Universal Orlando Resort Misc Refurbs

[UniversalRBLX]

Hoping it's a major refurb with improved dining options!

 

[Brian G.]

Universal Orlando has scheduled Dr. Doom's Fear Fall at Islands of Adventure for refurbishment and will be closed this week.

Dr. Doom's Fear Fall closes for brief refurbishment at Islands of Adventure

Universal Orlando has scheduled Dr. Doom's Fear Fall at Islands of Adventure for refurbishment and will be closed this week. The attraction will be closed for maintenance from June 16, 2025, until June 20, 2025, with its reopening tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 21. Please keep in min

www.insideuniversal.net

Universal Orlando has scheduled Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Islands of Adventure for refurbishment in August 2025.

Skull Island: Reign of Kong refurbishment set for August 2025 at Islands of Adventure

Universal Orlando has scheduled Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Islands of Adventure for refurbishment in August 2025. The attraction will be closed for maintenance from August 20, 2025, until August 29, 2025. Please keep in mind that these dates can change. Stay tuned to Inside Universal fo

www.insideuniversal.net

Universal Orlando has scheduled Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls at Islands of Adventure for refurbishment in October 2025.

Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls refurbishment set for October 2025 at Islands of Adventure

Universal Orlando has scheduled Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls at Islands of Adventure for refurbishment in October 2025. The attraction will be closed for maintenance from October 6, 2025, until October 31, 2025. Please keep in mind that these dates can change. Universal usually schedules

www.insideuniversal.net

 

[Mad Dog]

All good news. It's always a positive when the attractions are maintained.

 

[UNIrd]

I was at Islands this weekend and the park was closing at 10. I got hungry for dinner at around 7.. Tried Thunder Falls Terrace because I really wanted to try that new empanada dog but it was already closed. I was like oh okay well I haven't tried the new Circus McGurkus menu.. Closed. Blondies.. Closed. Comic Strip Cafe...Closed.

I ended up getting in my car & going off site for sushi.

 

[Mad Dog]

I was at Islands this weekend and the park was closing at 10. I got hungry for dinner at around 7.. Tried Thunder Falls Terrace because I really wanted to try that new empanada dog but it was already closed. I was like oh okay well I haven't tried the new Circus McGurkus menu.. Closed. Blondies.. Closed. Comic Strip Cafe...Closed.

I ended up getting in my car & going off site for sushi.

Haven't tried those for a while. But, a few years back I did and they were closing around 4:00, which was crazy. Confisco & Three Broomsticks were the only decent places to eat. Even Mythos closed early some times, but sometimes stayed open until 6 or 7....Crazy early, but maybe there's no demand late?

 

[Wesker69]

If park attendance isn't huge, I can understand restaurants closing early, but if the park is busy... that's just denying themselves money

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I was at Islands this weekend and the park was closing at 10. I got hungry for dinner at around 7.. Tried Thunder Falls Terrace because I really wanted to try that new empanada dog but it was already closed. I was like oh okay well I haven't tried the new Circus McGurkus menu.. Closed. Blondies.. Closed. Comic Strip Cafe...Closed.

I ended up getting in my car & going off site for sushi.

Hey, you probably saved money lol


I've always found it a little odd how early a lot of the food locations close. I get not keeping ALL of them open until closing time, but having at least 1 in each land would be nice.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

IOA was overbuilt quick-service wise, so the park unfortunately has to close a lot of areas. The only open (at least consistently) QS restaurants at IOA for dinner are Burger Digs, 3 Broomsticks, Captain America Diner and Fire Eater's.

And even though IOA is the more attended park, USF has more open options for dinner time with all of their quick service restaurants operating.

I wish they can switch Thunder Falls and Burger Digs for operating hours.


For reference, # of quick service at the Orlando parks:

• MK - 6
• Epcot - 6
• DHS - 8
• DAK - 6
• USF - 7
• IOA - 11
• UEU - 9

 

[Clive]

IOA was overbuilt quick-service wise, so the park unfortunately has to close a lot of areas. The only open (at least consistently) QS restaurants at IOA for dinner are Burger Digs, 3 Broomsticks, Captain America Diner and Fire Eater's.

And even though IOA is the more attended park, USF has more open options for dinner time with all of their quick service restaurants operating.

I wish they can switch Thunder Falls and Burger Digs for operating hours.


For reference, # of quick service at the Orlando parks:

• MK - 6
• Epcot - 6
• DHS - 8
• DAK - 6
• USF - 7
• IOA - 11
• UEU - 9

Can you explain what information you're using to make that claim in bold? I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm not sure this paints an accurate picture, historically.

Is it really overbuilt, though? I think I have to dispute your count, or at least I'd need to know more about its methodology, because Magic Kingdom and Epcot definitely have more quick service locations than you're stating here.

