Your GUIDE To the Universal Orlando Mardi Gras Celebration!

It is time to celebrate Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando!

Universal knows a thing or two about celebrating, and if you want to get in on the fun, you can attend Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval from February 1st to March 30th. This event is jam-packed with fun, including merchandise, entertainment, and, of course, food! Here is our guide for everything you need to know for the 2025 Mardi Gras Carnaval.

Universal takes the spirit of New Orleans and brings it to Orlando.

Let’s check out everything that is part of this fun celebration!

Food

There’s a variety of themed cuisine that you can snag throughout your time in the parks. Universal invited our team to a media event where we got to try a few of their popular offerings.

Some exciting dishes were on display, and we can’t wait to dig in! Stay tuned for our full review.

Here’s a peek at the Red Beans and Rice. 

Be warned! The Spicy Szechuan Chicken Bites are genuinely HOT! Not only is the heat there from the first bite, it lingers. It won’t be great for those who don’t do well with spice, but we really enjoyed it.

The final bite we tried was the Bite Size Masquerade Cheesecake, which we LOVED. It’s very rich and has a nice, nutty layer. The top layer is the cheesecake, and the bottom is nice and crumbly. We highly recommend it!

There are SO many exciting offerings to try at this festival — other dishes we saw were:

• Hot Maple Lacquered Salmon
• Baked Cajun Mac & Cheese
• Potato Dosa
• Leberkäse
• Pinchos de Lechon
• Mini King Cakes

We’ll be back to try more offerings to let you know what’s worth your hard-earned money, and what you may want to forgo!

 Parade

This year, Universal’s Mardi Gras parade will be performed each night during the festival. This parade is so fun and colorful, and you do not want to miss it!

This year, Universal is celebrating 30 years of their partnership with Kern Studios who are responsible for the majority of the floats in the floats. There are SIX new floats to see this year, and the parade as a whole has a brand new line up. Not to mention that each parade float is HAND GLITTERED — no, we’re not kidding!

You can even be part of the parade and ride on one of the floats and toss out beads to the crowds! Universal says that there are a limited number of spots available each night, and reservations can be made in-park via the Virtual Line experience in the Universal Orlando app.

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Concerts

It would not be a celebration without music, and this year’s Mardi Gras concert series lineup is strong. Here is a look at who will be performing on select nights this year.

We also got to see an amazing performance at the Cursed Coconut Club (located in CityWalk)– it was just a glimpse at what amazing talent you can find all over the resort this festival!

Just look at how amazing they all look! It was a performance we won’t soon forget.

Merchandise

If you want to remember your time at Universal Mardi Gras, you may want to snag a souvenir. For all things Mardi Gras, you will want to head to the Mardi Gras Tribute Store! We got a glimpse at some merchandise that will be available during our media event, but to see EVERYTHING, you’ll want to head into the store.

And just like that, we have reached the end of our guide! There is so much to see and do at this limited-time offering at Universal Orlando, so make sure to make your plans to check it out ASAP! To stay up to date on all the latest theme park news, make sure to continue to follow along with AllEars!

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Will you be checking out Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval this year? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: We were invited by Universal Orlando to attend Universal Mardi Gras. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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