CW Update: What About The New Park?

I was chatting with Save Pleasure Island Blog roving reporter Thommy this past weekend about the Epic Universe theme park under construction at the south end of Kirkman Road. It's scheduled to open in mid-2025. Thommy indicated that he had heard that Universal will have some kind of entertainment district there, something that had not yet come to my attention. In reading various articles about it on the internet yesterday, there is some disagreement whether this entertainment district will be outside the theme park gates or within it. Of course, if it's within it, one would need a theme park ticket to go to it. 

 

While the current Universal CityWalk is outside theme park gates, it pretty much requires use of theme park garages to access which has been a downfall for retail. Yes, parking is now free after 6PM (except during special events such as Halloween Horror Nights) but it's impractical to go to any stores there during the day unless you have a pass with free parking. So retailers located there including restaurants, shops and even the theater can't maximize customers except for those using the parks. So the big question is, if there will be an entertainment district at Epic Universe, will it be separate enough that daytime customers can access it? Only time will tell since announcements about the project have been relatively few.