Sharing Meals and must have Snacks

[Pinkos]

Hi All,

We will be headed to Universal in May for 4 days ... Myself and DH have been in the past (over ten years ago now), and my kids (9&6) have never been.

Since having kids we have been disney fans but the kids are FINALLY tall enough to venture to US/IOA and we are super excited. I'm wondering about Meal Sharing and Must have Snacks

1. At disney we will often share meals for lunch and have a good grasp on meals to order that are large enough to share. Does Universal have anything similar? and are the okay with sharing? I would love to hear some meals that you and your family have 'shared'

2. I have a list a mile long of fun snacks to try at Disney ... is there such a thing at Universal? Are there some must haves that we must try while we are there? Besides butter beer! I know that is a must for my HP loving family! LOL

TIA for any advice/input!

 

[damo]

Check out the dining sticky. Lots of good info from peeps on there.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Butterbeer! I know it's a drink, but it's got enough calories to count as a snack. Try both kinds (cold and frozen).

For sharing meals, I think some of the meals at the two Harry Potter restaurants (Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron) may be big enough to share. At the Leaky Cauldron they make a meal specifically for sharing called Ploughmans. Three Broomsticks offers a family feast. Check out the menu to see if it looks like a good price for your family!

 

[danielocha30]

Simpsons area have a huge donut for about $5 and is so big it comes boxed with a knife, it can be shared easily. Check The three Broomsticks they have a family size meal called the grant feast ( not sure) it is huge!

 

[Pinkos]

Check out the dining sticky. Lots of good info from peeps on there.

I was looking through that but it is 116 pages and not really answering those questions. Is there a way to search within a forum?

 

[dolewhipdreams]

I was looking through that but it is 116 pages and not really answering those questions. Is there a way to search within a forum?

Yep! Up in the top right corner is the search bar. Type in your search and a little drop down box should come down. There's a check box for searching this thread only, or this forum only. Go to the forum or thread you want to search and it should work

 

[Metro West]

Unless the rules have changed you cannot share meals when purchased on the meal plan. If you are buying your meals w/o the plan then you can do whatever you want. I can tell you the pizza slices at Louie's in the Studios are enormous and can definitely be shared. I also like the Chicken wrap at Thunder Falls Terrace in IOA is pretty big but the rib platters are huge and can be shared...again...if you aren't using the dining plan.

Hope that helped a little.

 

[Pinkos]

Unless the rules have changed you cannot share meals when purchased on the meal plan. If you are buying your meals w/o the plan then you can do whatever you want. I can tell you the pizza slices at Louie's in the Studios are enormous and can definitely be shared. I also like the Chicken wrap at Thunder Falls Terrace in IOA is pretty big but the rib platters are huge and can be shared...again...if you aren't using the dining plan.

Hope that helped a little.

Helps a lot! I was looking at Louie's and wondered if they would be big portions! I love hearing actual suggestions from been there and tried it. Thanks so much! We will not be on the dining plan.

 

[bchbetha]

Butterbeer comes in a ton of varieties. Try them all! Soft serve, pudding, hot, Frozen...
Love the tacos at Bumblebee Man’s taco truck.
We shared food all the time at counter service restaurants. I hate food waste and my youngest and I have small appetites. No problem.

 

[damo]

I was looking through that but it is 116 pages and not really answering those questions. Is there a way to search within a forum?

Here are the results for sharing, for example.

https://www.disboards.com/search/109783990/?q=sharing&t=post&o=date&c[thread]=2681315

Just go into the food sticky and then use the search function, clicking on "this thread only".

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Oh yeah, how could I forget?? Florean Fortescue's ice cream is amaaazing. I finally convinced myself to try a flavor other than butterbeer (still the best IMO) and they are all delicious!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi another vote for Thunder Falls Terrace. We got one of the ribs and chicken platters and it was enough for two people to share. The food is really good there. I agree with Florean's for ice cream awesome! Honestly, we get several frozen butter beers a day we don't have much time for other snacks.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

We are big fans of getting an appetizer and one meal at many of the sit down restaurants for the family of 4. For example, nachos at Margaritaville is nearly a meal for a family of 4, as well as the appetizer combo at Hard rock Cafe (but it does cost $20ish). Add a meal or dessert and we are good to go. For all 4 of us to get a meal is too much waste.

