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Staying Power of CityWalk Clubs?

Sep 29, 2014
1,403
2,116
Chicago
Last night I ventured into the CityWalk clubs for the first time. Ever since I had turned 21 I had never thought to "go out" at CityWalk until driving by the other day and realizing that they actually do have clubs there lol. So off we went...

Overall I was so underwhelmed. Coming from a college town I'm used to drinking in dingy little bars, so I was excited to try something classier, well-themed, etc. The clubs definitely are classier and themed, that's for sure. But they're just not that much fun. They seemed very low-energy and for the price, not anything special. Before I go further I will admit that it was raining last night, and I can see how that may have taken a toll on the crowd that night--but really, it only heavily rained at around 5-5:30 and by 9 it was totally gone so I dont know if I fully buy that excuse. I mean, it was still a Friday night during the summer. Anyway...

We started at Rising Star. Wow how disappointing. It reminded me of a cruise ship lounge in the way it was set up and decorated. The service was absolutely awful. We were sat upstairs (despite there being plenty of room downstairs) and didn't get any service for a good 15 minutes. I went to the bar to just get the drinks myself but had to wait even longer--I dont know where the heck all the servers were but for the price you're paying for these places I expected better. When a bartender finally came over to the oddly empty bar, she tells me sorta half-heartedly that they're out of Fireball after looking for like a full minute (one of our friends wanted a Red Hot). Ok, so your bar is not only devoid of staff, its understocked...cool.
Drinks finally in hand, I sat down...only to see that the crew had taken a 30-minute break. I was surprised that they couldn't spring for two bands/backup singer duos to alternate rather than make us sit for half an hour. Even if the club absolutely can't just have 2 alternating crews, I think the dowtime was handled poorly--I mentioned that the place reminded me of a cruise ship lounge, not just aesthetically but in the way it's laid out. There's no place to stand, dance, etc., so why does the off-time music sound like party music? It should've been, IMO, a more relaxed lounge-atmosphere when karaoke wasn't happening, that would've complimented the design more IMO. Anyway, the one good part was the last karaoke guy we saw--a big, well-built guy singing Rolling in the Deep, he was the man.

Next we went to Pat O'Brien's. I'm a sucker for New Orleans so I was excited. The design of this place is great...but again, it was dead. The back patio was conpletely empty, and the inside was full of a weird crowd--an odd mix of older but sexually-overactive couples and families. The pianos were fun, but the service was terrible again. Took a while to get service and I was not trying to go to the bar this time where one of the aforementioned sexually-overactive couples was getting a little too comfy. As for the drinks (when we actually got them), I was kinda disappointed that all the specialty's were majority rum-based. I was hoping that there would be a little more variety given the broad theme. I do like that you get to keep the cup, but it's a pretty boring cup. One thing I dont get about this place is why they charge cover when there's an empty back patio and why service is so slow when the place is literally half-empty.

At this point we were really annoyed by our whole experience to that point. Wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, we checked out Red Coconut. Boring. Basic architecture. Overdone theme. Just not what I would expect from a theme park club. So we left. Disappointed.

My question is, firstly, is this a typical experience here? Because, if it is, I don't see the merits of keeping these clubs operating. I mean, who is the target demographic here?
-Tourists? I think the last thing most people want to do after a full day in the hot parks is spend all night drinking. It seems it'd be easiest for them since they're a boat ride away but if last night was any indication, they're not exactly flocking here.
-Locals? I don't buy it. It's overpriced and there are better locations in Orlando that are much easier to get to. I do realize that we missed out on the CityPass option (which seems like a good deal to be honest), but even then, the drink prices are insane and not everyone gets free parking. Plus, it requires driving, and if I'm gonna spend $60 I wanna get drunk, not lightly buzzed but good enough to drive.

So what do you guys think? What are the merits of keeping these clubs and what do they bring to the table of a resort trying to reinvent itself as a prime vacation destination for the mass organized family tourists? Would the space they take up be better served as unique, more accessible entertainment options or more unique dining? Or are they actually fun for a post-college crowd?
Personally, I'll take Miller's, Rocco's or World of Beer nearby. I'll maybe check out Bob Marley's for dinner but other than that, I wouldn't miss the clubs if they left forever.
 
Personally we love the clubs at Cit Walk. But, then again, we're a much older demographic than you, so our tastes are probably different. We're tourists & we probably spend about half the nights on our trips at Citi Walk. We really like the fact we can have a few drinks & not have to drive or take a long bus trip back to our hotel. We either take the water taxi back or enjoy a nice stroll on the beautiful garden paths. Our favorite is the rowdy piano bar at Pat O'Briens that has some really talented musicians, Bob Marley's, cool atmosphere, good & different type food and wild bands, and Margaritaville with it's good music & decent food.. Karaoke isn't our thing so we never tried Rising Star. Drinking, though, isn't our prime motive at the bars. We're there for the entertainment & 2 or 3 drinks. But Citi Walk is really one of the prime reasons we spend such long vacations on site at Universal.
 
