Instagram influencer Christina Petsos has the scoop on Orlando’s delicious frozen delights.
Happy summer! Orlando can get toasty at this time of year, which means a cool treat to beat the heat is sometimes necessary. And thanks to our year-round temperate weather, frosty concoctions never go out of season. Happily, Orlando has no shortage of choices — here are some of my favorites.
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Sampaguita Ice Cream & Desserts
Recently featured on Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil, Sampaguita opened in 2022 and quickly grew in popularity for good reason. They offer unique, Filipino-inspired flavors created from the owner’s childhood memories, like Ube Latte, Pandan, Sampaguita (vanilla with a hint of jasmine and lychee), Champorado (chocolate with puffed rice crunch and sweetened condensed milk), and Keso Guava Cheesecake. You’ll find them in Orlando’s Mills 50® district adjacent to downtown.
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My go-to flavor is always Birthday Mamon and Pandan, but I truly love everything. A unique treat at Sampaguita worth trying is Halo Halo, a traditional Filipino dessert made with shaved ice, coconut pandan jellies, coconut strings, ube jam, shaved ice, milk corn flakes, toasted rice flan, jackfruit, soft serve, ube sauce, and condensed milk. The Ube Brownie Sundae and Ube Milkshake are two of my other favorite items here.
Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream
A local favorite, Kelly’s has been around 2014, starting at a farmer’s market and a food truck. In 2015, Kelly opened her first scoop shop in the Audubon Park Garden District, which remains the biggest location. They have over 100 recipes and flavors rotate throughout the year, with over 30 flavors available in the original shop.
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Kelly’s recently opened their seventh scoop shop in Maitland close to Winter Park, so you can expect to find a Kelly’s almost anywhere in the Orlando area. My favorite flavor is the Cookie Monster. I am addicted to it and get it constantly. Kelly’s also offers ice cream flights, shakes, sundaes and ice cream cakes.
The Glass Knife
The Glass Knife is known for their coffee and pastry selection, but they serve one of the best affogatos I’ve tried in the Orlando area. Choose from chocolate or vanilla and pour a shot of Monarch espresso over it. Pure bliss.
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Two Chicken Bros
This is a food truck located at A La Cart, a permanent food truck court with rotating vendors in The Milk District® near downtown. They offer waffles and ice cream, including flavors like Ferrero Rocher, Cookies and Cream, and Sweet Forest. The waffles are made fresh and get half-dipped in chocolate. This is the perfect sweet treat on a hot day.
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Charlie’s Bakery & Creamery
Part of Curry Ford West Main Street, this locally owned and operated bakery has been serving the Orlando community for over 50 years. They are well known for the excellent quality of their pastries and ice cream, having won numerous well-deserved awards.
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The ice cream is incredibly creamy and super premium. They have fun flavors like Biscoff Butter Bonanza and Bailey’s, as well as all the traditional favorites. You can also get non-dairy flavors, ice cream cookie sandwiches, ice cream pies and floats.
KoKo Kakigori
This new shaved ice spot is in Mills 50 behind the MICHELIN Recommended Kaya. It is a very small place that is currently only open on weekends. They do tend to sell out, so go early!
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Kakigori is a Japanese dessert that is slowly frozen alkaline ice layered and sculpted by the chef. Think “fluffy ice.” Koko offers flavors like Ube Coconut, Black Sesame and Matcha. They also have seasonal flavors that change. One serving is giant, so you can easily share it with your friends and family!
Wafu
This small Japanese shop in located upstairs in the East End Market in the heart of Audubon Park. Wafu offers soft-serve ice cream inside a taiyaki, a fish-shaped cake that is a popular Japanese street food. They also have traditional cones, plus midnight vanilla and lavender waffle cones.
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They typically have three core flavors to choose from: vanilla, specialty and twist. Their specialty flavors range from Ube to Cherry Blossom, Pumpkin and so much more.
SnowBean
SnowBean is just east of The Milk District on Colonial Drive, right on Lake Barton. You can watch the airplanes from Orlando Executive Airport take off and land from their outdoor patio. This is the spot with all the “love locks” on the fence! You can bring your own or buy one there. (Editor’s note: If you know, you know.)
SnowBean has a large selection of coffee drinks, teas and juice, along with Korean desserts. It is also home to some of my favorite shaved ice in Orlando. The consistency is like snow, and I order a huge one for myself because I can’t get enough of it. They offer flavors like Oreo, Strawberry, Black Sesame and more.
Crispy Cones
Crispy Cones opened in May 2024 in the Hourglass District, a dining and nightlife hub that’s part of Curry Ford West. They serve donut cones filled with chocolate, vanilla or twist soft serve. They also have a specialty flavor that changes regularly.
Pick your cone, inside spread (Nutella, peanut butter or cookie butter), the ice cream, toppings, and sauce. I loved the donut cones and lined it with cookie butter. One hundred percent worth the hype.
Chill in Tacos
Ice cream tacos? Yep! That’s their specialty at Chill in Tacos. This is a pop up, so their location changes, but I needed to include this unique concept.
