It’s the same old story in Orlando again this year: We’re hot. You’re hot. It’s hot out.
But that doesn’t mean we’re going to let the unrelenting Florida heat get the best of us, or our summer. We’ve tracked down the coldest — and the coolest — places to go, things to do, shows to see and parts of the city to explore in Orlando over the next couple months. All of which have one throughline: They’re indoors and blessed by a Floridian’s best friend, some good old-fashioned heavy-duty air conditioning.
All around the city and its surrounding neighborhoods, locals and visitors alike can find reprieve from the sun with comedy shows, art museums, the Blue Man Group, H Mart, vintage shops, bookstores, skateways, arcades and more. Here’s where to stay cool.
2416 N. Mills Ave.
Soak in some art, learn a bit about your community’s creativity and immerse yourself in all things inspirational at Orlando Museum of Art. Founded in 1924, the museum is home to a rotating series of temporary exhibitions and traveling shows complemented by mainstay works. This summer, guests can dive into the 12th Annual Florida Prize in Contemporary Art Exhibition, on display May 30 through Aug. 23.
Credit: Orlando Museum of Art/Facebook
65 E. Central Blvd.
This downtown Orlando mainstay is not only inexpensive, but it also truly has something for everyone to learn. It acts as an evolving community resource and record of our beginnings, with both core and rotating special exhibitions highlighting Central Florida. Admission is $10 per adult and $6 per child between 5 and 12 years old. It’s free for kids 4 and under, county employees and educators.
Credit: Orange County Regional History Center/Facebook
6362 International Drive
This massive arcade chain’s I-Drive location is an all-ages-friendly spot that offers more than 16,000 square feet of classic and more modern arcade games. There’s also a restaurant, bar, merch store and an anime art exhibit space on site. And, it’s open 24 blessedly air-conditioned hours a day.
Credit: Arcade Monsters/Facebook
8449 International Drive
This Icon Park attraction is home to Florida’s only 360-degree ocean tunnel and a ton of awe-inspiring creatures in different exhibits and interactive zones. Get up close and personal with sea turtles, sharks and jellyfish; watch a feeding frenzy; or visit the coastal touch tank.
Credit: Sea Life Aquarium/Facebook
2530 Aloma Ave., Winter Park
This massive bowling alley and lounge has everything: countless bowling lanes, decked-out decor, arcade games, a die-hard bowling league, food, a bar, and special drink and ticket deals every day of the week
Credit: Aloma Bowl/Facebook
445 N. Park Ave., Winter Park
This attraction remains a less touristy sight well worth seeing (although specialists and collectors visit from around the globe). The Morse Museum houses the most comprehensive collection of the works of stained glass pioneer Louis Comfort Tiffany in the world, including the masterpiece that is the Tiffany Chapel.
Credit: Charles Hosmer Museum/Facebook
4801 W. Colonial Drive
The Orlando Roller Derby League is a nonprofit, skater-run and skater-operated league with several teams based out of the City Beautiful. This summer’s home game schedule features many opportunities to get rowdy with hometown spirit. Home games are played at Barnett Park Gym, located on West Colonial Drive. Credit: Orlando Roller Derby/Facebook
445 S. Magnolia Ave.
Orlando has no shortage of homegrown music venues, but Judson’s isn’t just a venue, it’s an experience. One of the newer locations to hear some live tunes in town, Judson’s Live lives inside the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and provides an intimate listening room experience. It boasts plenty to eat, a full bar, and impressive acoustics and decor.
Credit: photo by Seth Kubersky
360 State Lane
We could all use a little extra love. Downtown Orlando’s Kitty Beautiful is one of the city’s best spots to make a new friend (or maybe add a new family member!) with plenty of cats and kittens available for adoption and cuddles. Reservations are strongly suggested to secure a spot, where you can snuggle a few hours away and grab a coffee and some light bites.
Credit: Kitty Beautiful/Facebook
9067 International Drive
This all-around entertaining attraction offers an “amusement park for the mind.” Visit the I-Drive emporium for a glimpse into more than 100 exhibits and attractions that will make you scratch your head in confusion or widen your eyes in surprise. There’s also laser tag, a ropes course and a 6D motion ride.
Credit: Wonderworks/Facebook
5250 International Drive
Putting Edge really does put the edge in mini golf. This completely indoor, black-lit neon golf course is the perfect spot to test your athleticism (and maybe your eyesight) while inside in cool comfort.
