Epic Universe Food and Drink General Discussion

[Mad Dog]

I’ve been debating even bothering to write about this as I feel it has been repeated ad nauseum, but the app ordering seems especially broken at Epic.

When I scan my table QR, I should not be waiting much more than 5 minutes to get my grub. We waited 15-25 minutes at every “quick service” restaurant we ate at on the trip.

We were also told (at Cafe L’aire) that a party size of 6 was abnormal and we had to wait longer in line to get a table because of the party size.

This was also the restaurant we waited the longest on for food.

Every meal we had was good, so that was at least a positive.

Old time stand in line to order works better......Fine to let the people who really love mobile and their smartphones have
the option to mobile order. But let the mass general public do it the way they want.

 

[kingcooger]

Old time stand in line to order works better......Fine to let the people who really love mobile and their smartphones have
the option to mobile order. But let the mass general public do it the way they want.

And I think that’s why it is broken at Epic only: they’re forcing this system that seems to work better when not everyone orders the same way.

Having said that, we had no issue at Minion Cafe which also forces the app ordering, so I just don’t understand the issue at Epic.

Again, the food is good, but if I order on the app and say I am here, it really shouldn’t take long to get my food out since you ALREADY know what I want AND have an approximate arrival time.

 

[Mad Dog]

And I think that’s why it is broken at Epic only: they’re forcing this system that seems to work better when not everyone orders the same way.

Having said that, we had no issue at Minion Cafe which also forces the app ordering, so I just don’t understand the issue at Epic.

Again, the food is good, but if I order on the app and say I am here, it really shouldn’t take long to get my food out since you ALREADY know what I want AND have an approximate arrival time.

Yes, I gave an in depth description on another thread of what we experienced. Bottom line, it took a long time for the
app users to get their food via mobile ordering. We complained and got to use the only window of 6 or so that was open.
We got our food 'immediately while a couple dozen app users were standing around fuming their orders weren't ready.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Universal's system doesn't cap entries like Disney's system, which allows them to spread out demand and provide you an accurate window of when you can expect your food.

If the app says it's a 30-min wait, you can balk and find another location instead.


Not against mobile ordering, I use it without hassle at WDW, but at UOR it's a pain point. If they can fix and improve the accuracy of when I can expect my food, it'll be fine.

 

[Mad Dog]

Why does it even take 30 minute waits anyway. In all the years I've stood in WDW/Universal theme
park food lines, I can't recall ever waiting more than 15 minutes to order (on a busy time) and then
get my food almost immediately. The only exception was when Universal tried to force mobile
ordering down everyones throat in the year after covid, which resulted in super long food lines at
every eatery. Forced 'Mobile Ordering' is not about guest experience, it's about cutting staffing and costs
while keeping prices high anyway. Epic's food is the most expensive Orlando theme park food even with
the inconvenient forced mobile ordering cutting staff/costs.
Regular ordering lines are usually just a few minutes. Why change that Universal Epic executives, and force guests
to have their faces in a smartphone all day just to eat?

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Anyone know how late the restaurants stay open until? I can currently get a 9:45pm reservation at the Atlantic with a 9pm park closure, seems odd.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Anyone know how late the restaurants stay open until? I can currently get a 9:45pm reservation at the Atlantic with a 9pm park closure, seems odd.

not that there is much of a past, but as I recall, when the park has closed at 9 PM, Celestial stayed open until 10 PM.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I’ve been debating even bothering to write about this as I feel it has been repeated ad nauseum, but the app ordering seems especially broken at Epic.

When I scan my table QR, I should not be waiting much more than 5 minutes to get my grub. We waited 15-25 minutes at every “quick service” restaurant we ate at on the trip.

We were also told (at Cafe L’aire) that a party size of 6 was abnormal and we had to wait longer in line to get a table because of the party size.

This was also the restaurant we waited the longest on for food.

Every meal we had was good, so that was at least a positive.

This is deffinatley abnormal, I got my food using mobile order quickly. Sorry to hear about your rough experience, deffinatley not acceptable.

