Understanding dining options

[JenJar]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum but have learned so much browsing through everything! We are traveling to Universal Studios Orlando in two weeks. One thing that I'm having trouble understanding are the dining regulations during this time. We want to try the Leaky Cauldron for breakfast (does anyone have a suggestion for our second day?) and Mythos and Three Broomsticks, each for dinner. We'll be in Universal for two days and are staying at Loews Royal Pacific.

It seems like we need reservations, but not every restaurant takes them? And priority seating isn't being used? And for some places you have to preorder your food through an app? And carts and kiosks are currently closed?

I couldn't find reservation options for the Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks. I did for Mythos, but because we are a party of 7 the only option was to phone. We are overseas and our attempts weren't successful. Am I making this out to be more complicated than it is?!

I'm guessing Florean Fortescue's, Honeydukes etc don't require reservations? You might have guessed that we have huge Harry Potter fans with us

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Both the HP locations are modified quick service - you order & sit, and they bring your food over. Not sure if they are still doing mobile order - that really seemed to slow things down.

Floreans is walk up ice cream, no sitting inside - but lots of places to wander off and eat in HP bliss. It does get long lines but is worth the wait!

Honeydukes is a store.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Most carts and kiosks in HP area are open. You can also walk into Hogs Head pub and get butterbeer or other adulter beverages -shorter lines than the butterbeer cart outside.

 

[JenJar]

Both the HP locations are modified quick service - you order & sit, and they bring your food over. Not sure if they are still doing mobile order - that really seemed to slow things down.

Floreans is walk up ice cream, no sitting inside - but lots of places to wander off and eat in HP bliss. It does get long lines but is worth the wait!

Honeydukes is a store.

Thanks for all the information and for clarifying Honeydukes!

 

[JenJar]

Most carts and kiosks in HP area are open. You can also walk into Hogs Head pub and get butterbeer or other adulter beverages -shorter lines than the butterbeer cart outside.

Great. Thanks for the tip!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

We accidentally timed Floreans perfectly and were sitting on the ground near the stage when they started the 3 Brothers show. Made for a really great ice cream break. If you can look in the App for the show schedule, you can plan that.

 

[Bethany10]

if you want a nice sit down meal we love Vivo in citywalk. If you can't get through from your side of the "pond" then I'd try calling once you land in the states and see what's available. We also enjoyed Jakes which is a restaurant at Royal Pacific, we needed reservations for there as well.

 

[bchbetha]

Most carts and kiosks in HP area are open. You can also walk into Hogs Head pub and get butterbeer or other adulter beverages -shorter lines than the butterbeer cart outside.

If the Three Broomsticks is too crowded to eat, the Hogshead Inn shares an interior so you can see the 3B while you enjoy some Butterbeer (almost all varieties typically available) or a grown up drink.

 

[soniam]

They have removed mobile ordering for all quick service, so you just wait in line. Priority seating for hotel guests is only in Citywalk, and not all restaurants will honor it all the time. I don't know the official policy, because it seems to change everytime we try to do it. It's best to get a reservation for table service if you can. Do not rely upon priority seating.

EDIT: Also, breakfast options are fairly limited in the parks and Citywalk. In the parks, I only know of Leaky Cauldron and Today Cafe, both at Studios and both quick service. There's also the Lard Lad donut stand that is sometimes open early; it's in Studios in Springfield. There is also Voodoo Donut in Citywalk; it's opening at 8am right now. The hotel is probably your best choice for breakfast.

 

[thevolcanogod]

As of yesterday and the day before, the leaky cauldron was mobile order only for breakfast and lunch/dinner. You order and pay on the app and then get in line for a table. Once you get a table you click prepare my food and scan a QR code on the table. Once we figured it out it worked ok. There were flaws - the camera to scan the QR code didn’t work on iPhone etc. They were telling everyone you HAD to mobile order. Not sure what happened if you didn’t have a phone.

 

[shawthorne44]

As far as Priority Seating, the restaurants seat reservations first, then priority seating, then general walk-ups. So, when they are fully booked with reservations, priority seating isn't a thing.

For the HP restaurants I would just plan at eating at an off time, so you don't waste too much time in lines.

People that buy the Harry Potter package are guaranteed a Leaky Cauldron breakfast. Because of social-distancing there was often no availability left for other people. I haven't been since May, so I don't know what distancing that they are doing now.

 

[soniam]

As of yesterday and the day before, the leaky cauldron was mobile order only for breakfast and lunch/dinner. You order and pay on the app and then get in line for a table. Once you get a table you click prepare my food and scan a QR code on the table. Once we figured it out it worked ok. There were flaws - the camera to scan the QR code didn’t work on iPhone etc. They were telling everyone you HAD to mobile order. Not sure what happened if you didn’t have a phone.

I wish they would make up their minds, so that people know what to expect.

 

[JenJar]

I wish they would make up their minds, so that people know what to expect.

I know. This is why navigating this has been so confusing for me!

 

[thevolcanogod]

It was easy to get into leaky cauldron for breakfast around 9am. There was legit almost no one there. We sat and talked to the server a bit. Got tons of pics all over. Towards the end of our meal people started coming in. This was a great time to order the specialty drinks too - we got a whole tray of them and shared while we were waiting for food. That was a weekday btw - from what we saw yesterday weekend crowds are probably different.