Girls in Wonderland is an annual celebration hosted by the women-led company Pandora Events as a way for queer women from around the world to gather and party in celebration of Sapphic, or WLW (women loving women), Pride.
In the earlier years, many of the big LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations were centered around the queer male experience, and that’s where queer women would meet.
“Before we had Girls in Wonderland, the ‘boy parties’ were where we were used to going,” 45-year-old lesbian Melissa Rodriguez says. “Gay Days, White Party, for us on the east coast the only other big women’s event was Dinah Shore.
“There was some stuff off in New York, but Fire Island, also mostly for men,” Rodriguez continues. “There wasn’t anywhere to go that was just dedicated to women until Pandora Events came in.”
Yesi Leon and Amy Alonso co-founded Pandora Events and launched Girls in Wonderland when they were still in their early 20’s. At the time, Leon had experience promoting raves in South Florida and Alonso was saving up for a backpacking trip through Europe when they answered the call to host events for women.
“Some women kept recognizing us from Miami, and they kept coming up to us hoping we were throwing a party,” Leon says. “They kept asking and it kind of ignited the idea.”
According to Leon, the first Girls in Wonderland was hosted in Orlando in 2000 and around 800 guests from all around the country attended. Since its founding, Girls in Wonderland has been an inclusive festival where queer women from around the world can connect through a series of festivities.
Just last year, over 10,000 guests attended the festival with many staying in the Orlando area.
Girls in Wonderland has revolutionized the queer nightlife scene with its wildly popular gatherings like Shedonism in Las Vegas, Aqua Girl in Miami and Girls in Wonderland in Orlando. Girls in Wonderland has remained committed to creating a safe and empowering space that celebrates the diversity and creativity of the LGBTQ+ community.
“The festival has grown since then, and it has become a place for women to be themselves and meet people, especially women from smaller towns,” Leon says.
Girls in Wonderland’s most popular event is their pool parties, which take place throughout the weekend.
“My favorite part is the Saturday pool party, getting up on the stage at peak hour, and seeing just a sea of women having the best time, living their best moments, their hands up in the air,” Leon says.
To celebrate 25 years of Girls in Wonderland, they have plenty of events planned for the first weekend in June, which will be June 5-9. The celebration kicks off June 5 with the traditional Welcome Happy Hour at the Girl’s in Wonderland host hotel, Springhill Suites/Townhill Suites by Marriott in Winter Garden, followed by the Traffic Jam party at Cuba Libre. The June 6 pool party will feature a performance from up-and-coming girl duo 76th Street, followed by a night of Mardi Gras-themed festivities and Girls in Wonderland’s Out For Laughs Comedy Show featuring Erin Foley.
On June 7, it is a cowgirl’s paradise with a Queer Wild West party and June 8 brings the Last Chance party for closing night. Programming also includes performances by Les Vixens, live DJs and more.
For over two decades, Girls in Wonderland has welcomed a vast lineup of celebrity guests, comedians, influencers and LGBTQ+ trailblazers, including Leisha Hailey, Kate Moennig, Fortune Feimster and Chante Wayans.
The festival will benefit Our Rainbow Nest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides support to LGBTQ+ individuals and couples looking to start or grow a family. Through education, advocacy and community, they provide workshops, seminars and resources to those interested in taking the next step, according to the GIW website.
While the parties for Girls in Wonderland each focus on LGBTQ+ visibility and community, they cater to different audiences within the spectrum.
“Just like straight people like to go to a straight bar, and country people go to a country bar, if you’re going out looking to meet women, you don’t go out to a straight bar, you want to go somewhere where women go to meet women,” Rodriguez says.
“As for sharing the space with the boys, sometimes it’s fun,” Rodriguez continues. “And sometimes, it’s like, think about it: Do you want to share a room with your brother? No, you barely want to share the house with your brother. You love your brother, you love spending time with your brother, you don’t want to live with them.”
Leon emphasizes that while being a queer female-focused experience in terms of music and programming, Girls in Wonderland tries to make its events as inclusive to everyone as possible.
“I think we’ve created a safe space for women to come be themselves and party — trans people included, gay men included, even allies can come, as long as the intention is good,” Leon says.
The weekend becomes more than a festival; it is a party with a purpose.
“It’s kind of like we’ve built a family throughout the year,” Leon says.
Alonso echoes that Girls in Wonderland is inclusive but is geared towards a niche community.
“Girls in Wonderland has always been a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community — a place where everyone feels welcome and celebrated,” Alonso says. “While we are inclusive of all, our focus remains on creating an incredible experience for lesbian and queer women.”
According to Alonso, a question attendees have had recently is why they continue to host events in Florida with the current political climate.
“We grew up in Florida, we’re not gonna leave,” Alonso says. “We’re here, we’re queer and we’re gonna stay.”
With Florida at the center of the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights, anti-LGBTQ+ bills found their way to the 2025 legislative session; however, on May 3, Equality Florida, the state’s leading advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, announced that every anti-LGBTQ+ bill filed in the session was defeated, with there being a total of four proposed bills.
The blockage against these bills was built by a broad coalition of everyday Floridians with people showing up to the Capitol to testify in legislative hearings, according to Equality Florida’s website. Over 16,000 Floridians sent emails to legislators opposing the bills.
To help continue this fight, Girls in Wonderland founders have formed the Aqua Foundation, the state’s first LGBTQ+ women’s nonprofit that will serve on boards and committees for groups like Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
Pandora Events donates over $30,000 a year to worthy causes like the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The mission of Aqua Foundation for Women is to serve and support the lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer women’s community in South Florida through grants, scholarships and initiatives, according to its website.
“We’re keeping our events and we have our security, we’re not going anywhere,” Alonso says.
The Girls in Wonderland party culture is back-to-back partying, dancing and meeting new people. Many of the attendees have formed lifelong friendships through GIW.
“They come to the party and they leave with new friends, sometimes they leave with a new girlfriend, a lot of them have met in Girls in Wonderland and have proposed in Girls in Wonderland, and continue coming,” Leon says.
“It’s a lot of fun, it’s fueled by a lot of incredible energy,” Rodriquez says.
Additional reporting by Bellanee Plaza.
For more information on these events and to purchase tickets, visit GirlsInWonderland.com
