New Orlando City Walk club avoids overdoing a theme

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

Sometimes, a theme just gets in the way for a themed club at a theme park. That's the thinking that Universal Orlando planners brought as they created the latest addition to CityWalk's club row -- the cool but warm, retro but contemporary, swank but casual Red Coconut Club. Grand opening is Saturday night for the lounge, which promises premium dry martinis and filet tips appetizers, a house band that plays Sinatra or Mellencamp, pool patio ambience with art deco flourishes, and an open room look with intimate little seating hideaways.

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Sounds like exactly the thing they need there, but I didn't think there was a ton of room on just the top floor of Motown.

If I could fault City Walk for anything, it's that it does lack a general interest bar, unless of course you count the entire place as one big bar (which you probably could, given the beer carts and shot hoochies running around).

True. My favorite place there is under the plane at Jimmy Buffets. I wish there were more areas like that to just hang out, have some beers and enjoy the atmosphere...and people watch.

I know! I think it's the sand. Who doesn't love a faux beach?

I was suprised to read recently that Univeral owns and operates all but four of the F&B outlets in the parks and City Walk (including the Margaritaville franchise). I had always just assumed they bid out the leases (at City Walk, anyway) to other operators. (I guess that explains why the Starbucks there used a different POS, and couldn't accept Starbucks Cards <g>.)

I went to the Jimmy Buffet's in Waikiki. Very cool place. They certainly didn't need a faux beach since the real beach was right across the street.

The POS system on property let's you use your room key to charge it anywhere.

I could see Universal wanting all it's outside operators to use the same POS system throughout the property... just to make sure that they aren't cooking the books and so Universal gets it's percentage of the top. That could be the case as well.

A lot of times the franchisor dictates in the UFOC what POS a franchisee must use for that exact reason. I know that's certainly the case in the hotel business (well, it's a PMS, but same diff...) Although, most POS/PMS systems today provide compliant output that can be pretty much interfaced to talk to anything... The point that surprised me was how many of the F&B outlets Universal actually owns and operates itself, instead of outsourcing to other operators. I guess that's one way to control the quality/exerience...

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