Margaritaville Resort Orlando is a 300-acre resort, shopping center, water park, and master-planned residential community located in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

, located 4.7 miles from

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

. The complex opened on January 15, 2019, and is owned and operated by Margaritaville Holdings. A parcel of the southern and eastern property bordering Fins Up Circle, Formosa Gardens Blvd. and Funnie Steed Rd. sits on land previously occupied by the

Splendid China Splendid China Folk Village (Chinese: 锦绣中华民俗村, pinyin: Jǐnxiù Zhōnghuá Mínsú Cūn) is a theme park including two areas (Splendid China Miniature Park & China Folk Culture Village) located in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, ...

theme park, which closed in 2003.

History

In 1993, the

theme park was opened as a sister park to

Splendid China Folk Village Splendid China Folk Village (Chinese: 锦绣中华民俗村, pinyin: Jǐnxiù Zhōnghuá Mínsú Cūn) is a theme park including two areas (Splendid China Miniature Park & China Folk Culture Village) located in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, P ...

located in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

province,

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The park closed in 2003 after struggling to attract visitors and make a profit for years. The 75 acre park sat abandoned until 2013, when the owners demolished the entire property. In August 2015, Encore Homes reported that

Margaritaville "Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album ''Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes''. This song was written about a drink Buffett discovered at Lung's Cocina del Sur restaurant ...

Resort would open on the former Splendid China site, with resort homes, condos and timeshares in a

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

themed setting. In March 2016, construction began on Margaritaville Resort Orlando.

Areas

Margaritaville Hotel

The $90 million, 187-room Margaritaville Hotel is located at the entrance of the resort. The hotel features multiple suites a fitness center, spa, kids club, 3-acre resort-style swimming area, trolley service around the resort, and complimentary shuttles to nearby Orlando theme parks.

Island H2O Live!

Island H2O Live! is a 12-acre, $40 million water park located within the resort. The water park is the first of its kind, being focused around social media. Guests have the ability to sync their wristband to the park's app to capture photos and videos throughout their day, control the streaming playlist for the park-wide music, and interact with games and other experiences to win food and other prizes. The water park features 14 attractions, 3 food and beverage locations, and one merchandise location.

Sunset Walk

Sunset Walk is a 200,000 square foot shopping center located near the entrance of the resort featuring 24 shops and restaurants.

Residential

1,000 residential units consisting of cottages, vacation homes, condos, and timeshare units are planned for the property ranging from one to eight bedrooms.

References

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Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

2019 establishments in Florida Kissimmee, Florida Amusement parks in Florida