VooDoo Doughnut Arrives in Orlando: What You Need to Know
Ever longed to visit the iconic, Portland-based VooDoo Doughnut but felt like 3,032 miles was just a bit far to travel?
Well, good news: VooDoo Doughnut has landed at CityWalk at Universal Orlando, so you can get your sugar fix right here.
VooDoo Doughnut is known for their unique flavors and irreverent, euphemism-filled style. If you’ve visited one of their non-CityWalk locations, you’ll notice some details have been toned down ever-so-slightly in the interest of being family-friendly. No weiner-shaped or blunt-styled pastries here. Some names have been changed, too: Butterfingering is just called Butterfinger, The Homer is Little Pink, the Gay Bar became Pride, and Triple Chocolate Penetration has been truncated to just Triple Chocolate. Their slogans are still prominent (“the magic is in the hole” and “good things come in pink boxes”) so be aware if you plan to stop in with inquisitive younglings.
Doughnut/Donut Varieties + Waiting in Line
VooDoo’s donuts fall into two main categories: Raised Yeast and Cake. A number of their offerings are also vegan. Those who have food allergies should be aware that all donuts are prepared on the same equipment and may contain “eggs, milk and dairy products, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, voodoo magic, and soy.”
Donuts are priced between $1 and $10 each. Want a dozen? Depending on the varieties included, they can make it happen for between $19 – $30. If you need to be over-the-top and buy a wooden coffin o’donuts, that’ll set you back about $130. Yep, you can use your UO Passholder discount here.
The Queue
No idea what you want? Don’t worry – the door attendant has menus, and you’ll get to circle a donut carousel while in line. I actually don’t recommend trying to decide before you arrive, because CityWalk does not carry some of the flavors other locations do.
Be prepared to spend between 10 – 20 minutes in line. The queue is split in two, so half your wait might be outside. Since parking at CityWalk is free after 6:00 PM and heaps of people descend upon the area for dinner, evening wait times might be longer.
The Part Where We Actually Eat the Donuts
I’m usually a cake donut person, but at VooDoo, I prefer their fritters and raised yeast donuts. While the cakes are dense and a bit dry, the raised yeasts are soft and fluffy.
VooDoo Doll
Clockwise from top left: Portland Cream, Grape Ape, Little Pink/Homer, and VooDoo Doll
VooDoo Doughnut’s signature offering. Big raised yeast donut with chocolate frosting, raspberry filling, and a pretzel stick. Each one has a face and a tummy swirl, but individual donuts vary. I’ve seen a dolls with vampire teeth, bottom teeth only, and so forth.
I don’t personally love chocolate frosting, but this is a good donut. My favorite part was the raspberry filling; it was sweet, tart, and so different from the sickly-sweet jelly filling you commonly find. If they made this with glaze instead of chocolate frosting, I’d be all over it.
Conversely, Mr. EC’s least favorite part was the raspberry filling. He found it too overpowering and too sour. He loved the flavor of the chocolate frosting, though, and approved of the icing-to-donut ratio.
Little Pink
(Portland Name: Homer)
Yeast donut with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. Quite possibly my favorite so far. The dough is soft and fluffy, and the frosting is sweet and has that satisfying faux-strawberry flavor. Nothing over-the-top, but still damn good.
ODB
Back Left: ODB Front Right: Memphis Mafia
(Portland Name: Old Dirty Bastard)
Raised yeast donut with vanilla frosting, oreo crumbles, and peanut butter. Mr. EC found it bold and heavy; peanut butter is a dominant flavor in this one.
Buttermilk Bar
Possibly the 2nd most boring-looking VooDoo offers, but it’s damn delicious. The inside is dense and a little dry, but it’s soft at the same time. The glaze is where this baby really shines, though. Whoa. So good.
Portland Cream
Yeast donut filled with Bavarian cream and topped with chocolate frosting. Essentially a Boston Cream donut. VooDoo didn’t skimp on the filling.
Mr. EC liked this one but says there are more exciting donuts to get from VooDoo. You can essentially get this kind of treat anywhere.
I found the filling to be a little perfumey, oddly enough, but I do agree and appreciate that they weren’t half-assing it when they filled the shell.
Butterfinger
(Portland Name: Butterfingering)
Chocolate cake donut with vanilla frosting and Butterfinger crumbles. Small and dense. Mr. EC’s favorite. The Butterfinger topping was finely ground and balanced out the cake nicely.
Memphis Mafia
Fritter with actual banana pieces, cinnamon, glaze, chocolate, and peanut butter. SO. GOOD. This one is huge, roughly the size of a personal pan pizza, so you can totally split it between 2 – 3 people. One of the messiest donuts I’ve tried from VooDoo, but worth it. If you’re a Bananas Foster person, a chocolate person, and a peanut butter person, this is the best of all three worlds.
Grape Ape
Raised yeast donut with vanilla frosting, grape dust, and sprinkles. Made my car smell like a block of grape BubbleYum in the best way possible. Dough is soft and fluffy, per usual. Vanilla frosting is sweet, creamy, and delicious. Grape dust tastes a bit sour and super grapey. Was this weird to have on a donut? Yes, totally. But did it also taste good? Also yes. Gold star for creativity.
Sugar Drunk
VooDoo Doughnut offers a big variety of donuts – some are simple, and others are unconventional. Whether you’re feeling adventurous or prefer to play it safe with an old favorite, they’re gonna have something you’ll like.
If we were going to buy a dozen donuts, we’d probably head to Krispy Kreme. But when we’re at Universal or CityWalk and craving a sweet treat? VooDoo is the perfect place to visit.