Marvel, Jurassic Park, and Toon Lagoon have two indoor quick service offerings each (Cafe 4/Captain America Diner, Thunder Falls Terrace/Burger Digs, Comic Strip Cafe/Blondie's). Seuss Landing and Hogsmeade have one each (Circus McGurkus, Three Broomsticks). Lost Continent has none, and I'd hesitate to call Crescent Moon Bakery in Port of Entry a true indoor quick service restaurant.

Food windows like Wimpy's, Fire Eater's, and Green Eggs and Ham may offer entrees, but I don't think that qualifies them as a full "restaurant" per se.

 

[Brian G.]

For reference, # of quick service at the Orlando parks:

• MK - 6
• Epcot - 6
• DHS - 8
• DAK - 6
• USF - 7
• IOA - 11
• UEU - 9

There is absolutely no way Epcot and MK can have only 6, especially if we count places like Fire Eater's for IOA.

 

[Wesker69]

Jurassic Park two indoor quick service offerings each Thunder Falls Terrace/Burger Digs

For outdoor... is Pizza Predatoria still existing?

 

[TheCodeMan95]

There is absolutely no way Epcot and MK can have only 6, especially if we count places like Fire Eater's for IOA.

I read the counts for Epcot and MK and thought I was going crazy for a second lol

 

[Clive]

For outdoor... is Pizza Predatoria still existing?

Well, that's why I asked about methodology. If you include outdoor walk-up counters/kiosks that serve entrees or full meals, the counts look very different, but it's looking like Rblx counted Universal's but didn't count Magic Kingdom's or Epcot's, for example.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Can you explain what information you're using to make that claim in bold? I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm not sure this paints an accurate picture, historically.

Is it really overbuilt, though? I think I have to dispute your count, or at least I'd need to know more about its methodology, because Magic Kingdom and Epcot definitely have more quick service locations than you're stating here.

Marvel, Jurassic Park, and Toon Lagoon have two indoor quick service offerings each (Cafe 4/Captain America Diner, Thunder Falls Terrace/Burger Digs, Comic Strip Cafe/Blondie's). Seuss Landing and Hogsmeade have one each (Circus McGurkus, Three Broomsticks). Lost Continent has none, and I'd hesitate to call Crescent Moon Bakery in Port of Entry a true indoor quick service restaurant.

Food windows like Wimpy's, Fire Eater's, and Green Eggs and Ham may offer entrees, but I don't think that qualifies them as a full "restaurant" per se.

There is absolutely no way Epcot and MK can have only 6, especially if we count places like Fire Eater's for IOA.

I'd qualify a quick service restaurant that serves 'full' entrees and has some form of seating as quick service. There's some venues that blur between lines, so it's hard to truly provide a 1:1 comparison.

Historically over the past few years the quick service establishments I listed have lacked later operating hours. They'll occasionally open one or two later in the evening, but rare. Can't remember the last time Thunder Falls stayed open late outside Spring Break/Holidays.

I don't think my list below is inaccurate. I wouldn't say something outrageous without checking the data first.

I read the counts for Epcot and MK and thought I was going crazy for a second lol

You are not going crazy. We can debate whether maybe a place like Sommerfest should qualify, but it has like 2 tables and one bratwurst option. I include Fire Eater's as quick service since it has a plethora of options, seating and acts as only 1 of 5 dinner options available.

WDW
Magic Kingdom (5): Casey's Corner, Pecos Bill, Columbia Harbour House, Pinocchio Village Haus, Cosmic Ray's (used to be 6 with Tomorrowland Terrace)
Epcot (6): Connections Eatery, Sunshine Seasons, La Cantina de San Angel, Lotus Blossom, Regal Eagle, Katsura Grill (park has a lot of snack stands and table service, but doesn't actually have that much traditional quick service)
Hollywood Studios (8): Backlot Express, Dockside Diner, ABC Commissary, PizzeRizzo*, Dockign Bay, Woody's Lunch Box, Rosie's All American, Catalina Eddie's
Animal Kingdom (6): Flame Tree, Pizzafari, Satu'li, Harambe Market, Yak and Yeti Local Food Cafe, Restaurantosaurus

UOR
USF (6): Minion Cafe, Mel's, Louie's, Richter's, Leaky Cauldron, Fast Food Boulevard (excluding Cafe La Bamba)
IOA (11): Cafe 4, Captain America Diner, Blondie's, Comic Strip Cafe, Wimpy's, Thunder Falls, Burger Digs, Pizza Predattoria, 3 Broomsticks, Fire Eater's Grill, Circus McGurkus
UEU (9): Toadstool Cafe, Pizza Moon, Oak & Star, Meteor Astropub, Das Stakehaus, Cafe L'air, Le Gobelot, Mead Hall, Spit Fyre

If there are any venues I'm missing, please let me know.

