Orlando is known mainly for Disney World but there are a lot of exciting happenings beyond the Magic Kingdom. I consider the city, Downtown in particular, to be very gay friendly. With a good club scene and plenty of awesome places to eat, Orlando is a fun place to visit and an even better place to call home.
The Gayborhood
Welcome to Thornton Park, the area inhabited mainly by the gays of Orlando. If you don’t fall in love with the brick streets and beautiful bungalows, you’ll fall in love with the cute cafes and shops in this area. It is located in the heart of Downtown within walking distance to Lake Eola where Pride is held every year.
Come Out with Pride
Orlando Pride is more tame than many of the other Pride parades in Florida, it is sponsored by Disney and offers a family-friendly experience. It is held around Lake Eola in the middle of Downtown. Last year it featured a petting zoo, live music, the parade, and fireworks. You can feel better about having a beer or two at Pride because the alcohol proceeds benefit the COWP fund that not only puts on Pride every year but also provides scholarships and grants to LGBT students and LGBT non-profit organizations in the area.
Out & About: Where Are The Ladies At?
Revolution (375 S. Bumby Avenue) When I think of a Saturday night out in Orlando, I always think of Rev. It offers four different sections to hang out: the front bar where people normally dance awkwardly at first and things get a little more wild as the night progresses, the dance floor with the main performance stage, the patio bar and the theatre room that offers drag shows on Friday and Saturday nights. The music is normally really loud throughout the club on the weekends, but the patio and theatre room tend to be a little quieter if you get tired of yelling over Top 40 remixes on the dance floor. The crowd on Saturdays tends to be female-dominated and it’s worth going just to see the Les Vixens perform their burlesque/go-go dancing show at midnight. They’re open every night of the week until 2:30 AM and offer a more relaxed, bar-like environment during week nights with pool tables and nightly drink specials.
Pulse (1912 S. Orange Avenue) This club is mainly geared towards men, but is a fun experience for the ladies as well. It’s been renovated recently and is beautiful inside, featuring ambient lighting, a waterfall, and a glittery stage. Wednesday is Gay College Night with two-dollar Long Islands and all the craziness you’d expect to come along with that drink special. Saturdays are their official night of House music and if you don’t come for the dancing, come for their amazing drag show! They’re open every night except Mondays until 2am and have awesome nightly drink and music specials that’ll get you dancing in no time.
Ember (42 W Central Blvd) Ember is the perfect place to spend your Sunday Funday in Downtown Orlando. The venue features four bars and a beautiful patio. The bartenders are always incredibly nice and the food is delicious. The crowd tends to be mixed but is usually made up of mostly gay women. It’s a relaxed environment and allows groups of friends to come together and mingle. The party starts at four but carries on well into the night if you’re up for it! They’re open Monday through Friday from 11am until 2am and the weekends from 4pm until 2am.
Parliament House (410 North Orange Blossom Trail) I won’t lie to you, I’d never visited this place before writing this but decided to take it upon myself to venture out and see what P-House is all about. I’ve heard crazy stories about both the patrons and the incredibly strong drinks and I can now assure you that both of these accusations are true and make for a fun time at this historic gay destination. The club caters to an older gay male demographic, but fun was had by all with both Top 40 and throwback hits played on their numerous dance floors. I wouldn’t say it’s the most likely place to meet the lesbonita of your dreams, but it’s definitely a good place to dance with your friends without a care in the world. Along with being a nightclub, P-House is also a resort with a pool, hotel rooms, and even it’s own private beach which means the party never ends, but my advice is to check it out on weekend nights around 11.
Knight Life
I grew up in Orlando and now currently attend the University of Central Florida. My college is the second largest in the country and readily embraces the diversity that comes along with having sixty thousand students. We have a thriving LGBTQ group that holds meetings every Monday night during fall and spring semesters as well as hosting many events throughout the year. If you’re too shy to meet fellow queers in real life at an Equal meeting or around campus, you can easily meet some on Equal’s Facebook page of the UCF tag on Tumblr.
Good Eats
Pom Pom’s Teahouse and Sandwicheria (67 N Bumby Avenue) This little gem is conveniently located in a strip mall right down the road from Revolution, so when it’s time to give your dancing shoes a little rest, you can stumble on in for a late night bite. The menu offers a little something for everyone, but my personal favorite is the Mama Ling Ling’s Thanksgiving sandwich. If you can imagine all the goodness of Turkey day stuffed in between two pieces of freshly baked bread that you dip in gravy, you can get an idea of what this little slice of heaven is all about. However, everything I’ve tried on the menu is amazing, especially their homemade soups and kiwi pear green tea. The people that work here are some of the kindest people I’ve encountered just about anywhere, even at 3am. They’re open until 5am on Thursdays and 24 hours on Friday and Saturdays so you have plenty of time to check out Pom’s while you’re in Orlando.
