How to Get the True VIP Experience at Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras

In my work reporting on theme parks, I go to seasonal festivals all over the country, everything from the Flower and Food Festival at Dollywood to Disneyland’s California Food & Wine celebration. In my book, Mardi Gras at Universal Studios Orlando is one of the best — and one of the most underappreciated. 

I will admit: as I was planning my first trip to Universal’s Mardi Gras, I wasn’t that excited. What could be fun about a fake Mardi Gras celebration in the middle of Orlando? I asked myself. But my hesitation came from a fundamental misunderstanding of the festival. While it has many things that are similar to New Orleans’s party, Universal isn’t trying to recreate Bourbon Street. Yes, there are certainly elements in common, especially the New Orleans jazz coming out of every corner and the food, like beignets and king cake and muffaletta sandwiches, available throughout the park.

But the park is also doing something of its own, too, especially this year, the 25th anniversary of its event. I see differences in its concert series (featuring headliners like Diana Ross, Khalid and Jason Derulo), in the inventive culinary creations that focus more on this year’s Planet Mardi Gras theme than on Crescent City cuisine, and its voodoo-inspired tribute store in Islands of Adventure that is creepy enough to feel like Halloween, even in the spring. 

But there is one way that Universal’s Mardi Gras honors the New Orleans tradition: its parade, which offers one of the most unique VIP experiences at any park anywhere. During the nightly Mardi Gras parade, you can actually ride one of the enormous parade floats, dancing your way through the parade route, throwing beads to the revelers below as you go.

I’ve watched people do this for three years in a row now (shutdown pause excepted), and I have become progressively more and more envious with every passing string of beads thrown down from above — a lot of which hit me in the face because I’m always too busy taking pictures to pay attention to where said necklaces are headed. 

The parade is absolutely gorgeous, in part because Universal uses the same design studio, Kern Studios, that has been designing real Mardi Gras floats in New Orleans for nearly 100 years. There are dancers on stilts, who for this year’s Planet Mardi Gras theme are all space aliens wearing light-up costumes, and music and confetti all around, and glittering floats that are art pieces in themselves. King Gator, the enormous finale float, breathes fire and is so huge that it takes three flatbeds to transport. And the people on those floats who are part of the fun for one night only truly look like they’re having a fantastic time.

In past years, being a park float rider has been a passholder perk that fills up before Mardi Gras even starts. This year, though, it’s different — and every day offers a new chance to ride. For the 2022 festival, Universal has been offering a daily virtual lottery through the park app. Every day at noon, registration opens up to people currently in the park (it’s under the section “Mardi Gras Parade Float Riding”).

This year’s event runs through April 24, so if you’re planning to be near Orlando soon, there’s still time to experience it for yourself. For everyone else — including me — there’s always next year.

For more about this year’s Planet Mardi Gras at Universal Studios Orlando, be sure to take a look at our full coverage below: 

Universal Orlando’s Planet Mardi Gras Blasts Off to New Heights

Let’s Hear From You

Ready to ride a Mardi Gras parade float at Universal Orlando? Or perhaps you’ve done the real thing in New Orleans! Share your thoughts on Universal Orlando in the comments below!