Orlando Terminal C Lounge Review | Plaza Premium

Terminal C at the Orlando International Airport (MCO) recently opened. This is exciting news for aviation nerds and those who travel to Orlando often as the terminal’s A & B showed their age, especially on the airside.

Fortunately, the new terminal is a huge improvement and includes a new Plaza Premium airport lounge. Interestingly enough, this is only the brand’s second location in the U.S. Plaza Premium operates most of the lounges in Canada, and they’re underwhelming. The good news is that this new lounge is easily one of the best Orlando airport lounges. Read my Orlando Terminal C lounge review now for the full details.

After clearing security, the lounge will be a two-minute walk away on your left side. It’s just past the circular screens in the foyer and beside gate 242. You can’t miss it.

Check-in is on the ground floor, but the lounge is located on the second floor.

One annoying this is that currently, the lounge is only open from 12PM to 9PM. I was flying Lynx Air to Toronto, which had a departure time of 1:15PM. That only left me 20 minutes or so to check out the lounge. Fortunately, my flight was delayed as soon as I entered the lounge, so I spent about an hour there.

For reference, other airlines flying from Terminal C include, Aer Lingus, Azul, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, Emirates, Gol, Icelandair, JetBlue, Lufthansa and Norse Atlantic Airways.

You can only access this lounge if you’re airside at Orlando’s terminal C. If you’re in Terminal B, there’s the Club at MCO that you can try out.

At 10,000-square-feet, the new Plaza Premuim lounge is the largest of the Orlando airport lounges. It essentially has three sections. This first area is a bit darker since it has no windows. It’s not as loud as the main dining area, but there is a kids area.

The kids area consists of a single interactive TV screen. If kids step in front of the camera, the games will start up where they can interact with marine life. It’s a nice little area which has no touch points. There are benches and chairs nearby so parents can keep a close eye on their little ones.

Before you get to the main area, you’ll come across this drink and snack station. You’ll find fountain soda, a Lavazza coffee machine, flavoured ice water and some cookies. This is the only area where you can get flavoured ice water. Note that there are no lids so taking any drinks to go can be challenging.

Now it’s time to talk about the main area in my Orlando Terminal C lounge review. This area is quite spacious and features a bar, food stations, floor to ceiling windows and plenty of seating. The windows only give you a view of one gate, so you won’t see too many planes. There are windows that oversee the terminal foyer incase you want to see people that don’t have lounge access.

Here’s a view of the bar and seating from the reverse angle. Note that the longer table in the foreground is one of the few seating areas that give you direct access to a power outlet. There are outlets on the pillars by the window, but those seats are typically taken up first.

That said, in the corner of the lounge, there are slightly secluded individual seats that each feature power outlets and a lamp. While I like these seats, they’re not exactly practical for someone who needs to work on their laptop. There’s no formal business area, which is a bit of a surprise. However, it does seem like many modern lounges lack a dedicated business area, so maybe that’s no longer a priority for people.

There were four hot, self-serve dishes when I visited the lounge. There was spaghetti with cheese, chicken teriyaki stir-fry, white rice and sauted vegetables. The self-serve buffet was a welcome change as The Club at MCO in Terminal B has limited food options that you order with a QR code.

The quality of the food was quite good. If you have the time, you could easily fill up here before your flight. I should mention that there are no individually packaged items like granola bars that you can take with you.

Beside the hot food, there was also a cold food station that featured Greek salad, fruit cups, and pasta salad. I sampled all of these and they all tasted great. Technically speaking, you could pour these into a cup and bring them onto the plane with you. But remember, there are no lids available.

Another food station nearby featured hot soup, buns and dessert. What you’re seeing here is multiple variations of chocolate mousse. There was a plan version, one with vanilla, one with oreo, one with nuts and one with vanilla and oreos.

Scones, cookies and pound cake were also located at this food station. I should mention that the lounge doesn’t make things exactly allergy friendly. The peanutbutter cookies were right beside the chocolate chip cookies. It’s hard to tell what’s what. I also saw nuts and sesame seeds in some of the dishes. These are common things people are alergic to.

Similar to the first area, there’s a fountain soda and Lavazza beverage machine available. There’s also a ice machine and cold/hot water tap available.

Now let’s talk about the bar in my Orlando Plaza Premium review. The bar features two free beers and two free wines. If you want something else or a premium beverage, there’s an upcharge. Since I don’t drink alcohol, I’m not sure if this is common or not at lounges, but it’s something to be aware of.

Here’s a list of the wine and spirits that cost extra. The extra price increase seems reasonable and is clearly much cheaper than had you gone to one of the bars or restaurants in the common areas of the airport.

Another interesting thing about the Orlando Plaza Premium lounge in Terminal C is optional tapas. For $5, you can get items such mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers and kettle chips. These items are made to order so I guess the cost is reasonable. That said, it’s not like the buffet was lacking options.

In the middle of the lounge you’ll find the washrooms. There are eight unisex toilets. They’re quite spacious and clean. There are only two sinks available.

As soon as you enter the lounge, you’ll find three showers to your right. Each room as an individual shower with plenty of room to change.

Orlando Terminal C lounge pros and cons

Overall, my Orlando Terminal C lounge review is positive since it’s a brand new lounge spread over a giant space. That said, here’s a pros and cons list for quick reference

Orlando Terminal C lounge pros

• Huge space – At 10,000-square-feet, this is a pretty large lounge.
• Good selection of food – There were plenty of food and drink options.
• Showers – Not many lounges have showers, so this is a nice surprise

Orlando Terminal C lounge cons

• No takeaway – While it’s not standard for you to take food from the lounge, some to go options and lids for drinks would be nice.
• No business centre – This may not be a big deal, but there’s no area dedicated to business travellers.
• Additional costs – If you want premium drinks and snacks, you’ll need to pay extra.