Free Food! Universal Orlando Offering its First Theme Park Dining Card

For years, Walt Disney World has offered what they call their Disney Dining Plan. During the times when the plan was available, guests could obtain a limited number of free meals, snacks, drinks, etc. at WDW if they stayed at a hotel owned and operated by the resort.

Disney Dining has always been a good way for the bean counters to fill hotel rooms because Disney fans thought they were “getting a good deal.” Except they weren’t – it’s a prepaid meal plan, so they still have to PAY for them (and they’re not cheap) – and on top of that, they were also paying full price for a too-expensive hotel and had to buy non-discounted park tickets. So, were they saving a whole lot of money? I guess it would depend on the family getting the deal. But again, it was always a good way to entice more Disney fans to come down and visit The House of Mouse.

Theme parks’ downward trend

My husband and I have lived in Central Florida for close to 22 years now. Since the theme parks are in our backyard, we tend to pay attention to what and how they’re doing. It turns out they’re not doing as well as the bean counters would like.

Although Magic Kingdom had 17.72 million visitors in 2023 (an increase of 3.4%), and Epcot had 11.98 million (a 19.8% increase), other parks were not so lucky:

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios had 10.3 million visitors – a decrease of 5.5%
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom had 8.77 visitors – that’s a 2.8% drop
• Universal’s Islands of Adventure had 10.0 million people pass through its gate – down 9.3%
• Universal Studios Florida saw 9.75 million guests – also 9.3% less than in previous years

From the Orlando Sentinel:

“But attendance in Orlando was down in 2023, and the cluster of parks there is not performing on par with other regions around the country. A large part of that is related to international travel that has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels,” it [The TEA / AECOM Theme Park and Museum Index] said.

 

It also attributed decreases to the strength of the U.S. dollar and a decrease in group travel.

Universal’s idea!

So what’s Universal, a theme park with a nearly 10% decrease in attendance from the previous year, to do? Take a page from Disney’s playbook, but make it one better by offering guests packages that include free food, of course!

Universal Orlando has announced that it is debuting a new dining-inclusive vacation package offering guests up to $1000 toward food and beverages during their visit.

From Universal:

• $1000 Food and Beverage Card: 5+ Nights at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, or Loews Royal Pacific Resort
• $800 Food and Beverage Card: 4 Nights at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, or Loews Royal Pacific Resort
• $600 Food and Beverage Card: 5+ Nights at Sapphire Falls Resort or Cabana Bay Beach Resort
• $500 Food and Beverage Card: 4 Nights at Sapphire Falls Resort or Cabana Bay Beach Resort
• $500 Food and Beverage Card: 5+ Nights at Aventura Hotel, Stella Nova Resort, or Terra Luna Resort
• $400 Food and Beverage Card: 4 Nights at Aventura Hotel, Stella Nova Resort, or Terra Luna Resort
• $400 Food and Beverage Card: 5+ Nights at Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suitess, or Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites
• $300 Food and Beverage Card: 4 Nights at Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites, or Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites

Why it’s better than Disney’s package

In the past decade or so, Disney has seemed hell-bent on overcomplicating everything, including its dining packages. At Disney, your food will be one breakfast, one lunch, one snack and one dinner per person, per day—or whatever the terms are.

Universal? “Here’s free money in the form of a dining card. You can use it at more than 200 restaurants, including full-service restaurants, quick-service locations and hotel dining options. Use it however you want.” Nice and easy.

Go to this page of Universal Orlando’s website for more information.

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