On our upcoming trip, we will be at Universal our first day and plan to stay until the parks close at 7pm. Then we will be transferring to Pop for 5 days in the parks there. We are in debate on our dining plans for that evening that we make the transfer from Universal to Pop.
We will have had a long day in the parks (rope drop to close) and will be anticipating another long day at Disney the following day, so a good meal that requires limited effort to get to would be ideal. Would you make the effort to go to Disney Springs, eat at CityWalk before you leave, or maybe just settle for the Pop food court once you get there? Other suggestions welcome also.
I haven’t been to Uni in a long long time, but I would say best to eat there before leaving. The transfer and settling in at the resort may take longer than you anticipate. And IMO the food court at Pop would not be what I’d be looking for after a long day in the park. Then you transfer on full tummies and nobody gets hangry, and when you get there you can crash if you want or you’ll be fueled up and ready to carry on if you don’t
I guess it depends on what time you usually eat. For me, even 7pm is too late, so I would definitely eat at UOR or CityWalk. Lots of good options (my family enjoyed Antojitos, just to throw one option out).
But if you are good to eat 8pm or later and there is a restaurant you want to try at DS, go for it.
Pop food court is fine but I’d put that as a last resort if you just want the quickest meal with the least effort and without eating into your UOR time.
When I thought the park would be closing a little later I had considered just grabbing burgers and shakes at Mel’s in the park. I suppose we could still do that if we didn’t mind using a little of our park time.
I’m not expecting gourmet, but is Mel’s at least pretty decent? Our group generally enjoys diner type food.
I honestly didn’t love it. Their shakes were basically sub-par Frostys. But I think it’s gone through renovation (and possible menu updates?) since I went in 2021.
How are you getting from one resort to the other? Car hire / car share? Rental Car? Is there a bus between the two?
Like if you have the ability to stop wherever, there’s a whole bunch of stuff between the two. It’s not like there’s 0 places to eat between Uni and Disney.
There are a lot of chain restaurants in between. So anything from McDonald’s to Red Robin to Olive Garden. There’s an area called Icon Park, they should have a Gordon Ramsay’s Fish and Chips. That is fast food. There’s a BDubs, Shake Shack, there’s also Indian and Thai if you’re feeling adventurous. So it comes down to if you want something familiar, or something a bit different.
Don’t go to Oshio Korean outside of Endless Summer, that food was terrible.
With a long day in the parks and a transfer to a new hotel, I would eat in Citywalk before heading to Pop. I definitely wouldn’t take time to drive to Disney Springs or somewhere else. There are several great places to eat in Citywalk both QS and TS.
There are some quick places in Citywalk, if, after a long day, you don’t want to delay it longer by doing table service. Bread Box comes to mind, but plenty of options depending on what you are looking for.
Our family is doing something similar in going from Universal to ASM so it’s a good reminder that Universal probably has better options than ASM.
Does Hard Rock have any good quick service? That’s where our bags will be before we ride share to Disney.