Universal Mardi Gras 2024. “Feet don’t fail me now”. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler (Let the good times Roll). Skeletons, Gator’s, Beads, Parades & More

[Robo56]

Welcome Friends to my Mardi Gras trip to Universal For 2024. A little background on my love of Universal. I’am a retired RN and I enjoy getting away to Universal Orlando for vacations when I can. My hubby understands my need to vacation every so often to my happy place Universal. We have had the pleasure of traveling extensively over the years and he has been to the parks a few times, but does not want to travel much anymore. So a number of years ago I started taking our youngest grand children on vacations to Disney and Universal.

It was a time for me to spend some quality time with our grandchildren having fun and making memories. They out grew Disney and then we made Universal our vacation destination from then on.

Fast forward our grandchildren are all grown up. M has an MBA and Is married and P is in his Spring semester of his sophomore year of college studying Business also.

I have happily shared by love of Universal Orlando with our family over the years and it has become their favorite destination in Florida.

These days I mostly travel to Universal on my own or with family at times when their busy schedules permit.

I often see folks post about wanting to travel solo to Universal, but are not sure about It. GOOOOOO. Universal is a wonderful, fun, safe place to vacation. I have never felt out of place on my own.

Universal is a wonderful place to enjoy the parks and resorts The resorts are beautiful and there are plenty of them to choose from for any budget. The staff at the Resorts are wonderful, kind and Helpful. They all seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs.

The TM’s in the Parks and stores are the nicest folks and are so kind and helpful.

I do not commando the parks anymore. I did plenty of that when the grand babies were younger. I have learned to enjoy plenty of resort time and park time and a little shopping time thrown in too.

There is a happy balance. Vacation time should be equal parts fun time, exploring and rest.

I have been enjoying making the trip up to Universal for the past few years to enjoy Mardi Gras. I had looked for a good time to make the trip up to Universal and the first week of the event happened to work good for me. I was also thinking it might be lighter attendance during the week as there were going to be some cooler days.

I attended Tuesday the 6th and Wednesday the 7th. I usually stay 3 days during my trip up to Mardi Gras, but we had a family member traveling to visit us on Thursday so I needed to cut my trip short by a day.

Tuesday, February 6th

I left home about 6:30 am for the trip up to Orlando. I have a home about 2 hours South of Orlando. I had packed my bag the night before and included some warm pants and a nice warm sweatshirt hoodie because it was going to be cooler this evening for the parade.

I decided to stay at the Sapphire Falls. I have stayed here before and I really like the resort. My home resort is Portofino and then my next favorite is Sapphire Falls then Royal Pacific. I decided to treat myself to one of the Sapphire Suites for this trip. I have stayed in one of the Sapphire Suites before and really enjoyed my stay. The suites are very large and really nice.

I arrived a little before 9 am and checked in. I knew my room would not be ready as the hotels around Orlando had been pretty well sold out for the weekend with the Olympic running trial event and with other events that had been going on in the City.

The lobby of the Sapphire Falls is huge airy and inviting, There were quite a few business folks milling about in the Lobby so it looked like it might be more busy then I thought, but check in was a breeze.



I was welcomed by the lovely Jasmine on my check in. The check in process was quick. I had decided to head over to the Mall at Millenia. I needed to pick something up at Macy’s.

After my trip to Macy’s I had arranged to meet up with my older sister D for lunch at Cheesecake off of Daryl Carter Pkwy. My sister lives in Harmony, Florida so when I get up to Orlando we try and meet up if we can.

After a nice lunch and enjoyable visit it was time to say good bye.

I went back to the Resort and decided to take the boat over to CityWalk and have a look around at the Mardi Gras Merch.

There was a boat at the dock and I had a nice ride over.

I went to the big Universal Store in CityWalk and I loved the window display of Jaws and Kong.




There was also a picture of Frankenstein.

I noticed the Universal Legacy store had a wall around it. So there is something going on there.

Then I went inside to look at the merch.

 

[Robo56]

Universal has really upped their game with all the merchandise they are providing for the different events they are having. I always like to look at the selection.

I thought this shirt was so cute with the Gator sitting on his throne playing the bango.












This shirt had what looked like lizard scale prlnt.







To be continued

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Robo56]

Looking forward to reading more.

Thank you, so glad to have you reading along MinnieFan4ever.

 

[Robo56]

The event tumblers really have caught on for the various events Universal has as well as the beverage holders.


Universal does a wonderful job with the designs for their various events.


The fans have been really popular too. I know that they sold out of them for awhile at HHN this past year.






This Plush Gator was adorable and I bought one for my little great-nephew J. He loves stuffed characters and I new he would love this Gator.


These beads were a great value for 3 for $15.00. I was tempted, but I have so many from past events.



Some of the masks for sale were very elaborate.

 

[Robo56]

After I was done looking at the Mardi Gras Merch I went over to the area of the store that has the Harry Potter merchandise. They have a nice selection of Potter merchandise. They always have someone on hand to answer any questions you might have about the various wands they have to purchase.





This selection of spell merchandise was new. It shows you the direction your wand should be taking during casting specific spells.


The bracelets were really cute as were the charms you can purchase for the necklace. I can see these selling very well.

These would be nice gifts to get along with the purchase of a wand.











The candles were new.

I always look for new merchandise for family that I know they cannot get anywhere else. I have a few Potter fans in the family.

 

[Robo56]

After leaving the big Universal Store I wanted to have a look at the Cursed Coconut Club.

When I came out of the store I noticed the cool Mardi Gras window display on the side window.







The Cursed Coconut Club was closed for a private event.

