Your Ultimate Fall Guide to Orlando: Events, Parks & Food
Get tips for having a fantastic fall in Orlando with new theme park experiences, food festivals, holiday events, cultural celebrations and more.
Autumn has officially arrived, marking one of the best times of year to visit Orlando. The season’s cooler temperatures and smaller crowds provide an unbeatable opportunity to get out and enjoy the diverse range of experiences spotlighted here — including our theme park’s latest additions!
Before you arrive, stock up on discounted theme park and attraction tickets from Visit Orlando powered by BestofOrlando.com. What a way to start your autumn adventures!
Try Something New at a Theme Park
It’s been an incredible year at Orlando’s theme parks, which all have new experiences for you this fall.
Walt Disney World® Resort
All of Walt Disney World Resort’s theme parks will be hosting “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” 50th anniversary gala starting Oct. 1, 2021. Depending on how long it’s been since your last visit, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will be new to you at Disney’s Hollywood Studios®, with Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure debuting at EPCOT® on Oct. 1.
SeaWorld® Orlando
Florida’s first-ever dueling waterslide, Riptide Race is now open at Aquatica® Orlando! Plus, the new Flamingo Mingle experience is available at Discovery Cove®, with Ice Breaker — Florida’s first launch coaster — coming to SeaWorld® Orlando in February 2022.
Universal Orlando Resort
Based on the blockbuster movie franchise, Jurassic World VelociCoaster has arrived at Universal’s Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort! And if it’s been more than a year since your last visit, The Bourne Stuntacular at Universal Studios Florida will also be new to you.
LEGOLAND® Florida Resort
Live the pirate’s life at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort with the all-new Brickbeard’s Watersport Stunt Show. Kids will also love the immersive new Planet LEGOLAND play area.
Feast at a Foodie Festival
Come hungry when you visit Orlando this autumn, because we’re serving up a cornucopia of fall food festivals! In addition to Walt Disney World Resort’s EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival (through Nov. 20, 2021), you can look forward to SeaWorld Orlando’s Craft Beer Festival (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31, 2021), the Fall Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic (Oct. 29-30, 2021), and downtown Orlando’s FusionFest (Nov. 27-28, 2021), the latter of which celebrates a wealth of global heritages with food, music, fashion, dance, short films and more.
You can also dig into special fall menus at top restaurants throughout the destination.
Celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas
No destination does Halloween and Christmas better than Orlando — Halloween Vacation Capital — and we have multiple opportunities to celebrate both this fall.
For Halloween, options include specially ticketed events like Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando’s first-ever Howl-O-Scream, both of which are intended for mature audiences, as well as the all-ages Disney After Hours Boo Bash at Walt Disney World Resort. You can also look forward to the SeaWorld Spooktacular® and Brick or Treat at LEGOLAND Florida, both of which are all-ages daytime haunts and included with park admission. All of these events are available on select days and nights through Oct. 31, 2021, and they’re complemented by many other Halloween happenings throughout the destination.
In early November, our theme parks, attractions, hotels and other venues will start rolling out their Christmas holiday events, including the Disney Very Merriest After Hours at Walt Disney World Resort (select nights, Nov. 8 – Dec. 21, 2021), Holidays at Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas Celebration, and Holidays at LEGOLAND (select dates, Nov. 26 – Dec. 31, 2021). Also in November, you can enjoy gourmet Thanksgiving feasts at our acclaimed restaurants. Stay tuned to Visit Orlando’s blog for details!
Enjoy Outdoor Adventures
With fall’s cooler temperatures, there’s no excuse for not taking advantage of Orlando’s great outdoors — especially given how many options we have in that regard. We offer kayaking, off-roading, zip-lining, airboat and boat tours, natural springs, nature and hiking trails, amenity-loaded public parks, birding, wakeboarding, and much more. Better yet, these experiences can all be found within an hour of our theme parks, and often closer!
Experience Performing Arts
Fall is arts season in Orlando, making it a great time to take in live theater, concerts, ballet and more at our performance halls, with downtown’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts leading the way. Other venues with robust fall offerings include Orlando Shakespeare Theater (aka Orlando Shakes) and Orlando Repertory Theatre (aka Orlando Rep) in Loch Haven Cultural Park near downtown, The Winter Park Playhouse, and the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden.
You can also catch live music at places such as Hard Rock Live® at Universal CityWalk, House of Blues at Disney Springs, Ole Red and Tin Roof at ICON Park®, and the Amway Center in downtown Orlando, among others. For the best in electronic dance music, check out Electric Daisy Carnival, aka EDC (Nov. 12 – 14, 2021).
Don’t forget our fall cultural events, either, starting with IMMERSE (Oct. 15 – 17, 2021) — a three-day multimedia spectacular in the heart of downtown Orlando — or the aforementioned FusionFest. Other cultural galas include the Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival and Asian Cultural Expo (Oct. 16, 2021) and Festival Calle Orange (Oct. 24, 2021).
The Orlando area also hosts some high-profile outdoor art shows during the fall, including the Winter Park Autumn Art Festival (Oct. 9 – 10, 2021).
Get Your Holiday Shopping Done
As the temperatures drop, shopping and fashion start heating up at retail meccas throughout the destination — making fall ideal for holiday shopping! What’s more, you can save big by hitting up our famous discount malls, which include Orlando International Premium Outlets®, Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets® and Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores.
You can also shop high-end luxury at The Mall at Millenia, exclusive retailers and family fun at The Florida Mall®, and one-of-a-kind finds at stores in Winter Park and other distinctive neighborhoods. These and other shopping hotspots, including Disney Springs, Universal CityWalk, Pointe Orlando and ICON Park, are all within a 15-mile radius of our theme parks.
Dive Into Warm Water
For most of the country, fall brings chilly temps that are better for sweaters than swimsuits — but in Orlando, you can enjoy relaxing warm water for most of the season! Even when temperatures drop, heated water helps keep our resort pools and water parks open for business.
Orlando’s top water parks include Universal’s Volcano Bay, Disney’s Blizzard Beach® and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon®, Aquatica® Orlando, and LEGOLAND Florida Resort’s onsite water park. (However, please note that water parks are subject to seasonal closings.) You’ll also find water parks at numerous Orlando resorts, including The Grove Resort Orlando, Margaritaville Resort Orlando, Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, and Reunion Resort.
If your place of lodging doesn’t have a water park, chances are it has a pool, many of which have enticing extras like lazy rivers, waterslides, gorgeous scenery, kid-friendly fun, and other features, including heated water.
Tour a Brewery
Orlando visitors and locals love beer so much that, over the past decade, dozens of acclaimed microbreweries have popped up to slake our thirst. As a result, you can build a day trip — or even an entire vacation — around bespoke breweries in Orlando this fall.
Want to experience multiple breweries without worrying about driving? Look into Hop On! Central Florida Brew Tours, which partners with the Central Florida Ale Trail for four-hour excursions to multiple Orlando-area breweries. Bottoms up!
Hit the Links
Ready to master your golf game? Come to Orlando this autumn and challenge yourself on our gorgeous greens, many of which were designed by iconic players and renowned course architects. Some of the best include Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Shingle Creek Golf Club, Walt Disney World Golf, Reunion Resort & Golf Club, Grand Cypress Golf Club, and Orange Lake Resort, to name a few.
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