Plaza Live is an entertainment venue owned by the Orlando Philharmonic. Free adjacent parking, reasonably priced refreshments and a professional staff make this a great spot to see a show.
This theater built in 1963 started as a two screen theater and was converted into a live concert venue in the early 1990's. The main floor, sections 1,2 and 3 have folding chairs with padding that make them comfortable. They are fixed in place so that every seat is equal distant apart. They remove these for general admission shows. Sections 4 and 5 are the balcony seating. It's a small venue so pretty much every seat is better than an arena or stadium.
The theater has recently completed renovations to the entire complex and besides a new sound system and building structural changes, there are new bathrooms, remodeled lobby and now 2 beverage serving counters.
The Philharmonic has shows here and at the Dr Phillips Center. Plaza Live books national and international acts via AXS Tickets which is similar to Ticketmaster.
I have gone to over a 100 shows here over the years because of no hassle parking and generally short or no entry queues.
The theater books acts that allow you to see shows much closer to the artist and ticket prices don't break the bank. However there are service fees as follows:
Ticketing basically boils down to the same fees at the box office or online. Additional fees apply if you order over the phone and how you take delivery. Here is their fee schedule:
"There are three different fees that may be added to your ticket purchase, depending on how you order your tickets and how you choose to have them delivered. These fees go toward staffing, equipment, venue updates, education programs, and ensuring that parking at The Plaza Live remains free for its guests. See below for more details on ticket fees for The Plaza Live.
A per-ticket service fee is added to the price of each ticket at the time of purchase.
Service fees are based on a percentage of the ticket price.
Service fees are added to tickets ordered online, in-person, or over the phone.
Service fees apply to all ticket sales. All sales are final. A fee of $1 per ticket will be added to ticket sales processed through the AXS call center.
Tickets by mail are an additional $15, "will call pickup" is $6 and there is no fee for accessing your tickets via the Flash Seats app."
Good to know:
There is a strict small bag size which pops up as a warning on their website. I frequently see people returning to their cars with larger bags. There is a metal detector, body wand scan and physical bag check. They do not allow outside food or drinks.
Although the restrooms are recently remodeled there is a limited number and during intermission and after the show there can be lines. My experience is they move fast. Lately the merch tables are outside near the doors protected by the theater roof.
The Flash Seats App uses a refresh every 60 seconds so a screen print of tickets will not work with the entrance scanners. For the free delivery the app must be OPEN, signed in and the tickets displayed on your phone. Physical tickets obtained by mail or the box office will work.
The somewhat negative is that the Plaza Live staff does not prevent attendees from leaving their seats and standing near the stage. Based on the exuberance for the act this can grow to a crowd. Many times they are filming on their phones.
At a recent event an artist seemed to be receptive to photos but soon there was a huge throng in front of the stage all with their brightly lit phones on video. The artist asked the audience "Can you just put them down?" Which lasted for 5 minutes.
Tickets are priced by location. If I had front row seating and people were blocking my view, I might not enjoy the show.
There is not a water fountain but beverages including water are available from the service bars.
I always have a great time and have seen comedy acts, guitar heros like Joe Banamaasa and Dweezil Zappa and many artists that I have been a fan of since my youth. read more