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I am an advocate of trying to get as much discounts as you can for your trips, and try to avoid paying full prize and that way do tons of cool stuff on your trips instead of cutting activities just because they are out of your budget. In that sense, everything that has the word “discount” in it catches my attention. That was the case for this review of the Eat and Play Card Orlando that can be used to save on your vacations at Orlando, or to save money on a New York City trip using the Gray Line New York Eat and Play Card.
This is how the Eat and Play Card Orlando looks like.
The company sent me a complimentary card so I could give it a try and see for myself how to better take advantage of it, and as with all of my reviews, all opinions are mine.
Let´s just dive into it:
What is Eat and Play Card Orlando?
It is a discount card you can buy for 25 bucks and use it for a whole month in up to four people tickets or meals. The month starts rolling after the first use, not the purchase of the card, which is good. The official site is eatandplaycard.com.
The are several interesting things you can do with the card: You can use it in restaurants and bars where the discount is generally between 10 and 20% in most cases; you can use it at entertainment attractions, where the discounts are mostly in the range of 15 to 30%, for attractions very cool such as Medieval Times, WonderWorks or Ripley´s Believe it or Not to name a few. You also can use the card for discounts at shoppings with discounts ranging from 10 to 20%.
Finally, you also get prepaid phone access in the card, which can be used also during that month.
Are there Pros and Cons?
Of course. So let´s talk a little bit about that.
Especially in Orlando, you can find coupons and discounts everywhere, and sometimes the same discount as in the card elsewhere in a booklet, and sometimes even asking at the attraction. So why buy a card, right? Yes, that is one of the cons, but as in every ying-yang kind of thing, there´s a pro for it too: You don´t need to be handling those paper coupons. One card fits all, you go, show and use. Also, there are a couple of hundred places you can use the Eat and Play Card Orlando.
Tweet this quoteAnother good thing is that there are all kinds of options, starting with fast food and going all the way to sushi, cuban, italian or argentinian food. Every major tourist area is also covered. The con to this pro is that sometimes you may need to do a little investigation on each attraction or restaurant. Not all are family friendly. Also, the fact that there are so many restaurants and attractions make it for the site to be outdated, as the card´s site lists CSI: The Experience, which has been closed for a while, same as McFadden´s (and probably others), and some like Ichiban are mislisted or wrongly linked.
I tried to use the discount at TGI Friday´s (the one in front of Pirate´s Dinner Adventure) and they did not honor it because I wanted to do it as a takeout and go eat at my hotel. The booklet said no limitations, but TGI Friday´s did not accept it. On the back of the sleeve with all the merchant information etc, the card states terms and conditions, one of which is “Unless otherwise stated, or at the merchant’s discretion, the card does not apply to taxes, gratuities, take-out or alcoholic beverages.”. So my advice is, before doing an order, show the card and ask for specifics in any particular place you will use it.
Then, the phone card does not work on payphones, and that is a limitation that you may need to take into consideration as you may be needing to use a phone at the airport.
All in all, I think that a family of four can take advantage of the Eat and Play Card Orlando for discounts, especially if they eat out, but I don´t think someone travelling solo or as a couple will find the bang for the buck useful enough.
Have you tried Eat and Play Card Orlando? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section, or follow me on Twitter for more Travel Tips and reviews.