I've had the opportunity to spend this past week at Universal Orlando Resort trying so much good food and getting so much new content for everyone! One of the first things I wanted to touch on is Mardi Gras.
My Mardi Gras Float Ride and Dine Experience
First of all, my group had an absolute blast! We spent most of the morning at Islands of Adventure, then came back to the hotel briefly to change and get ready for the event. I went with the stone wash King Gator t-shirt, some athletic shorts, and my On Cloud Cloud 5 shoes to stay comfortable through the night, knowing I'd be on my feet a lot. I also had some great Mardi Gras sunglasses (pictured below) from Etsy. These sunglasses were my favorite addition to my outfit!
The base price for the Ride and Dine Experience is $84.99 per person, with prices varying depending on the date selected. When you buy the ride and dine experience, you get a guaranteed spot on a parade float for the nightly Mardi Gras parade, along with a three course meal at a restaurant of your choice. The options at Universal Studios Florida are Finnegan's Bar & Grill and Lombard's Seafood Grill. Options at Universal CityWalk include The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar and NBC Sports Grill & Brew. We opted for reservations at NBC Sports Grill & Brew, and we had so much good food. Since there were four of us, our table got four appetizers, four entrees, and four desserts. I went with the Wisconsin Fried Cheese bites as an appetizer, Cedar Plank North Atlantic Salmon as an entree, and the Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae for dessert. It was all fantastic! For anyone planning to eat here, the Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae is huge, and can easily be split between two or three people. It was definitely lots of food, but nothing felt too heavy to be standing in the heat for the next few hours. My suggestion would be to eat a light breakfast and lunch if you participate in the Ride and Dine Experience, because you'll be eating a lot for dinner, and you'll be eating it pretty early. Since our parade time was 6:15pm, we needed to check into the parade at 5:30pm. This meant needing to be at the restaurant and sitting down to eat at 4pm. And please, leave a tip for your wait staff at the restaurant. The ticket might include your meal, but it doesn't include their tip for wonderful service.
We got checked into our float at the Animal Actors on Location stadium and we were assigned the Jester float, which is a long-running float for the Mardi Gras parade. We were given green vests to wear over our clothes so we were themed with the float. We got some quick instructions and we were on our way! We walked backstage to load onto the floats where we aren't allowed to take pictures. Don't worry, backstage isn't that exciting. If you've been to Halloween Horror Nights you've walked all around back there anyway. The beads were waiting for us on the floats already (hundreds and hundreds of beads, no exaggeration), all we had to do was throw them. You definitely have to pace yourself more than you would think when throwing, but it was so much fun! The parade lasted approximately 30 minutes, with additional time afterwards to park the floats and be escorted back into the parks. Riding the float was definitely the highlight of my Mardi Gras experience.
What is there for me if I'm not on a parade float?
I'll be honest, this was my initial thought too. While I had such a good time on the float, everything else the park has to offer is just as good of a time.
Viewing the parade was extra fun! We caught so many beads and danced to the music with the performers. We sat right next to The Today Cafe, and this was a great spot. I was worried we wouldn't get many beads since this was towards the end of the parade route, but I was very wrong. We each came back with stacks and stacks of beads. Even before the parade, some of the performers and the band will come out for photo opportunities and to hand out beads to the people walking by. The costumes were all so incredible! There were crawfish, octopi, jesters, mushrooms, flowers, and so many more! The performers all do a great job of interacting with the crowds, so don't be afraid to be interactive back to them.
So you're not a parade person. That's okay, because one thing that can bring everyone together is good food, and Mardi Gras has a lot of it. This year there were 18 food booths specifically for Mardi Gras, with other restaurants selling limited time menus for the event, including Voodoo Doughnut and The Today Cafe. I tried so many new foods and different versions of foods I was already familiar with, including Crispy Lumpia from the Philippines booth (served very hot and very fresh), and Bacalaitos and Pastelitos de Guayaba from the Puerto Rico booth. However, I had two stand out dishes.
The first was the Cookie Butter Liege Waffle from the Belgium booth. This consisted of a Belgian waffle with cookie butter, whipped cream, and Biscoff cookies as a topping. The waffle itself was crispy, the cookie butter was warm, and the whipped cream on top with the Biscoff cookie pieces added a nice cold touch. The dish was surprisingly light and it made a great brunch snack.
The second was the Shrimp & Crawfish Boil from the New Orleans booth. I had been dreaming of this dish since I knew I was going to Mardi Gras in October and I was not disappointed. It includes crawfish (or crawdads, depending on where you grew up), shrimp, andouille sausage, corn on the cob, and potatoes. When it was ordered, I watched it be boiled and seasoned fresh and right in the booth. You do have to peel the shrimp and crawfish yourself, so this is not a "eat while you walk" type of food. You should sit down and enjoy it, and prepare to get your hands a little messy. It was something I had to work for, but it was so worth the time. As someone who would gladly season everything in their household with Old Bay, I thoroughly enjoyed every piece of this boil.
Mardi Gras Tribute Store
As everyone here is already well aware, I'm a huge fan of Universal Orlando's tribute stores. The Mardi Gras tribute store was no exception. As always it was well themed and perfectly put together with beautiful photo opportunities. Plus, would it really be a tribute store if there were no easter eggs? This year's Mardi Gras tribute store is set on the P.S. Songbird, a haunted river boat traveling down the Mississippi River. You can catch some ghosts if you look close enough, and sometimes if you look up too. One of my favorite easter eggs? Earl the Squirrel is hidden in the final area of the store before the exit, but he's kind of the king of hide and seek, so you'll have to look hard.
Beyond the easter eggs, the merchandise and treats in the store are fantastic. All the Mardi Gras merchandise is colorful and glittery, just as you would expect for this event. I purchased a few shirts and some Mardi Gras beads from the tribute store, but there's more here than clothing. They have masquerade masks, drinking and shot glasses, mugs, and obviously Mardi Gras themed food (would it really be the tribute store without that little refrigerator of themed sweets?). I tried the Vanilla King Cake Whoopie from the store and it was great! Just flavorful enough to be tasty, but not so much that it was too sweet. This could be split as a snack between multiple people if you wanted, or you can be like me and decide it's too good to be shared.
My first (but definitely not last) Mardi Gras experience at Universal Orlando Resort was incredible. It has quickly and easily become one of my favorite events here at the parks, and I cannot wait to come back for it again. Have you been to Mardi Gras, and what was your favorite part? Let me know in the comments!
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