“So many shops and so little time” is the complaint of most first-time visitors to the Forum Shops. Opals from Australia, an endangered species store, couturier clothes, and art galleries – there are 150 stores in all. The common areas of the complex are open 24 hours a day, so the savvy travelers who want to window shop and get close-up looks at the Forum’s fountains and buildings will stroll its lanes in the wee hours of the morning.
In this place, there are Festival Fountain, Lost City of Atlantis, Sky Ceiling, and Chinois Restaurant. Focal point of the original group of Forum Shops, the Festival Fountain is guarded by four animatronic statues of Roman notables, who on the hour from 11am talk about the days of the Roman Empire. The production generated excitement when the center opened in 1992. Lost City of Atlantis was created in 1997; this attraction is the centerpiece for the newer section of the Forum Shops. Atop the giant circular monument is a statue of Poseidon. Rare species of Atlantic Ocean fish swim in a 50,000-gallon aquarium, the focus of a feature presentation held every half hour from 11:30am.
The domed ceiling of the Forum Shops simulates a constantly changing sky. The morning sun shines; afternoon clouds float by; evening stars twinkle. Have lunch at one of the restaurants with a sidewalk café, from where you can watch the passing parades. Chinois Restaurant Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois offers an eclectic blend of Asian and French cuisine. Charcoal-grilled Szechuan beef, wok-fried lobster, and sizzling whole catfish are all prepared with a French twist.