Credit: Putting Edge/Facebook
55 W. Church St.
Laugh your day (and maybe your borderline heat exhaustion) away at Orlando’s own storied comedy house. Downtown’s Sak Comedy Lab is home to an ever-evolving calendar of improv shows from both local and visiting funny folks. It’s also the laughing-out-loud birthplace of some majorly successful players in the comedy world, most notably actor Wayne Brady, who went on to find fame as a performer on Whose Line Is It Anyway? Credit: SAK Comedy Lab/Facebook
777 E. Princeton St.
If you want to experience some naturally occurring thrills while learning about the world around you, Orlando Science Center has it all. With options and exhibits fit for all ages, it’s a great spot to bring young ones. Check out their calendar for a list of events happening this summer and beyond. Credit: Orlando Science Center/Facebook
2670 Cassel Creek Blvd., Casselberry
This retro skating rink offers daily deals and special events like “Old Skool Jams” on Saturday nights and “Family Fun Night” on Tuesdays, so there’s sure to be a draw for the whole family here. Admission prices for this summer range depending on the day of the week, but it’ll run you about $9 per skater most days.
Credit: Semoran Skateway/Facebook
5250 International Drive
This massive indoor amusement center offers plenty to do for the whole family, including a bowling alley, go-karts, a movie theater and more. Dezerland is also home to the Orlando Auto Museum, showcasing thousands of vehicles, altogether valued at more than $200 million.
Credit: Dezerland Park/Facebook
1486 Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista
Acrobatics meet animation history in this long-running show inside Cirque du Soleil’s tent-shaped theater at Disney Springs. If you want a further leap into the experience, the “Page to Stage” option gets you a backstage tour, artist meet-and-greet and your pick from the best seats in the house. Credit: Drawn to Life/Facebook
8390 Universal Blvd.
The blue boys are back. And they’re banging drums and splatting paint for their admiring Orlando audiences nearly every single day this summer, all in their new Blue Man Group theater stationed right at Icon Park.
Credit: Grizzlee Martin/courtesy Creative City Project
1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland
The Orlando area’s very own arthouse movie theater has a fast-moving schedule of both cult classics and buzzing indie hits on offer nearly every day. There’s a bar, comfy seats and no shortage of cool A/C inside. Check their schedule for special matinees, shows for kiddos and filmmaker events.
Credit: image courtesy Enzian Theater
Various locations
Visit your library! Orange County libraries offer not only hidden-gem indoor spots to relax and nerd out, they also are home to a boatload of special classes and events. You can learn to knit or sew, play chess, brush up on your tech skills and much more. There are kid-friendly to-dos every day of the week and a limitless supply of stories to read.
Credit: Orange County Library System/Facebook
Various locations
You may not know it, but Orlando is a bookworm’s haven. The city and surrounding neighborhoods are home to a very special handful of locally owned book stores and literary shops: A Spiral Circle, The New Romantics, Writer’s Block, BrightLight Books, Authentic Books, The Story Room Collective, BookBurn and so many more places to get lost in.
Credit: New Romantics/Facebook
Menello Museum of American Art, 900 E. Princeton St.
Our Orlando is back for a fourth year, offering museumgoers a snapshot of the city’s visual arts environment as seen through the works of three local creatives. Artists Tasanee Durrett, Mado Smith and Martha Jo Mahoney display works fit to this year’s theme “focusing on a moment in an artist’s studio.” The carefully crafted exhibit is on all summer with shows running through lat August. Credit: Mado Smith, “Corona Silvestre,” 2026. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist. © Mado Smith
7501 W. Colonial Drive
Whether or not you’ve yet made the journey through our new H Mart since it opened last fall, we can guarantee your next visit will not be like the last one. There is an endless variety of Asian eats and treats to wade through in this massive shopping palace, as well as a food court and restaurants to take a nosh break.
Credit: Matt Keller Lehman
853 S. Orlando Ave., Winter Park
If you’re looking for a way to get lost inside for a couple hours, Orange Tree Antiques Mall should be your first stop. This sprawling vintage shop is a winding labyrinth of vendor stalls offering any kind of piece from the past you can think of — and probably some you couldn’t possibly imagine. It’s a great place to find oddball gifts, collectible tchotchkes and some eye-popping home decor.
Credit: Orange Tree Antiques Mall/Facebook
7324 International Drive
What better way to escape the Florida heat than to test your knowledge of the ice-cold fate of the Titanic? Orlando has its very own experiential Titanic restaurant, where characters share tales of their past while you dine as an honored guest for the evening.
Credit: Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition/Facebook
