What is Black Friday like in Orlando?

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. In 2026, Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26, per the federal holiday calendar, so Black Friday is Friday, November 27. Orlando packs outlets, malls and big box stores a short drive from the theme parks, which is why plenty of families fold the shopping into a holiday week trip.

When does Black Friday start in Orlando?

In stores, early Friday morning, November 27, 2026. Online, deals can go live several days before.

For years, Black Friday in Orlando started on Thanksgiving night. In 2017, according to FOX 35 Orlando, both Premium Outlets opened at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving and stayed open until 11 p.m. Friday, and the Florida Mall opened at 6 p.m. on Thursday. That changed. In 2024, according to WKMG, the four shopping centers below stayed closed on Thanksgiving and opened early Friday. In 2025, the Friday hours repeated at the centers Patch listed.

Shopping center	Thanksgiving 2024	Black Friday 2024	Black Friday 2025
Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets	closed	5 a.m. to 10 p.m.	not found in sources
Orlando International Premium Outlets	closed	5 a.m. to 10 p.m.	5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Florida Mall	closed	6 a.m. to 10 p.m.	6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Mall at Millenia	closed	8 a.m. to 9 p.m.	8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sources: WKMG ClickOrlando (2024) and Patch (2025). The 2026 hours had not been published as of October 6, 2026. On that date, both outlets’ official pages showed only regular hours: Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Check again the week you travel, because individual stores inside a center can set their own hours.

The big chains follow the same pattern. Walmart, Target and Best Buy closed on Thanksgiving 2025, according to ABC7. Target announced in 2021 that it would close on the holiday from then on. Walmart opened at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday 2025.

A closed store does not mean a closed website. In 2025, Walmart released its Black Friday deals online on Tuesday, November 25, at midnight Eastern, which is Orlando time. Its Cyber Monday deals started at 12:01 a.m. on December 1 and were online only. In 2026, Cyber Monday is November 30.

Which Orlando outlets and stores are worth it on Black Friday?

It depends on what you want. For brand name clothing, sneakers and handbags, the outlets. For electronics, Best Buy, Apple and the big chains. For everyday items and kids’ stuff, Walmart and Target.

The two Premium Outlets. These are the best known, and which one is better mostly comes down to where you are staying. Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets is at 8200 Vineland Ave, near Lake Buena Vista, the area next to Disney. Orlando International Premium Outlets is at 4951 International Dr, at the north end of International Drive. The red line of the I-RIDE Trolley, the International Drive trolley, connects both. A single ride costs $2, and bring exact change, because drivers do not give change.

The malls. The Florida Mall is at 8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, and The Mall at Millenia at 4200 Conroy Road. Both have an Apple Store, according to Apple.

Apple. Do not expect a lower sticker price. In 2025, according to MacRumors, Apple ran a shopping event from November 28 to December 1 that gave an Apple Gift Card with the purchase of selected products. The newest models were left out, and the gift card only works on a future purchase.

Best Buy, Walmart and Target. They open early on Friday. Watch each store’s website the week before and compare the in-store price with the online price on the same day, because some deals are online only.

Before you leave the house, make a list of what each item costs at home, in your own currency. In a checkout line at 6 a.m., it is hard to tell whether a discount is really a deal.

Does the price tag include sales tax?

No. In the U.S., the price on the shelf does not include tax. According to the Florida Department of Revenue, sales tax is added to the price and collected from the buyer at the time of sale. The state rate is 6%, and each county can add a surtax on top.

Where you shop	State sales tax	County surtax	Total	A $100 item costs
Orange County (Orlando, the outlets, Florida Mall, Millenia)	6%	0.5%	6.5%	$106.50
Osceola County (Kissimmee, ChampionsGate)	6%	1.5%	7.5%	$107.50
Polk County (Davenport)	6%	1%	7%	$107.00

Source: Florida Department of Revenue, form DR-15DSS. The department’s list of surtax changes for 2026 does not include any of these three counties.