 

[Clive]

I'd qualify a quick service restaurant that serves 'full' entrees and has some form of seating as quick service. There's some venues that blur between lines, so it's hard to truly provide a 1:1 comparison.

Historically over the past few years the quick service establishments I listed have lacked later operating hours. They'll occasionally open one or two later in the evening, but rare. Can't remember the last time Thunder Falls stayed open late outside Spring Break/Holidays.

I don't think my list below is inaccurate. I wouldn't say something outrageous without checking the data first.


You are not going crazy. We can debate whether maybe a place like Sommerfest should qualify, but it has like 2 tables and one bratwurst option.

WDW
Magic Kingdom (5): Casey's Corner, Pecos Bill, Columbia Harbour House, Pinocchio Village Haus, Cosmic Ray's (used to be 6 with Tomorrowland Terrace)
Epcot (6): Connections Eatery, Sunshine Seasons, La Cantina de San Angel, Lotus Blossom, Regal Eagle, Katsura Grill (park has a lot of snack stands and table service, but doesn't actually have that much traditional quick service)
Hollywood Studios (8): Backlot Express, Dockside Diner, ABC Commissary, PizzeRizzo*, Dockign Bay, Woody's Lunch Box, Rosie's All American, Catalina Eddie's
Animal Kingdom (6): Flame Tree, Pizzafari, Satu'li, Harambe Market, Yak and Yeti Local Food Cafe, Restaurantosaurus

UOR
USF (6): Minion Cafe, Mel's, Louie's, Richter's, Leaky Cauldron, Fast Food Boulevard (excluding Cafe La Bamba)
IOA (11): Cafe 4, Captain America Diner, Blondie's, Comic Strip Cafe, Wimpy's, Thunder Falls, Burger Digs, Pizza Predattoria, 3 Broomsticks, Fire Eater's Grill, Circus McGurkus
UEU (9): Toadstool Cafe, Pizza Moon, Oak & Star, Meteor Astropub, Das Stakehaus, Cafe L'air, Le Gobelot, Mead Hall, Spit Fyre

Yeah, so the issue here is you're counting Pizza Predatorria, Fire Eater's, and Wimpy's. If you count those, you'd 1) have to also include Green Eggs and Ham and 2) have to count quite a few additional venues in Magic Kingdom and Epcot, at the very least.

If you don't have the data to support your claim re: when quick service establishments close in IOA, I'm not sure you can confidently assert it as empirical truth. It may have been the case on some days you visited, but again, that does not mean it's regularly the case, especially without more specifics. (For example, a restaurant shutting down an hour before closing isn't as egregious as closing at, say, 5pm for an 8pm close.)

For what it's worth, I'm not disputing that the parks close some restaurants earlier than they should, but we need to be honest and transparent when making claims like these.

 

[Brian G.]

I'd qualify a quick service restaurant that serves 'full' entrees and has some form of seating as quick service. There's some venues that blur between lines, so it's hard to truly provide a 1:1 comparison.

I don't think my list below is inaccurate. I wouldn't say something outrageous without checking the data first.


You are not going crazy. We can debate whether maybe a place like Sommerfest should qualify, but it has like 2 tables and one bratwurst option.

WDW
Magic Kingdom (5): Casey's Corner, Pecos Bill, Columbia Harbour House, Pinocchio Village Haus, Cosmic Ray's (used to be 6 with Tomorrowland Terrace)
Epcot (6): Connections Eatery, Sunshine Seasons, La Cantina de San Angel, Lotus Blossom, Regal Eagle, Katsura Grill (park has a lot of snack stands and table service, but doesn't actually have that much traditional quick service)
Hollywood Studios (8): Backlot Express, Dockside Diner, ABC Commissary, PizzeRizzo*, Dockign Bay, Woody's Lunch Box, Rosie's All American, Catalina Eddie's
Animal Kingdom (6): Flame Tree, Pizzafari, Satu'li, Harambe Market, Yak and Yeti Local Food Cafe, Restaurantosaurus

UOR
USF (6): Minion Cafe, Mel's, Louie's, Richter's, Leaky Cauldron, Fast Food Boulevard (excluding Cafe La Bamba)
IOA (11): Cafe 4, Captain America Diner, Blondie's, Comic Strip Cafe, Wimpy's, Thunder Falls, Burger Digs, Pizza Predattoria, 3 Broomsticks, Fire Eater's Grill, Circus McGurkus
UEU (9): Toadstool Cafe, Pizza Moon, Oak & Star, Meteor Astropub, Das Stakehaus, Cafe L'air, Le Gobelot, Mead Hall, Spit Fyre

I'd wager there's more to that that should qualify as QS, but whatever.