I would think it would be the best option for resort guests, but it just didn't seem crowded at all. Obviously one day isn't a fair assumption but it was a Friday in June...

I agree with you that the entertainment is good (the pianos were pretty great) but I feel like they could get rid of the clubs without sacrificing the live entertainment. For example, we went to Antojito's earlier (really liked that despite the "authentic" being questionable lol) and they had a surprisingly solid band come up and play. I would have no problem with them ditching Pat O'Briens for example but keeping the pianos in a less exclusive and less bar-type atmosphere.
 
Having been there a number of times at different times of the year, it's never really crowded. What you experienced has been my experience more often than not.
Personally, I think they should close half the clubs and use the space for more unique dining experiences and shopping experiences. It would definitely benefit Universal.
 
It's the mix of restaurants & entertainment that makes Citi Park good for us as tourists. Now, if I was a local, I'd probably go to places that were more convenient to get to. But, as a tourist, I really like that everything is so close & convenient to our hotel resorts.. We' don't really get into shopping much and that's why we don't care for Disney Springs (Downtown Disney) since we're not into shopping malls while on vacation. The new additions that we tried, Antojito's & Viva were really good. I like the direction that Universal is moving in with the changes, but it's important that they keep a mix, other wise it'll end up like Disney's place, which is the "no fun" spot.
 
I haven't been in years, but for me, I remember having trouble having fun in "the groove" at CityWalk because ultimately you're still in this contrived, safe, theme park environment. It's hard to let loose when the staff is wearing nametags and you're reminded you're not in a club, you're at a corporation's simulacra of a club. It just feels fake.

That's not to say that a club in a theme park environment can't work. I remember many fun nights at Mannequins at Pleasure Island where I had an absolute effing blast.

I dunno. I guess there's just that X factor that makes a club fun. You either got it or you don't.
 
Having a young daughter makes the clubs impracticle to us. I know we could leave our daughter at one of the kids clubs at the hotel and check them out, but I enjoy our family while we are in Orlando.

What I did want to say though is the the clubs are kind of out of the way as in not being on a main walkway. My guess is that it would be difficult to get traffic back there for that area to house anything all that different from what they have there now.
 
I seem to recall, I think he was a major congressman from Florida, whereby he was spearheading the passing of laws to discriminate & prosecute people for homosexual conduct. Turned out he was a child molester & ended up being convicted for it. Another major hypocrite. Whenever someone in the public eye plays the holier than thou role, I always suspect them. They just use that stuff, manipulate religion & moral values, to either further a career or make money. You see it so often. So many of the politicians that pointed fingers at Clinton have turned out to be child moleste
Dennis Hastert has him beat by a country mile.

Hastert was the Speaker of the House that impeached Clinton for inappropriate relations with an adult female while Hastert himself was molesting teen boys.
rs, cheating husbands , and outright crooks.Unfortunately, many people are naive enough to believe those kind of people.
 
I really like the CityWalk clubs but I definitely feel they could use a nice, modern update to something more you'd find in Vegas or here in Miami. Groove, especially, super outdated... especially the name.
 
Anecdotal, but I can't remember the last time someone going to CityWalk popped up on my Facebook. For a time after PI closed, it was the go-to weekend/birthday/friends in town spot. Seems to have lost the locals, and the cache it had when it first opened. Problem with nightclubs: they get stale faster than about any other business I can think of. New kid in town always seems cooler.
 
Anecdotal, but I can't remember the last time someone going to CityWalk popped up on my Facebook. For a time after PI closed, it was the go-to weekend/birthday/friends in town spot. Seems to have lost the locals, and the cache it had when it first opened. Problem with nightclubs: they get stale faster than about any other business I can think of. New kid in town always seems cooler.

I would not be surprised to see Phase 3 of the CityWalk changes to focus on these.

It also doesn't help that whoever designed CityWalk put them in the corner no one sees.
 
It also doesn't help that whoever designed CityWalk put them in the corner no one sees.

Don't get me started on the design of Orlando's CityWalk. I could write a 90 page dissertation on how poorly it was designed. The entire upper level is completely hidden from view! And how about that staircase where BreadBox etc is? Nothing as inviting as a 6 story staircase at the end of a long day in the parks.
 
I say gut them, put in 1 ultra unique and highly themed club and 1 national brand club like Jekyll and Hyde then turn the rest into food and shopping.
 
Don't get me started on the design of Orlando's CityWalk. I could write a 90 page dissertation on how poorly it was designed. The entire upper level is completely hidden from view! And how about that staircase where BreadBox etc is? Nothing as inviting as a 6 story staircase at the end of a long day in the parks.

I actually like the look of the Breadbox/Menchies area, and think it adds some depth to CW, but the club area is even more hidden than that. Needs something big to draw the eye up there
 
Plus, it requires driving, and if I'm gonna spend $60 I wanna get drunk, not lightly buzzed but good enough to drive.

Out of interest, what are the drink drive laws like in Florida?

In terms say of a regular beer, how many pints would you be comfortable/legally safe to drive after?
I know it affects people differently, but just a generalisation.
 
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