Bananas Diner (924 N Mills Avenue) Comfort food and drag queens come together to create a perfect dining experience at this Downtown diner. They offer several drag shows during the week with an infamous Gospel Brunch every Sunday. The lovely ladies serve up your meal in between performing on stage and are as friendly as they are fierce. Come in during the week from 9am until midnight or for a late night treat during the weekend when they’re open 24 hours.
Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar (444 North Bumby Avenue) They offer fair trade, organic coffee roasted on location in a relaxed environment with comfy couches and hightop tables. The staff is really friendly and will help you find something from their broad menu, which notably offers some yummy vegetarian and vegan options.They’re known for their Mojo Jojo and it’s amazing both hot or cold. They’re open Monday through Thursday from 7am until 10pm and Friday through Sunday from 7am until 11pm. They also feature a drive-thru if you want some delicious coffee in a hurry!
Hamburger Mary’s (110 W Church Street) Hamburger Mary’s has three locations in Florida, but ours in Orlando is near and dear to my heart. With daily happy hours on cleverly-named drinks (Strawberry Tease Me, anyone?), the best burgers in Orlando and drag shows every weekend, this is a place you don’t want to miss out on! The service is friendly and fast and much like the previously mentioned Banana’s you may have a fabulous and fierce waitress taking your order. They’re open daily at 11am until 10pm.
Dandelion’s Communitea Café (618 N Thornton Avenue) This is one of my favorite places to hang out in Orlando for both the atmosphere and the food. It is a cute midcentury home remodeled into a restaurant and features three rooms to dine in as well as an outside patio and lawn seating. Dandelion’s has a huge tea list and two tea specials daily but my go to favorite is the Sunshine Daydreams tea. They are also known for their amazing vegetarian and vegan food that even meat meaters go crazy for. Everything on the menu is tasty but I would suggest trying the Giddyup, their version of a taco salad with tempeh chili and delicious blue corn chips. Make sure you ask for plenty of Green goddess dressing on the side as it is not to be missed! They’re open from Monday through Saturday from 11am to 10pm and Sundays from 11am until 5pm.
Local LGBTQ Organizations
Zebra Coalition (911 N Mills Avenue) Their motto is “supporting lives of a different stripe” and they strive to help LGBTQ youth by providing medical services, temporary housing, education, counseling and other services. I recently took a tour of the Zebra Coalition house and was immediately impressed with how warm and caring the staff was. They provide LGBTQ youths with a place to feel at home whether it’s because they need temporary housing or just a place to hang out after school to have a snack, use the computers, or access other resources.
The Center (946 N Mills Avenue) This well-established LGBT community center has been around for 32 years and provides AA, NA, HIV+ and Transgender support programs as well as counseling and other social programs. They have an art gallery and free access computers with internet. Their knowledgeable staff can help you find a book in their well stocked LGBT lending library or let you know what upcoming events are going on in Orlando.
I have a friend who SWEARS by Pom Pom’s, and now I’m hearing about it yet again, so it must be ace-high!
I never really thought of Orlando as being super gay, other than the campiness that I love of Disney World*, but this has made me reevaluate my Orlando visitation priorities
*yes, I’m a bad gaymo, but I just want a girl to ride Space Mountain with me.
Speaking about Disney, I remember when the Gay Days (http://www.gaydays.com/) was newer, and there were signs warning people about the fact that there were a lot of gay people in the park. Now, this year Disney put out Rainbow Mickey merchandise, and there haven’t been official Disney warning signs in years.
Orlando itself is really friendly, the areas surrounding are more nonchalant about stuff than anything else.
True story: my parents boycotted Disney (brand, movies, parks, all of it) for ten or so years when I was growing up because of Gay Days. In some ways, it was good, because I never really became into the princess thing (I wanted to be a medical examiner). Of course, it mean that they were left flabbergasted when I came out, because all of that boycotting was for nothing—their daughter still became a raging homo.
It’s funny how that worked out.
I grew up watching Disney movies and yet my dreams were: James Bond style diplomat without the spying, or Medical Researcher. I came out of this sexually attracted to the opposite sex, and romantically attracted to everything. The princess thing was completely lost on me, because it’s great to be the king, baby!
