The Florida Mall facts for kids
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One of the mall's entrances
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| Location | Orange County, Florida, United States |
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| Coordinates | 28°26′45″N 81°23′44″W / 28.44592°N 81.39554°W |
| Address | 8001 South Orange Blossom Trail Orlando, FL 32809 |
| Opening date | March 12, 1986 |
| Developer | Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. and JCP Realty, Inc. |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group (50%) |
| No. of stores and services | 294 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,699,571 sq ft (157,900 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in Sears, Macy's, JCPenney, Dillard's, Old Navy, H&M, Zara and Crayola Experience, 12 in Florida Hotel) |
| Parking | Parking lot, valet parking with 9,220 spaces |
| Public transit access |   7, 37, 42, 107, 108, 111, 418, 441 at the Florida Mall SuperStop |
| Website | Official website: http://www.simon.com/mall/the-florida-mall |
The Florida Mall is a huge indoor shopping mall located near Orlando, Florida in Orange County, Florida, United States. It opened its doors in 1986. This mall is managed by Simon Property Group, which owns half of it.
With over 1.6 million square feet of space and 294 stores, it's one of the biggest single-story malls in the United States. It's also the largest mall in the Central Florida area. The Florida Mall is a popular spot for fun and regular shopping.
The main stores at the mall are Dillard's, Macy's, JCPenney, Sears, Dick's Sporting Goods, and the Crayola Experience.
Contents
Where is The Florida Mall?
The Florida Mall is located in an area of Orange County, Florida that is just south of Orlando, Florida. It's super close to the Orlando International Airport. Many other famous Orlando attractions are also nearby. These include Universal Orlando Resort, Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando, and International Drive.
The mall sits at the corner of US 17/US 92/US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail) and SR 482 (Sand Lake Road). It's also near where SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) and Florida's Turnpike meet.
What's Inside The Florida Mall?
The Florida Mall has a massive area of about 1.7 million square feet. It holds over 250 different stores, making it the biggest mall in Central Florida. The mall has one main level.
Its main stores are Dillard's, Macy's, JCPenney, Sears, Dick's Sporting Goods, and the Crayola Experience. Right next to the mall, you'll find The Florida Hotel & Conference Center, which has 511 rooms.
The Florida Mall has many popular smaller stores and fun places. These include the only American Girl and Disney Store locations in Orlando. You can also find an Apple Store, A/X Armani Exchange, Banana Republic, Michael Kors, Zara, H&M, XXI Forever, Victoria's Secret, MAC Cosmetics, Sephora, and Bath & Body Works.
There are lots of places to eat too! The mall offers 25 quick-service restaurants and 8 sit-down restaurants. It has a huge Dining Pavilion that is 105,000 square feet. This area has 25 different restaurants.
The mall offers helpful services like valet parking (where someone parks your car for you), currency exchange (to swap money), and a place to check your packages and bags. More than 20 million people visit The Florida Mall every year. This includes both local people and tourists from all over the world who come to Orlando.
Mall History: How it Grew
The Florida Mall first opened on March 12, 1986. Back then, its main stores were Sears, JCPenney, Robinson's, Belk, and the Crowne Plaza hotel.
In 1993, Dillard's opened on the east side of the mall. A new section of the mall opened in 2000. It had a bigger Dillard's and a store called Burdines (which is now Macy's). Belk closed in 1996 and was replaced by Saks Fifth Avenue. Over the years, the Robinson's store changed names several times, finally becoming Lord & Taylor in 2002.
In 2002, the east side of the mall grew again. It added Central Florida's first and only Nordstrom store. This was done to compete with a new mall called The Mall at Millenia. Burdines became Burdines-Macy's in 2004 and then just Macy's in 2005.
The hotel next to the mall also changed owners and names over time. It was first a Crowne Plaza, then a Sheraton Plaza, and later an Adam's Mark. In 2004, it was bought by a new group and renamed The Florida Hotel & Conference Center.
Later, The Florida Mall lost some of its fancy stores. Lord & Taylor closed in 2006. Saks Fifth Avenue closed in 2014. A few months after Saks closed, the mall lost its Nordstrom store in August 2014. Nordstrom closed because its sales weren't as good as other Nordstrom stores. Many people in Orlando were sad about this.
The old Lord & Taylor store was taken down in 2007. In its place, a new outdoor area was built with stores like Forever 21, H&M, and Zara in 2009. An American Girl store was added there in 2014.
In June 2015, the Nordstrom space was split into two new stores: Dick's Sporting Goods and the Crayola Experience. The Saks Fifth Avenue store was changed into a new section with a new Dining Pavilion (food court). The old food court was closed and updated to have more stores and places to eat. New stores like Champs Sports and Footaction opened next to the existing Foot Locker store.
In 2017, a Shake Shack restaurant opened at the mall. In early 2019, the famous Luzia show by Cirque du Soleil visited the mall. This was the first time their big tent was set up in Orlando. In late 2019, the M&M's World store at The Florida Mall announced it would close and move to Disney Springs in 2020.
Main Stores Today
These are the big main stores at The Florida Mall:
- Sears (opened March 12, 1986)
- JCPenney (opened March 12, 1986)
- Dillard's (opened 1993)
- Macy's (opened March 6, 2005)
- Dick's Sporting Goods (opened June 2015)
- Crayola Experience (opened June 2015)
Past Main Stores
Some big stores that used to be at the mall include:
- Belk-Lindsey (1986–1996)
- Burdines (1999–2005)
- Gayfers (1992–1998)
- Maison Blanche (1987–1992)
- Nordstrom (2002–2014) - now Crayola Experience and Dick's Sporting Goods
- Parisian (1998–2001)
- Robinson's (1986–1987)
- Saks Fifth Avenue (1996–2014) - now the Dining Pavilion
- Lord & Taylor (2002–2006) - now XXI Forever, Zara, H&M, and American Girl Place
- M&M's World (2005–2020)
Other Popular Stores
These are other well-known stores at the mall:
Getting to The Florida Mall
The mall is easy to reach by car or bus. The SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) runs right next to the mall. It has an exit (Exit 4) that connects to US 17/US 92/US 441 (Orange Blossom Trail). This exit is only a few exits away from the Orlando International Airport. You can also get to the mall from Exit 254 of Florida's Turnpike, which connects to Orange Blossom Trail.
The mall is also served by Lynx buses. Several bus routes (7, 37, 42, 107, 108, 111, 418, and 441) stop at the Florida Mall SuperStop. This bus stop has direct service from many places in the Orlando area. These include Lynx Central Station in Downtown Orlando, Kissimmee, Orlando International Airport, SeaWorld Orlando, and Universal Orlando Resort.
