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cmshelton1979
01-20-2010, 10:27 AM
It looks like we are going down to WDW May 21-31 and we will be spending two days at Universal. We were looking online and we saw that they have a "meal deal". Has anyone done this? It doesnt seem that bad of a price for being able to get unlimited portions....

Also I heard that Harry Potter is supposed to be open "spring 2010" has anyone heard if it would be open by the time I am down there (May 21-31)?

Thanks!!

BowTie7
01-20-2010, 07:19 PM
The meal deal can be fine if you are at the park all day and have both lunch and dinner. (You might wish to google "disney world menus" go to the first result, then sort within that website for "universal studios menus" to check out the items at the places in the plan.) When I used it, I did a fruit plate in the afternoon as a snack. Just remember only 3 places are in the plan in each park--and they aren't anything to get excited about. The plan is only good in one of the parks unless you pay more (not as good a value). Also drinks are not included in the price (though the parks to have a refillable bottle that is a very good value, especially if you are going to be in the park for several days. Get it the first day, and just carry it around--Universal has free lockers for the rides you can't carry anything on.)

NJGIRL
01-21-2010, 10:01 AM
I looked into the plan a couple of years ago and I have to agree with BowTie...it did not excite me. I looked at what was offered and the restrictions and decided for the price it wasn't worth having the few choices that were offered and we didn't do it.

IMO Universal dining is not the same experience as Disney. That is one area I really do believe they fall way behind Disney. There are plenty of places to eat but most are fast food. The few sit down restaurants they do have are good but they only take reservations 30 days in advance. Now if you go out to City Walk you will have more choices for a meal. Within the parks Finnegans is our favorite.

Mfarquar
01-25-2010, 06:50 PM
I've been to Universal 3x since they have started offering the meal plan. My husband and I have been tempted to do it more than once. However, we simply did not like the limited restaurants that are included (we have tried several of them without the plan and were disappointed by them). The quick service locations we like were not included. In addition, because we go to the parks in the fall, IoA and the Studios tend to close between 5 and 7pm. When we arrive at opening, many of the lands are not open and limit dining options. So, we realized if we got 2 meals in, we would be lucky. Because of Halloween Horror Nights the only sit down option for us was Finnegan's (which we've had great meals that are a great value on their own), and it was not on the list either.

The biggest thing is that when we learned there is a separate beverage deal. SO, we'd still have to pay for beverages out of pocket OR pay for a second deal altogether for the beverages. We considered it, but you have to carry around the bottle all day. You have to be careful with the "free" lockers. If you decide to ride 2x without opening your locker and getting a new one, chances are you will run out of "free time" (usually about 10 minutes longer than the present wait time for the ride) and will have to start paying for the locker (which is really fun if you put your money in the locker - been there - whoops!). Keep in mind, you cannot carry on ANYTHING to almost every ride in both parks (Mummy, Men In Black, Dueling Dragons, The Hulk, and Hollywood Rip Ride and Rockit are particularly strict - Simpsons you can leave stuff in the room like on Back to the Future).

I think the value really depends on how often you like to eat, what you like to eat, and the actual hours of the park. For us, we really just have other restaurants we like a lot better. We find that the restaurants on the list aren't of the highest quality compared to the ones that are not on the list. As someone who goes to Universal parks as well as Disney, I think Disney gets a bad rap. Universal definitely nickels and dimes you more with their "plans". Just make sure you have all the fine details of any plan before you purchase it or you may find yourself severely disappointed.

As for Harry Potter, just keep checking. It may be wishful thinking because the release date keeps getting pushed back. However, we saw the construction the last 2 times we were there and it looks like it's going to be quite a sight! At the very least, you should be able to access Dueling Dragons as long as it isn't being repainted and renamed at that point (I assume THAT should be done by then :) )!