All four shopping centers above are in Orange County, so the Black Friday math is 6.5%. For online orders delivered in Florida, the state rule is to charge the surtax of the county where the item is delivered. An order shipped to a home in Kissimmee, for example, carries the Osceola surtax.

Run the numbers before you compare with prices at home. An $80 pair of sneakers at the outlet becomes $85.20 at the register.

Flying home to the UK or Canada with your shopping?

Check your duty free allowance before you fill the suitcase. Both governments publish the limits, and both say you cannot combine your allowance with anyone else’s.

Returning to	Duty free limit for goods	If you go over
Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales)	£390 per person (£270 by private plane or boat)	Tax and duty on the total value, not only the amount above £390
Canada, after 24 hours away	CAN$200 per person, no alcohol or tobacco	Duty and taxes on the whole amount
Canada, after 48 hours away	CAN$800 per person	Duty and taxes only on the amount above CAN$800

Sources: GOV.UK and the Canada Border Services Agency, October 2026.

A few details that matter after a shopping weekend:

• UK: if you are over the allowance, you can declare online from 5 days (120 hours) before you arrive, or at the border using the red channel. Goods that are not declared can be seized.
• Canada: for the 24 and 48 hour exemptions, the goods have to be with you when you enter. After 7 days away, goods other than alcohol and tobacco can follow by courier or mail. The CBSA recommends keeping your receipts.

Can you ship online orders to your vacation rental?

Sometimes, but only after you confirm with whoever manages the home. The answer changes from home to home and from resort to resort.

Ask before you place the order:

• Does the home accept deliveries, and on which dates?
• Will the package arrive after your check-in? If it arrives before, another guest could receive it, or it could sit at the door.
• Does the resort have a gate? At gated communities, the driver may need to be cleared.
• What is the exact address? House number, street, city and ZIP code have to match what the store has on file.

If the answer is no, there are alternatives. Amazon has pickup lockers, the Amazon Lockers. You choose one at checkout, get a pickup code and collect the package within the window shown in the delivery email. An uncollected package goes back to Amazon. Many chains also offer in-store pickup as an option at checkout.

At Orlando Best Place, message the team before you buy. We answer 24/7, in English, Portuguese and Spanish, on WhatsApp at +1 (407) 719-1493, and we can tell you what works for the home you booked.

The house helps after the shopping, too. There is room to open boxes, sort what goes in each suitcase and get rid of the packaging. In a hotel room, that sorting ends up on the bed.

Staying close to the outlets helps. See where to stay in Orlando and whether you need a car to get between the stores.

Is it worth visiting Orlando over Black Friday weekend?

It is if the shopping matters as much as the parks. Thanksgiving week is a high crowd week at the parks.

The reason is the school calendar. In Orange County, where Orlando is, public schools are off November 23 to 27, 2026. In our calendar of the least crowded times at the Orlando parks, November 21 to 29 shows up as high crowds, while the weeks before range from low to moderate.

The upside is the weather. Per NOAA normals, November is Orlando’s driest month, with an average high of 78 °F (26 °C). What to expect all month is in Orlando in November, and the holiday itself, with what opens and what closes, is in Thanksgiving in Orlando.

For lodging, the holiday week is a spike inside the slower season, as we explain in Orlando peak and off season. As a reference, the median nightly rate per person at Orlando Best Place homes, with the home full and before cleaning and taxes, is $25 over the next 12 months. That is the reference for the whole year, not for the holiday week. Groups of several families split that cost best, and the options are in vacation homes for large groups.

In practice: if your kids’ school allows it, arrive the week before and do the parks between Monday the 16th and Friday the 20th of November, while Orange County schools are still in session. Save Thanksgiving week for the pool, dinner at the house and shopping. On Friday the 27th, hit the outlet at opening and be back at the house in time for lunch and a rest.