ORLANDO, Fla. — Voodoo Doughnut is officially open at Universal CityWalk. The fancy doughnut shop out of Portland held its grand opening last month.
The CityWalk shop is the first Voodoo location east of the Mississippi. But to get there, you have to pay $22 to park at Universal, unless you have an annual pass or you wait until after 6 p.m. Then you have to get through Universal security (which now includes metal detectors for everyone), and then you may find yourself waiting in line to get into the store -- sometimes for close to an hour.
If you're not willing to deal with the hassle, and you're not into the hype, the good news is that Central Florida has a bevy of doughnut shops baking, frying and icing up outrageous treats. Here are seven we've found.
1. Donut King
Two locations:
- 208 S. Highway 27, Minneola
- 3716 Howell Branch Road, Winter Park
Ask any local foodie in Orlando, and they will tell you that Voodoo has nothing on the King. Donut King first opening in 2007 in Lake County, with the Winter Park location opening in 2015.
Both locations are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have dozens of doughnuts, from your old-fashioned glazed to apple and other fruit-filled fritters almost the size of your head (that is not hyperbole).
The Minneola location also has a full Cajun menu, and both locations sell the "Castle Burger," a slider that may look familiar...
2. Bakery Plus
- 915 E. Michigan St., Orlando
Before there was Donut King, there was Bakery Plus. This unassuming shop off Michigan Street has offered doughnuts, bagels and breakfast and lunch sandwiches for more than 20 years. It's a shop loved by locals, who stream in long after the breakfast rush and help clear out the shelves. We got there at about 11 a.m., and most of the filled doughnuts were already gone. The doughnuts run from fairly traditional to kitschy, like a Fruity Pebbles doughnut, a Nutella-filled doughnut and, of course, a maple bacon doughnut.
- 495 N. Semoran Blvd., Unit 1, Winter Park
Donut Central opened in September 2017, and the word is starting to get out about this place. They serve up doughnuts ranging from traditional to fancy and huge cinnamon buns and other pastries. They also roast coffee in-house for fancy-crafted coffee drinks. And they have free Wi-Fi. Even if you don’t make it to their shop, Donut Central just introduced a new food truck for events, so find them around town.
4. Valhalla Bakery, featuring Valkyrie Doughnuts
- 2603 E. South Street, Orlando
One thing that makes Voodoo Doughnut popular is that it sells vegan doughnuts. Well, so does Valhalla Bakery, which is located at the Market on South at South Street in Orlando.
"Vegan" means the doughnuts do not use eggs or butter or any other animal fats. Instead, they use margarine and soy products. But you would never know to just look at the desserts (and they do more than just doughnuts. Their cakes and brownies and stuff are decadent). The doughnuts at Valhalla were so popular that they had to branch out. So Valkyrie Doughnuts was opened near UCF. Valkyrie makes doughnuts all day, along with an egg-free/dairy-free soft-serve ice cream. They then make deliveries to Valhalla.
- 276 S. Orlando Ave., Winter Park
If you've heard of The Glass Knife, you've heard about their decadent cakes, most likely. But they also sell doughnuts. This bakery and café sells small batch doughnuts, made in-house each day, and sold until they are gone (which I'm told is usually in the afternoon). The Glass Knife has eight doughnut flavors regularly, plus occasional seasonal doughnuts, like Margarita for Cinco de Mayo.
6. Sugar Shack Donuts and Coffee
- 307 Delannoy Ave., Cocoa
This popular doughnut shop in Cocoa makes doughnuts in-house in a variety of flavors all day. The doughnuts are all standard in shape (round), but toppings range from the simple (i.e. chocolate iced and sprinkles) to more unusual, like pineapple serrano and cucumber melon. Watch their Facebook page for free doughnut offers.
7. Love Bugs Donuts and Bakery
Two locations:
- 1609 S. Wickham Road, West Melbourne
- 5445 Murrell Road, Rockledge
Their slogan is "Our Main Ingredient is Love," and locals seem to agree. Brevard County reporter Krystel Knowles says Love Bugs seems to sell out of their doughnuts early in the morning. But if you can't find your favorite doughnut, you can always get bagels, a breakfast or lunch sandwich (they sell grilled cheese doughnut sandwiches), and other baked goods like muffins, cookies and cupcakes.