REVIEW: Trying New Ice Cream, Smoothies, Sundaes, and More from Shakes Malt Shoppe at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Annie Wilson

REVIEW: Trying New Ice Cream, Smoothies, Sundaes, and More from Shakes Malt Shoppe at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Shakes Malt Shoppe is now open at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, and we couldn’t be more excited! This new location offers guests some delicious new treats and we had to stop by to try them all. Whether you’re grabbing a smoothie after hitting the Jack LaLane gym or indulging in a banana split after a day at the pool, Shakes Malt Shoppe has you covered. Let’s split up this menu and see what’s shaking.

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Smoothies

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Morning Berry Smoothie – $7.50

Greek Non-Fat Yogurt, Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries

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This sweet, tart mix of berries will wake up your taste buds! This is exactly what we’d typically imagine when we think of a smoothie. This is berry extreme! The strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry combination is sure to be a fan-favorite here at Shakes Malt Shop. It was just a bit too tart for our tastes, but it’s the sweetest of the four smoothies and will surely appeal to both young and old.

Banana Strawberry Smoothie – $7.50

Greek Non-Fat Yogurt, Banana, Strawberries

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This is another smoothie that is sure to be popular with all guests. The banana really helps cut a lot of the sweetness of the strawberries, balancing out the 2 flavors. You can actually taste the real banana in the smoothie, which was truly delightful. This one is simple, but it’s a classic.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie – $7.50

Blueberries, Banana, Flax Seed, Oat Milk

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This smoothie is similar to the strawberry banana smoothie, but more on the tart side than the sweet side. This has a smooth banana taste with just the right amount of tartness from the blueberries. Even though we enjoyed all the smoothies, this was our favorite!

Daily Boost Smoothie – $7.50

Greek Non-Fat Yogurt, Orange Juice, Blueberries, Açai Berry

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This was another winner for the smoothies. The taste from the Greek yogurt is very strong in this one and stands out at first sip. The flavor isn’t overly sweet like some of the other smoothies, but the yogurt is sweetened by the berries and orange juice. The orange juice doesn’t have a noticeable flavor, but it does help give the smoothie a slightly sweeter taste. This was another one of our personal favorites, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Ice Cream

Each order comes with two toppings and one cone. Prices are based on scoops:

  • 1 scoop – $5
  • 2 scoops – $8
  • 3 scoops – $9
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Orange Blossom

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The orange blossom ice cream caught our eye in the display case and we had to give it a try. At first, we were expecting something like sherbet, but it’s actually an orange flavored ice cream. It’s not quite a creamsicle, because the orange and vanilla flavors are very distinct here, but it will still be popular with those that have a weakness for creamsicles. There’s nothing wrong with your typical vanilla and chocolate flavors, but there’s something exciting about trying a unique flavor like this one. This orange blossom ice cream is very bold and quite memorable and we encourage you to give it a try!

Salty Caramel Truffle

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As we mentioned, there’s a variety of flavors to choose from, so we decided to add a scoop of salty caramel truffle for good measure. This was one of the wisest decisions we made. We didn’t expect much, but we were blown away! This was a flavor explosion of salt, caramel, and chocolate that were were just not prepared for. Do not skip this one! The ice cream was packed full of tiny little salted caramel truffles and ribbons of caramel. Sometimes salted caramel desserts don’t pack any “salt” flavor to them, but this one hits the mark. The salty and sweet flavors pair perfectly with the overload of chocolate truffles. Honestly, our eyes were drawn in by the beautiful sundaes, but our hearts (and stomachs) fell in love with the simple scoops of ice cream and we can’t wait to return to try more flavors.

Floats

Creamsicle – $8.50

Orange Fanta, Vanilla Ice Cream

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The menu here offers 3 different floats, but we were most excited to try the creamsicle float. There are several places around Universal Orlando where you can get floats with soft serve ice cream, but there are only a few places with hard packed ice cream. Louie’s Italian Restaurant in Universal Studios Florida offers gelato floats, but this is a more traditional ice cream float. The ice cream has a very strong vanilla flavor that doesn’t get lost to the orange Fanta. The vanilla ice cream has such an amazing taste, we had to get a spoon and dig in. Give it a little stir or grab a spoon and enjoy!

Root Beer – $8.50

Root Beer, Vanilla Ice Cream

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There’s a Coca-Cola Float and a Barq’s Root Beer Float, but we went with the Barq’s float for the more traditional experience. It looks like they could use a little more practice with the float preparation, but we did have a very large order and they Team Members were working quickly to fill it. Aside from the drink looking a little “short”, this was delicious.

