City Walk serves as the entrance area to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and the surrounding onsite hotels. In fact, it actually connects the parks, hotels and parking garages together. City Walk opened in 1999 as a part of Universal’s largest expansion and is the footprint of the property today. Also, City Walk is home to all of the restaurants and shopping as well as the afterhours entertainment. City Walk is basically Universal’s Downtown Disney/Disney Springs.
The main purpose of City Walk is to connect the parks to the public, whether you are coming to the parks by the parking garage or from one of the 6 onsite hotels. Within City Walk there are: 12 Quick Service Dining Areas and 4 snack booths, 11 Full Service Restaurants and 1 Fine Dining Restaurant, 9 Bars and Entertainment Venues, 3 Shows, 8 Shops, 1 Theater and 1 Mini-Golf Course. So, I think it’s safe to say there is A LOT to do at City Walk!
Since this is just an overview I’m just going to name all of your dining options, there is waaay too much to go into with all of these restaurants. So, with that your quick service locations at Universal’s City Walk are: Bread Box, Burger King Whopper Bar, Fusion Bistro Sushi & Sake Bar, Hot Dog Hall of Fame and Moe’s Southwest Grill. Your snack options are: Cinnabon, Cold Stone Creamery and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt.
Your Full Service Restaurants are: Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food, Bob Marley-A Tribute to Freedom, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Hard Rock Café’ Orlando, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, NBC Sports Grill & Brew, Pat O’Brien’s, Red Oven Pizza Bakery, The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen and VIVO Italian Kitchen. And your fine dining location being Emeril’s Orlando.
Next is the Bars and nightclubs and they are: Red Coconut Club(Cuban Dance Club), The Groove (Dance Club), Rising Star (Karaoke), Pat O’Brian’s Piano Bar, Lone Palm Airport and Fat Tuesdays (Daiquiri Bar). They are also some bar’s inside some of the restaurants as well and those are Margaritaville, VIVO Italian, NBC Sports Grill Brew and Cowfish.
If you’re looking for a show you can always catch the Blue Man Group or a concert at Hard Rock Live, Orlando. There is also a movie theater as well as a Mini-Golf Course within City Walk.
There are 8 different shops within City Walk. Some are department and high end while others are your general gift shop. Those are: Hart & Huntington Tatto Company, P!G(Coastal Boutique) (Gift Shop), Fresh Produce, The Universal Studios Store, The Island Clothing Co.(Tommy Bahama), Quiet Flight Surf Shop, Rock Shop (Hard Rock Café) and Fossil.
What I think the best part about City Walk is how much it has to offer but how small the area takes up. For instance, to experience Disney Springs at Disney, you would have to spend a day there. Which seems to me what Disney is trying to do, but with City Walk everything that is offered here is more like an experience after the parks not an instead of go to the parks come here! Which you very well can and I would suggest to those that are spending a week at Universal. My favorite part about Universal is the fact that everything is so close together and you don’t have to worry about catching a bus. If you are staying onsite you could literally walk everywhere you wanted to go on Universal Property, you can’t do that at Disney.