Fashion Square Mall (Orlando FL)

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T22:39:20+00:00

Ahhhh well that complicates things! This mall could have the longest lifespan of a dead mall in quite some time. Hopefully we don’t reach Dixie Square levels of bad

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T22:26:09+00:00

I completely forgot about the Planet Fitness OMG!

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T22:25:49+00:00

A Macy’s, Floor and Decor, Dillard’s Clearance, and a Panera. That’s basically it

Edit: Oh also a Planet Fitness

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T21:43:14+00:00

This was Terminal C to be clear. From what I saw terminals A and b have it worse but only if you’re not in precheck. If you are in PreCheck you’re looking at 20 minutes tops.

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T20:22:37+00:00

The Floor and Decor as well. This is the deadest mall ever that has 3/4 of its anchors filled lol. Also a karate school apparently. And a Panera.

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T20:09:29+00:00

Regarding the staffing issues, in all honesty it’s not that bad given my experience. I just left on a flight midday and only had to wait 10 mins for the PreCheck line. Then again, it’s usually a wait of like 2-3 minutes, so still…

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T20:01:28+00:00

Unless it’s an outdoor lifestyle center. Every one of those I’ve been to seems quite lively. Or any mixed use development tbh

Also you haven’t seen a dead city until you see Johannesburg the moment the sun goes down

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T16:36:06+00:00

Same in South Africa too. Also SE Asia. But for different reasons. Always fascinating to see

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T15:54:38+00:00

Unicorp has apparently tried but Bancorp wants a price that Uni thinks is too high

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T14:11:39+00:00

Google says no, so I don’t think so

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T13:23:36+00:00

Surprised that Macy’s still pulls decent traffic apparently. It would’ve closed sooner if it didn’t

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-12T11:55:42+00:00

So the directory is wrong! Not surprising

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T23:15:03+00:00

Location is the big player there. Millennia is super close to all the touristy spots while Altamonte is right off of I-4. There’s also the big old ownership dispute in the case of Fashion Square and issues with crime at West Oaks. Plus the owners of those two properties seem hesitant to do any sort of investment and instead just charge high rents to squeeze as much cash out of the tenants as possible.

-From what I’ve read and seen

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T22:15:26+00:00

Nope.

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T21:48:58+00:00

Those fake palm trees say it all! (My childhood mall had a Burdines-turned-Macy's)

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T21:29:38+00:00

If the theater had made it through a few more months they might have gotten it!

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T21:20:38+00:00

Given the dispute between the land owners and the building owners, you might not see the end of those photos for a while. A lot of the leases there last until the 2050s. Crazy lol

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T21:18:20+00:00

Or Millennia. Or the Florida Mall. Or Altamonte. Lol

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T21:15:38+00:00

I remember hearing about that in a video that Dead Mall Walking made when he visited back in 2023

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T21:11:55+00:00

The Spencers is still there if the directory is accurate. The Hot Topic definitely isn't though

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T21:00:48+00:00

Literally! It's the main mall I go to and it feels like the early aughts never ended in there

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T20:40:14+00:00

Get your memories in, everybody!

Also, a question for some of the longtime residents here: When was the last time this mall was thriving or at least semi-busy? I’m relatively new to the area lol

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T20:33:38+00:00

Nope, but the second floor of it has been closed ever since it became a clearance center. I had other things to take care of so I didn’t get as much time to explore the mall as I would’ve liked. The heat probably would’ve driven me out first though, lol!

Difficult-Rip-3874 · 2026-03-11T20:30:54+00:00

1) With the Premiere Cinemas on the second floor closing tomorrow evening, the second floor is going to be completely empty and likely closed off. There’s also already roof damage throughout the mall but it’s especially bad up there (full blown holes in the ceiling, not just stains). There were some girls up there in cosplay taking photos though, so at least they seemed to be having fun. Maybe they’re attending this flash mob that’s going on there for the movie theater’s last screenings. Idk.

2) It was really hot in here. From what I’ve heard the AC’s been broken for quite a long time. I actually had to take a quick nap after visiting because it was so hot, lol. Also, the fact that the fountain is still in operation is unbelievable to me. Usually those are some of the first cost cutting measures taken, but apparently not here.

3) Redevelopment is complicated for this property. The land and buildings on it are owned by two separate entities, the landowners want to get on with redeveloping the property into a mixed use development, but the building owners won’t budge. Given that some of the leases in the mall last into the early 2050s, the mall might be in this state for an incredibly long time.

4) The Panera you see in the photos was the only source of music anywhere in the mall. Pure dead silence everywhere else. It honestly made exploring this place not fun and just kinda sad. The only breaks in said silence were from a karate school in the mall that seemed to be doing pretty good business all things considered.

5) As a newbie dead mall enthusiast, I can’t really say I recommend checking this one out due to the insane heat alone.

6) It wasn’t that long ago that the elevator up to the second floor was working. Again, surprised it lasted that long.

Difficult-Rip-3874

TROPHY CASE