Dining in the dark experiences — blindfolded dinners in darkened rooms, designed to heighten your senses of smell and taste — have been growing in popularity nationwide. Orlando has jumped on board with this date night dinner trend, and you're coming along with us to check it out!
My husband and I enjoyed an invited, hosted experience at Dining in the Dark: A Unique Blindfolded Dining Experience at The Wilson. This dinner event takes place on several upcoming nights inside the Meliá Orlando Celebration Hotel at the property's restaurant, The Wilson, and yes, everything is provided, right down to a cushy, black blindfold to wear throughout the meal.
It's one of the many events and neat things to do in Orlando this time of year
Our take on this blindfolded dining experience? The food was delicious and the experience was unlike anything we've done on a date night before in our nearly 20 years of marriage.
Are you thinking about booking a blindfolded dinner session for you and your sweetie? Here's everything you need to know about Dining in the Dark at Meliá Orlando.
What is it like to attend Dining in the Dark at Meliá Orlando?
Prior to the event, I received an email letting me know to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, as doors for the event would be closed promptly at its start time. We scheduled the 6 p.m. seating and, upon check-in at the host stand inside The Wilson, were told the staff was not quite ready for us.
It was well after 6 p.m. when we were finally ushered into the elevator and taken upstairs for the meal, but it was the first night the hotel was putting this event on, so the start-time issues will most likely be fixed in the future.
We hopped on the elevator and headed to the second floor of the hotel, where the meal was to take place in an event dining room above The Wilson.
Upon arrival, we checked in and were given a color-coded LED candle that indicated to the staff whether we'd ordered the beef (red candle), seafood (blue candle), or vegan (green candle) menu. We were seated at a pre-assigned table with other guests and found our blindfolds waiting on the table for us.
Servers offered up cocktails and wines (for purchase at an extra fee) prior to the start of the meal, then a host spoke to our group and explained how the evening would work. The meal includes three courses, all of which are designed to be eaten with your hands since you're blindfolded throughout the experience.
After each course, the host explained what each menu was made up of, and it was amusing to hear guests take guesses as what they'd just eaten.
Full disclosure: I peeked at both mine and my husband's dishes to get photos for this post, but my husband stayed true to the rules and did not look at what he was eating once.
In my times without a blindfold, I saw the other guests were as engaged as he was: No one was peeking from beneath their blindfolds and everyone was having fun with the sensory experience.
Did dining with a blindfold enhance our other senses? Absolutely, especially in the case of my husband, who truly never looked at the food he was consuming. He, along with the other guests at our table, found they were more aware of the smell and taste of each food item when their sense of sight was removed from the equation.
What to know about Dining in the Dark at Meliá Orlando
- Dining in the Dark is organized by Fever, an event company that offers experiences in various cities. Meliá Orlando Celebration and The Wilson are the venues for this Orlando-specific version of Dining in the Dark.
- Tickets for Dining in the Dark are $64 per person and include a three-course dinner. The meal takes place in an event room above The Wilson inside the hotel.
- At the time of ticket purchase, guests choose between a meat, seafood, or vegan menu.
- Upcoming Dining in the Dark events are scheduled for August 16, August 30, and September 28 at both 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. on each night.
- In addition to the $64 ticket fee, there is a $10 service fee per guest. This fee serves as gratuity for the event servers and is charged at the end of the meal.
- In addition to cocktails, beer, and wines by the glass, there is a wine pairing available for purchase. This wine pairing includes a wine variety for each course and costs $22 per person.
- The Dining in the Dark experience takes about an hour to complete.
What's on the menu at Dining in the Dark at Meliá Orlando?
SPOILER ALERT: If you're planning to grab your tickets to Dining in the Dark and do not want to know what's on the menu, scroll through this section.
If you're interested in learning what's on each of the menus during this experience, read on.
Once again, this is a spoiler alert – scroll past here if you want to be surprised by the menu for the full dining in the dark, blindfolded experience.
We selected the Red Menu (meat) and the Blue Menu (seafood). Also note that the menu is subject to change and may vary from our experience described below. On each table from the start of the meal was a bowl of chili lime popcorn to snack on.
Red Menu
- Red menu appetizer: steak tartare, a meatball, and a skewer of prosciutto and cantaloupe.
- Red menu main course: chicken and beef satay skewers with a scallion pancake and an Asian-inspired dipping sauce.
- Red menu dessert: pineapple sorbet, fresh pineapple, and a pineapple smoothie.
Blue Menu
- Blue menu appetizer: tuna poke, scallop ceviche, and a crab cake.
- Blue menu main course: scallop and shrimp skewers with a scallion pancake and an Asian-inspired dipping sauce.
- Blue menu dessert: strawberry sorbet, fresh berries, and a strawberry smoothie.
Green / Vegan Menu
- Green menu appetizer: falafel, hummus, and beetroot tartare.
- Green menu main course: tofu skewers with a scallion pancake and an Asian-inspired dipping sauce.
- Green menu dessert: mango sorbet, fresh mango, and a mango smoothie.
Is Dining in the Dark at Meliá Orlando worth it?
At $64 per person, Dining in the Dark runs just under $130 per couple. Add in the $10 per person service fee and it's a $150 date night before alcohol even comes into the picture.
With a $22 per person wine pairing option and cocktails, beer, and wine that cost around $10 each on average, the night can get pretty pricey, pretty fast.
So is the event worth it? It depends on what you're after. As foodies, my husband and I truly found each menu course prepared by The Wilson to be delicious. Still, with the added service fees and alcohol costs, there are other events and restaurants in Orlando we'd probably spend that much money on instead.
Was the experience unique? Absolutely. If you're looking for something you and your partner have never done before, it's a fun evening that'll keep you talking about the experience long after the meal ends.
The food did not disappoint, and dining blindfolded was a wild time, which may make this quirky and original dinner experience a worthwhile date night adventure for Orlando couples.
That said, The Wilson has delicious food on its own, including a date night special on Friday nights that includes two pizzas and a bottle of wine for $40.
The venue often hosts live music, too, so it's a great place to hang out sans blindfold and enjoy some delicious food. The bar at The Wilson has an impressive zero-proof cocktail menu, too, something I appreciated as a non-drinker.
Meliá Orlando is worth a visit on a date night, for sure — it just depends on your budget and the vibe you're looking for whether you should grab dinner in the actual restaurant or dine with a blindfold on upstairs. Whichever you choose, you're bound to have a great evening!
