Take A Trip To Kissimmee’s Sunset Walk

Regular visitors to the Kissimmee area will have noticed this eye-catching complex that has mushroomed next door to the Formosa Gardens area just off Highway 192.

It features a superb water park, Island H2O, and an adjacent area of shops, dining and entertainment called The Promenade, and it is all backed by the tropical magnificence of the Margaritaville Resort with its blissful St Somewhere Spa and beautiful Euphoria restaurant.

Welcome to Sunset Walk!

Yes, this once-forlorn area of Tourist Central is now vibrant again, and bursting with lively options for drinking, dining, live entertainment, and just pure holiday fun. More is being added all the time, and 2022 should see the opening of four new food outlets.

What’s at Sunset Walk

Just to start with, the modern, flamboyant vibe of this extensive development is alluring and infectious, and it is positively packed with some of the latest and most happening outlets.

Island H2O is impossible to miss as it sits right on Highway 192 just before the junction with Daniel Webster Western Beltway, or 429 toll highway, and it is backed up by The Promenade, which boasts some of the best dining in Kissimmee.

There are currently 21 shops and restaurants, in addition to a dine-in cinema multiplex, elaborate games arcade and the hair-raising excitement of the towering Sunset Walk Slingshot ride.

In addition to well-known brands like Cold Stone Creamery, Burger Fi and Skechers shoes, there are imaginative, one-off choices like Estefan Kitchen (Cuban cuisine), Flower Café (artisanal sandwiches and pastries) and The Wharf (seafood), which all offer distinctive dining.

Add in live events like a weekly artisan street market, car and truck show, and live music most evenings, and you have a guaranteed, 24-carat tourist experience.

Shopping selections

Fancy soaps, a specialist candy store, Verizon wireless and a good old Florida gift shop are all in the mix here, and there is more coming this year, while the Estefan Kitchen restaurant also has its own souvenir store.

Open from 10am (11 on Sundays) through to 7, 10 or 11pm (variously by store), there are seven out-and-out shops, plus the Avalon Nails and Spa salon.

Of particular note for UK visitors are the Naples Soap Company, offering premium organic and natural skin and hair products for home, beauty and health; Skechers fashionable footwear for the whole family; the dazzling sweet-shop-on-steroids of It’Sugar, with all kinds of novelty candy; and the souvenir frenzy of U.S. Gift Factory, with a huge range of Disney and Florida T-shirts, gifts and novelties.

The restaurant choice

What Sunset Walk does possibly better than any other entertainment centre in the area is provide a really wide range of dining options to suit all tastes and pockets. From distinctive, high-end dining to fast-food casual, there is a terrific selection, and there are several places that will seem especially attractive to Brits.

The headline venue is the all-new Estefan Kitchen, the latest creation from Emilio and Gloria Estefan, with a style that is part restaurant, part nightclub but total entertainment, with a real pizazz to its menu and live music and dancing. The Cuban-based flavours are also hugely tempting, and there is a weekend brunch that is well worth seeking out.

The bar-restaurant crowd are also spoilt for choice here, with no fewer than four contrasting choices, from the seafood specials of The Wharf to the 1920s nostalgia (and great burgers) of Ford’s Garage and the out-and-out rock ’n roll style of Rock & Brews, created by members of classic rockers Kiss and serving comfort food with a twist alongside a fabulous selection of craft beers.

Finally, make a note of Yeoman’s Cask & Lion, a pretty passable imitation of a traditional British pub, serving typical pub grub along with a range of well-known beers (Fuller’s London Pride is the house cask ale, no less).

And there’s more!

Anyone looking for an upscale, contemporary film experience will enjoy the Studio Movie Grill, a combination of cinema and restaurant with in-theatre dining delivered directly to your seat any time during the show. How’s THAT for service?!

For those with energy to spare, there is still the Game Time arcade, a 24,000sq ft entertainment venue offering the latest and retro games as well as sports-bar style dining.

To round things out (but, we suggest, before dining!), there is the high-thrill quotient of the Sunset Walk Slingshot, a gigantic bungee-style ride set between twin 240ft towers that catapults riders up to 400ft into the sky at up to 100mph. Not for the faint-hearted.

So, when you’re looking for that exciting new Kissimmee experience, make sure Sunset Walk is high on your list. We’re pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

For more details and the latest events, look up SunsetWalk.com.

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