Ciera Peters | The Liquidity Journal | Q3 2026

An Orlando day trip through Korean street food, a post-apocalyptic speakeasy and Hilton Orlando's Glow Pool Party

Sometimes things get… difficult. Sometimes you're carrying more than usual, and so many heavy and important things are vying for your attention, that the thought of fun seems irresponsible.

"How dare you make jokes at a time like this?"

"How can you have fun when your world is burning around you?"

The truth is, those so-called irresponsible moments are the ones that keep you afloat.

So, in the midst of the worst year of my life, I decided to do something that might have seemed ill-timed:

Have some fun.

My friend Morgan sent me the listing for Hilton Orlando's Glow Pool Party, and the idea sounded like exactly the kind of random adventure I needed. So I made the drive to Orlando, arriving around lunchtime with a few hours to fill before the main event.

Our first stop was K-Bob Korean Street Food.

It’s a fun Korean-inspired spot featuring a variety of street food items like K- Corndogs, Korean pancakes, wings, burgers, and Kup-Bobs (their website describes it as “Korean BBQ in a cup”). You place your order at the counter, seat yourself, and someone brings your food out to you. I ordered the Bulgogi Beef Kup- Bob, which came with bulgogi beef (sliced ribeye marinated for two days), bean sprouts, cabbage, and green onion served over white rice. The food was fresh and flavorful. The beef was quite tender, I can believe it was marinated for 2 days. I wish I asked for extra. My only complaint was that there was a little more rice than needed, but at roughly $18, it was a solid lunch.

The restaurant itself, however, may be more memorable than the food.

The walls, floor, ceiling and tabletops were covered in cartoon doodles. Everywhere I looked, there was something else to look at. It was fun for about five minutes and then became...a lot. By the time we left, I felt like my brain needed a quieter room.

I'd happily try another dish from K-BOB, but next time, I'd probably order it to go.

From there, we headed to Gods & Monsters, a comic book store that also happens to hide a post-apocalyptic-themed speakeasy called Vault 5421 in the back.

The entrance to the bar fits the theme immediately. It was dark, there was a large skeleton wearing a gas mask, and the whole place had the sort of atmosphere that made you feel like you had stumbled into somebody's underground bunker after the world had ended.

There were also gaming tables, including one marked as reserved for parties of six or more, apparently for the kind of large-group gaming you might find with Dungeons & Dragons or other tabletop games. We played Super Mario instead. On the other side of the room, one guy was quietly working on his laptop, which somehow felt perfectly appropriate.

I ordered “The Ghoul”, their take on an Old Fashioned. It was premixed, and unfortunately it wasn't for me. I made it through two or three sips before giving up. There were also snacks available, including chips, candy and Little Debbie cakes.

The drink wasn't the reason to go, anyway. The atmosphere was easily the best part. I wouldn't make a special trip back to Vault 5421, but I'm glad we found it.

And that was really the point of the day: finding things I wouldn't normally find.

On to the main event...

Watch a clip:

The original reason I was interested in Hilton Orlando was actually the lazy river. I had been meaning to try a hotel day pass, and Morgan sent me the Hilton listing because of its pool area. When we went back to look at it, we noticed the hotel was hosting a Glow Pool Party, so that was enough to push me from maybe I should do this sometime to I'm going to Orlando.

The Glow Pool Party started in the early evening, so we arrived around 7 p.m. while there was still plenty of daylight. The $65 ticket included admission and one drink ticket; self-parking was another $25.

Getting to the pool area was probably the most complicated part of the experience. Parking itself was easy, but figuring out where to actually go once inside the hotel took some work. We took two elevators to reach the lobby, then a third to get down to the pool area.

Once we found it, though, things got much easier. They looked up our names, gave us wristbands that allowed us to come and go, and we were in.

The pool area had something for just about everyone. There was a splash pad for younger kids, a main pool with a waterslide, an adults-only pool, hot tubs in both areas and the lazy river running independently through the middle of everything.

There were also three pool tables, a pingpong table and mini golf.

The pool tables came with one small problem: the cues were missing their tips, which made playing considerably more difficult than it needed to be. I did terribly anyway, so I'm not sure I can blame the equipment entirely.

Lounge chairs were first come, first served, and towels were available at the pool entrance. The pool and hot tub areas appeared clean and well maintained.

There were a few logistical drawbacks. There were no lockers or locker rooms available for day-pass guests, so we changed in the bathroom and eventually made the trek all the way back to the parking garage to put our things in the car. And while towels were available at the pool entrance, there weren't additional towels elsewhere around the pool area.

The bar was a little understaffed at the start, but I had a drink ticket included with my admission, so I tried a frozen Lynchburg Lemonade. It tasted great, although I'm not convinced there was much alcohol in it. There was food available for purchase, but as we had already eaten we didn’t indulge.

The DJ was there specifically for the Glow Party, and as the sun went down, the atmosphere changed.

Neon lights and glowing decorations became more noticeable. Our wristbands flashed, and several people had glowing hula hoops. There was music, people dancing and plenty of energy, but it never felt overwhelmingly crowded. Which is kind of what surprised me most. When I heard "Glow Pool Party," I picture something considerably more chaotic. Instead, this was surprisingly relaxed while still feeling like an event. Families were enjoying the pool area. People were playing games. Some were dancing. Others were sitting around talking. You could participate as much, or as little, as you wanted.

Watch a clip:

And then there was the lazy river.

The lazy river is a relaxing At 892 feet,.

The water was cool and there were shaded areas along the route. Most of the current moved slowly enough that you could simply relax and let it carry you. Every now and then, the current picked up, particularly around some of the jets, before settling back down again.

Morgan and I would get separated as we floated around the course. Then, eventually, we'd bump into each other again.

And I could have stayed there for hours.

Of everything we did that day, the lazy river ended up being my favorite part.

There was nothing to accomplish, no decision to make, nothing to follow up or circle back on.

No particular destination to reach at all.

I think we spend a lot of time trying to steer everything. We want to know where we're going, how we're going to get there and what we need to do next. But there is something to be said for occasionally getting into the water and letting the current carry you.

I don’t know how often Hilton Orlando has these parties, but you don’t have to wait for an event or book a stay at the hotel to enjoy the lazy river, as you can easily purchase a day pass. Pool party or not, I’d go visit again.

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