Today’s travel tip sheet includes information on Orlando’s Easter dining options, a closer look at unique eateries in the Mills 50 District, options for an escape room getaway and a spotlight on upcoming LGBTQ+ events. For interviews and media info: media@visitorlando.com.
In this Issue:
- Orlando’s Easter Dining Lineup
- Like a Local Spotlight: Mills 50 District
- Orlando's Escape Rooms
- Orlando's LGBTQ+ Spring & Summer Events
- What’s New This Month
- DYK? Orlando is home to Shake Shack’s first drive-thru location in Florida.
Orlando’s Easter Dining
Guests planning an Orlando getaway for Easter can choose from variety of dining options ranging from traditional brunches at theme park area hotels to an Easter Carnival.
Hotel Easter Offerings
- Universal Orlando Resort will offer an Easter Day buffet at select hotels from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., featuring traditional favorites and live entertainment. Options include: Trattoria del Porto at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, The Kitchen at Hard Rock Hotel® at Universal Orlando, Islands Dining Room at Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Amatista Cookhouse at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort.
- JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa will serve a Peter Rabbit Easter Brunch from 12:30 – 3 p.m. at its onsite Unreserved Food Bazaar, featuring a traditional Southern brunch buffet paired with special Easter mimosas, live entertainment and a visit from the Easter Bunny.
- JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes will host an Easter Weekend Carnival and Food Truck Rally from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on April 16 & 17, including games, arts, crafts and food trucks; Easter Brunch at Primo from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., featuring Mediterranean-inspired offerings; and an Easter breakfast buffet at Citron from 7 a.m. – noon.
- At Rosen Shingle Creek, Cafe Osceola will have an Easter Day Buffet from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., including unlimited champagne and mimosas for guests 21 and up. Dishes include slow-cooked pork belly, herb-brined chicken, local snapper, plus a wide range of stations. Complimentary self-parking is included, and reservations are required.
Easter Dining on International Drive
- Tapa Toro Tapas Bar & Paella Pit will serve an Easter Brunch Buffet from 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., followed by the regular full menu from 4 – 10 p.m., with live flamenco dancing entertainment beginning at 7 p.m. Pricing is $45 for adults and $15 children under 10.
- Taverna Opa at Pointe Orlando will celebrate Easter by offering a free glass of house wine with the purchase of any lamb entrée, from 12 – 10 p.m. on April 17. This offer will also be available from 12 – 10 p.m. on April 24 for Greek Easter, when a limited amount of tsougrisma will be available, giving guests the chance to experience the Greek tradition of cracking red eggs for good luck. The full menu will be available both nights, with belly dancing entertainment beginning at 7 p.m.
Additional Easter dining experiences in Orlando can be found here.
Like a Local Spotlight: Mills 50 District
Just northeast of downtown Orlando, Mills 50, one of Orlando’s oldest neighborhoods, is home to the largest Vietnamese American community in Florida. With a culturally diverse lineup of nightspots and restaurants, including authentic Asian restaurants, shops and markets, visitors can enjoy delicious and diverse Asian cuisine from traditional pho to Korean fried chicken.
Opening Soon
- EDOBOY, Orlando’s first standing sushi bar, will open spring 2022 in the Mills District behind Tori Tori. Founded by Domu and Tori Tori proprietor, Sean “Sonny” Nguyen, the concept will feature an eight-person bar offering a selection of nigiri sushi along with hand roll options.
- The Moderne, a new upscale, late-night lounge serving Asian-inspired tapas and craft cocktails, will open in the Mills 50 district this fall. The restaurant, from Maki Hibachi’s Michael Nguyen, will feature an art deco design.
- Plantees, an all-new vegan restaurant concept, is slated to open this spring in the Mills 50 district featuring 100% plant-based burgers and shakes.
Diverse Asian Offerings
- At Little Saigon Restaurant, visitors can enjoy a variety of traditional Vietnamese cuisine options such as stir-fried chicken lemongrass, sauteed shrimp over white rice, pho and more.
- Chi-Kin Korean Fried, offers a twist on Korean fried chicken along with a variety of options including bougolgi waffle fries, bimbi bowls and the Chi Ken Sammy, made with vegan and vegetarian-friendly Kimchi and scratch-made sauce selections.
