Five Guys Officially Opens at Universal CityWalk With Breakfast, 2,000th Store Milestone
What This Means for Your Next Universal Vacation
Five Guys has officially opened at Universal CityWalk Orlando, giving Universal Orlando Resort guests a new place to grab burgers, fries and—for the first time at this location—breakfast before heading toward the parks. The opening also carries a major corporate milestone: Five Guys says the CityWalk restaurant is its 2,000th store worldwide. Five Guys opening announcement
The new restaurant occupies the upper level of CityWalk across from Bread Box Handcrafted Sandwiches, in the former Burger King Whopper Bar space. For guests, however, the most consequential detail may be the clock. Breakfast is available until 11 a.m., putting another quick-service option into the morning flow before many visitors enter Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure.
Five Guys Opens Its 2,000th Store at Universal CityWalk
Five Guys announced the opening on September 25, describing the Orlando restaurant as store No. 2,000 in a global expansion that began with the Murrell family’s first location in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986. The company’s history and growth were also detailed when Five Guys celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year.
The milestone arrives only a day after the CityWalk location was still the subject of opening-date speculation. Inside the Magic reported September 24 that Five Guys appeared close to opening after staff training and Halloween Horror Nights signage were observed, but an official opening date had not yet been announced.
Breakfast Adds a New Pre-Park Option
The unusual part of this Five Guys location isn’t the burger menu. It’s breakfast.
According to the opening announcement, the CityWalk restaurant will serve breakfast until 11 a.m. before transitioning to the rest of its menu. That gives guests moving through CityWalk in the morning another choice alongside existing locations serving the pre-park crowd.
Five Guys has not provided enough detail in the supplied announcement to establish a complete breakfast menu here, so guests should not assume every breakfast item or customization offered elsewhere will be available in Orlando. The confirmed takeaway is simpler: breakfast service is part of this location’s concept, and it ends at 11 a.m.
That timing could make the restaurant particularly relevant for guests arriving early. Unlike a meal purchased after entering a park, this stop can happen before guests reach either gate, which gives breakfast service a different role from the standard lunch-and-dinner Five Guys experience.
Universal CityWalk functions as the approach to Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. There is currently no verified evidence, however, that Universal is “forcing” guests upstairs or that Five Guys is producing morning gridlock.
The Former Whopper Bar Has a New Identity
Five Guys replaces the Burger King Whopper Bar, which closed in April. Inside the Magic previously covered the Whopper Bar closure and Five Guys replacement, making this a relatively direct burger-for-burger change at one of CityWalk’s familiar quick-service locations.
The difference is in the brand and menu format. Five Guys centers its standard offering on made-to-order burgers, hot dogs, fries, sandwiches and shakes, with extensive customization. Five Guys’ official menu information describes its regular lineup as customizable.
For returning Universal Orlando guests, the footprint should therefore be familiar even though the operator has changed. The upper-level placement also puts Five Guys near other quick-service choices rather than inside either theme park.
The opening comes during a broader period of dining turnover at the entertainment district. Fat One’s Hot Dogs & Italian Ice held its CityWalk grand opening on September 19, replacing Hot Dog Hall of Fame and adding another newly opened quick-service brand within the same month.
A 40-Year Milestone Lands at Universal Orlando
The 2,000th-store designation gives this opening significance beyond Universal Orlando. Five Guys says its story began in 1986, and its February anniversary announcement described a business that had grown from a family-run Virginia carry-out restaurant to nearly 2,000 locations across five continents.
Now, that round-number milestone belongs to Universal CityWalk Orlando.
CityWalk remains a dining and entertainment hub outside the two original Universal Orlando theme parks, serving guests before park entry, after closing and during visits centered on CityWalk itself. Previous Inside the Magic coverage of CityWalk’s evolving dining lineup documented how the Five Guys replacement formed part of a larger series of changes to the district.
For Universal Annual Passholders and frequent visitors, the practical question will be how the new option fits into existing routines. Breakfast creates a reason to stop before a park day, while burgers, fries and shakes give the location a conventional lunch, dinner or late-night role afterward.
What Universal Orlando Guests Should Watch Next
The restaurant is open, but several operational details are still worth confirming through Universal Orlando and Five Guys before a visit. Current daily hours can change, particularly around separately ticketed events, and the supplied opening announcement does not establish that any previously observed Halloween Horror Nights closing time will remain the restaurant’s permanent schedule.
Universal Orlando’s official hours information is the safest place to check current resort operating information, while Five Guys’ channels can provide brand and menu updates. Universal itself notes that operating information is subject to change.
For now, the verified change is substantial enough: Five Guys is no longer an upcoming CityWalk replacement. Its 2,000th location is serving Universal Orlando guests, breakfast runs until 11 a.m., and a space that spent months transitioning from the Whopper Bar has officially started its next chapter.
