Something is clearly shifting at Universal Orlando Resort, and you don’t even need to step inside the parks to notice it. CityWalk, the entertainment district that acts as the front door to everything Universal offers, is starting to evolve—and the latest change says a lot about where things are headed.
For years, CityWalk has balanced high-end dining with quick, familiar options. Guests could grab a full meal at themed restaurants or stick with something simple like Burger King, Moe’s Southwest Grill, or Panda Express. It wasn’t flashy, but it worked. You always knew you could find something quick before heading into the parks or after a long day.
Now, that reliability is starting to look different.
The Burger King Whopper Bar is officially closing on April 21, and in its place, Five Guys is set to move in. The update was first shared on X by Expedition Theme Park, and while it might sound like a simple swap, it actually reveals a bigger strategy.
CityWalk changes coming this summer with the closure of the Burger King Whopper Bar on April 21st at Universal Orlando Resort. It will be replaced with a Five Guys Burger Location @UniversalORL pic.twitter.com/BqF0E4HJNn
— Expedition Theme Park (@ExpThemePark) April 10, 2026
Five Guys brings a different kind of energy. It’s still fast and casual, but it feels more intentional. Guests customize their meals, watch everything being made fresh, and leave with a bag of fries that’s practically overflowing. That’s a very different experience compared to a traditional fast-food setup.
And that difference matters.
Universal has been raising its standards across the board. With Epic Universe now open and setting a new tone for what guests expect, everything else around the resort has to keep up. That includes CityWalk. If guests are spending their day in one of the most advanced theme parks ever built, they’re not going to want to end the night with something that feels outdated.
This is where the bigger picture starts to come into focus.
While Burger King is the only confirmed replacement right now, it’s hard not to look at other long-standing locations like Moe’s and Panda Express and wonder if they’re next. Both spots still serve a purpose, especially for guests looking for quick and affordable meals, but they don’t exactly stand out anymore.
Once you see Burger King on the way out, it’s hard not to start looking around and thinking… okay, what’s next?
And honestly, Moe’s feels like the obvious answer.
It’s one of those spots that’s always been there. Reliable. Easy. You know exactly what you’re getting. But at the same time, it hasn’t really evolved—and that might be the issue.
Universal is clearly raising the bar across the resort, especially now that Epic Universe is in the mix. When everything else feels newer and more polished, places like Moe’s start to stick out a little more than they used to.
No one has said it’s closing. But if CityWalk keeps moving in this direction, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Moe’s get replaced with something that better fits where Universal is heading.
Universal seems to be moving toward options that feel a little more curated. Not necessarily upscale, but more aligned with the overall experience they’re trying to create.
Food is no longer just about convenience—it’s part of the day.
That’s why this change feels bigger than it looks. It’s not just about swapping one restaurant for another. It’s about redefining what CityWalk is supposed to be.
If more updates follow, guests may start to notice that CityWalk feels less like a collection of chain restaurants and more like an extension of the parks themselves. That kind of shift doesn’t happen overnight, but this is exactly how it begins.
And once it does, there’s usually no going back.
