We Tried All The Doughnuts At Voodoo Doughnuts

    Slightly over four years ago, a Portland based doughnut shop, opened a location at Universal Orlando CityWalk. This themed doughnut place already had a location at Universal Studios Hollywood. This doughnut place, Voodoo Doughnuts, quickly fit in nicely at Universal Orlando Resort. The queues for these doughnuts can grow long depending on time of day. In recent months, a separate mobile order pickup area was designed for guests.
​
               Currently, Voodoo Doughnut sells over fifty different types of doughnuts. Thirteen of those doughnuts classify as vegan doughnuts. As a result of this place, a strange idea developed in the minds of the Universal Food Blog team. What would it be like to eat most of these doughnuts at Voodoo Doughnuts all at once?

               For clarification, for this experiment, some of the doughnuts failed to be available that day. Also, some doughnuts did not make the cut due to being too much like other doughnuts. For example, if we ordered the maple bar then no need to order a vegan maple bar. Also, the Texas doughnut did not get eaten in this experiment since it tastes like a big version of a glaze doughnut-which was eaten. Also, seasonal doughnuts failed to make the cut.
​
               For record, Voodoo Doughnut creates many different types of seasonal doughnuts throughout the year. Please follow Universal Food Blog’s social media channels for updates on those types of doughnuts.

               According to Voodoo Doughnut’s online menu, the doughnuts are broken down into different categories. Those categories are specialty, old fashioned, plain cakes, devil’s food cake, fritters, raised yeast rings, raised yeast bars, and raised yeast shells. Most people prefer a certain style of doughnut. At Voodoo Doughnut, guests likely will find a type they like. As we consumed these doughnuts, the preferences of each individual person became obvious. I will attempt to breakdown the group’s overall reaction to each category of doughnuts purchased.

SPECIALTY DOUGHNUTS
 
               The three specialty doughnuts eaten, during this experiment, were the Voodoo Doll, Universal Orangesicle, and the Miami Viceberry. All of these consist of raised yeast style doughnuts. However, each comes in a different shape. The signature Voodoo Doll one displays the strengths and weaknesses of Voodoo Doughnut quite well. The most common weakness at Voodoo Doughnut regards their topping. They tend to taste stale. The signature pretzel “stake” thru the doughnut’s “heart tends to taste average at best. However, the raised yeast doughnut shines through well. The raspberry jelly filling (the blood for this theming) provides a solid amount of flavor. If you like a jelly filled doughnuts, then this one should brighten your day in a creepy sort of way

               The Universal Orangesicle provided a different taste sensation. This Bavarian cream filled doughnut includes a citrus frosting. The frosting brings a nice sensation to the consumer. This doughnut started as a specialty doughnut. However, over time, it quickly moved to being a permanent fixture at Universal Orlando. We found this doughnut to be one of the better ones at Voodoo but be prepared for non-traditional doughnut frosting.
​
               Last in quality in this category brings us to the Miami Viceberry one. We thought this doughnut needed more frosting. The quality depends too much on pixie sticks style pink sprinkles on top. However, this doughnut tasted reasonably good.

OLD FASHIONED CAKE DOUGHNUTS
 
               Old fashioned doughnuts look and taste as you would expect from the name. The “Buttermilk Bar” continues to function as a reliable go-to option for Universal Food Blog. The flavor meets doughnut expert standards. The price point at $1.70 provides good value also.
               The other three doughnuts in this category come in ring shape. The three flavors are glazed, chocolate frosted, and maple covered. On this day, the maple flavored one tasted best for the group. However, I doubt anything in this category can replace Xavier’s beloved buttermilk bar.
 
PLAIN CAKE DOUGHNUTS
 
               This category includes nine different doughnuts. Several of them rate as standard good quality doughnuts. Please do not let the title “plain” cause you to think these doughnuts lack flavor. If you are looking for a doughnut less extravagant here, then these would be good options. The more “normal” doughnuts are plain cake, chocolate frosted cake, powdered sugar cake, cinnamon sugar cake, sprinkle cake (vanilla frosting with sprinkles), and peanut cake. None of these will blow you away. However, each one costs $1.75 or less. Of this grouping, I found the peanut and sprinkle cake one most enjoyable.
               The three most notable ones in this category were the Eight Mile, Blueberry, and Tangfastic. Only the “Eight Mile” costs more than $2. The “Eight Mile” has a clever title but is basically a vanilla cake doughnut covered in M&M candy. On the downside, the Tangfastic one tasted the worst of any doughnut we had this day. Perhaps it was a bad day, but the “Tang” flavor with the vanilla frosting and marshmallows did nothing to improve the doughnut. The big surprise (at least to me) involved the blueberry one. The blueberry inclusions within the cake doughnuts provided excellent flavor without being overpowering. For a more “normal” doughnut, these pack solid flavor and value.
 
DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE DOUGHNUTS
 
               Five doughnuts exist in this category. The “Butterfinger” one was unavailable that day as well as “Diablos Rex.” That left us the Double Chocolate, Chocolate Coconut Cake, and Ring of Fire. The first two cost under $2. They taste solid but nothing spectacular. The “Ring of Fire” provides a bit of kick to a doughnut. This doughnut includes cayenne pepper and is topped with dried red chili pepper. The “spicy” flavor will not overwhelm most people. However, we found this doughnut to be disappointing. The flavor was fine but not impressive to us that day.

