{"id":172863,"date":"2026-02-28T14:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T14:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/172863\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T14:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T14:27:10","slug":"universals-mardi-gras-goes-big-kicking-off-busy-spring-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/172863\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal’s Mardi Gras goes big, kicking off busy Spring Break"},"content":{"rendered":"

On another Tuesday when Central Floridans are stuck in their routines of work and school, the confetti and colorful beads fall like rain at Universal Studios.<\/p>\n

The night parade takes over the theme park as guests line up to admire extravagant floats leading up to the grand finale, a giant alligator. The dancers and performers move nonstop and one can\u2019t stop to admire the genius of Universal\u2019s costume department. Sexy shellfish dancers prance with mustached chefs on stilts behind them. Seriously, how did they make a lobster look so sexy?<\/p>\n

And this is only a Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can expect to be a part of a very high-energy party any day of the week,\u201d said Kelly Malik, Show Director for Universal Orlando Resort\u2019s<\/a> Entertainment Creative Development.<\/p>\n

Now in its 31st year, Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval<\/a> runs through April 4. The events are included in regular theme park admission and offer concerts on select nights<\/a> as well as food booths selling cuisine from all over the world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMardi Gras is a one-of-a-kind family event where everyone is a part of the party,\u201d Malik said. \u201cWe offer an incredible parade, live entertainment, a delicious menu with food from all over the world, and tons of Mardi Gras beads for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Universal Studios\u2019 Mardi Gras. Image via Gabrielle Russon<\/p>\n

For Central Florida where tourism is king, events like Mardi Gras are helping drive big Spring Break crowds this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHotel demand across Metro Orlando for March\u2013April is pacing 10% ahead of the same period last year, signaling a stronger spring break season for the destination,\u201d said Visit Orlando\u2019s President and CEO, Casandra Matej<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the final days of winter, Visit Orlando has launched an advertising campaign to showcase sunny Orlando to the rest of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe multi-channel effort spans TV, out-of-home, digital, paid social and search in key markets\u2014including New York, Boston, Chicago, and Dallas\u2014with bold \u2018defrosting\u2019 moments like large-scale Times Square displays,\u201d Matej said earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit Orlando is also focused on bringing back more Canadian tourists after the number dipped statewide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cExtending this momentum into Canada, Visit Orlando connected with nearly 50 media during a late-January mission in Toronto and Montr\u00e9al,\u201d Matej said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On another Tuesday when Central Floridans are stuck in their routines of work and school, the confetti and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[9984,18181,75925,34597,139,141,140,2042,41470,53941,3434,2749,11022],"class_list":{"0":"post-172863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-casandra-matej","10":"tag-kelly-malik","11":"tag-mardi-gras","12":"tag-orlando","13":"tag-orlando-headlines","14":"tag-orlando-news","15":"tag-orlando-theme-parks","16":"tag-spring-break","17":"tag-universal-mardi-gras-international-flavors-of-carnaval","18":"tag-universal-orlando","19":"tag-universal-orlando-resort","20":"tag-visit-orlando"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}