Universal Orlando’s Hidden Gem

Admist the characters and thrills of the Universal Orlando Resort is a hidden gem of an offering for guests staying on property…

The Universal Orlando Garden Walk is a walking path that connects several of Universal’s hotels, theme parks, and CityWalk. Per the name, Garden Walk is well designed and planted with dozens of unique and beautfiul plants and trees. The amount of foliage and flowers on the walk is impressive and some parts remind me of the work done at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Unlike the walking paths at the Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, the Garden Walk has lots of tree coverage and bridges that provide sun relief.

The Garden Walk connects most of the North Campus hotels to CityWalk and the theme parks. There are two segments of the Garden Walk – the first runs from Portofino Bay Resort, passes by Hard Rock Hotel, and ends at CityWalk near Universal Studios Florida. Note that there is a security station at the entrance to CityWalk.

The other segment starts at Cabana Bay Beach Resort and goes over Adventure Way and meets up with the path that connects Sapphire Falls Resort with Royal Pacific Resort (this is also where guests at Aventura can enter the Garden Walk). Then the walk heads towards CityWalk and ends to the right of Margaritaville.

Here is a video of the walk from Cabana Bay to CityWalk.

CityWalk is a nice relaxing walk, but it’s not always the quickest way to reach the parks. Here are the walking estimates from each location to CityWalk and the opposite ends of each “line” of the Garden Walk. Note that these are estimates measuring from the middle of the resort; your walk could be shorter or longer depending on where in the resort you are located.

Portofino, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific, and Sapphire Falls also feature boat transportation to CityWalk.

Garden Walk is a wonderful way to get to the parks or just or a simple stroll. Resort hopping at Universal is encouraged, with guests at all resorts but the Inns & Suites level (Endless Summer) allowed to pool hop. We suggest checking out the Thirsty Fish at Portofino Bay and Strong Water Tavern at Sapphire Falls if you want to use the Garden Walk as a way to explore the resorts.