FRITTERS
 
               Sadly, the second most expensive doughnut at Voodoo Doughnut was unavailable. The “Memphis Mafia Fritter” which costs $5.75 evaded Xavier this time. That fritter features banana chunks and cinnamon covered in glaze, drizzled in chocolate and peanut butter with peanuts and chocolate chips on top.
​
               The only other fritter here got a second tasting by Xavier and I during the week of this doughnuts extravaganza. We shared it two days before. Well, Xavier got it and let me have a little. Let me just say that Xavier, the doughnut snob, loved this fritter. I must agree that the fritter tasted great. We debated whether this bakery treat qualifies as a fritter since the texture resembled a doughnut more. When eaten in contrast to the Lard Lad’s apple fritter, which we did two days before, the textures are strikingly different. Whether it is a fritter or a doughnut, the quality rates high with this one.

RAISED YEAST RING DOUGHNUTS
 
               This brings us to my favorite type of doughnuts---raised yeast. However, I think I function in the minority among the Universal Food Blog crew this day. Two of these ring doughnuts qualify as “normal.” They still taste good but nothing extravagant though. The glazed and chocolate frosted ones serve as the two in question.

               If looking for something a bit more non-traditional, we enjoyed several more doughnuts in this category. The “Little Pink” looks like a simple doughnut with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. In fairness, that rings true. However, when taste testing both versions of Lard Lad’s “pink” doughnuts and the Everglazed version at Disney Springs, this one wins the “pink” doughnuts category. Also, this one costs the least of those mentioned.

               The remaining five doughnuts in this category offer some interesting and tasty toppings. The weakest one within this category has the cool name “Oh, Captain, My Captain.” This doughnut topped with cereal suffers the usual problem of stale tasting toppings. In our experience that day, the cereal topping tasted okay. However, the rest of the doughnut rated as average for a doughnut from here.

               The other four doughnuts got mixed reviews from the group. Those are:
Dirt- Raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting and Oreo cookies
ODB -Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreo cookies, and peanut butter
Grape Ape -Raised yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting, grape dust, and lavender sprinkles
Chuckles - Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting dipped in mocha powder and topped with peanuts, caramel, and chocolate drizzle.

               These doughnuts tasted pretty good. The “Grape Ape” one owns a unique flavor. Like some of the other doughnuts, we felt it needed more frosting. The other three listed above offer some great flavors. We found the flavors good but inconsistent. These are good doughnuts but probably not the best ones at Voodoo Doughnuts.
 
RAISED YEAST BARS
 
               Voodoo offers two varieties of bars. The “Bacon Maple Bar” has many fans. In polls, this doughnut consistently ranks very high. We thought it was good. However, the price point of $4 seems high for reasons to follow. The bacon on top tasted okay but not worth the price difference compared to the next doughnut. The “Maple Bar” however costs $1.75. The only difference between it and the bacon topped one is the bacon. Having said that, the maple flavor covering the raised yeast doughnuts tastes great. The version without bacon might be the best value at Voodoo Doughnut.
 
RAISED YEAST SHELLS
 
               Voodoo Doughnut offers five versions of shell style doughnuts. These doughnuts provide excellent vehicles for the tasty fillings. For a variety of reasons, we did not try the Guava Colada and Raspberry Romeo doughnuts in this category. We did enjoy the other three, Portland Cream, Mango Tango, and Maple Cream.
               Now, the “Mango Tango” comes with mango jelly. The filling tastes great. The frosting with tang provides a nice flavor combination. We did feel this doughnut had texture issues. If you are the type of person that texture of food affects you, then this might not be the doughnut for you.
               The “Portland Cream” doughnut consistently gets high marks from guests. The Bavarian cream paired with the chocolate frosting creates a good overall taste. The touch of the two “eyeballs” creates a nice appearance and tribute to Portland. We found this one a bit messy so you should get lots of napkins.
               The “Maple Cream” doughnut provided the best surprise to me. The Bavarian cream and doughnut itself gives a wonderful taste combination. This doughnut comes with the well-liked maple frosting. Just to show some Voodoo style, a set of eyes and a mustache decorate the doughnut. As you might imagine, we enjoyed this doughnut. 

CONCLUSION:
               Your experience may vary. Still, our opinions (and my consulting other respected sources I trust) led us to conclusions about which Voodoo Doughnuts taste best. Before listing ones that rated highest, please remember we did not try every doughnut option. Also, depending on when you visit Universal Orlando, a seasonal doughnut might be more appealing to you.

In no certain order, we found the following doughnuts to be the best (at least on this day): 
-Apple Fritter
-Maple Bar
-Maple Cream
-Portland Cream
-Blueberry Cake
-Universal Orangesicle.
​
               We hope this survey of Voodoo Doughnuts helps you with your choices here. We enjoyed having these doughnuts. At Universal Food Blog, we go to great lengths to eat food, good or bad, so you will know before you buy. Yes, we tried over 30 doughnuts in one day. When you think about that, you are one of two things: jealous or grossed out! Please leave us know your thoughts on these doughnuts in the comments. We would love to hear your thoughts for future articles to help others. I would like to give special thanks to Tom Acres of Park Rush Podcast for helping with this doughnut eating adventure. I would also like to thank Xavier Hamilton for putting up with my spoiled theme park food blogger mentality. As always, eat like you mean it!

Jon Self

​​​Jon Self is an avid theme park fan who has the high privilege to serve as a pastor at an American Baptist Church (fbcmacomb.com) while also trying to find the proper life path with his loving spouse, a bigger theme park fan than Jon. You can follow him at @pastorjonself on Twitter. Jon writes for various theme park sources such as piratesandprincesses.net and universalfamilyvacations.com. He also writes for faithelement.net.