Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2007, Hard Rock Cafe International (USA), Inc. was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida and was headquartered in Orlando, Florida, until April 2018, when the corporate offices were relocated to Davie, Florida. As of July 2018, Hard Rock International has venues in 74 countries, including 172 bar or cafe-restaurants, 37 hotels, and four casinos.
Rainforest Cafe is a jungle-themed restaurant chain owned by Landry's, Inc., of Houston. The first location opened in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, on February 3, 1994. By 1997, the chain consisted of six restaurants, all in the United States. The first international location opened in London, England in June 1997. In 1998, it was planned to build 12 additional restaurants in the United States, seven in Mexico, and five in the UK, for a total of 22 restaurants by 2008.
Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a 541-acre (219 ha) theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. Following the opening of Universal Studios Florida in 1990, NBCUniversal moved forward with plans to expand from a single park into a large resort hoping to compete with Walt Disney World. In 1999, a second theme park called Islands of Adventure opened in addition to CityWalk, a shopping promenade and nightlife district that incorporates a variety of themed hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. A 30-acre (12 ha) themed water park, Volcano Bay, was added in 2017, and a fourth upcoming theme park, Universal Epic Universe, is scheduled to open in Summer 2025.
Disney Springs is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando. First opened in 1975 as Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, it has been expanded and rebranded over the years as Walt Disney World Village (1977), Disney Village Marketplace (1989), and Downtown Disney (1997), becoming Disney Springs in 2015. A similar complex is being developed on the opposite side of Walt Disney World called Flamingo Crossings.
ESPN Zone was a theme restaurant and entertainment center chain in the United States that included arcades, TV studios, and radio studios, operated by the Disney Regional Entertainment subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts using the Disney-owned ESPN brand. While the ESPN Zone name is no longer used, similar,the ESPN Grill at ESPN Wide World of Sports is located within the Walt Disney World complex in Bay Lake, Florida with counter service and light theming. ESPN Club at Disney's BoardWalk Resort closed in 2022.
Planet Hollywood International Inc. is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl Enterprises was founded by Robert Earl.
Disney Village is a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex in Disneyland Paris, located in the town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. Originally named Festival Disney, it opened on April 12, 1992, covering an area of approximately 18,000 square metres (190,000 sq ft) inside what was then known as Euro Disney Resort.
A theme restaurant is a type of restaurant that uses theming to attract diners by creating a memorable experience. Theme restaurants have a unifying or dominant subject or concept, and utilize architecture, decor, special effects, and other techniques, often to create exotic environments that are not normally associated with dining because they are inaccessible, no longer exist, are fictional or supernatural, or taboo. The theme may be further extended through the naming and choices of food, though food is usually secondary to entertaining guests.
Robert Earl is an English-American film producer, investor, restaurateur, and television personality. He is the founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood, chairman of the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, and host of Robert Earl's Be My Guest television program which airs weekly on the Cooking Channel.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is a United States–based hospitality company that manages and franchises a casual dining American restaurant chain, retail stores selling Jimmy Buffett–themed merchandise, and hotels.
Earl of Sandwich is a restaurant franchise based in Orlando, Florida, United States. It was founded by the 11th Earl of Sandwich, his younger son Hon. Orlando Montagu, and businessman Robert Earl, founder of Planet Hollywood.
Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Destinations & Experiences. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and serves as an entrance plaza from the parking lots to the theme parks. CityWalk can also be found at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan, and Universal Beijing Resort in Beijing, China.
Vornado Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust formed in Maryland in 1982, with its primary office in New York City. The company invests in office buildings and street retail in Manhattan.
Disney Regional Entertainment was the subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts which developed and operated unique local entertainment concepts. It previously operated the Club Disney, DisneyQuest, and ESPN Zone chain entertainment concepts.
The Hotel Pennsylvania was a hotel at 401 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, across from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Opened in 1919, it was once the largest hotel in the world. It remained the fourth largest in New York City until it closed permanently on April 1, 2020. After years of unsuccessful preservation battles, it was demolished in 2023. The hotel is to be replaced by 15 Penn Plaza, a 68-story tower.
Springfield Town Center is an enclosed shopping center located in the Springfield census-designated place (CDP) of unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia. It opened in 1973 as Springfield Mall, an enclosed shopping mall, which closed on June 30, 2012 as part of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan to turn it into a multifaceted "Town Center"-style shopping center with a main indoor area similar to the nearby Tysons Corner Center and Dulles Town Center, while transforming the exterior into a pedestrian friendly environment with restaurants with cafe style outdoor seating and entrances. It is located at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Franconia Road, which is part of the Springfield Interchange, 1/4 mile north of Franconia-Springfield Parkway and the Franconia-Springfield Metro station. The mall reopened on October 17, 2014 following its two-year renovation.
The Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan is a hotel at 1601 Broadway, between 48th and 49th Streets, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The hotel is operated by third-party franchisee Highgate and is part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group's Crowne Plaza chain. It has 795 guestrooms.
Shops at Caguas, formerly known as Las Catalinas Mall, is an enclosed shopping mall located in Caguas, Puerto Rico, United States. The mall opened in 1997, and is currently anchored by a Sector Sixty6 entertainment center which took up space of a vacant Kmart, one of the original anchor tenants of the mall. A former original anchor tenant, Sears, closed their store in February 2021, the anchor space has sat vacant since the closure of the store. The mall is home to the first "Large Premium Format" movie theater in Puerto Rico and second in the Caribbean region at the time of its opening, which is owned and managed by Caribbean Cinemas.
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is a themed area inspired by the Star Wars franchise, located in Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. It encompasses 14 acres (5.7 ha) at each park, and is set in the village of Black Spire Outpost, on the remote frontier planet of Batuu, featuring attractions, shops, restaurants and entertainment.
