Discover futuristic worlds with cutting-edge attractions in our theme parks and neighborhoods.

Long hailed as a hub of creativity and imagination, Orlando boasts a wealth of high-tech attractions to enchant your stay. From cutting-edge rides to AI-enhanced bartenders and self-driving cars, here are some of the newest next-gen experiences to try on your next Orlando vacation.

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High-Tech Attractions at Orlando Theme Parks

Orlando’s theme parks lead the industry with advanced audio-animatronics, 3-D rides, motion simulators, projection mapping, interactive gameplay and more cutting-edge technology from some of the world’s most creative minds. Throw in AI-enhanced apps, planning tools and augmented reality features, and you’re one ticket away from endless worlds of wonder.

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Epic Universe Preview Center

Universal Epic Universe will completely transform Orlando’s theme park landscape with all-new rides, shows and experiences when it opens at Universal Orlando Resort in 2025. Catch a glimpse of the fun in store at the Epic Universe Preview Center in Universal CityWalk, where you can shop for themed merch, snap vacation-ready selfies, and admire a massive model of the park’s five themed lands and impressive new hotel.

Discover: Things to Do at Universal Orlando Resort

High-tech fun comes into play via the Epic Universe Preview Center app, which unlocks the model’s augmented reality features like dancing coasters, flying creatures, shimmering racetracks and more. You can even peek inside some of the show buildings! It’s just a small glimpse of the immersive fun that awaits at Universal Epic Universe.

Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast

Also at Universal Orlando Resort, you can blast your way to supervillain stardom at Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast, the first attraction to offer a Connected Gameplay experience via the Official Universal Orlando Resort App. By activating the Connected Gameplay, you can track your top scores and unlock game-boosting bonuses. The more you play, the more diabolical perks you’ll earn. You can also create customized player profiles for everyone in your party, earn digital collectibles and unlock even more fun throughout Illumination’s Minion Land at Universal Studios Florida.

Discover: Illumination’s Minion Land

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Dazzling Nighttime Spectaculars

You can also expect jaw-dropping nighttime spectaculars at all Orlando theme parks. Along with fireworks, the newest, most advanced shows feature projection mapping, stirring original scores and hundreds of synchronized drones, ushering in a new era of nighttime entertainment in Orlando.

Discover: Places to See Fireworks in Orlando

LEGOLAND® Florida Resort: Catch a brand-new Monster Skytacular drone show during the annual Brick-or-Treat Halloween event at LEGOLAND® Florida Theme Park. The new aerial combines fireworks, music and 500 state-of-the-art drones in a historic first for any LEGOLAND® theme park.

Universal Orlando Resort: Returning in 2025, CineSational: A Symphonic Spectacular brings your favorite movie moments to life at Universal Studios Florida. The 22-minute show features 228 fountains, 4K projection mapping, pyrotechnics and over 600 drones, plus an original composition to tie it all together. CineSational will return in November 2024 and run on select dates through 2025.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios® is one of the most groundbreaking theme park lands ever created, boasting high-tech rides, character interactions, custom collectibles and more ways to become one with the Star Wars universe. Design your own lightsaber, create the droids you’re looking for, and discover exotic creatures and tech-enhanced characters that can interact with the world around them — even with you!

Discover: STAR WARS: Galaxy’s Edge

And that’s not all. You can also play the role of pilot, engineer or gunner aboard Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, an interactive gaming experience in which your performance determines the ride’s outcome. Or blast off on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, a trackless ride that is one of Walt Disney World’s most ambitious theme park attractions to date.

Super fans can also dig deep and discover hidden layers of interactive fun with Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters (MagicBand+ required) and Star Wars: Datapad, both available in conjunction with the Play Disney Parks app.

Star Wars: Datapad

Chart your own course with Star Wars: Datapad, which allows you to take on tasks for local residents, support the Resistance or the First Order, and collect digital rewards like ship schematics and galactic credits. You can also scan object contents, tune and decrypt local communications, translate alien languages, and hack into select devices, control panels and droids.

Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters

Collect virtual bounties throughout Galaxy’s Edge with Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters. Simply tap your MagicBand+ on the control panel near Droid Depot to begin, and it will light up and vibrate as you near your quarry (location tracking required). A “thermal scanner” in the Play Disney Parks app will reveal your bounty with augmented reality. Collect it and exchange your prize for virtual credits.

Virtual Queues

Now a mainstay of Orlando’s theme park scene, virtual queues are a great way to enhance your getaway. Simply join the virtual queue to score a return time for your favorite participating attraction. Virtual queues are currently available for select rides at Universal Volcano Bay and at Walt Disney World Resort, giving you an opportunity to explore the parks at leisure until you’re called to return.

Discover: Orlando Theme Park Tips

High-Tech Attractions Throughout Orlando

Autonomous Vehicles in Orlando

Orlando offers plenty of high-tech fun beyond the theme parks as well. For a fun and functional take, take a joyride on Orlando’s self-driving Beep shuttle network. They run on self-contained routes in Lake Nona and nearby Altamonte Springs, offering a safe, sustainable and novel way to get around while reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion.

Discover: Sustainable Orlando

In fact, Orlando’s Lake Nona neighborhood is home to the largest and longest autonomous vehicle network in the country, with five routes, eight shuttles and 10 key points of interest — and it’s completely free to residents and visitors. “Beep shuttles have moved more than 60,000 passengers in Lake Nona since launching in 2019,” says Lismarie Gomez, Communications Manager for Tavistock Development Company.

Discover: Things to Do in Lake Nona

In that timeframe, they’ve also eliminated the need for over 34,880 vehicle trips. Lake Nona stops include the Lake Nona Wave Hotel, Lake Nona Performance Center, United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus, Canvas Restaurant & Market, and more.

Sara the AI Bartender at Wyndham Orlando Resort & Conference Center

For a next-level bar experience, grab a drink and a bar chat from the Wyndham Orlando Resort & Conference Center Celebration’s newest bartender, Sara. She’ll tell jokes, answer your burning questions, and pour a mean cocktail — and she’s entirely powered by artificial intelligence.

“We identified AI as an important new technology to research, and when appropriate, implement at our hotels,” says Jon McMillian, Corporate Director of eCommerce and Marketing for AD1 Global, which owns the Wyndham Celebration. “Sara was a byproduct of that research.”

Sara is one of a handful of first-to-market AI bartenders around the world devised by AD1 Global and Cecilia.ai. You’ll find her in a slim console format at H Street Grille, where she can serve up to 120 Casa Azul drinks an hour and collect insights on fan-favorite orders. Take some time to chat on your next visit and see what she recommends.

“For our guests she may be a convenience, novelty or social media opportunity, but for us she is an important part of our team,” says McMillian. “Right now, Sara may only be serving drinks and telling jokes but soon she could be crunching food and beverage data for us … we are only limited by our imaginations.”

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