I always enjoy seeing all the like night life people coming into city walk as I limp out of the park to the hotel busses, exhausted from walking the parks all day 😂
5:57 Sadly that’s true😫security told me the story last year when I went to see The Wall. Ridiculous, that the person who did that was oblivious to history!
Poor guy probably didn't speak English and was scared thinking someone had vandalized that rock from the Hard Rock. Still, I'm happy to be able to touch a piece of history, even if it was pressure washed
Honestly this was one of the best videos yall ever have made. Sad I'm just now watching. Yall should go back and watch this yourselves truly. Great memories and yall had so much excitement. You guys are great
I love how Vincent's content reflects his out of the box thinking. Always refreshing to watch his videos because they're not like all of the other theme park content.
NBA CITY restaurant was the first place I ever saw an HDTV . This would have been the late 1990's. It was new technology and they had them over the upstairs bar. It was mind blowing to see the clarity. Apparently they were ridiculously expensive because they weren't readily available yet. I was on the opening team of IOA and this was a great nostalgia trip to revisit all the places we used to hit up after work everyday. Especially Cigarz. That was our main hangout.
Thank you for the great comment! I can't remember the first time I saw an HDTV, but you're right it was a mind-blowing moment. Kinda like the first time I saw a Coke Freestyle machine
So crazy to see all the changes over the years! I ate at NBA and nascar don’t remember how good the food was. I’ll never forget meeting Bam Margera at the element store he was randomly doing a signing one day. Thanks for this video made me go through childhood memory lane!
I remember when my family visited the park a month later after it opened in June 1990. There was a strike going on where neighborhood residents were holding signs opposing the opening of the park. I remember us parking and waking up to the universal globe. The first of many trips. We all lived in Miami at the time.
I lived in Tampa in the mid 90s. We used to drive over and park right up at the gate of Universal like you described. I remember seeing signs saying they were about to break ground on Islands of Adventure.
This is an interesting video because a lot of theme park channels have been making videos recently of whats coming to the Universal parks, but not a whole lot of people have made videos about the future of the City Walk areas.
We started coming down to Orlando in 2006 when our two children were old enough to have memories of the trip. And at CityWalk, the NBA Cafe was our favorite spot. The atmosphere was fun and the food was really good. Our children enjoyed the shooting games outside too. Our last time down 2018 (maybe) it was closed and going to be replaced. Bummer. We also got a family photo on that surfboard in 2006 and again in 2016. Pretty cool comparison of the children growing up.
Growing up my family always went to NBA city restaurant after a day at the parks. I loved following basketball during the Shaq, Kobe, Yao Ming era during the early 2000s so this place was my favorite. My memory is fuzzy but I think there may have been mini TVs at the tables showing games. The food was reliably good. Couldn’t go wrong with a burger. Still have some souvenirs from the shop!
Great video! Thank you! I DO remember the old Universal Escape (Ghostbusters, anyone?). I remember lucking out and getting the 2nd parking space one morning. Second row because handicap parking was the first row. (FYI - preferred parking wasn’t a thing yet .) I did go to the NBA place to eat once and wasn’t a big fan. It was a lot of BBQ if I remember correctly and I’m not a BBQ person. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Lol love the in memorium 😂, I remember all those places. Man I can't freaking wait for epic universe. I hope there's still some kind of express if you stay in certain hotels. So worth it!
You completely failed to mention the store “GLOW” that opened with the original City Walk. Now the Tattoo Shop is located there, but GLOW was a completely black lit store selling glow sticks, light up signs, posters, paraphernalia, etc. I used to visit City Walk just for this store for a couple years between 2000-2002.
I love that Universal is old enough and evolved enough now to actually have nostalgic videos like this. Just out of curiosity, any chance you'll be at the OI meetup in June? My plan is to courtesy wave hello to every vlogger I know from a respectable distance.
Oh my goodness - Pastamore was one of my favorite places to go after a long day at the parks with the family. Made so many great memories in that place.