I'd also point out that the significant difference between IOA's situation and MK/Epcot is the number of sit-down restaurants. If I counted every QS kiosk/stand/restaurant with every table service restaurant that each Resort qualifies as such, we'd have:

MK - 33 (11 QS/9 SIT)
Epcot - 20 (21 QS/12 SIT)
IOA - 16 (14 QS/2 SIT)

I just don't think this data has much merit in the conversation about park hours/restaurant closings.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Yeah, so the issue here is you're counting Pizza Predatorria, Fire Eater's, and Wimpy's. If you count those, you'd 1) have to also include Green Eggs and Ham and 2) have to count quite a few additional venues in Magic Kingdom and Epcot, at the very least.

Can you provide a list of quick service locations for MK and Epcot? I'm having trouble figuring out what else I'm missing? Lunching Pad and Friar's Nook used to be quick service but have had their menus revert to snacks over time. I can see Yorkshire County Shop at Epcot, but I'm having trouble labeling other restaurants as quick service.

I'd wager there's more to that that should qualify as QS, but whatever.

I'd also point out that the significant difference between IOA's situation and MK/Epcot is the number of sit-down restaurants. If I counted every QS kiosk/stand/restaurant with every table service restaurant that each Resort qualifies as such, we'd have:

MK - 33 (11 QS/9 SIT)
Epcot - 20 (21 QS/12 SIT)
IOA - 16 (14 QS/2 SIT)

I just don't think this data has much merit in the conversation about park hours/restaurant closings.

There's quick service, and then there's counter service options that are your more traditional snack stand operations. Definitely not a part of the quick service count.

I do think it's relevant data, since theme parks intentionally design their parks with dining capacity in mind. We can disagree, but I think having restaurants (especially impressive ones like Thunder Falls and Circus McGurkus) close early in the day is bad show.

Attached a list of all dining outlets at the parks for reference.

 

[Brian G.]

Can you provide a list of quick service locations for MK and Epcot? I'm having trouble figuring out what else I'm missing? Lunching Pad and Friar's Nook used to be quick service but have had their menus revert to snacks over time. I can see Yorkshire County Shop at Epcot, but I'm having trouble labeling other restaurants as quick service.


There's quick service, and then there's counter service options that are your more traditional snack stand operations. Definitely not a part of the quick service count.

I do think it's relevant data, since theme parks intentionally design their parks with dining capacity in mind. We can disagree, but I think having restaurants (especially impressive ones like Thunder Falls and Circus McGurkus) close early in the day is bad show.

Attached a list of all dining outlets at the parks for reference.

WHEN THE HECK DID A HOT DOG AND CHIPS OR A BAGEL SANDWICH BECOME A SNACK?

 

[Clive]

Can you provide a list of quick service locations for MK and Epcot? I'm having trouble figuring out what else I'm missing? Lunching Pad and Friar's Nook used to be quick service but have had their menus revert to snacks over time. I can see Yorkshire County Shop at Epcot, but I'm having trouble labeling other restaurants as quick service.


There's quick service, and then there's counter service options that are your more traditional snack stand operations. Definitely not a part of the quick service count.

I do think it's relevant data, since theme parks intentionally design their parks with dining capacity in mind. We can disagree, but I think having restaurants (especially impressive ones like Thunder Falls and Circus McGurkus) close early in the day is bad show.

Attached a list of all dining outlets at the parks for reference.

Off the top of my head, for Magic Kingdom, you're excluding Lunching Pad, Friar's Nook, Sleepy Hollow, and Tortuga Tavern. All of these spots offer entrees to the extent that Wimpy's, Pizza Predatorria, and Fire Eater's do.

Again, no one is disagreeing with you that sometimes the parks are closing restaurants earlier than they should. I've encountered this problem myself, though it was years ago. We're disputing the broad claims you're making due to flawed methodologies and incomplete data that isn't telling the whole story.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Off the top of my head, for Magic Kingdom, you're excluding Lunching Pad, Friar's Nook, Sleepy Hollow, and Tortuga Tavern. All of these spots offer entrees to the extent that Wimpy's, Pizza Predatorria, and Fire Eater's do.

I mentioned earlier, but...

• Lunching Pad is a bit of a toss up, offers snacks and hot dogs, though on the smaller side
• Friar's Nook menu has been completely neutered to Tater Tots and Hand Pies (whatever that is)
• Sleepy Hollywood... a waffle is not an entree lol (same way I don't consider loaded tater tots from Green Eggs an entree)
• Tortuga Tavern, I missed since it's been operating inconsistently lately