Sundaes

Classic Sundae – $9

Vanilla or Chocolate Ice Cream, Hot Fudge or Caramel Topping, Whipped Cream, Cherry

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This is a classic. Enjoy a sundae with your choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, toppings, whipped cream and a cherry. We really have to say that every ingredient here has been high quality. The whipped cream is sweet and delicious and the cherries look beautiful. The hot fudge was warm and gooey against the cold ice cream. We added caramel just for a little more pizzazz, but there are plenty of other toppings to choose from. These sundaes could easily be shared, but nobody would judge you if you didn’t.

Brownie Sundae – $10.50

Better Brownie Batter Ice Cream, Warm Brownie, Hot Fudge, Whipped Cream, Cherry

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Chocolate lovers, this is for you! This is the brownie sundae of dreams. The Better Brownie Batter ice cream is packed full of bits of chewy brownie pieces already, but top it with a warm brownie and hot fudge and you are in brownie paradise. This was the one sundae we couldn’t stop talking about after everything was said and done. This one tops our list from everything we tried at Shakes!

Banana Split – $13

Chocolate, Banana Pudding, Strawberry Ice Creams with Hot Fudge, Caramel, and Strawberry toppings, a Banana, Whipped Cream, and Cherries

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This banana split looks like something right out of a movie. Everything about this is perfection, from the tiny boat-shaped bowl to the perfectly split banana. The banana split features chocolate ice cream, strawberry ice cream, and banana pudding ice cream. That’s right! There’s no vanilla. The banana pudding was quite a surprise to us once we dug into this sundae, but it was a nice treat. Rather than the toppings being the main focus of the dish, the ice cream below was the true star. This is how a sundae should be. All 3 flavors of ice cream were excellent, but the bits of banana in the banana pudding ice cream really took this sundae to the next level.

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From the fresh banana to the perfect amount of toppings, this banana split impressed us all around. Not only was it beautiful, but it was delicious and something we’ll be sure to return for. There’s nothing better than a refreshing banana split after a long day in the parks.

Shakes

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As the name implies, there are a variety of shakes and malts available. They’ve got your classic flavors like Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry and a few unique ones. We decided to give a strawberry malt a shot and we were not disappointed. The malt flavor was phenomenal. The heavy, richness of the malt takes over the ice cream to create an irresistible treat. The only downside is that the thin straws aren’t ideal for drinking these thick shakes. This is a brand new location, so perhaps larger straws could be added in the future, but for now, we’ll just grab spoons and dig in. It’s worth the effort! Real ice cream shakes are exactly what Cabana Bay has been needing.

PB&J – $10

Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter Sauce, Strawberry Syrup, Whipped Cream, Reese’s Pieces

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As soon as we took our first sip of the PB&J shake, we were instantly transported back to late nights at HHN eating deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This really tastes exactly like the perfect PB&J, with the first wave of flavor being peanut butter, followed by sweet strawberry. You really have to try this shake if you’re looking for something outside the standard vanilla and chocolate. Does a shake count for lunch if it tastes like a sandwich?

Chocolate, PB & Banana – $10

Banana Pudding Ice Cream, Chocolate Ice Cream, Peanut Butter Sauce, Whipped Cream, Cherry

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This shake has got it all! Banana pudding and chocolate ice cream are combined with peanut butter sauce for the ultimate trifecta. The 3 different flavors all play an equal role in this shake, which is quite the surprise! The use of banana pudding ice cream is what takes your standard chocolate and peanut butter shake to the next level. You cannot miss out on this one if you’re a fan of peanut butter and banana!

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Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort is one of our favorite places to stay at the Universal Orlando Resort and Shakes Malt Shoppe is just another reason we’ll keep returning. This is a great new addition and fits right in with the retro 60’s vibe of the hotel. For years we’ve wondered why this beautiful hotel didn’t have a shake shoppe and now the time has finally come. There’s also a variety of grab-and-go options and breakfast sandwiches which are perfect for fueling up before a day in the theme parks, in case you don’t want to hit up Bayliner Diner. And of course, when you get back at the end of the day, this is the perfect place to have a seat and enjoy a treat. Even if you’re not staying at Cabana Bay, we highly suggest you stop in and give Shakes Malt Shoppe a try on your next visit to the Universal Orlando Resort.

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