Disney Springs Date Night: Why You Should See a Concert at House of Blues

Whether you’re an Orlando local or just visiting, it’s always important to make time for date night with your person. This past week, we did just that by visiting Disney Springs for dinner followed by a concert at the iconic House of Blues.

Dinner Date at Disney Springs

We kicked things off by joining 12 of our friends at City Works Eatery & Pour House for dinner ahead of our concert. The restaurant is located on the West Side of Disney Springs, right next to the future home of Level 99, a huge entertainment complex that opens sometime this summer.

City Works is best known for its classic American fare, a massive selection of craft brews, and plenty of screens to catch whichever “big game” you’re in the mood to watch. There’s seating both inside and outside on the patio, as well as an outdoor bar. We opted to sit inside, just because of the size of our party.

The Food!

We ordered six of the menu’s appetizers for the entire table, and each of us got our own entree and drink. As for the appetizers, we picked up:

Fried Pickles: Kosher dill, beer-battered, with ranch dressing

Tracker Tip: If needed, you can ask for vegan ranch to dip your fried pickles! One person in our group did this, and it turned out great!

Pretzel Bites: Pretzels with salt, served with beer cheese sauce

Queso Dip: Hot chorizo, pepper jack cheese sauce, Fresno chiles, queso fresco, micro cilantro, and served with corn tortilla chips

Crab Rangoon Mozzarella Sticks: Crab, shrimp, cream cheese, green onions, garlic mozzarella, Panko breading, sesame seeds, and Firecracker Sauce.

Tuna Nachos: Sesame ginger-marinated ahi tuna, cucumber, daikon radish, tomato, avocado, Fresno chiles, green onions, sesame seeds, spicy mayo, soy glaze, and served on crispy wonton chips

Kung Pao Cauliflower: Roasted cauliflower, sweet peppers, green onions, garlic, ginger, arbol chiles, peanuts, chili oil, and sweet and spicy tamari.

We wanted to try a variety of appetizers and shareables so that everyone at the table could get something they enjoyed. If we had to choose favorites, our top two definitely would have been the Tuna Nachos and the Queso Dip. Those seemed to be a hit with everyone at the table.

When it came time for entrees, no two people in our party got the same dish. We ended up getting the Steak Bowl (Soy-glazed grilled NY strip, cilantro rice, kimchi, cucumbers, pickled red onions, grilled marinated broccolini, spicy mayo, sesame seeds, and green onions) and the Bacon Cheeseburger (Hardwood-smoked candied thick-cut bacon, aged Vermont white and yellow cheddar cheeses, shredded iceberg, vine-ripened tomato, and red onion).

As for drinks, we opted to try two of City Works’ zero-proof mocktails: the Garden Nojito (Cucumber, mine, lime, lavender syrup, raspberry syrup, Sprite, and soda) and the Mellow Mule (Cucumber, honey syrup, blueberry syrup, lime juice, and grenadine). We thought these were tasty and a nice option for those who don’t drink alcohol.

Before we left to line up for the concert, we, of course, had to make time for dessert! We picked two options, and let our server surprise us with the third:

PB Snickers Pie: Oreo Cookie Crust, Peanut Butter Mousse, Snickers, Whipped Cream, Caramel, Chocolate Sauce
Churro Pretzel Bites: Fried Pretzel Bites, Cinnamon Sugar and Caramel Sauce
Baked Cookie (the surprise choice): Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Caramel, Chocolate Sauce, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Whipped Cream

Tracker Tip: Definitely get to know your servers while dining at City Works! They offer a wealth of knowledge about the menu and are more than happy to share their suggestions if you’re unsure of what to get!

Seeing a Concert at House of Blues

If you’ve never seen a concert or show at the House of Blues in Disney Springs, it’s definitely an experience worth having if there’s time!

You can purchase your tickets online ahead of time, but there is also a box office open from 12-7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and after 12 p.m. on show days.

Tracker Tip: Keep in mind that House of Blues Orlando does have a bag policy. Bags up to 12” x 6” x 12” are allowed in the venue, and all bags will be searched before entering. Backpacks, Camelbacks, and Bota Bags are not allowed. Bags that aren’t clear will be subjected to additional search.

Depending on the demand for your show, you might have to line up around the back of House of Blues along the waterfront and patiently make your way to the front entrance and security checkpoint.

Security is super simple: just a quick bag search and a walk through a metal detector. Once you do those, you’re in! All in all, waiting in line and getting through security took about 20 minutes. By the time we got inside, there was still plenty of room for our entire group to find a spot in the pit!

Tracker Tip: Re-entry is not allowed for shows at House of Blues. Remember that once you leave, even if the show is still going on, you can’t get back in.

For our show, we saw the Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Tell Me Lies! Doors to the venue opened at 7:30 p.m. that evening, and then the show actually started around 9 p.m. and ran for a couple of hours. We left Disney Springs around midnight when all was said and done, so be prepared to drive home or back to your hotel late!

If you’re local to Orlando or just visiting, we think adding dinner and a show at House of Blues can turn your regular vacation into a memorable “datecation!” We had so much fun, and could definitely see ourselves doing this again in the future.

Want to see more from our experience? Check out the vlog below:

To learn more about City Works Eatery & Pour House and House of Blues Orlando, visit CityWorksRestaurant.com and Orlando.HouseOfBlues.com. A big thank you to City Works for having us out!