Table Service Restaurants Inside The Parks

[DisneyDoof]

Can anyone explain to me why there isn't at least 4 or 5 Table Service Restaurants in each of the parks by now. Yes, yes, I know CityWalk is right next door with plenty of options but this is different. Compared to other theme parks with similar attendance, we are lacking. Heck, the lowest number of table service restaurants at any of the rats theme parks down the street is 4 at AK. Imagine the highly themed table service that could be in the parks already, and think about how this will ease the crowds a little bit. I think both USF and IOA can take at least another table service and possibly a buffet at the present. Just a thought....and I don't mean to compare us to WDW in a negative way.

 

[yankees13]

IOA has Confisco and Mythos. I’ve never been to Mythos but it had a stretch where it was winning best theme park restaurant every year. Confisco is decent.

Universal Studios is lacking in that department. It’s mostly counter service theme park food in both parks. The fact that CityWalk sits right between both parks really eliminates the necessity for table service restaurants in the parks. Anything you could want is in CityWalk

 

[Nick]

Can anyone explain to me why there isn't at least 4 or 5 Table Service Restaurants in each of the parks by now. Yes, yes, I know CityWalk is right next door with plenty of options but this is different. Compared to other theme parks with similar attendance, we are lacking. Heck, the lowest number of table service restaurants at any of the rats theme parks down the street is 4 at AK. Imagine the highly themed table service that could be in the parks already, and think about how this will ease the crowds a little bit. I think both USF and IOA can take at least another table service and possibly a buffet at the present. Just a thought....and I don't mean to compare us to WDW in a negative way.

They have been running Cafe 4 as a character Buffet of late so they obviously know the appetite is there for more in park restaurants. The Trackers recently did the Marvel Super Hero character dinner and the character interactions were great from what I watched and the said they had a good time.

I do think it is important, even with CW, to have in-park restaurants that are vibrant as those are the type of things that make people stay for a long day in the parks. If you don't have things like Table Service Restaurants (and most close very early... 4pm to be exact) and nighttime spectaculars, then guests will leave a lot earlier than they may otherwise and they may spend less than otherwise as a result.

Thankfully it looks like the nighttime show is being taken care of. Hopefully it's actually good this time.

 

[DisneyDoof]

IOA has Confisco and Mythos. I’ve never been to Mythos but it had a stretch where it was winning best theme park restaurant every year. Confisco is decent.

Universal Studios is lacking in that department. It’s mostly counter service theme park food in both parks. The fact that CityWalk sits right between both parks really eliminates the necessity for table service restaurants in the parks. Anything you could want is in CityWalk

Never been to Confisco but I have been to Mythos and the food was just "ok". Lombards at USF wasn't that bad last week and from the past, Finnegans wasn't very great. I wish these restaurants at least had the same level of quality than some of the CityWalk restaurants. Personally, if I am in the back of IOA or USF and I want to grab a decent bite to eat at a table service, I wouldn't want to walk all the way to CityWalk and come back to the park. While it is a valid option for many people, why couldn't/doesn't Universal build more table service inside the parks? I'm pretty sure they can handle it, especially with the high attendance numbers. Imagine a restaurant serving colorful wacky dishes in Seuss Landing or a Great Hall buffet style restaurant at Hogsmeade (I know it's been rumored for a while). The ideas are endless!

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Can anyone explain to me why there isn't at least 4 or 5 Table Service Restaurants in each of the parks by now. Yes, yes, I know CityWalk is right next door with plenty of options but this is different. Compared to other theme parks with similar attendance, we are lacking. Heck, the lowest number of table service restaurants at any of the rats theme parks down the street is 4 at AK. Imagine the highly themed table service that could be in the parks already, and think about how this will ease the crowds a little bit. I think both USF and IOA can take at least another table service and possibly a buffet at the present. Just a thought....and I don't mean to compare us to WDW in a negative way.

You said it, CityWalk. Plus counter service does put more guests through than a sit down.

 

[DisneyDoof]

They have been running Cafe 4 as a character Buffet of late so they obviously know the appetite is there for more in park restaurants. The Trackers recently did the Marvel Super Hero character dinner and the character interactions were great from what I watched and the said they had a good time.

I do think it is important, even with CW, to have in-park restaurants that are vibrant as those are the type of things that make people stay for a long day in the parks. If you don't have things like Table Service Restaurants (and most close very early... 4pm to be exact) and nighttime spectaculars, then guests will leave a lot earlier than they may otherwise and they may spend less than otherwise as a result.

Thankfully it looks like the nighttime show is being taken care of. Hopefully it's actually good this time.

Exactly! It is important. Just adds to the value of the park!

 

[UNIrd]

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Each park could use a new Table Service restaurant stat. Not only that, but we need some serious menu changes around the park. Some of the offerings at the counter service locations haven't changed EVER. Not sure what the culinary team even does sometimes.

