KINGS Bowl Orlando Getting Ready for April 15th Opening – Photos From Tour & Concept Art

KINGS Bowl Orlando opens on International Drive in the old Mercado complex on April 15th. We were given a tour by Robert Morris, Marketing and Sales Manager, of what should be a fantastic place for dining, bowling and entertainment – Morris is very knowledgeable about the Orlando area as well, and we enjoyed talking with him.

 

What I hadn’t realized until last week is that this is also going to be the location for several Merlin Entertainment Group Ltd.’s attractions  – Madame Tussauds wax museum, Sea Life Aquarium, and the Orlando Eye (which is based upon the London Eye). For some reason, I thought they'd be located a bit further down International Drive, but KINGS Bowl Orlando is really the first building block in the upcoming I-Drive Live

KINGS Bowl Orlando is being built inside an old Goodings store. Buzzing with workers inside, it is hard to believe that the building with 30,000 square feet will be ready in just two weeks to train new employees! 22 regulation size lanes are being installed to meet demand, along with two beer tables, an area for dancing, tables for dining and a full outdoor bocce ball court. 62 HDTV's are being added (up to 200 inches!), and the goal is for guests to have a seamless transition from dining to bowling with little wait. KINGS Bowl will be a boutique, retro-style bowling experience.

From the research I've done of other KINGS Bowl locations, the food is very well regarded. Not only that, but the prices will be reasonable for our market, with a half pound $8.00 burger, and prices for entrees topping out with an $22.00 ribeye for from-scratch food. A Brazilian dish will be included as well as Brazilian beer. For every 2 servers, there will be a food runner and busser – which should lead to quick service even during busy times. A built-in Ice Cream Shoppe will help cool down guests both young and old. Birthday parties for kids will be popular here!  There are not only rooms that can be closed off for events, but curtains every 3 or 4 lanes for groups that might want privacy.

Games will cost between $5.00 and $7.00 per person. While there will be a dress code, it will be on par with what you might find at a Disney signature restaurant – no tank tops, no overly baggy shorts, etc.

 

One aspect for those who enjoy beer is that there are multiple beer coolers, and "no 200 foot draw". Each draw will be less than 30 feet.

Morris told us that KINGS Orlando would be a "vacation from your vacation" and that it would cater as much to locals as to tourists with Florida resident special pricing.

KINGS Orlando will be open from 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. each day, and it wasn't known yet if it'd be open on major holidays. We were told that free WIFI will be available.

Kings Big Ball Cocktails

Kings Orlando Concourse Lanes

The one caveat is that KINGS Bowl will be adults-only after dark. At 6.p.m., the general admission will be for adults only. I don't know how this will go – Orlando is full of families, but KINGS Bowl is also situated near the Orlando Convention Center, which draws thousands of conventioneers a day. It will be interesting to see a year from now if changes are made.

We look forward to the opening of KINGS Bowl Orlando! And by the end of 2014, I-Drive Live should be a full day experience for those looking to bowl and enjoy other activities that will be located just steps away. It's really a great boon for locals and those staying in the resort hotels nearby.

We will be discussing KINGS Bowl Orlando on our next Mousesteps Weekly show (it will be #47, and should be up by Saturday!)