So confused and not sure what to do.......help?

[Cdndisfan4]

HI everyone,

We are planning a trip to FL Aug 24 to 30th. I am so torn on Disney or UNiversal. My draw to DW being free dining where Universal is for the fact we have never been and kids are 14 and 16 and seem to like the idea of all the thrill rides.

Can you tell me about how much I should budget for meals at UNiversal? We dont want to eat take out all the time and would enjoy some nice sit down meals.

Thanks in advance

 

[tinydancer09]

HI everyone,

We are planning a trip to FL Aug 24 to 30th. I am so torn on Disney or UNiversal. My draw to DW being free dining where Universal is for the fact we have never been and kids are 14 and 16 and seem to like the idea of all the thrill rides.

Can you tell me about how much I should budget for meals at UNiversal? We dont want to eat take out all the time and would enjoy some nice sit down meals.

Thanks in advance

It really depends on the trip, but I am a spreadsheet person. On my template spreadsheet I budget:
$45 a day for meals
$15 a day for snacks
--and if universal-- I don't hardly ever drink at disney so I count that as a snack.
$15 a day for alcohol.

I ALWAYS come out ahead with extra money. I allocate well more JUST IN CASE.

Now... when I'm going for birthdays we're probably going to spend more on food. When going with my sister I'm going to spend less because we split meals and snack more. Her and I also don't really sit down and eat 3 meals a day. We usually eat one big meal and maybe split a chicken strip basket. When I go with my friends we usually sit down for one meal a day and a QS per day.
I would either down load a menu APP or look at Damo's tread and get a few ideas of restaurants you want to try. That will REALLY help you budget food. Don't forget to factor in tax/tips, and drinks.
On drinks: if you buy the freestyle cups let us know. There's an initial purchase and then reactivation per day if you choose to do that. We'll explain that later if you need us to

Anyways quick service I feel you should allocate 8-15$ per meal. Possibly plus drink?
Table service... My meals are usually $11-20, plus drink/alcohol, plus tax and tip.

You can budget better. If you were to go to Sal's and split a pizza it will run much less than $20 a person!

If one person in your group were to buy an upper annual pass you would save 15% on food at most places and you would get a room discount if there are any APH rates available.

 

[macraven]

i go solo and when I do my darkside budget, it is $50 per day for anything I eat or drink

I make up an envelope and put $700 in it for the UO portion of my trip

What I don't spend on a day, I put the money back in the envelope to apply towards another day

I usually come back home with money in that envelope

I'm more of a basic food person to satisfy my hunger

Butterbeer and the pink donut costs are built into my food budget

There are a couple days in my stays at rpr that I do the breakfast buffet at Islands
or a couple of dinners at Jakes to use up my food credits at the hotel

Those meals I don't have in my budget as all I do is pay the tax on those them
So $50 per day plenty for me

 

[Cdndisfan4]

Thanks. There is 4 of us so I guess I should budget at least 175.00 per day for food. A day of pizza and big breakfast would be fine but I would need my coffee every day and kids would want drinks. Would like a couple sit downs to really enjoy the food. Food for us is part of the whole experience and that is why I keep being pulled back to the free dining but I just think the kids are looking for more thrilling rides................
Thanks for replies.

 

[squirrel]

Are you planning on staying onsite? Which hotel? Some offsite hotels offer free breakfast. If staying at Cabana Bay you can buy a refillable mug like at Disney and refill at the resort with coffee, soda, etc. Will you have a car to go offsite for some dinners?

Do you like eating something quick and easy like cereal in the room for breakfast?

There are lots of ways to keep the costs down but still feel like you are having a vacation.

 

[Cdndisfan4]

Yes planning on staying onsite. We will have a car. Yes I am good with cereal in room. Is there fridges? Actually prefer just to eat something in room in morning to get quick starts if there is ability to do this.
Thanks.

