Don't expect to find a lot of moderation when you visit the
Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal Orlando's first-ever moderate resort.
Photo by Jim Hill
The folks at Universal really went all out to make their
newest on-site hotel a celebration of the family vacation circa 1958 – 1962. That
time when Mom, Dad & the kids would all climbed in the station wagon and
then drive on down to the shore. Where the family would then spent a week
swimming & sun-bathing while they stayed at this fun-yet-funky beachfront
motel or hotel. So everywhere you look in & around Cabana
Bay, both the big picture …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and the little details combine to sell you on the idea
that this particular resort is set in that era.
Photo by Jim Hill
And as a boomer who was actually born during that particular
pop culture era, I applaud the lengths to which Universal went to reinforce
this design concept. Take — for example — these signs telling you where the
hotel's cell phone charging stations & ATM are located.
Photo by Jim Hill
Or — better yet — this sign above the entrance of the
Universal Gift Shop …
Photo by Jim Hill
… which replicas the typeface for the Universal (then
Universal International) logo which was used back during this specific era in
the company's history.
Photo by Jim Hill
I mean, as a baby boomer, it's really hard not to smile when
— as you pull back the shower curtain in your hotel room — you then discover
that your complimentary soap & shampoo is a bar of Zest and bottles of V05 shampoo
& conditioner.
Photo by Jim Hill
Everywhere you look, there's some sort of clever wink or nod to the late 1950s
/ early 1960s. Take — for example — that stylized rocket ship which hangs
over Atomic Tonic, Cabana Bay's
poolside bar.
Photo by Jim Hill
If you'll look closely, you'll see that this rocket is being piloted by an ape.
Photo by Jim Hill
Ah, but that's not just any ape. The graphic on the side of this rocket is
actually a tribute to Ham the Astrochimp. Who was hurled into orbit from Cape
Canaveral in January of 1961 in kind of a test run / precursor to
Alan Shephard's flight aboard Freedom 7 in May of that same year.
Let's hear it for Ham, the
first hominidae
launched into outer space.
That's what's really great about Cabana
Bay. That across-the-resort
commitment to celebrating the late 1950s / early 1960s. Which is why this new
Universal Orlando hotel can't just have any old fitness center. It has to have
a Jack LaLanne Physical Studio …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Again showing their dogged pursuit of authenticity at this
Universal Orlando property, they actually reached to Jack's widow — Elaine
"LaLa" LaLane — and had her consult on the design & the color
scheme of this fitness center. So that it then resembled where Jack worked out
at home.
I really appreciate that Universal continually went the
extra mile when it came to Cabana Bay
… And speaking of the extra mile, it's worth noting that — during the
development phase of this moderate resort — Universal Orlando actually sent
its people out into the field to visit classic beach resort towns like
Wildwood, New Jersey …
Photo by Jim Hill
… so that they could then use the color palette &
design choices that were made back in the late 1950s / early 1960s during the
construction phase of these beachfront motels as the inspiration for what
Universal was trying to do with Cabana Bay.
Exterior of the Jolly
Roger Motel
in Wildwood, NJ. Photo by Jim Hill
And if you know your Wildwood history, it's easy to see — as you walk around
Universal Orlando's newest resort — the various tributes to that Jersey Shore
town that have been folded into Cabana Beach. Take — for example — the
Caribbean Motel's famous curved walkway.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, at Universal Orlando's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, that walkway now
leads up this hotel's dive tower-themed water slide …
Photo by Jim Hill
… not to mentioning provided a pleasing frame for this
pool's waterplay area.
Photo by Jim Hill
And as fun as Cabana
Bay to wander around during the day
…
Photo by Jim Hill
… you really have to come back here at night. When all of the neon & area
lightning comes on and then makes the place look downright swanky.
Photo by Jim Hill
That's why — last night as Nancy, Angela and I were wandering around this
place — it was so hard to decide what to do. Should we grab a drink at the
Swizzle Lounge?
Photo by Jim Hill
Or maybe go upstairs and bowl a few frames at Galaxy Bowl?
Photo by Jim Hill
I have to admit that I was pushing to drop by the Bayliner Diner …
Photo by Jim Hill
… if only so I could then sample some of the authentic
1960s comfort food that Universal has recreated & is now serving there.
Like swedish meatballs.
Photo by Jim Hill
But you know what I like best about Cabana
Bay? It wasn't this hotel's snazzy
bedroom decor …
Photo by Jim Hill
… or the fact that the everything right down to the graphics that Universal
Orlando used on the tri-fold menus at the Galaxy Bowl gets the period just
right.
Photo by Jim Hill
It wasn't the classic cars that were parked out in front of this hotel's lobby
area & food court.
Photo by Jim Hill
Or the fact that the 10 shuttles which service this resort are all painted to
look like woodies. (And if you can catch a glimpse of these buses from this
resort's upper floors, please note that there are — of course — giant surfboards
painted on the tops of these vehicles.)
Photo by Jim Hill
It's the fact that this hotel even exists at all. At a time when so many of the
classic 1960s era motels in & around Wildwood like the Royal Hawaiian …
Photo by Jim Hill
… the Singapore …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and the Blue Marlin …
Photo by Jim Hill
… are being replaced by generic condos …
Photo by Jim Hill
… it's just so nice to see Universal Orlando spending all
of this time & effort & money to recreate that era. Which is why I
can't wait 'til this Summer. Which is when Phase Two of Cabana Bay — with its
Continental & Americana wings (not to mention this hotel's highly
anticipated lazy river) opens. I just can't wait to see what pieces of late
1950s / early 1960s pop culture that part of this complex will pay tribute to.
Oh, jeese. Look at the time …
Photo by Jim Hill
Sorry to cut today's story short. But I've got to get downstairs ASAP …
Photo by Jim Hill
… to meet a friend for coffee at Cabana
Bay's onsite Starbucks.
Photo by Jim Hill
I'm supposed to meet this guy in front of one of those large
photo murals that take their inspiration directly from the Weeki Wachee mermaids
…
Photo by Jim Hill
… which — again — is just the sort of attraction that a family would have
visited when they drove down to Florida
in the late 1950s / early 1960s.
Photo by Jim Hill
So what do you folks think of the photos that I've shared today? Does
Universal's new Cabana Bay Beach Resort look like the sort of place that you'd
like to experience the next time you're in Central Florida.
Why not join me in the conversation pit …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and share your thoughts about the images that I've
included as part of this article.