 

[rhino4evr]

We were are the park yesterday from open to close. Some new food experiences I wanted to share.
1. My initial opinion of Blue Dragon was solidified, as our meal was fantastic. The spice and flavor level on the beef dish we got was off the charts good. We had to order more soup dumplings for the table. Cocktails were high end. The schezwan smash (spelling) being a real stand out. The banana desert was decadent.
2. We ate at the both the burning blade and the Stake house. The jalapeño poppers were nice and warm on a chilly morning, although completely lacking in heat (spice). Still good though. The chicken wings at the stake house were crispy, seasoned well, and I personally loved the sauce, which had a very unique flavor. The skull cornbread was cooked perfect, moist and flavorful. Also I really wish the Crossbow was on the mobile ordering menu, having to order it from the bar when there is a long line is no good. Great drink though.

3. Met “Nick” over at the Zenith bar in the middle of our day, and he became my go-to bartender for the rest of the day. His Blueberry Old Fashioned was a perfect alternative to the traditional. Loved it, and would have got a second one if I wasn’t worried about standing straight.

Overall the park itself was busy , but never felt over crowded. As much as Celestial Park gets knocked for being “too empty”, I actually enjoyed it that way. It gives you a nice breather from the crowds within the lands. Express was still an absolute must.

On a side note:
The Harry Potter ride just doesn’t do it for me. The long waits (even with express), somewhat thrill-less ride movement, and boring and hard to follow story make it my least favorite of the “main movie potter rides”.. despite how cool the effects and technology are.

 

[Mad Dog]

We were are the park yesterday from open to close. Some new food experiences I wanted to share.
1. My initial opinion of Blue Dragon was solidified, as our meal was fantastic. The spice and flavor level on the beef dish we got was off the charts good. We had to order more soup dumplings for the table. Cocktails were high end. The schezwan smash (spelling) being a real stand out. The banana desert was decadent.
2. We ate at the both the burning blade and the Stake house. The jalapeño poppers were nice and warm on a chilly morning, although completely lacking in heat (spice). Still good though. The chicken wings at the stake house were crispy, seasoned well, and I personally loved the sauce, which had a very unique flavor. The skull cornbread was cooked perfect, moist and flavorful. Also I really wish the Crossbow was on the mobile ordering menu, having to order it from the bar when there is a long line is no good. Great drink though.

3. Met “Nick” over at the Zenith bar in the middle of our day, and he became my go-to bartender for the rest of the day. His Blueberry Old Fashioned was a perfect alternative to the traditional. Loved it, and would have got a second one if I wasn’t worried about standing straight.

Overall the park itself was busy , but never felt over crowded. As much as Celestial Park gets knocked for being “too empty”, I actually enjoyed it that way. It gives you a nice breather from the crowds within the lands. Express was still an absolute must.

On a side note:
The Harry Potter ride just doesn’t do it for me. The long waits (even with express), somewhat thrill-less ride movement, and boring and hard to follow story make it my least favorite of the “main movie potter rides”.. despite how cool the effects and technology are.

Good food/drinks comments...All three Universal parks looked slammed yesterday. Christmas holiday like stand by times.
Even Monsters had fairly heavy standby lines at mid afternoon. Well, it is a holiday weekend after all. My views on the
Ministry ride are the same. It's an OK attraction, but definitely the weakest of the Potter rides. My second and third rides
were better than the first, but somethings just lacking. We expect more when it comes to Potter. Maybe too much emphasis
on fancy new tech and not enough emphasis on substance and flow.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

2. We ate at the both the burning blade and the Stake house. The jalapeño poppers were nice and warm on a chilly morning, although completely lacking in heat (spice). Still good though. The chicken wings at the stake house were crispy, seasoned well, and I personally loved the sauce, which had a very unique flavor. The skull cornbread was cooked perfect, moist and flavorful. Also I really wish the Crossbow was on the mobile ordering menu, having to order it from the bar when there is a long line is no good. Great drink though.

Oh man the cheese balls are so good, they're not SPICY per say but I think they have a nice heat to them. They're my go to there, even moreso than the pretzel!