Let the good times roll! Mardi Gras is BACK in Universal Orlando, and we’ve been checking out all the fun festivities.

It’s Mardi Gras time!

Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration brings some unique offerings to the park, including food booths with Mardi Gras-inspired food (beignets ALL day), a concert series with some pretty BIG names in music, and more! However one thing we always look forward to is the Mardi Gras parade! So come with us to check it out!

The floats in Universal’s Mardi Gras parade are mostly made by Kern Studios in New Orleans. This year also features six new floats. The parade kicked off with some jazzy Mardi Gras music from a live band.

Kicking it off with some music

One of the new floats is a 30th Mardi Gras Anniversary float — yes, Universal has been celebrating Mardi Gras for 30 years!

30th Mardi Gras anniversary float

The parade also features some talented dances in vibrant costumes.

Dancers

One of the best parts about the parade is you can actually join it! Every year, Universal lets guests ride the floats and throw beads to the crowd by signing up via a virtual queue on the Universal app. It’s a free way to be a part of the festivities!

You can be IN the parade

It’s Mardi Gras, so you see jesters EVERYWHERE, including on the parade floats.

Jester float

You’ll also see a lot of flowers and feathers. Fun fact: did you know these floats are glittered BY HAND?

So pretty

One float looks like a New Orleans steamboat.

It’s a steamboat

There’s even a gator — OF COURSE, there is!

King Gator

There’s SO much more to see to this parade, so if you’re visiting Universal Orlando between now and March 30th, you’ll want to make time to check it out.

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

REVIEW: 10 MUST-HAVE Snacks at Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras Celebration

Have you ever seen Universal’s Mardi Gras parade? What’s your favorite float? Share with us in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Universal Orlando to attend their media preview of Mardi Gras. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