My favorite flavors are the Ube and the S’mores. You can find other flavors like Birthday Cake, Fruity Pebbles, Fat Elvis and more. If you see them out at an event, try them! I am a repeat customer because they are amazing and always make a hot day so much better.
Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop
Ghirardelli is part of Disney Springs® at Walt Disney World® Resort, with this location being around for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would go here with my parents anytime we visited what was then known as Downtown Disney. They are well known for their sundaes, which use Ghirardelli’s quality chocolate for a special touch, and milkshakes.
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The line is usually long, but never fear, it moves fast. Choices include the Magical Sundae — a traditional sundae with the addition of dipped waffle ears — and my favorite, the Ocean Beach Sea Salt Caramel Sundae. If you have a group, get the Cookie Crumble Hot Fudge Sundae. It’s giant! Their milkshakes are great, too. I recommend the Caramel Quake Shake.
The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen
Part of Universal CityWalk at Universal Orlando Resort, Toothsome is known for their crazy shakes. I have enjoyed every milkshake I’ve tried from here. They are thick, creamy and have plenty of mix-ins.
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Some of the most over-the-top varieties are Cookie Jar, Birthday Cake and Red Velvet. And here’s a tip: If you just want a milkshake but don’t want to wait for a table, you can order from a counter to the left when you walk in.
JoJo’s ShakeBAR
JoJo’s is located at Pointe Orlando, aka The Pointe, on International Drive. They are well known for their crazy shakes.
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I’ve tried every milkshake flavor here, and my favorites are the Chocolate Nirvana and the Gold Digger. They even have a non-dairy milkshake that is actually fantastic. They also offer basic shakes where you choose the base and mixes, plus floats, milk bars and boozy bars.
Salt & Straw
This shop hails from Washington state, bringing with it some of the most unique flavors of ice cream I’ve ever tried. Located at Disney Springs, Salt & Straw offers as many samples as you’d like, so try some of the stranger ones.
All Salt & Straw locations work with local businesses. Here in Orlando, they currently have a flavor partnering at The Salty Donut in Audubon Park. Their flavors are constantly changing, so you can always expect something new. I tried the Olive Oil ice cream this past visit and had no idea how good ice cream was with olive oil. Try it! My favorite flavor, though, is the Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Lickety Split
Lickety Split is such a cute gelato and coffee shop located inside Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World® Resort. The gelato here is ultra-premium, so rest assured it’s not going to melt quickly on a hot day.
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They have a wide variety of flavors like Cookies and Cream, Orange Cream, Strawberry Lemonade, Birthday Cake, Pistachio, and more. The gelato is creamy and so tasty. Bonus tip: If you aren’t staying at the Four Seasons, you can get your parking comped by coming to Lickety Split.
Morelia Ice Cream Paletas
Morelia opened just a few months ago inside The Florida Mall®. They use only fresh and natural ingredients in their paletas, which are made from scratch daily in small batches.
Paletas are a Mexican popsicle and are bigger than a traditional ice pop. Morelia has a variety of flavors to choose from. Pick your paleta, dip it in your choice of either dark chocolate, white chocolate, crunch hazelnut or cookie butter, then choose a topping. Special must-try toppings include S’mores, Nutella, Paleta Sandwich and Waffle Burrito. This is a truly unique experience!
Theme Park Treats
There are a variety of options at the theme parks for frozen treats. Here are some of my favorites.
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Universal Orlando Resort
- Waturi Fusion at Universal Volcano Bay is beautiful, tasty and refreshing on a warm day. It is banana, blue raspberry, orange, and strawberry swirled soft serve. Find it at Koka Poroka.
- Trolls Treats at Universal Studios Florida. Inside the new DreamWorks Land, a large boombox serves three soft serve flavors: Poppylicious Pink Lemonade, Brozone Berry and a swirl. The ice cream makes the troll’s hair — it’s super cute.
- You can also find Shrek and Donkey popsicles at DreamWorks Land. The flavors are sour apple for Shrek and chocolate for Donkey.
Walt Disney World® Resort
- Plaza Ice Cream Parlor is a must-stop when you’re at Magic Kingdom® Park. They have a wide variety of flavors that are super creamy. I love the little Mickey Ears they put on top of the scoops. This is also where you can find the Mickey Sink Sundae.
- Churro Sundae at EPCOT®. You can find this at La Cantina de San Angel, the quick-service restaurant in the Mexico pavilion. Get it with the caramel soft serve — it was incredibly delicious.
Editor’s note: Orlando’s other theme parks have plenty of options for keeping it cool, too, including these favorites:
SeaWorld® Orlando
Stop by Edy’s Ice Cream Parlor At SeaWorld® Orlando for 14 flavors of ice cream, monster shakes, enormous brownie sundaes and hand-dipped cones. Guests 21 and up can even get a shot of liqueur or cordial to their milkshakes. You’ll find them next to the Dolphin Nursery.
LEGOLAND® Florida Resort
At LEGOLAND® Florida Resort, you can satisfy your sweet tooth and quench your thirst at Ice Cream & Shakes, part of Heartlake City in LEGOLAND® Florida Theme Park.
Map of Orlando’s Ice-Cold Treats
Use this interactive map to track down the ice-cold treats featured in this blog.
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