- Sticky Rice is the first Orlando-based quick-casual restaurant that specializes in authentic Lao street food.
- Tori Tori, one of Mills 50’s newest bars, is a modern Japanese pub where visitors can find classic cocktails with a Japanese twist and unique bar bites that range from pork belly gyozas to grilled flying Japanese squid.
Additional information on the Mills 50 District can be found here.
Orlando's Escape Rooms
From solving murder mysteries to saving the world from nuclear annihilations, Orlando offers some of the most challenging and imaginatively themed escape room attractions for visitors planning the ultimate family outing, date night or get-together with friends:
- Escapology offers seven challenges for two to eight players on I-Drive, always guaranteeing a private room no matter the size of the group. The challenges range from murder mysteries like Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and cracking a killer virus in Antidote to Star Trek: Quantum Filament and Lost City, two new rooms that will open soon.
- The Great Escape Room, the only escape attraction in downtown Orlando, offers rooms for up to 10 people. Guests can save the world from nuclear annihilation in Poker Night at the President’s Bunker, or travel to the 1920s in Escape Artist: The Final Séance.
- America’s Escape Game, with an average escape rate of 16%, offers rooms with increasing levels of difficulty for five to 10 players, ranging from navigating the madness in an asylum to stopping a deadly pathogen pandemic. Guests seeking the ultimate challenge can try tackling The Caretaker, billed as the hardest escape room in the U.S.
- Escape at Hilton Orlando, the world’s largest and tallest escape room experience, will be available to guests through Dec. 2022. This first of its kind virtual experience will transform the entire resort into an immersive mission of complex clues, challenges, augmented reality and surprising moments by way of an innovative app, allowing guests to embark on their mission from the palm of their hands.
Additional information on Orlando’s escape rooms can be found here.
Orlando’s LGBTQ+ Spring & Summer Events
From an adults-only prom to a colorful rainbow run, Orlando welcomes visitors planning a getaway this spring and summer with a full calendar of special activities including high-profile LGBTQ+ events and Pride Month celebrations throughout the destination.
LGBTQ+ Spring Events
- 2022 Pride Prom (April 16), hosted by Come Out With Pride at the Orlando Museum of Art, features adult-only prom festivities for guests 21 and up, dancing, entertainment, a photo booth and more.
- The 11th Annual Big Boy Pride (April 28 – May 2) celebration, hosted at DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld, will feature a combination of community-driven seminars, celebrations, games and live entertainment promoting self-acceptance.
Pride Month Celebrations
- GayDays (May 31 – June 6), is comprised of multiple events staged at world-famous attractions; gay and lesbian clubs; and unique venues that create a renowned gay and lesbian vacation experience.
- Girls in Wonderland (June 2-6), the counterpart to GayDays, caters to female members of the LGBTQ+ community featuring parties, special performances and celebrity appearances.
- One Magical Weekend (June 2-6), always on the first weekend in June, is one of the largest LGBTQ+ pride and music festivals in the world. Taking place at Walt Disney World, it boasts a roster of international DJ talent and around-the-clock, world-class events.
- The 6th Annual 4.9K CommUNITY Rainbow Run and Family Festival (June 4), benefiting the onePULSE Foundation and the National Pulse Memorial & Museum, honors the lives of those affected by the Pulse nightclub tragedy. The family-friendly event will feature live entertainment, food, games, a Kids Fun Run and more.
- The annual Pulse Remembrance Ceremony (June 12), designed to spread messages of love, unity, acceptance, courage and strength throughout the community, traditionally takes place at the Pulse Interim Memorial, which honors the 49 lives lost on June 12, 2016, and is open throughout the year.
To find more information about the many LGBTQ events and activities in Orlando, visit VisitOrlando.com/LGBTQ, or Visit Orlando’s calendar of events.
What’s New in Orlando this Month?
Stay up to date on Orlando's most recent announcements and openings - from accommodations and attractions to restaurants and events - available here.
Did You Know?
Orlando is now home to Shake Shack’s first drive-thru location in Florida. The new restaurant opened March of 2022 at the Vineland Pointe Shopping Center.