How to Do Waterford Lakes Town Center: Park Once, Run the Whole Boulevard
About 701,000 square feet, more than 100 stores, a 20-screen cinema and lakes with fountains: the field guide to Orlando's biggest open-air center — which end to park at, how the evening circuit works, and why locals treat it as a downtown.
3 minute read
Waterford Lakes Town Center, at 413 N. Alafaya Trail just off SR-408, is the rare suburban shopping center that functions as civic infrastructure. Opened in October 1999 and built out in phases, it spreads roughly 701,000 square feet across 79 acres — more than 100 stores, a 20-screen cinema, a Super Target and a dining bench deep enough to argue about — all of it open-air, arranged around lakes, bridges and lighted fountains. Owner Kimco Realty counts about 14.7 million visits a year. Here is how to work it like a regular, whether you live in Waterford Lakes or are driving in from Oviedo, Avalon Park or Winter Park.
Pick an end, then walk
The center is a boulevard, not a box, and the rookie mistake is driving it end to end looking for the perfect space. Regulars choose a pole. The cinema end clusters the Regal Waterford Lakes Stadium 20 & IMAX, Marlow’s Tavern directly across from the theater, Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant and Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza — the dinner-and-a-movie quadrant. The Target end is errand country: the Super Target itself, Best Buy, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Ross for the treasure hunt, PetSmart for the dog. In between sit Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Five Below and the newer names that keep the center current — Nike, Sephora, Warby Parker, Uniqlo and Shake Shack among the recent arrivals, plus Tiger Woods’ PopStroke putting courses down by the Target end.
The evening circuit
The center was practically designed for the east side’s favorite night out. Start with a guided tasting in Cooper’s Hawk’s Napa-style tasting room, eat dinner within a two-minute walk of your car — our where-to-eat guide ranks the options by mood — then cross to the Regal for a late show in IMAX or 4DX. Families run the same circuit in daylight: a round at PopStroke, revolving sushi at Kura, a Jelati at Jeremiah’s Italian Ice. It is all outdoors, so summer evenings after the rain are the sweet spot, and the lakes and fountains do genuine atmospheric work once the heat breaks.
Errands, upgraded
What keeps the center at the top of the east side’s routine is that the weekly shop and the good shop are the same trip. Groceries at Super Target, a book and a coffee at Barnes & Noble (pictured above), a haircut, a phone repair, a wedding gift from the jewelry and gift shops — the tenant mix runs to more than 100 doors precisely so that Alafaya Trail households rarely need a second stop. The center even keeps a small dog park, Canine Commons, so the dog can have an outing while you have yours. During the December crush, arrive before dinner rather than after; the lots closest to the cinema fill first, and the Target-end lots are the pressure valve.
The center also programs its open spaces — its own description promises ongoing entertainment in the park-like setting, and the lakes and plazas host the seasonal rhythm of an east-side Christmas, school-break crowds and community events through the year. It is worth remembering that the Town Center is a separate commercial development from the residential community behind it: the neighborhoods’ association runs the pools and courts on Mark Twain Boulevard, while Kimco runs the boulevard — two halves of one daily routine.
Know before you go
Everything here is surface-parked and open-air, which means two things: shade is scarce at midday in August, and a Florida downpour rearranges plans. Build the movie or a sit-down meal into the middle of a summer visit and do the walking in the morning or evening. The dining roster keeps moving — Fat Rosie’s tacos and CAVA are among the recent openings, Mister O1 arrived in October 2026, and Joe & the Juice and PopUp Bagels are listed as coming soon — so the center you visited last year is not quite this year’s. For the full picture of the neighborhood behind the center, start with our Waterford Lakes area guide, and find the ranked businesses across greater Orlando on the Top Spots Map.
Photo: Chaplin62, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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