 

[Nick]

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Each park could use a new Table Service restaurant stat. Not only that, but we need some serious menu changes around the park. Some of the offerings at the counter service locations haven't changed EVER. Not sure what the culinary team even does sometimes.

The culinary team created Butterbeer and all the other stuff you may like at quick service places and bars.

I’m not sure if it’s the culinary team that is to “blame” here or if they just aren’t being allowed the freedom to do things at the sit down restaurants.

 

[Mad Dog]

They definitely could use at least one more sit down restaurant in each park. Remembering back to about a year ago though, Universal did do a pretty large change in the menus of the in park sit down restaurants. So those menus aren't exactly static. ...That said, I'm of the opinion that Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron actually have the feel of a sit down restaurant, without the hassle of waiting for servers at various stages of the meal. And the food at both is pretty much equal to most theme park sit down restaurants, excepting the high level/highly expensive ones. The larger issue though, in my opinion, is that they close the restaurants too early. It's probably to divert people to Citiwalk, but it has the added negative of emptying the parks out before they need to. If Universal is ever going to have good night crowds, they need to extend restaurant hours and do some boffo night time shows. ...Universal's excuse of not staying open late because the crowds leave early is a self fulfilling prophecy. People will leave if they can't eat a late dinner in the parks and there's no substantial night show and/or parade to entertain them.......and a Summer Food Festival would be a nice plus in a season where there's no other festivities (such as HHN, Mardi Gras, Winter Holidays) happening.

 

[UNIrd]

The culinary team created Butterbeer and all the other stuff you may like at quick service places and bars.

I’m not sure if it’s the culinary team that is to “blame” here or if they just aren’t being allowed the freedom to do things at the sit down restaurants.

That was 8-9 years ago. Yes, we've seen hot butterbeer, butterbeer ice cream, butterbeer fudge, etc. since then but.. the fact that there's been almost zero evolution or enhancement to any counter service menus in over a decade is slightly baffling. Or hardly any emphasis on food, really, when you have parks like SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Epcot having multiple food-centric festivals per year.

 

[Nick]

That was 8-9 years ago. Yes, we've seen hot butterbeer, butterbeer ice cream, butterbeer fudge, etc. since then but.. the fact that there's been almost zero evolution or enhancement to any counter service menus in over a decade is slightly baffling. Or hardly any emphasis on food, really, when you have parks like SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Epcot having multiple food-centric festivals per year.

I agree that some of the counter service menus could use an update. They should be embarrassed about Monsters Cafe. Cafe 4 is pretty bad too.

As for a “Food centric festival”, Universal has no room on their calendar for one.

Mid-Jan: MLK Weekend
Late January: Celebration of Harry Potter
February-April: Mardi Gras/Spring Break
May-August: Summer crowds
September/October: HHN
November/December: Universal Holidays

So look at that and the only time you could fit something in is during the summer, when crowds are already huge. No incentive to do a summer festival. Even Epcot doesn’t have a festival in the summer.

 

[Andysol]

Can anyone explain to me why there isn't at least 4 or 5 Table Service Restaurants in each of the parks by now. Yes, yes, I know CityWalk is right next door with plenty of options but this is different. Compared to other theme parks with similar attendance, we are lacking. Heck, the lowest number of table service restaurants at any of the rats theme parks down the street is 4 at AK. Imagine the highly themed table service that could be in the parks already, and think about how this will ease the crowds a little bit. I think both USF and IOA can take at least another table service and possibly a buffet at the present. Just a thought....and I don't mean to compare us to WDW in a negative way.

You can’t use DAK as a comparison and not include citi walk. If you’re at Kong, and want to eat at city walk- that’s no different in distance from being in pandora and wanting to eat at yak and yeti.

Universal in park dining is not as good as disney. There. I said it.
The two HP ones are the two best themed quick service in Orlando- bar none. But the rest is beyond mediocre at UOR.
As for table service- again- not as good as disney. Just World showcase alone is better than all of UOR by a mile. But where UOR has the edge is value. You can eat at lombards at lunch and walk away with a $12-14 tab. You can’t even do that at the plaza anymore- $18 at a minimum. So you can get TS at UOR for the price of QS at Disney (or UOR for that matter).

That all said- it’s fine for what it is, though I wouldn’t be opposed to a new one.

Counter service needs improved. I felt Kong should have had one.
Maybe they’ll get it right once they redo JP. I’m not holding my breath, but that waterfront location at the discovery center is just asking for something better than crappy cafeteria hamburgers.
Or London w/ MoM.

They have two chances here soon to make an improvement overall. We’ll see.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I agree wholeheartedly with this. Each park could use a new Table Service restaurant stat. Not only that, but we need some serious menu changes around the park. Some of the offerings at the counter service locations haven't changed EVER. Not sure what the culinary team even does sometimes.

The menus do change but that doesn't really matter when a lot of the places serve the same sort of options. The only location that feels different is Lombards and Mythos. Lots of higher quality American bar food around.

