Universal Orlando is offering a “free” Dining Card of up to $1,000 for stays from the Christmas 2024 season through Spring Break 2025. This post shares discount details, the pros & cons of this meal deal, implications for the opening date of Epic Universe, and how Universal is “copying Walt Disney World’s homework” (so to speak).
For those debating whether to stay on-site at Universal or Disney, be aware that this Universal Dining Gift Card discount is one of several being released for this holiday season, and the most high-profile of the bunch. It’s also the first general public discount for 2025, but far from the last. For all other deals, see All Current Walt Disney World Discounts.
We have a lot of commentary to share about this “free” Universal Orlando Dining Gift Card deal–and there’s a lot to know before you take advantage of this special offer. With that said, let’s start by dispensing with the core details…
Staying at a Universal Orlando hotel comes with exclusive theme park perks—and now, when you book this delicious dining, hotel, and ticket package, it comes with a whole lot of food for your crew! Use your Dining Card for select food and beverage purchases across Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Volcano Bay, Universal CityWalk, and all Universal Orlando hotels. From award-winning restaurants to tasty in-park dining options, Universal is known for offering an array of mouthwatering bites for everyone to enjoy.
Travel: November 7, 2024 through April 10, 2025
Blockout Dates: December 20, 2024 to January 4, 2025
Choose your hotel and length of stay to determine the value of your included Food and Beverage dining card, which you can use towards select food and beverage purchases throughout Universal Orlando Resort. Here are the amounts of the Universal Dining Card for each length of stay and resort combination:
$1,000 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 5+ Nights at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
- 5+ Nights at Hard Rock Hotel
- 5+ Nights at Loews Royal Pacific Resort
$800 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 4 Nights at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
- 4 Nights at Hard Rock Hotel
- 4 Nights at Loews Royal Pacific Resort
Enjoy these amazing perks when you stay at one of the select hotels listed above:
- Skip the regular lines with free Universal Express Unlimited
- Enter the parks before they open with Early Park Admission
- Free and easy transportation to and from the parks
$600 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 5+ Nights at Sapphire Falls Resort
- 5+ Nights at Cabana Bay Beach Resort
$500 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 4 Nights at Sapphire Falls Resort
- 4 Nights at Cabana Bay Beach Resort
$500 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 5+ Nights at Aventura Hotel
- 5+ Nights at Stella Nova Resort
- 5+ Nights at Terra Luna Resort
$400 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 4 Nights at Aventura Hotel
- 4 Nights at Stella Nova Resort
- 4 Nights at Terra Luna Resort
$400 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 5+ Nights at Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites
- 5+ Nights at Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites
$300 Food & Beverage Universal Orlando Dining Card
- 4 Nights at Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites
- 4 Nights at Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites
Enjoy these perks when you stay at one of the select hotels listed above:
- Enter the parks before they open with Early Park Admission
- Free and easy transportation to and from the parks
If you want to take advantage of this discount, we’d recommend requesting a FREE no obligation quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, an Authorized Universal and Disney Vacation Planner and having them book for you. They will happy to assist you with the planning process, help you choose the most economical dates, best add-ons, and so forth.
You can also book directly through Universal Orlando via their official website or by calling (877) 801-9720.
Minimum 4-night stay and minimum 4-day promo ticket required. Food and Beverage Card value varies based on hotel and length of stay. One (1) Food & Beverage card per room; pickup and activation is at the Universal Vacation Planning Center in hotel on reservation.
Excludes all suites except for 2-bedroom suites at Endless Summer Resort and family suites at Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Limited availability. Cannot be combined with any other offers, promotions, discounts, or prior purchases. Offer may be modified, suspended, or terminated at the sole discretion of Universal Orlando.
The Universal Dining Card can only be used for in-person purchases at select Food and Beverage locations throughout Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Volcano Bay, Universal CityWalk, and all Universal Orlando Hotels. The Card cannot be used for mobile food and beverage orders, online purchases, at merchandise locations, front gate pass sales or guest service locations throughout the resort, at resort hotel front desks or for hotel room service or in-hotel pizza delivery purchases, or on anything that isn’t food. Participating locations and benefits are subject to change without notice and additional restrictions may apply.
Turning to commentary, we have a few thoughts about this. It’s interesting to see Universal Orlando pull a page from Walt Disney World’s playbook with this deal. It’s pretty similar to the “Free” Disney Dining Card Deal that’s been offered for the last couple of years, right down to the minimum 4-night length of stay, valid date ranges, and denominations for each hotel tier.
It’s got big ‘can I copy your homework?’/ ‘yeah just change it up a bit so it doesn’t look obvious you copied‘ energy. This isn’t criticism of Universal. To the contrary, it’s smart to follow the lead of Disney in this regard, as they have far more experience as a bona fide vacation destination.
“Borrowing” proven strategies from Walt Disney World to serve as the foundation of their own special offers–to see what works and doesn’t–is a good shortcut. Easier that than reinventing the wheel. (I also wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they’ve poached some talent from Disney–that would also be smart.)