11:57 Chicken Alfredo pizza in NBA city was fire. We used to eat at the O.G. hard rock cafe shaped like the guitar a lot as well. Old Universal was an amazing vibe. Watched Dwight Howard get drafted at the nba city dradt party 😢.
The NBA City bathrooms had their trash cans to look like a hoop lol. I remember staying in there when I was younger with my friend just shooting our paper towels over and over.
You are the USO historian. Well done gettig all that footage. Clearly allot of research into this video. This is the last area where Disney still has it better than Universal. There is so much more variety (espacially the restaurants, but even the shops), life, and overall better feel over at Disney Springs. Some of the clubs at City Walk are always close to empty. Universal has allot going on, at one point they need to rethink City Walk.
You forgot a restaurant that use to been where bend the bao is at. It was called Fusion Bistro sushi and sake. Miss that place a lot a good place that I enjoyed going to at city walk it’s cheaper quick service sushi without having to dine at cowfish burger bar for more expensive sushi
I ate at NBA city more than once. They had these giant milkshakes that were delicious. I wasn't a basketball fan but it was still fun similar to the Nascar Cafe.
I ate at the nascar place one time in like 2011 or something. It was during one of the coldest times in Orlando history if I remember correctly it was like under 10 degrees. The parks were completely dead due to the painful wind chill. I remember being the only people in the nascar place when we ate
You forgot about Mini golf as far as an experience of something to do. I've always said that City Walk feels like it's missing on the experiences side. Hope there is more to do in the future.
wow, interesting - old cityWalk had a few stores and restaurants that seem like they were better than what's there, now. much of cityWalk, now feels like it's just the same sort of stuff you could get at your local mall.
Right next to the groove was the Latin Quarter where the Mexican restaurant is now. It was Aztec or Mayan theme i don't remember which. I do remember there was a two story waterfall where divers would dive into a pool every 15 minutes.
Man, great vid... i remember all those old place's from my very first visit to Universal... I remember the NBA City and Nascar Cafe... although as I stayed off property I never ate at them so only visitedthe parks that time... I got every year now from the UK and always stay onsite now... I believe Universal traded to get all the rights and ownership to NBC sports, with Disney for the rights to The original Steamboat Willy that Universal had...
The short was through quite flight. the element store didnt attach to anything i dont think. the only thing i remember from before city was when i was super young i only remebered the bone yard the the sign out from with the fountain
What was the store / gift shop at the top of Nascar/The Cigar place? I think there was a Burger King and Tattoo place somewhere in that area as well. The late-night Pizza place was Great when they were open!
Do you think they'll move the Legacy Store somewhere else/have it absorbed into the existing store? There were some cool props in there, it would be sad if they weren't displayed anywhere anymore
It's so frustrating that Cinnabon is going away. There are so few breakfast options on the way to the parks! (Plus, I like a late night cinnamon roll too! 😇)
The NASCAR cafe was awful! We went there as a family for my younger brother as he was really into that stuff. I was still kind of young myself, so I had a kids meal, probably a hot dog. Their food made me sick and every 10 minutes or so, the cars in the restaurant would "burn out". Their tires would spin and make a ton of noise. I left with a massive headache and I felt like throwing up from the horrible food.
piq was my FAVORITE i loved looking at all of the silly trinkets. also using quiet flight and the other stores as a cutthrough to studios was so real, i do miss the ac but i do NOT miss the crowding when the legacy store was the uni store so it was likely a smart decision. citywalk so lovely
Basically because of dumb people in their 20s.... lol believe me.. im 38 now.. but I sold a whole 10 pack of blue dolphins in there in my wayward youth. You can still vibe and dance at bob marleys or the karaoke joint.
NBA City food was below average and overpriced. It was more of a tourist trap than good food. I guess if NBA fan it was cool, but food was kind of a last option when everything else was packed.
Little known fact is that before the NBA restaurant it was supposed to be Shaq’s restaurant but due to some technicality it fell through, and the Bob Marley’s it’s a replica of he’s house in Jamaica.
