Can’t make it to New Orleans for their famous Mardi Gras celebration this year? Well you can get a taste of the Big Easy at Universal Orlando’s 25th Anniversary Mardi Gras celebration!⚜️🎊 If beads, bands, and beignets are your thing than there’s no where else you need to be than this one of a kind celebration!
⚜️Mardi Gras 2020⚜️
Event Dates: Every Night from February 1st – April 2nd
📍Universal Studios Florida
6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819
💲Prices: Free with General Admission Ticket to Universal Studios Florida (🎟$119/day)
🖥 https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/events/mardi-gras
💜💚💛 Mardi Gras Parade 💛💚💜
Nightly during Mardi Gras — see below for Parade schedule!
Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras parade is not to be missed! Grab your friends and let the good times roll as you come face to face with larger-than-life, colorful, themed parade floats, stilt walkers, dancers, street performers, countless party beads being thrown everywhere, and confetti of course! This year’s parade theme is “Treasures of the Deep” featuring floats inspired by a Treasure Map, the Sunken City of Atlantis, Creatures of the Deep and a treasure-filled Shipwreck Island!🏴☠️ I was able to get a sneak peek of the new floats at their media preview and boy are they gorgeous this year!
Also this year, everyones favorite gator float got a huge makeover. He sparkles and shines like never before!🤩🐊✨
Check down below for the full 2020 Mardi Gras Parade Schedule & Map!⚜️👇🏼
There will also be a viewing area for kids! The Little Jester’s Parade Viewing Area will be located in front of the Brown Derby Hat Shop, with access available starting 1 hour before the parade starts.
And if you’ve ever wanted to ride a Mardi Gras float, Universal Passholders can join in on the fun and actually ride the floats, tossing out beads to the crowd! (Included in your Passholder benefits.)
🥐 A Taste of New Orleans 🥐
French Quarter Courtyard — Open Everyday at 4pm
Get a taste of New Orleans in the French Quarter Courtyard! Located in the New York area of Universal Studios, this is where you’ll find N’awlins style cajun and creole food like jambalaya, king cake, beignets and more! And this year they even have a cauliflower “dirty rice” made with plant-based meat!😋
Universal Studios will also have special Mardi Gras themed alcoholic drinks, including their Blue Voodoo, Hoodoo Cold Brew, and Girl from Ipanema. The Blue Voodoo had to be my favorite, it tastes just like a margarita but blue!🍹 And the Hoodoo Cold Brew is also delicious, and would be perfect paired with some beignets!☕️🥐
The French Quarter Courtyard is also where you can sit down and enjoy the sounds of sweet Southern music. New Orleans is often considered to be the birthplace of true American music, so of course there will be performances by by real Louisiana jazz, blues, and zydeco bands. 🎶
- Feb 1 – Feb 13 Dirty Bourbon River Show
- Feb 14 – Mar 6 Free Agents Brass Band
- Mar 6 – Mar 21 New Breed Brass Band
- Mar 22 – Apr 2 Naughty Professor Brass Band
And you have to get a picture with the King and Queen!🤴🏼👸🏼⚜️
🌟New for 2020: Passholders will have the opportunity to get an exclusive Mardi Gras Tasting Lanyard giving them access to the all new Carnival Around the Universe tent where you can find a new menu every 2 weeks featuring the cuisines of global Carnival celebrations!
🎶 2020 Concert Lineup 🎶
In addition to the jazz bands, Universal Orlando will have some of the biggest names in pop, rock, country, r&b, and more live in concert at the Music Plaza Stage (right in front of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Rollercoaster) on select nights during the Mardi Gras event! Last year they had performers like Sabrina Carpenter, Becky G, Pitbull, Bazzi and more!
Check down below for the full 2020 Mardi Gras Concert Lineup!🎶👇🏼
💀Tribute Store💀
📍New York section of Universal Studios (right by the Jimmy Fallon ride)
If you’re looking for some Mardi Gras merch head over to Universal’s first ever Mardi Gras themed Tribute Store! It’s so well themed, from the moment you step inside the doors it gives off an extremely jazzy vibe with instruments and crumpled up sheet music on the floor. 🎷🎼🎶
Next you enter into a cemetery, which was inspired by Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans.⚰️ It definitely gives off Halloween Horror Nights vibes, it’s super spooky and fun!
They have all sorts of Mardi Gras merch (some themed to the event’s 25th anniversary), voo doo dolls, masks, and of course tons of beads! They had some really unique masks, some were very feminine and pretty and others with spikes and zippers. They were really cool looking!
The last room in the Tribute Store is the Bayou.🐊 Here you’ll find an old creeky cabin with a skeleton sitting out front, a bunch of moss hanging from the ceiling, jester and joker masks on the wall, and more merch!
The new Tribute Store is so creative and well themed. Even if you’re not looking to buy any merch it’s definitely worth taking a look inside!
This is Universal’s 25th Mardi Gras celebration and is definitely the one party this year that you don’t want to miss! What could be more fun than ending an adventurous day at the parks with a Mardi Gras parade?!⚜️ You’ll be catching beads from parade floats and eating delicious N’awlins styled food in the Big Easy. Whether you’re going for family-friendly fun or a wild outing with friends you’re sure to have the time of your life!
Check out my YouTube video of the Mardi Gras Event!💜⚜️👇🏼
