Thanks all. I can definitely be persistent. We will hit the Dinosaur restaurant at DS and the candy factory Toothsome Emporium or something at UNI. Other than that probably attempt to find something in each of the 4 Disney parks. I'm not leaving the parks for dinner. And since this trip is about my kids I don't have high expectations other than something fun. I realize the prices are insane and the food can be mediocre to bad depending, but it is what it is. Saving some money at condo and breakfast will be banana or cereal at the condo most days (might try 1 character breakfast)
Dining at Universal is much easier than WDW. You don't need to go all out making reservations like at WDW. We usually just skip reservations at US, but you can also make them if you prefer.
One thing you can do at Universal is you put your name in, then you can walk around until your table is ready if there's a wait. You can't go all the way to the back of the park, but you can go into the front of the park or peruse the shops. Though to be honest, the last time we did that was pre-pandemic.
IMO the best part of Toothsome is the candy shop. Most of the time we just get dessert from the shop. Mind, the big milkshake things are over-the-top. Whenever we walk by, the people eating them don't look happy. They all have this expression of like, "Why did I order this?" as it melts and drips all over. In the candy shop though, they have a display case with the MOST AMAZING confections anywhere! They have a large array of macaroons, and those are excellent in a huge variety of flavors, but also next to that is a second glass case that has an ever-changing assortment of gorgeous, delicious confections, and we have always been very happy with everything we have bought there! That case is the best confections we have had ANYWHERE at WDW or Universal over many visits to both.
The food at Toothsome is otherwise decent. We tend to prefer Cowfish, but Toothsome is decent. For some reason we like Breadbox quite a bit. Overall, I wouldn't say Breadox is overly special, but it is now become a must-do for us for some reason. The caprese sandwich is very good, the prices are very reasonable.
The two Harry Potter quick serves are also a lot of fun. They are QS, but excellent QS. The decor is very fun and the food is much better than WDW's QS. There are a number of other decent places in Citywalk that are fun options.
In the Universal Studio park, the food is good at Finnegan's. Near Central Park is a crepe stand with very tasty crepes. Avoid the Simpson's eatery.
I know you say you want to eat in the parks, but Universal isn't like WDW. Toothsome is just a few steps from the entrance of IoA, and both the Hard Rock Cafe and the Hard Rock Hotel are just a short walk from US park. The shuttle boats are also very frequent to the reset of the hotels. Just maybe at park closing the boats/waits get a little long. Still, nothing like WDW transportation.