 

[Heidi K]

When my husband and I went in March, we spent about $100 per day (total for both of us) on food--QS breakfast, QS lunch, and sit-down dinner each day.

I think your teens will LOVE Universal!

 

[RAPstar]

Universal has some great QS places, not just in the park but also in City Walk. If you wanna take the time, the food court at Cabana Bay has really great food at a reasonable price. I love the coconut tofu curry dish they have. That's the only thing I can remember right now, but I know I've had more and it was really good. All 3 of the hotels have cheaper, quick breakfast options, but you also have Cinnabon in City Walk and some places in both parks, Croissant Moon and Beverly Hills Boulangerie spring to mind right away.

 

[tinydancer09]

Yes planning on staying onsite. We will have a car. Yes I am good with cereal in room. Is there fridges? Actually prefer just to eat something in room in morning to get quick starts if there is ability to do this.
Thanks.

I LOVE FOOD!!! Universal food is better, IMO. There are a lot, like robby said, of AWESOME quick service places that reinvent what quick service is. Say Beauty and the Beach quick service Lunch versus cosmic rays. Same thing... We're going to have to start a new category of counter/quick service for the nicer places. There are also, of course, quick places like cosmic rays/casey's etc. However, I only use those as fillers and quick meals when I'm planning a big dinner. PLUS you have walking access to city walk and all of the hotels! I park my car and throw away that key!!! It takes the chaos out of the vacation to me. I love disney, don't get me wrong, but the fact of everything being right there makes universal higher on the convenience chart. Highly recommend Leaky Cauldron for a QS meal with class (like BeautyATB)

Anyways.... They have mini wet bars in the rooms. The fridge is not a true fridge and I personally would not trust milk in it. If you stay at PBH the wet bar is stocked and you are asked to not remove anything unless you intend to pay for it. You may rent a fridge there... not sure about the other resorts. Or you can bring a cooler. There is an ice machine on every hall. I recommend taking a rolling one so you don't have to carry it. OR you can go down to the quick service breakfast area and purchase coffee and milk each morning and bring it back to the room to eat. Others can tell you the name for all the quick breakfast places at the hotels... RPR is Orchid, PBH is Sal's market I believe, is Hard Rock's the kitchen? I dont know.

I was introduced to Universal at 15 and fell in love with it instantly! I am a thrill junkie and I couldn't get enough of it!

 

[macraven]

check the rpr sticky in the hotel section.

pictures of the fridge and coffee maker are in that thread.

 

[crazy_for_the_dis]

I'd say Universal. Trying to plan WDW this late during free dining, your availability of ADR's is going to be nil. Universal is a much more laid back vacation, without the pressure of having everything planned out 6 months before!

 

[macraven]

I'd say Universal. Trying to plan WDW this late during free dining, your availability of ADR's is going to be nil. Universal is a much more laid back vacation, without the pressure of having everything planned out 6 months before!

Totally agree
I've spent part of today setting up adrs for my September stay at the motherland

My darkside portion of the trip I'll plan once I'm there in where to eat for my two week stay there

 

[tinydancer09]

I'd say Universal. Trying to plan WDW this late during free dining, your availability of ADR's is going to be nil. Universal is a much more laid back vacation, without the pressure of having everything planned out 6 months before!

True true unless you want all QS. Didn't even think about that. And FP+ is about to open up for those dates (at least the offsite peoples. Onsite has already been open for a month!)
Universal is a lot less headache.. no counting food credits either. I hate counting things I eat.

 

[uccats97]

Unless you've already booked free dining at Disney, it's too late now. The booking window for that offer has passed. :/

 

[bumbershoot]

Totally agree
I've spent part of today setting up adrs for my September stay at the motherland.

And as you know you're months behind in just doing that now. I have our Xmas adrs made already!

Unless you've already booked free dining at Disney, it's too late now. The booking window for that offer has passed. :/

Username sounds like op is Canadian; maybe they still have an active offer?