I changed direction and decided to head over to Universal Studios


I saw the Olympic rings located right outside the entrance


What a colorful welcoming sign for eveyone coming to Mardi Gras


I walked through large Universal store just as you enter the park and had a look at all the Mardi Gras treats









To be continued

 

[saskdw]

Lots of good merch.

And yes please to those cookies!!

 

[wdwrule]

Yay another Robo trip report! Love it!

I agree, Mardi Gras is so fun and the TMs are amazing (year round of course). Loving the detailed pics and enjoying the read!

 

[Robo56]

Lots of good merch.

And yes please to those cookies!!

Universal has really done a great job with all the new merchandise for the events.

Those desserts were tempting for sure.

Yay another Robo trip report! Love it!

Thank You wdwrule. Hope you enjoy the report.

I agree, Mardi Gras is so fun and the TMs are amazing (year round of course). Loving the detailed pics and enjoying the read!

I’am so glad you are enjoying the pictures and reading along.

I totally agree the TM’s are awesome.

 

[Robo56]

I have said it before and will say it again. The folks responsible for the event designs do a wonderful job.



Don’t think I have mentioned it yet, but the skeleton motif in many of the designs are of the what I think is the Icon of Mardi Gras this year Baron Ton Ton. I asked a TM in the Tribute store about it.


There are so many little details in the designs like the replica gaslights on the old homes in New Orleans.




After walking through the store I wondered through what I call Minion Town.

 

[Robo56]

The dessert offerings were cute.














I will admit I do miss the Shrek show and the Donkey interacting with folks, but I also know that the parks need to grow and add new attractions, stores and food venues to keep things fresh.

 

[Robo56]

Then it was onto a walk around the new York area looking at the Mardi Gras decorations.






There are plenty of food booths to get your international food and traditional Mardi Gras food. I was still full from my lunch out with my sister so I did not try anything yet.

A Mardi Gras celebration would not be complete without a statue of Louis Armstrong the King of New Orleans. He was born and raised in New Orleans and he was a Masterful Trumpeter, vocalist and he is one of the most influential musicians in Jazz.




I really enjoy walking around the New York area of Universal Studios and taking photos.

 

[Robo56]

Next up I wanted to have a look at the Mardi Gras Tribute Store. It is located across the street from the Five & Dime in the Hollywood section of the park.


They did a wonderful job of depicting an old river Paddle Steamer named the P. S. SONGBIRD.














This first room was very Art Deco in design.

 

[Robo56]

One of the rooms looked like a scene from some dark bayou with a wrecked wooden skiff with a tattered sail. Lighting was hard to get clear photos with my phone.



Again the level of detail that the designers put into the Tribute Store are amazing.







To be continued

 

[disneyseniors]

Love the report, Robo

I missed seeing the beautiful jewelry, darn it! I guess I will have to look harder next time. I would probably have bought that bracelet with some charms. Oh well, I will just have to revisit soon, LOL. Lovely photos of the Mardi Gras too

 

[DL1WDW2]

The floor in the Tribute Store was amazing and impossible to video…
It is swampy and an alligator is in search of my feet ,I think , as it circles around and under a bridge with raindrops splashing the water too but none of it is real …I’m just walking on the floor of the store but I really was worried about that alligator !
We stayed at Sapphire Falls too for 3 nights to celebrate Super Bowl Sunday .
I love everything about Universal for their holidays !
Thanks for a better than I could do trip report !

 

[Robo56]

Love the report, Robo

Thank you Ruth, so glad you are enjoying the report and reading along.

I missed seeing the beautiful jewelry, darn it! I guess I will have to look harder next time. I would probably have bought that bracelet with some charms. Oh well, I will just have to revisit soon, LOL. Lovely photos of the Mardi Gras too

I was tempted to buy the charm necklace. You get one charm with the necklace and then the additional charms you purchase you can add to the necklace.

I didn’t think about that, but that necklace could become a nice wrapped Bracelet with all the charms.

I’am so glad you are enjoying the Mardi Gras photos.

The floor in the Tribute Store was amazing and impossible to video…
It is swampy and an alligator is in search of my feet ,I think , as it circles around and under a bridge with raindrops splashing the water too but none of it is real …I’m just walking on the floor of the store but I really was worried about that alligator !
We stayed at Sapphire Falls too for 3 nights to celebrate Super Bowl Sunday .
I love everything about Universal for their holidays !
Thanks for a better than I could do trip report !

You are right. It was hard in the lighting to appreciate the swamp water scene very well with the lighting. The designers are so awesome with their various ideas.

Yes, those Gators are worrisome.

Sapphire Falls is a beautiful Resort. So nice to hear you were able to enjoy the resort for Super Bowl Sunday and Mardi Gras.

I look forward to seeing other folks pictures and experiences from Universal and the events. It would be fun to see yours.

So nice to have you reading along and enjoying the photos.

 

[Robo56]

Of course I had to look at some merch in the Tribute Store.


The cute stuffed Mardi Gras Gators are too cute. I had one of those planned for my little great-nephews so I bought it while I was at the store. I can see these possibly selling out.




There were some cute bracelets, scarves and mini wallets.


You have to have hot sauce if you are celebrating Mardi Gras. Many years ago when my hubby and I went to New Orleans we noticed the folks there love their hot sauce on everything even the popcorn and nuts at the fun bars.

We really had a magical time in New Orleans. We stayed in the French Quarter. We fell in love with the people the food and the Architecture. It was a wonderful vacation filled with many many fond memories.


The masks were cool.


The baby face is a little creepy.


The Passholder shirt.


These bracelets and earrings were cute too.

 

[Robo56]

I asked the TM if this skeleton was a nod to Baron Ton Ton and she said, Yes.


This room looked like a Bayou shack were some relic’s of sunken ships had been collected.