Just to clarify this, Disney has never been officially involved with Gay Days, which includes either promoting the events or putting up warning signs to families. I used to work for Disney, and every year we would get talking points from the mystical people at Disney PR as to what to say if asked about Gay Days which basically promoted inclusion of everyone and a bit of feigning ignorance as to what was planned. There has been rainbow merchandise sold as far back as I can remember. Not that much though, so maybe they have expanded this year? Unfortunately as recently as last year, there are still individuals who rent planes to warn families of the incorrigible terror of a few queer people visiting the parks on a certain day. I can’t speak for what happened this year because I no longer live in Orlando, but this still happened last year. No one in the park really cares who you may be holding hands with while riding Haunted Mansion, i.e. you do you.
In summary, Disney loves all of us weirdos.
I miss Orlando a little bit sometimes, and I want to hang out with all of you when I come back to visit.
You aren’t a bad gaymo! I’m obsessed with Disney (Epcot for the win) and think space mountain is awesome!
It’s fine. All I ever want to do is ride Space Mountain.
Are you the same Doc from xojane? I’m assuming you probably get this a lot, but your interview was so awesome and ahh you are a really cool human being.
One and the same! *tips hat*
Looking for a lesbian club that has hot women! Seems like most gay bars in and around Orlando cater to both sexes but are pretty much “male dominated”. Please help
Whoohoo great post! I was jus at gay days last week and was thinking why the hell no one ever wrote a city guide for Orlando! I also went to revolutions for the first time last week and LOVED IT! My gf was right, their drag was way better than Tampa drag (where I’m from)
Also, my gf SWEARS by Parliament House.
Finally, shout out to Orlando psycho city roller derby too!
Thank you for posting this!! I’m moving to Orlando in August (to work for Disney…) and, like a lot of people, I know nothing of the area besides for Disney. I dug around recently to see if an Queer Girl City Guide already existed, but this is perfectly timed!
I’m so glad you found my article helpful and I’m sure you’ll love Orlando! Congrats on your new job!!! :)
This is awesome! You’re making me want to take a grown person vacation to Orlando
I now need to put Orlando on my list of places to visit. Had no idea it was so gay friendly!
Just a heads up this was a photo from 2013 Gay Days “Girls in Wonderland”, an Orland event any lez should check out sometime in her life: http://tinypic.com/r/68yagj/5
Bahhh why can’t I log in? Anyway, finally, my city! I feel like when people talk about Orlando being gay friendly they are primarily talking about gay men. How sprawling the city is hinders community building, IMO, too. But I do think queer women are gradually carving out our own spaces. :) I love Dandelion so much! Mentions of roller derby and Girls in Wonderland need to be added!
Love this list! I was just around Thornton Park today. Two other great places to eat: 903 Mills Market and Yellow Dog Eats (in Gotha)-really can’t recommend this place enough!
I was extremely excited to see Orlando being represented. Its actually extremely gay friendly. UCF does have amazing programs.
On a side note, I have been a Disney Castmember for years, and for the pride parade they actually bus cast members over to the area and have a special marching section and volunteer opportunities. All Disney sponsored and powered which is awesome.
Although I have seen “Beware Gay Days” air banners a couple of times this year I also saw a ” Beware Homophobes” air banner as well!
Oh god! FINALLY someone wrote about orlando :))
been having no idea where to go for a year!!
thanks A LOT ;]
the last time i was in Orlando was when i was 9. i just moved here TWO DAYS AGO!! i was living in a very anti-lgbt+ area so i’ve been an in the closet pansexual. i didn’t know Orlando was “super gay”, i guess i picked a great place to start fresh!
Hey I am with the Gay Usa Pages check out our directory. We originated here in Orlando 11 years ago and now we have 44 directories nationwide. Find all of your gay friendly businesses here. And if you know any gay friendly businesses that need to be in here send me an email to [email protected]. Or feel free to call me at 407-788-2008 x315
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Reading this article in 2019 as a youngish lesbian from Orlando is such a trip… my *parents* took me to half these restaurants for the vegetarian food (can confirm-it’s delicious)!
And seeing Pulse on there gave me chills. Didn’t realize this article’s from 6 years ago. Maybe it’s time for an update?
Thank you so much for this, I am new to the Cocoa/Orlando area and was looking for places to Meet a group of people I am likely to feel comfortable around. I have to say moving from Detroit to a small/medium size town in the south has been a difficult transition. This was so helpful.
Hey, would you ever be open to updating these articles? Even if not, I think removing the reference to Pulse in this article is very important given the hate crime that happened there.