Comments on: Festival Bay Mall; Orlando, Florida

By: Darren

Darren — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 04:45:50 +0000

When will this mall ever shut down? Steve and Barrys, one of the mall’s largest anchors is now gone. The surf park is now DOA. Dixie Crossroads finally pulled out. Still…this place still limps along. How long are the leases in this place? 30 years?

By: , JJ Jones

, JJ Jones — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:08:21 +0000

I wonder how any store outside of Bass Pro Shop can stay open. I went to Festival Bay for the first time last March and was amazed how dead it was. The Hawaiian store was closing and had great deals. Even with that, it was mostly empty. The Ron Jon had a few browsers, Fuddrucker’s had a few tables sat. Steve and Barry’s was very busy but upon returning this year, it was nearly empty too. I drove by the movie theater last March and there was hardly anybody there. The location is terrible. And when will the Surf Park ever open? Probably never. Bill Murray should be happy he never opened here.

By: Prange Way

Prange Way — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:52:28 +0000

Yeah, I had no idea it was a mall at first glance either. I kind of assumed since it was on the tourist strip and in Orlando that it would be another outdoor thing, but I was surely wrong.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 27 May 2008 01:14:56 +0000

We have been tenants in the mall for over 2 years now, & although it is struggling to fill it does OK. We pretty rely on regular clientelle, so extra passing trade would be nice

Comparing this mall to other malls there are flaws, once these have been dealt with, LIKE ADDING THE WORD MALL to the signage, well having signage!! Many tourists dont even realize its a mall….. The mall is so cool & isnt like any other mall I know!

We look forward to the surf park’s EVENTUAL opening, in turn the occupancy rate improving & I think it’ll be the most popular family shopping experience around, that is If we can all last that long!!!!!!!!!

By: andrea

andrea — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:45:27 +0000

you know how in the festival bay mall theres a Vans Skate park? Well theres also a little spot in that skate park that you can buy vans stuff how can i order something from there and whats the website i can use to see the skate park with the shopping area of vans to buy the vans i want??

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:56:03 +0000

I would also venture that this mall kind of strikes a bizarre balance between ‘Orlando-themed’ and ‘modern-non-themed’ mall. Mall at Milenia is essentially unthemed, parlaying expense with some interesting techno-bits.

In Orlando especially and in Florida generally, there are plenty of thematically-engineered places to shop, from Disney’s ‘authentic’ rescued warehouse district of ‘Downtown Disney,’ to Church Street Station, CityWalk and beyond. There are also tons of themed stores in strip malls, from the ‘Wizard’ gift shop to the most over-themed and rideeculous McDonalds in history. In short, Orlando needs respites from the themes, which is why Mall at Milennia succeeds. This sounds strange, but after a day in fake Japan, or fake future, or fake comic book city…and perhaps after a hotel stay in fake Bimini, or fake antebellum South, or fake Toy Story…I kind of want to shop in a real mall, if that makes sense. Take ‘Festival Bay’ and drop it in the middle of Detroit, however, and I could see it succeeding wildly.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 07:28:58 +0000

I really like the look of this mall. There is so many different colors throughout. The many different ceiling design and all the ironwork and skylights are just stunning. The pond inside the mall is the coolest. All the posts and signs throughout the mall, and everything else is so colorful and festive, no wonder it is called “Festival Bay”. The vertical signage is a nice touch too. Is there a food court? The Long John Silvers and A&W Cafe are in a normal space. The non traditional anchors are interesting too. Although the mall layout did look a little confusing, I found it to be very unique and different than just a straight line.

Maybe one problem with this mall is that it is so close the Mall at Milenia. I did a msn map search and found it is just a few miles away from Mall At Milenia. I would think that being so close to such an upscale mall that was built one year earlier would be tough to compete with.

By: sue s

sue s — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:35:33 +0000

what every happened to the caddy shack ?

By: Bobby

Bobby — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:41:09 +0000

Yes it is.

By: Jonah N.

Jonah N. — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 01:11:25 +0000

The surfpark isn’t enclosed, is it?