Secret Ways to Save Money on Food & Drink at Universal Orlando

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When budgeting for a trip to Universal Orlando, most people focus on park tickets, flights, and accommodation. But one major expense that often gets overlooked is food.

The cost of dining at Universal Orlando Resort can be one of your biggest expenses – but it doesn’t have to be.

As a longtime Universal Orlando annual passholder, I’ve visited the resort more times than I can count. So I know all the top tricks when it comes to saving money on food and drink when I visit – even more so now that I visit with kids!

I’ve made this list of money-saving tips and tricks incredibly comprehensive. I’ve covered everything I’ve ever done to cut costs.

As such, you might not want to implement each and every one of these cost-cutting measures on your next trip. Instead, I’d suggest picking a handful you think will best suit you and your family.

1. Bring a Water Bottle

Given Florida’s heat and humidity, staying hydrated is incredibly important. Universal encourages this with free water available:

• At all Coca-Cola Freestyle machines
• Inside restaurants
• In selected ride lines
• At most beverage carts & kiosks
• From water fountains outside selected bathrooms

As such, I highly recommend bringing a water bottle with you to Universal. Bringing a water bottle doesn’t compromise your experience, and with water costing $4, it’s one of the easiest ways to save.

2. Grab a Coca-Cola Freestyle Refillable Cup

With a Coca-Cola Freestyle cup, you’re spending money to save money. However, I do this every single time I visit Universal Orlando, without fail. Because for me, water all day just isn’t cut it.

A Coca-Cola Freestyle cup costs $18.99 (or less if you buy multiple cups) and gets you “unlimited” drinks all day. The cup is marketed as “unlimited”, but it’s actually one drink every ten minutes – still a great deal.

Once you’ve got your cup, be sure to keep it safe. You can reactivate it at any beverage kiosk for $10.99 on future visits, either on the same vacation or years later.

You can also use the cup at any of the Universal Orlando parks; this includes:

• Universal Studios Florida
• Universal Islands of Adventure
• Epic Universe
• Volcano Bay

To give you an idea of how much you can save with a Coca-Cola refillable cup. I bought one on a recent Universal Orlando vacation and reactivated it for three extra days. The total cost was $51.96.

During those four days, I refilled the cup an average of seven times per day (28 times in total). If I’d bought 28 sodas at Universal Orlando, I’d have spent $120.12 ($4.29 per soda). That’s almost three times what it cost me to buy and reactivate my refillable cup for the same duration.

Pro Tip: The refillable cups used in the hotels at Universal Orlando are on a different programme. This means if you want refillable drinks at your Universal Orlando hotel, you will have to buy a separate cup.

3. Pack Snacks

You are allowed to bring food and drink with you to Universal Orlando.

This means you could bring a packed lunch into the parks. But honestly, the heat and humidity of Florida makes this pretty difficult. Plus you’ll miss out on the entire Universal Orlando dining experience.

Instead, I’ve found bringing snacks to be the perfect compromise. Some snacks I suggest packing include:

• Granola bars
• Trail mix
• Crackers
• Fruit snacks
• Popcorn
• Rice cakes
• Protein bars
• Pretzels
• Beef jerky
• Apples

4. Get a Popcorn Bucket

If you and your family love popcorn, it’s worth getting a popcorn bucket. These come in two designs:

1. Standard Universal Orlando: $12.29
2. Universal Character: $18 – $25

Both popcorn bucket designs come pre-filled and can be refilled for an additional $2.19, a significant savings on the standard popcorn price of $5.19.

Much like the Coca-Cola Freestyle cups, once you’ve bought the bucket, you can use it on future visits – either during the same vacation or in years to come. This makes a popcorn bucket an excellent investment for annual passholders and frequent park visitors.

5. Eat at Quick Service Locations

There are three main dining types at Universal Orlando:

• Fine Dining
• Full Service
• Quick Service

Quick service dining at Universal Orlando is a similar to a fast-food restaurant. These restaurants are the cheapest places to eat inside the parks. Plus, they serve so much more than just chicken, burgers and fries.

Some of my favourite quick service dining locations include:

• Mexican from Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck at Universal Studios Florida
• Fish & Chips from Three Broomsticks at Universal Islands of Adventure
• Pizza from Louie’s at Universal Studios Florida

When I first visited Universal Orlando, I was on a strict budget, so I ate lunch and dinner at a quick service restaurant. However, these days, I typically have lunch at a quick service restaurant and dinner at a full service restaurant.

Pro Tip: Avoid long lines at quick-service restaurants by placing a mobile order on the Universal FL mobile app.

6. Have Breakfast Before Visiting The Parks

I’ve visited Universal Orlando more than 50 times but never had breakfast in any of the theme parks.

Having breakfast before you arrive at Universal is one of the best and easiest ways to save money on your trip. It can also help you save a lot of time inside the parks.

That’s because the first hour after the theme park opens is the quietest it will be all day. This is the best time to go on some of the park’s most popular rides without waiting in long lines – I’m looking at you, Hagrid’s.

Therefore, the last thing you want to do after getting into the theme park is get breakfast. That being said, when it comes to breakfast, you have two options:

1. Eat breakfast at your hotel
2. Grab breakfast en-route

The option you choose will depend on several factors and may not be the same every day of your trip. However, in every scenario, you’ll spend less than you would have had you had breakfast inside the Universal Orlando Resort.

Pro Tip: Consider saving even more money by staying in a hotel that offers a free breakfast buffet.

7. Stay In a Universal Orlando Resort Hotel

Staying in a Universal Orlando Resort hotel to save money sounds counterintuitive. However, on-site hotel guests benefit from several perks, including:

• Early theme park admission
• Free transport to the theme parks
• Free Universal Express Passes (at selected hotels)

Early park admission reduces the need for Universal Express Passes. Meanwhile, free transport to the theme park means you don’t need to spend money hiring a car or taking Uber.

Plus, staying in a Universal Orlando hotel can be cheaper than you think. The resort boasts a range of prime value hotels that can cost less than $120 a night.

However, if you want to splurge, select signature collection hotels offer free Universal Express Unlimited Passes for all guests. This includes the day of check-in and check-out, which means that just one night can get you two days of Universal Express Unlimited Passes.

8. Skip The Alcohol

The cost of a beer inside the Universal Orlando theme parks ranges from $9.50 to $11.50, while cocktails at Volcano Bay and restaurants at CityWalk start at $20.

Therefore, one of the easiest ways to save money on food and drink at Universal Orlando is to avoid alcohol.

Unlike water bottles and the Coca-Cola Freestyle cup, you can’t bring alcohol into Universal. However, you can bring alcohol or order it to be delivered to your hotel room if you stay in a Universal Orlando hotel.

9. Use Your Credit Card

When buying food at Universal Orlando, one of the best ways to pay is with a credit card—specifically, a credit card that rewards you for using it.

So, before your visit to Universal Orlando, be sure to check out the latest credit card deals and offers.

Pro Tip: Research the impact credit cards have on your credit score. Only sign up for a credit card if you can responsibly use it.

Unfortunately, using a credit card doesn’t instantly reduce the price you pay for food and drink at Universal. However, the reward, whether points or cashback, will come in the future. At this point, you can spend this as you wish.

A Universal Orlando vacation isn’t cheap – even a budget-friendly one. So remember to use your credit card across all elements of your trip. That way, you can maximise your reward potential.

Outside the parks, our list of cheap restaurants in Orlando covers budget-friendly options across the city.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions readers ask me most often about cutting food and drink costs on a Universal Orlando trip.