If you are staying on site, here are some other ideas for great deals - Pizza at Sal's in Portofino Bay (take the boat over - our vote for best pizza on site, and very cheap), or sushi at Royal Pacific (if that is your thing). Poolside food at RPR and HRH is also very good, I assume Portofino is similar, just never tried it.

On longer stays with us staying on site - we usually fill up on the breakfast buffets and then snack all day. By snacking - I mean a butterbeer, a couple of slices of Luigis Pizza, or Hot Dog Hall of Fame/Panda Express on CityWalk. AND ALWAYS A BIG PINK FOR NIGHTTIME! They don't stand a chance with my family, we buy some to take home in our carry on. Not only huge, but a really good doughnut as well!

But definitely, not every meal at Universal needs to cost $50+ for 4 people. Don't forget it is SO EASY to step out of the parks to CityWalk or a boat ride to hotels for other food options.

Since we are now relegated to the school calendar (wife works in the schools) - we are usually summer travelers, and with the heat, it is more important for us to drink fluids than eat a lot, so the refillable mugs on the Coke Freestyle machines are a big deal for us.

 

[oakleycat]

We always share at the Leaky Cauldron and have plenty of food. Up until last year we could get by with two meals for all four of us but now my boys are 11 & 9 and we need 3 meals! We also have shared the nachos at Margaritaville for all four of us. My husband likes to prepay so I usually buy 2 meal plans for all four of us. We always eat in HP restaurants and use the snacks on butterbeer so we come out a little ahead.

 

[ktate82]

We always share at the Leaky Cauldron and have plenty of food. Up until last year we could get by with two meals for all four of us but now my boys are 11 & 9 and we need 3 meals! We also have shared the nachos at Margaritaville for all four of us. My husband likes to prepay so I usually buy 2 meal plans for all four of us. We always eat in HP restaurants and use the snacks on butterbeer so we come out a little ahead.

Can we share meals from the meal plan? There are four of us, and I was considering the meal plans.

 

[Pinkos]

We are big fans of getting an appetizer and one meal at many of the sit down restaurants for the family of 4. For example, nachos at Margaritaville is nearly a meal for a family of 4, as well as the appetizer combo at Hard rock Cafe (but it does cost $20ish). Add a meal or dessert and we are good to go. For all 4 of us to get a meal is too much waste.

If you are staying on site, here are some other ideas for great deals - Pizza at Sal's in Portofino Bay (take the boat over - our vote for best pizza on site, and very cheap), or sushi at Royal Pacific (if that is your thing). Poolside food at RPR and HRH is also very good, I assume Portofino is similar, just never tried it.

On longer stays with us staying on site - we usually fill up on the breakfast buffets and then snack all day. By snacking - I mean a butterbeer, a couple of slices of Luigis Pizza, or Hot Dog Hall of Fame/Panda Express on CityWalk. AND ALWAYS A BIG PINK FOR NIGHTTIME! They don't stand a chance with my family, we buy some to take home in our carry on. Not only huge, but a really good doughnut as well!

But definitely, not every meal at Universal needs to cost $50+ for 4 people. Don't forget it is SO EASY to step out of the parks to CityWalk or a boat ride to hotels for other food options.

Since we are now relegated to the school calendar (wife works in the schools) - we are usually summer travelers, and with the heat, it is more important for us to drink fluids than eat a lot, so the refillable mugs on the Coke Freestyle machines are a big deal for us.

These are some great tips! I’ve the suggestions! I was wondering if we could do nachos for supper !

 

[schumigirl]

Can we share meals from the meal plan? There are four of us, and I was considering the meal plans.

No.

These are some great tips! I’ve the suggestions! I was wondering if we could do nachos for supper !

You absolutely can.......it really is huge!!!

 

[Lori74]

If we aren't onsite resort guests, can we still take the boats to resorts to eat?

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

If we aren't onsite resort guests, can we still take the boats to resorts to eat?

Absolutely!

 

[schumigirl]

If we aren't onsite resort guests, can we still take the boats to resorts to eat?

Yep, anyone can use the boats to get to the hotel to either look around or enjoy the hotels many eateries.....

Only time they can restrict is late at night during HHN.......have seen them check room keys then, but that’s the only time I’ve ever seen or heard any restrictions........

It’s a lovely way to get to the resorts for a look around.