Universal CityWalk is not a park and does not count as one. It is the district you cross between the parking hubs and the park gates at Universal Orlando Resort, and most visitors pass through it twice a day without looking. A shame, because it solves two specific problems in a trip: arrival evening and departure day.

No park ticket needed

Access to the district is free. Parking still applies if you arrive by car, and it is free late in the evening. For a family landing in Orlando in the late afternoon, this is the obvious outing: eat, walk, get back early, and the first park day starts rested instead of wrecked.

Where to eat

Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen plays Victorian steampunk and serves milkshakes children talk about back home. Vivo Italian Kitchen makes fresh pasta. Antojitos Cocina Mexicana works the tortilla on site. The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar owns its name and mixes both. Bigfire cooks over wood. NBC Sports Grill & Brew keeps the games on its screens. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Hard Rock Cafe have held their addresses a long time. Voodoo Doughnut opens late and does not let up.

What to do after dinner

The district cinema shows current releases. Hollywood Drive-In Golf offers two mini-golf courses built like B-movie posters, and it is the activity that reconciles teenagers with a family evening. Terraces stay open late, and live music plays on certain nights.

Where it fits in the trip

Arrival evening, when three hours are left and not enough for a park. Departure day, when the room is gone and the flight leaves at night. And the middle evening, the one where the family needs to sit down. The resort hotels connect on foot or by boat, which keeps the car and the parking out of it.

What your advisor does

They place CityWalk at the right moments in the itinerary rather than leaving it to chance, they check restaurant bookings for groups, and they know which places suit a fussy child. See also Where to Stay at Universal Orlando and the resort overview. Planning is free of charge.

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Frequently Asked Questions

No. Access to the district is free. If you arrive by car, parking is charged as it is for the parks, and it becomes free late in the evening. Guests at the resort hotels arrive on foot or by boat.
No. Universal Orlando Resort has four parks: Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, Universal Epic Universe and Universal Volcano Bay. CityWalk is a dining and entertainment district, sitting alongside the parks geographically but outside the count.
Arrival evening, when a few hours are left and not enough for a park. Departure day, when the room is gone. And the mid-trip evening, the one where everybody needs to sit down.
For a group or in high season, yes. The most requested addresses fill early, especially on weekends and during school breaks. Your advisor can handle it along with the rest of the trip.
Hollywood Drive-In Golf has two mini-golf courses, the district cinema shows current releases, and the terraces stay open late with live music on certain nights.
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