Don't forget to visit if you're in Orlando...The Florida Mall
Written: Feb 16 '07 (Updated Feb 16 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: variety of stores, very large
Cons: parking stinks
The Bottom Line: Definitely one stop shopping for all your needs.
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| kld718's Full Review: The Florida Mall |
Shopping…don’t we all do it? I love to shop. I don’t like the bills, but I still love to shop. I am a bit of a clothes/shoes/purse/beauty product fanatic even though I’ve never been much of a girly girl. The Florida Mall is Orlando, Florida is definitely one of my favorite malls just because of the fact that it is so large. It doesn’t rival outlet malls, like two of my favorites the Sawgrass Mills Mall and the Franklin Mills Mall. But you can find a vast array of popular and non-popular stores there, with very reasonable pricing unlike the mall down the road from it, The Mall at Millenia.
This mall is very convenient to those that live in and around the Orlando area. It basically sits on the large, and very busy corner of Sand Lake Road and Orange Blossom Trail (OBT). It does have an office building in front of it, right on the corner so you have to enter from either of the two streets mentioned above. There are also numerous other stores/plazas around the mall in case you cannot find something actually in the mall. For those that know the area, you know the changes it has gone through over the years. It used to be scary to go into this part of town (ex. hookers on the corners), but the area is patrolled a lot more by the local PD so it is a little better.
The layout of the mall is similar to most others. It’s square looking on the outside and is shaped the same on the inside, although there is one part of the mall that veers off and you have to walk around in a complete circle, but it eventually gets you back to the part you started from. The Florida Mall is a Simon property, so if you’ve ever seen another Simon mall, then you’ve seen one similar.
The thing that sets this mall a part from other similar malls is the anchor stores. There was seven at one point: Burdines, JcPenney, Sears, Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom, Macy’s and Dillard’s. Lord & Taylor’s store closed its doors this past year and Saks Fifth Avenue moved in so I was very excited. Another difference between this mall and its neighbor, The Mall at Millenia is the fact that it is only one story. With the vast amount of stores here, in retrospect they probably should have made this a two-story mall.
To mention every store would just be ridiculous since what I've listed below is already long, so I’m going to list some of my favorite stores and some of the most popular one’s.
~ Accessories: Claire’s, Coach, d.e.m.o., Oakley, PacSun, Solstice, Sunglass Hut
~ Cards/Books: Brookstone, Carlton Cards, Hallmark Moments, Spencer Gifts, Waldenbooks
~ Children’s: Abercrombie, The Disney Store, Gapkids/BabyGap, Gymboree, The Children’s Place, The Limited Too
~ Entertainment: Gamestop, fye
~ Speciality Food: Harry & David, Teavana
~ Health & Beauty: Aveda, Bare Escentuals, Bath & Body Works, Crabtree & Evelyn, CVS Pharmacy, LUSH, Mac Cosmetics, Origins, Perfumania, Regis Salons, Sephora, Victoria’s Secret Beauty
~ Home: Bombay Company, Kirkland’s, Pottery Barn, Thomas Kinkade Gallery, Williams- Sonoma
~ Jewelry: Bailey Banks & Biddle, Gordon’s Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, Mayor’s Jewelers, Piercing Pagoda, Zales Jewelers
~ Men’s & Women’s: 5-7-9, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, bebe, Billabong, Body Shop, Brooks Brothers, Cache, Charlotte Russe, Express, Forever 21, Gap, Guess?, Hollister Co., Lane Bryant, Lucky Brand Jeans, Motherhood Maternity, New York & Company, Old Navy, PacSun, Swim n’ Sport, The Limited, Victoria Secret, White House/Black Market
~ Music/Electronics: EB Games, Nextel, Radioshack
~ Optical: Lenscrafters, Optical Images
~ Services: Carnival Cruise Lines, Hair Cuttery, International Visitor’s Bureau, Money exchange
~ Shoes: Bakers, Champs Sports, Florsheim Shoes, Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Nine West, Payless ShoeSource, Skechers Footwear, Steve Madden
~ Specialty Food: Dylan’s Candy Bar, GNC, Godiva, Teavana
~ Specialty: Build-A-Bear Workshop, European Gallery, Hat Shack, Lids, M&M’s World, Sharper Image, Things Remembered, Yankee Candle
~ Sporting Goods: Finish Line, Footlocker, Footaction, Team Choice, Ultimate Sports Fan
~ Toys: KB Toys
Last but definitely not least is the food court. There are a lot of selections here, probably because most people that visit this mall usually end up staying more than a few hours. You can choose from Asian, Cajun, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, steak, hot dogs, subs, smoothies, cookies, ice cream, pretzels, and coffee drinks. They just opened a Starbucks not to long ago after closing Barnie’s so I hit them up everytime. When my mom and I used to major Christmas shopping here, we would spend the whole day. The plan would be coffee from Barnie’s in the morning, lunch in the food court, and dinner at one of the numerous restaurants in the area. And I do have to mention we would make more than one trip back to the car to deposit bags. One drawback is that there is no movie theater located at this mall.
One thing that I found especially odd about this mall when I first became acquainted with it is the fact that there is a hotel attached to it. There is even an entrance in the mall to the hotel. It used to be the Adam’s Mark Hotel, but it was changed to The Florida Hotel within the last couple of years. There is also an information booth located almost centrally in the mall where you can get a full store listing, get some gift wrapping completed, book local hotel reservations, purchase stamps, rent strollers, pick up a wheelchair if needed and even purchase Simon mall giftcards. These gift cards are available in many denominations and can be used at any Simon mall.
One aspect about this mall that I just cannot stand is the parking. There is never enough. I don’t care when you go; it is always tough to find a spot close to any of the doors. I myself do not mind walking, but this could pose a problem for some. As Christmas time nears, don’t even think about being anywhere near the door, or actually finding a space within ten minutes (being optimistic here) of driving around the parking lot. The parking situation has definitely gotten worse over the past few years as the area continues to be built up. I’m not quite sure why they have never built a single parking garage for this mall to help alleviate the problem.
The Florida Mall has become one of my favorite malls over the past few years, thanks to the variety of stores and amount of stores it has. Orlando was really close to wear I used to live so it was very convenient. This mall also offers a mix of stores, high-end, middle-range, and low-end. Now that I have moved yet again, this mall will become one that I definitely visit when I go home to see family.
Mall Information:
8001 South Orange Blossom Trail
Orlando, FL 32809
407-851-6255
Hours:
Mon-Sat 10-9pm
Sunday 12-6pm
~ Happy shopping!
Kim
Other Malls:
Sawgrass Mills Mall
Franklin Mills Mall
The Mall at Millenia
Roosevelt Mall
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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