Best Karaoke in Orlando

If you’re looking to belt out a song in Orlando, you’ve basically got two flavors to choose from: somewhere big and loud, or somewhere small and yours. Here are the two we’d send a friend to.

Rising Star at Universal CityWalk

If you want the full stage-and-spotlight experience, Rising Star is hard to beat. It’s right inside Universal CityWalk, and it isn’t a standard karaoke setup: you sing with an actual live band backing you up. The crowd is big, the energy is high, and on busy nights you’re performing in front of a packed room.

It’s also a great spot if you don’t want to sing. Grab a drink, settle in, and watch other people give it their all. Some of the performances are surprisingly good. Some are not. Both are fun to watch.

The trade-off: there’s a long queue, the song list is curated to what the band knows, and you only get a turn, maybe, two over the course of a night.

Secret Hangout (just down I-Drive)

If singing in front of strangers isn’t your thing, or if you’d rather have your whole group take turns without anyone waiting in line, Secret Hangout is a few minutes from Universal on International Drive.

It’s set up the opposite way. You and your friends get a private themed room with a full karaoke system. No strangers, no queue, no judgment. Sing like nobody’s watching, because nobody is. Well, except for the friends you brought.

You also get to pick your theme.

The Treehouse Retreat is a cozy hang that feels like you’ve stumbled into a forest hideout, good for chill nights and groups of eight or fewer.

The Vampire Manor is moodier and a little theatrical: dark walls, gothic touches, the kind of room where your karaoke photos look like stills from a movie. Also good for groups of eight or fewer.

A few other things that come with either room:

• Drinks and light snacks delivered straight to your hangout, so there’s no leaving to find the bar.
• Board games delivered to your private space for free if you want to give your voice a rest.
• A Nintendo Switch™ dock connected to the big screen. Bring your own console and play between sets.

It’s a different vibe than Rising Star, and that’s the point. If your night is “us, our songs, our pace,” come hang out.

Why Secret Hangout

• Big group celebrating something? Rising Star for blaring energy, Secret Hangout for a private space where you can actually hear each other.
• Nervous about singing? Secret Hangout. Singing in front of just your friends is way less terrifying than a packed room.
• Visiting Universal for the day? Both are minutes away. Rising Star is on-site at CityWalk; we’re a 5-minute drive up I-Drive.