Universal newbie - ticket and restaurant questions

Hi. This is our first trip to Universal (I haven't been in probably 23 years so I am considering this our first time!). We are at the Loews Royal Pacific for 5 nights with 4 day park to park tickets. Can I use the tickets any 4 days I want out of the 5 I am there, do I have to specify what days I'm using or use 4 in a a row? And any other advice anyone wants to give me would be great. We are planning to do SeaWorld one day and if I pre-purchase that I have to know what day I am going. Would kind of like to break up Universal and go in the middle of our trip if there is flexibility with the tickets.

Also - do you suggest making reservations in advance for restaurants or just wing it. I am a pro at Disney but have no clue with Universal.

Going the beginning of December. Help!

Thanks

Margie M

We just wing it at Universal. Not been a problem for us. We like to eat at Jurassic Park though, or in the Comics area which generally isn't as crazy.

Seaworld, not nearly as much food. I'd bring a few protein bars. We love seaworld. Especially the feed the stingrays.

Have a great time.

I'm pretty sure you can use your 4 days in the parks any of the days. Breaking it up with a day at SW is a good idea. It's a great time to be at Universal and Seaworld. It's their Christmas/Holiday celebration. Seaworld at night at Christmas is absolutely amazing (as is Universal). They'll also have a few extra food/drink stands set up around Seaworld during the holidays - fun to go through a try some different options.

If there is a specific restaurant you know you want to eat at, it can't hurt to see if they take reservations. Some of the restaurants at City Walk are very popular and can get quite full, especially over the weekends. Have a great trip!

I would recommend eating most meals at City Walk or the hotel. The food in the park is very expensive (more expensive than Disney) and not good at all.
One day I went to the Hard Rock for lunch and discovered that a burger at Hard Rock and a burger in the park are about the same price. However, the Hard Rock burger was great.