I agree that some of the counter service menus could use an update. They should be embarrassed about Monsters Cafe. Cafe 4 is pretty bad too.

As for a “Food centric festival”, Universal has no room on their calendar for one.

Mid-Jan: MLK Weekend
Late January: Celebration of Harry Potter
February-April: Mardi Gras/Spring Break
May-August: Summer crowds
September/October: HHN
November/December: Universal Holidays

So look at that and the only time you could fit something in is during the summer, when crowds are already huge. No incentive to do a summer festival. Even Epcot doesn’t have a festival in the summer.

*cough*

 

[ChrisFL]

Everyone, it's CitYwalk, with a Y.

Anyway, I LOVE Mythos, never had a bad meal there. Service can be slow I'll admit, but I always try to get there as soon as it first opens.

I can definitely understand wanting another full service restaurant, however much of the problem is that people's time in the parks themselves are limited and quick service is just easier for a lot of guests, especially with scheduled shows to watch.

I don't think Disney is better at in-park food, ESPECIALLY quick service. Both have really crap places to eat, but I find Universal's best quick service overall better than Disney's quick service. I mean, there's practically no good quality quick service at Magic Kingdom other than maybe Columbia Harbor House, Epcot has a couple of good ones in World Showcase but I don't like any of the offerings in Future World (yes, I'm not a fan of the food choices at The Land pavilion, they're just average).

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Is there enough demand for more table service restaurants inside the park? I honestly don't know.

With the exception of Rainforest Cafe outside of Animal Kingdom Disney does not have restaurants right outside their gates. Universal does. You even have multiple dining options simply walking between the two parks.

When visiting the park with others and we talked about what to do for dinner the first thought is automatically City Walk.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

A big factor is that there’s not as much demand for table service unlike Disney. At universal you can walk up and get a seat, at Disney you have to book early (sometimes a month earlier). Once the amount of “on-site” rooms go up, we can expect Uni to focus on improving infrastructure like dining and expanding park capacity in other fronts.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I don't think Disney is better at in-park food, ESPECIALLY quick service. Both have really crap places to eat, but I find Universal's best quick service overall better than Disney's quick service. I mean, there's practically no good quality quick service at Magic Kingdom other than maybe Columbia Harbor House, Epcot has a couple of good ones in World Showcase but I don't like any of the offerings in Future World (yes, I'm not a fan of the food choices at The Land pavilion, they're just average).

It's easy to think of more high quality Disney counter service locations because there are just *MORE* of those around. On average I think UOR hits lower lows than Disney but holds a similar average quality to Disney. My issue is variety, there's not a lot of unique places at UOR.

Is there enough demand for more table service restaurants inside the park? I honestly don't know.

With the exception of Rainforest Cafe outside of Animal Kingdom Disney does not have restaurants right outside their gates. Universal does. You even have multiple dining options simply walking between the two parks.

I don't know if there is demand for sit down in the parks. I don't really agree with your outside the parks argument because there's the MK monorail line and Crescent Lake area too. I do agree that CityWalk is a main reason why there aren't as many sit down places in the parks.

Also I'd argue the years and years of the resort being on the fringes of Orlando attendance and the resorts focusing on convention attendance have trained UOR to treat the outside park offerings as more profitable. This then causes issues with guests staying in the parks post dinner, early closings, and the issues of a nighttime show. It's a chicken and the egg situation.

Lets look at Disneyland, for example. How many sit down restaurants are in each of those parks? DLR has three, DCA has two. And that works better because they have Downtown Disney right outside the park gates. It's very similar to UOR. (Now, quality of those in park sit down locations compared to UOR is another discussion).

 

[UNIrd]

I agree that some of the counter service menus could use an update. They should be embarrassed about Monsters Cafe. Cafe 4 is pretty bad too.

As for a “Food centric festival”, Universal has no room on their calendar for one.

Mid-Jan: MLK Weekend
Late January: Celebration of Harry Potter
February-April: Mardi Gras/Spring Break
May-August: Summer crowds
September/October: HHN
November/December: Universal Holidays

So look at that and the only time you could fit something in is during the summer, when crowds are already huge. No incentive to do a summer festival. Even Epcot doesn’t have a festival in the summer.

Technically, Mardi Gras is it/could be it if they just played up the food aspect a little more. They actually did a little bit this year. Not sure if you knew they added cajun burgers to Monsters Cafe and Mel's Drive-In and a cajun pizza to Louie's during Mardi Gras nights as I don't think they posted it on social media (I don't think..).

 

[UNIrd]

Lets look at Disneyland, for example. How many sit down restaurants are in each of those parks? DLR has three, DCA has two. And that works better because they have Downtown Disney right outside the park gates. It's very similar to UOR. (Now, quality of those in park sit down locations compared to UOR is another discussion).

DL is up to 4, DCA three.. but still a good point as DL gets double the visitors of USF/IOA.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Disney has their very popular dining plans so they need more table service.