Ron Jon's Surf Park Dead

[SimonV]

This probably won't interest many (or surprise who has been following this stop-start development), but Ron Jon's Surf Park looks to be dead in the water (no pun intended) after building there was again suspended. We have spoken to Scott Powers at the Orlando Sentinel and it seems the project has just died a quiet death, in part because the Festival Bay mall is still fairly moribund and Ron Jon's doesn't seem keen to extend their investment any further. The latest info Scott has is that there will be no further work on the Surf Park before 2009 at the earliest, and he is under the impression the whole thing may be scrapped completely.

Not good news for Festival Bay, certainly, but somehow this never looked like a really worthwhile project.

They still have a website up, but the only updates for last year were in July and October and, while they had scaled up their plans for it, it now seems they were only delaying the inevitable. The site (at the back of the Mall) is currently all boarded up, and there is nothing going on there at all.

 

[Graeme]

Festival Bay doesn't seem to have made the best of a good location and nice building. Aside from the few signature shops it hasn't really filled the units with good shopping. I wouldn't be suprised if it all starts to go downhill for them.

 

[mandymouse]

Festival Bay doesn't seem to have made the best of a good location and nice building. Aside from the few signature shops it hasn't really filled the units with good shopping. I wouldn't be suprised if it all starts to go downhill for them.

Oh I hope not, my girls love Festival Bay. It's such a nice, well laid-out mall, with some trendy stores - it would be a shame if it started to go downhill

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We like Festival Bay too, it is a bit of a mystery though why it has never really taken off.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

That's a shame, it's a great location for a mall, I don't understand why it hasn't done better.

 

[cleo]

You would think a bright, airy shopping complex on International Drive couldn't help but be wildly successful. It's a real stunner they aren't full and going like gangbusters.

 

[Graeme]

It's such a nice, well laid-out mall

I agree. It's always very quiet though and can't be making enough to satisfy the bankers

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Festival Bay was developed during a time that Orlando was booming. It opened right around September 11th, 2001. It's located in a section of I-Drive where traffic lights cause a lot of congestion and it's a pain to get to it from I-4 or the Turnpike. That keeps the locals away from it and they need us to support the ups and downs of the tourist season. Van's Skatepark brings some skaters but not shoppers.

Still, it's store mix is pretty unique with Bass Pro Shops, Shepler's and Steve & Barry's. No one else has those. The newly remodeled Prime Outlets International (formerly Belz) was quite successful over the holidays and is bringing a lot of people back to that end of I-Drive. So I think Festival Bay could succeed if we don't go into another recession. I always felt they should close one or two of their inner corridors and consolidate the stores onto the outer circle. Then the place would appear busier than the current "dead".

BobK/Orlando

 

[iHEARTflorida]

oh i was looking forward to that opening, i love Ron Jon's, but Festival Bay isnt a v. good location at all, hardly has any shops

 

[UKDEB]

It's a catch 22 - more shops are needed to make it a bigger draw, but it would take a big leap of faith to actually invest. I do think the new Prime Outlets could potentially be its saviour.

We're off to Festival Bay today and we do make a trip there each visit, but with so few shops, it's only ever a side attraction. Our favourite is the Mall at Millenia which surely must have been the final kiss of death for the Festival Bay project.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I would have thought the Ron Jon Surf shop would have been a big draw, it's one of the reasons we like Festival Bay.
Plus the fact you see stores there that are unique and not at some of the bigger malls.

Happy shopping Deb.