel you're staying at! I have two school-aged boys and besides saving money it is a terrific convenience to have those items right in the room with you. It saves time and money before heading out to the parks.
Enjoy!

 

[prncess674]

Water in the park was $2.50 each or $4.00 for 2 so I always bought two at a time

Drinks poolside were a bit pricey but I have no idea what someone ordered that was $72. I ordered a frozen margarita and it was $8 and I tipped a $1 so it cost me $9. I thought it was pricey but I like being served pool side. I don't think that this price is much different than a WDW Deluxe Hotel Pool Bar. Later in the week we did bring our soft sided cooler down to the pool. We had a plastic tupperware jug with our own pre mixed margaritas that we made up in the room.

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by kjcolv
. A basic room service breakfast at PBH was $18 per person, even a quick stop at the deli/takeout was running close to $6 per person. ...... but there is an amazing McDonalds right around the corner from PBH.

The room service charge and takeout prices are normal for any deluxe hotel.

Good tip about the Mcdonalds. They actually have some coupons on their website mcfun.com Mapquest actually has the McDonalds as about .6 of a mile from PBH. Clearly an alternative for guest look for fast food alternatives.