Been away for ages busy with work and the like! Finally written 100th review with more to follow......
Been away for ages busy with work and the like! Finally written 100th review with more to follow...I hope!! Nick
Member since:10.11.2003
Reviews:102
Members who trust:16
What is it??
Universal City Walk is located at Universal Orlando in Florida, USA and is Universal's answer to the Downtown Disney complex at Walt Disney World. It is nowhere near as large as Downtown Disney, but nevertheless offers a ranges of shops, dining and entertainment experiences to keep you busy after a day in the two Universal theme parks.
Universal City Walk is located between the two theme parks (Universal Florida and the new Islands of Adventure). If you walk out of either theme park you can't miss it!!
Shopping There are quite a variety of shops here that are interesting to browse around and buy from, but as with shops at Walt Disney World, you won't find too many bargains!!
Some of my favourites are as follows:
Silver sells a great range of jewellery for both men and women
Fossil is the famous watch make (some good buys in the sales) as well as sunglasses and other accessories
All Star Collectibles is where any sports fan will find a huge range of sporting goods from sports accessories to books, videos, and even one-off signed merchandise. (This store is great but only really
much use if you are a fan of AMERICAN sports!)
The Universal Studios Store will give you a last chance to pick up any theme park merchandise that you may have forgotten. They have a massive range from videos, stationary and postcards to cuddly toys!
Kids absolutely adore Captain Crackers which is a toy store that stocks a really wacky range of toys including stuffed animals and moving toys.
Dining:
There's a great Hard Rock Cafe here where you get to eat in between lots of Rock'n'roll merchandise from the past. The food is pretty average kind of pizza and burgers etc. but the atmosphere is great and so are the staff, and don't forget to have a look in the shop to pick up a famed Hard Rock cafe tee-shirt! (I can recommend the chocolate milkshake here!!)
The Nascar cafe is a sports bar with lots of video arcade games to keep the kids quiet. They serve bar snacks (burgers, chicken, nachos etc.) but often have a singer outside in the early evening so you can sing a long to some good old USA classics such as American Pie whilst you eat your super!
Pastamoré Ristoranté & Market offers great fresh Italian food for lunch and dinner as well as agreat continental and hearty American breakfast with a bit of an Italian twist!) We had dinner here and the food was good and it's very cleverly themed inside like an old Italian market! Main courses were under 410 each, so very reasonable for dinner as well!
Other entertainment: As well as restaurants and dining there are also a few clubs here. When I went it was just under 4( for a City Walk party pass that gets you into all the clubs. Don't forget ID if you look under about 30 or else they won't let you in the clubs or buy a drink! (A UK passport is the best bet for ID).
We went into City Jazz which is great for listening to live music (not just jazz but mainly jazz!) It opens from about 7/8pm nightly and has a really good atmosphere as it was full of a really nice mix of people when we were there.
We went to Pat O'Briens early in the evening and enjoyed the piano bar which opens at 6pm nightly. After listening to the piano, it's Mardi Gras every night! They service a great range of cocktails and other speciality drinks at this bar which were pretty reasonable to try.
If you fancy seeing a concert then 'Hard Rock Live' is the place to go! Sadly we didn't get to see a concert but the building itself is pretty magnificent too look at from outside!
There also a cinema (Universal Cineplex) that boasts over 20 screens and shows all of the latest US blockbusters months before they hit the screens in the UK which is always good for any die-hard movie fans!
When is it open?
Universal City Walk opens daily between 11am and 11pm (although some of the restaurants do open later at night and the clubs don't close until 2am).
How much does it cost?
It's free to browse in the shops and eat in the restaurants but to gain access into the clubs you need to but the city pass which is good value if you go to a couple of clubs (see above).
Who is it for?
During the day and in the early evening kids will have fun in the shops and restaurants, but at night this really is more of a place for grownups.
How to get there?
The best way if you are not staying at Universal Orlando is to drive be it in a hire car or by taxi cab. It's about a 20 minute drive from Walt Disney World. There is plenty of parking which is free after in the evening but (I think!!!) $6/7 during the day time.
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Jan 10th, 2004
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