But to go to WDW because of free dining, booking a month out (wait, is the op talking about this year?) will likely make getting any good TS very hard, so it doesn't make sense.

Sounds like the kids want Uni.

 

[wookiebeck]

Your teens will LOVE Universal!

We do our sit down meals for lunch. It gives a nice, air conditioned break in the heat of midday. Reservations are barely necessary, but we try to book them anyway to be sure. And lunch costs a few dollars less. Then QS for dinner.

That way we can enjoy trying out several restaurants all week and feel like we are taking the time to relax with good eats and save a few bucks.

 

[AmberK24]

It sounds like your kids are ready for bigger thrills and since you only have a few years left with them, it's time to try something new. Save Disney for when you come back with Grandkids!!! (Too soon?!?)

I typically will eat a small breakfast on the walk over (roll, granola bar, etc.), Counter service lunch in the park, Table service dinner at City Walk. Breakfast is usually $10, Lunch $15, Dinner $30 & Snacks/Drinks/Extra Vacation Desserts, etc. $20. Some days I only spend $35-$40, but $75 is about the max in a day.

Since I'm not a big breakfast eater, I usually have a Dr. Pepper & granola bar in the morning. Easy enough, but I believe the new park restrictions won't allow in opened bottled drinks, so you would have to finish before you hit City Walk.

In the parks, lunch is usually CS & I would recommend eating in Springfield. Between all the counter options inside & the taco truck outside, there is something for everyone. Lots of people speak highly of 3 Broomsticks & Leaky Cauldron, but I haven't tried either, yet. As far as sit down goes, I would recommend the deal for Dinner & Priority Viewing for Cinematic Spectacular...I think it was about $45, but also came with a desert bar. Dinner was very good and we loved not having to fight through a crowd to see the show, but I would recommend an early dinner seating so that you can actually take advantage of the dessert bar, since the dinner included a LOT of food, we didn't get as much out of it as we would have liked, but still thought it was worth the $$.

In City Walk, most of the CS meals are common fast food chains (Burger King, Panda Express, etc) but also have great table service meals. Don't skip Cowfish!!

Also, due to the proximity of the hotels and ease of transportation to City Walk, don't rule out hotel restaurants as well...its not nearly the daunting quest that it can be at Disney to venture to a different hotel. I have loved the Kitchen at HRH!

I don't know if you will be driving or flying, but if you are flying in and only planning on staying at Universal, I would recommend getting a shuttle instead of renting a car because UO hotels charge $22 (last price I saw)/ day for self park, which is a little steep. To help, not have a car rental, you can order groceries through Garden Grocer, which I believe also has free delivery with a $100 order. Get a few cases of water, pop if that's what you drink, Kraft Easy Mac where you just add water and microwave, packages of peanut butter crackers, etc & you can drive that cost down as well.

 

[avic77]

We are making a trip to the darkside this year instead of Universal...Same reason Kids are 14 & 16 want the thrills, Halloween Horror nights instead of MNSSHP... just more teen style fun compared to Disney. We have been before but new things are there now that we have not seen.
Im planning about $600 for food for a 5 day trip. we are getting a Cabana Bay Family suite with a Kitchenette (i know its nothing more the a fridge and microwave but that will suffice)
We eat breakfast in room (even at Disney)
My daughter and I can almost always split a meal. The boys will eat a whole meal each.
We have a weakness for Ben and Jerry's so i expect frequent stops.

 

[Nobody352]

that is the PERFECT age for universal.
universal food is 1 million times better.
id block off about $70 a day for universal food for 4 people.

 

[AmberK24]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that I would recommend one of you getting a Premier or Preferred Annual Pass. It's only about $60 more than a 4 day Park to Park ticket, but once 1 person purchases it, you can purchase tickets for the rest of your party at a 15% discount. Additionally, you save about 10-20% at most of the stores, restaurants & carts, so it will be a saver at the end of a week.