With that said, I’m skeptical of this approach and think it might be overly aggressive. Way too many of Universal’s deals require minimum 4-night stays or 4-day tickets. That works for Walt Disney World because they have 4 theme parks. Currently, Universal only has 2. Which is precisely why they’re building a third gate in the first place–to become more of a standalone destination resort, rather than a diversion from Disney.
They will probably get there with Epic Universe, but they’re not there yet. I would hazard a guess that the average length of stay at Universal Orlando resorts is much shorter than at Walt Disney World. While it’s savvy to some extent to attempt to lock people into longer stays, it’s arguably overly aggressive. They fail to capture a lot of business in the process, because people will simply stay elsewhere rather than being forced into something they don’t want.
Obviously, this isn’t going to be true of everyone. We’ve heard from plenty of readers who have already switched to Universal as a “home base” when visiting Central Florida theme parks, doing Disney as the diversion and Universal as the main priority. But this is still the exception rather than the rule. There’s a reason Walt Disney World has far more market share–and why promotions structured this way work well for them.
As for the deal itself, it could be very good if you want to stay at a Universal Orlando Resort as your home base during a Florida vacation.
For the most part, Universal Orlando hotels offer exceptional bang for buck. This is often true even when compared to ‘real world’ hotels around Orlando–and it’s almost always the case relative to Walt Disney World resorts. In fact, I’d argue that hotels are Universal Orlando’s strong suit, and the value for money offered–thanks to a combination of price points, quality, and perks–is unrivaled by Disney.
About the only exception to this is the top tier resorts during peak weeks, when they can get quite pricey. But even then, they still offer unlimited Express Pass–and Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World are also exorbitantly-priced, without any included line-skipping.
We’ll end on a note totally unrelated to the deal. It’s time to update our predictions as to when Universal’s Epic Universe will open. Suffice to say, it’s probably not happening before April 10, 2025. This discount should make that fairly clear.
As with Walt Disney World, Universal’s discount strategy depends upon demand. When Universal increases prices, the company does so not at the rate of inflation or because its costs are increasing at a commensurate level, but because they can.
When Universal offers discounts, it’s out of necessity, not corporate benevolence. Universal is an extremely savvy and sophisticated business—they are going to maximize profits to the greatest degree economically feasible.
It feels necessary to reiterate this, because there’s this misguided notion that Universal is more guest-focused than Walt Disney World. The idea that Comcast, of all companies, cares about consumers and offers commensurate value for money out of the kindness of its heart is absolutely ludicrous. We’re talking ’bout Comcast?! Not a charity, but Comcast!
Just like any other business, Comcast charges what the market will bear. Universal vacations are currently cheaper than Walt Disney World vacations because there’s less demand for them. When Epic Universe opens, that dynamic will change to some degree. The amount Comcast can charge will be higher than it is right now or was several years ago because the amount consumers are willing to pay will go up.
We’ve pointed this out in the context of Universal’s hotels repeatedly, which have been underpriced for a while. This is a direct result of Universal purposefully overbuilding hotels in anticipation of Epic Universe. They currently have more hotel inventory than is necessary to service their 2 theme parks and 1 water park most of the year, but that is likely to change once Epic Universe opens. That was the whole point of building out the hotels in the first place!
For its part, Universal has already warned investors of slowing demand. During its most recent earnings call, Comcast reported that revenue at Universal’s theme parks was down 11%. Two-thirds of the drop was tied to lower attendance at the company’s parks in Florida and California.
Executives further indicated that this downtrend was likely to continue until the opening of Epic Universe. None of this is the least bit surprising, as the opening of Universal’s new park is now close enough that consumers are starting to postpone visits until Epic Universe opens. We’ve seen this dynamic play out time and time again with major new attraction or land openings, most notably in the few months leading up to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. That was only a land; Epic Universe is a full park!
Point being, we know that demand is going to be down until Epic Universe opens and spike once it does debut. This means that if you want to experience the ‘calm before the storm’ with lower crowds and cheaper prices at Universal Orlando, targeting non-holiday weeks this November and December, or pretty much any date in 2025 prior to Spring Break (and perhaps after) would be savvy.
We can also make an educated guess that this promotion is being offered during dates when Universal knows Epic Universe will not be open. So we can rule out anything before April 10, 2025 for the official opening date. And it’s probably safe to say that this is a conservative date, so more likely that not, Epic Universe won’t open until May 2025 or beyond. At least, officially. Soft openings or paid previews for Annual Passholders and others are still a distinct possibility. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more!
Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Universal Orlando Planning Guide for everything about Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Also check out our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more. For regular updates, news & rumors, a heads up when discounts are released, and much more, sign up for our FREE email newsletter!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Universal Orlando’s free dining gift card deal? Disappointed that has a minimum 4-night length of stay? Would you prefer this or a traditional percentage off discount? When do you think Epic Universe will open? Will you visit Universal Orlando before Epic Universe or are you postponing your next trip until the third gate is open? Agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
