Ticket, Anniversary dinner and queue question

[ksueboo]

We are planning a short first time stay at the end of August. The plan is to stay at the Royal Pacific probably 2 nights before our already scheduled 3 night Disney resort stay.
I know we get 1 hour early entrance and the Express Pass with this stay. Do I need to purchase our 1 day (2 park) tickets prior to our stay or can they be bought when we check in? I’m a little worried about Covid changing things again before then.
Anniversary dinner ideas? I am not familiar with any of the City Walk or resort restaurants. Do I make reservations?
If I have Express Pass do I still use the Virtual Queue? Is there still stand by for some rides?
Sorry for all the questions, I’m trying to learn the ropes but it’s a lot of info to take in!

 

[Mrsjvb]

You can buy tickets at the resort. We found that reservations were rarely necessary.

Hagrids will probably be a wait with or without EP. not sure how VQ works.

 

[nkereina]

Do I need to purchase our 1 day (2 park) tickets prior to our stay or can they be bought when we check in? I’m a little worried about Covid changing things again before then.

You can buy them at the resort or at Guest Services. The only advantage of buying in advance is that there are some retailers who sell them at a discount, but with the pandemic, I agree its best to wait.

Anniversary dinner ideas? I am not familiar with any of the City Walk or resort restaurants. Do I make reservations?

What kind of food are you into? Do you want something casual or more fine dining? To be honest, City Walk lacks what I would consider to be fine dining. Vivo is a great Italian restaurant that's a touch nicer than a typical casual burger and beer spot. Big Fire has more dinner type entrees than typical burgers and sandwiches. Toothsome is a unique atmosphere with a story and characters that walk around, plus excellent desserts. Antojitos is great Mexican with a Mariachi band in the evenings. The other City Walk table service restaurants are chains or chain-like, still very good but I wouldn't necessarily choose them for an anniversary dinner.

Also consider the hotel restaurants. The Palm at Hard Rock is a nicer steakhouse and Bice at Portofino Bay is upscale Italian.

In "normal" times, I wouldn't make a reservation for most City Walk restaurants but with everything being limited now, its probably best to do so. I also would for the hotel restaurants.

If I have Express Pass do I still use the Virtual Queue? Is there still stand by for some rides?

Yes there are still standby queues. Its my understanding that rides are using virtual queue if/when the standby line starts to grow. I believe this is to help with social distancing, but I don't believe rides that have a brief wait will use VQ. If a ride is using VQ, you can still use the EP line and don't need to obtain a VQ. The only exception to this will be the new Hagrid's ride which is VQ only. It does not have an EP line.

 

[ksueboo]

What kind of food are you into? Do you want something casual or more fine dining? To be honest, City Walk lacks what I would consider to be fine dining. Vivo is a great Italian restaurant that's a touch nicer than a typical casual burger and beer spot. Big Fire has more dinner type entrees than typical burgers and sandwiches. Toothsome is a unique atmosphere with a story and characters that walk around, plus excellent desserts. Antojitos is great Mexican with a Mariachi band in the evenings. The other City Walk table service restaurants are chains or chain-like, still very good but I wouldn't necessarily choose them for an anniversary dinner.

Also consider the hotel restaurants. The Palm at Hard Rock is a nicer steakhouse and Bice at Portofino Bay is upscale Italian.

Yeah, I wasn’t sure what to do about our anniversary dinner. It’s the day we arrive. We steer clear of seafood restaurants due to a bad allergy. Are you allowed to eat (make reservation for) a resort you aren’t staying in?
Is there a nice restaurant that’s not too far of an Uber ride away that anyone recommends?

 

[nkereina]

Are you allowed to eat (make reservation for) a resort you aren’t staying in?

Definitely! I'm not sure what Universal's rules are currently for just visiting resorts you're not staying in, but I believe if you have a dining reservation, you'd be permitted. Before the pandemic, you were free to visit any resort and stroll around or dine there.

Another option is a Disney Springs restaurant. Lots more options there and would give you a taste of Disney. Good places to stop for dessert or a night cap too. From RPR, its about a 15 minute drive and a roughly $13 UberX ride.

 

[Lynne G]

I second the Palm at the Hard Rock hotel. Short walk from the studios or boat dock. Their filet is one of the best, and their desserts are very good. Upscale, and I would say, perfect for an anniversary meal. Otherwise off site, short ride from Royal Pacific is Ocean Prime. While they do serve seafood, the have very good filets and other not seafood meals. Very nice restaurant. If you don’t want as fancy, Jake’s at Royal is a nice place for a meal too.

 

[Lynne G]

Oh, forgot to say, Damo has a food stickie at the top of this forum, and she keeps the menus up to date. Maybe review the menus to get an idea of where you may want to eat.