What happens behind the scenes of Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando Resort
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My grandmother died several years ago, but I could have sworn she was with me last week at Universal Orlando Resort. The mouth-tingling Spicy Smashed Cucumber salad at Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval wasn’t exactly like hers, but its familiar flavors still brought me right back to her table.
“We're really trying hard to be as authentic as possible,” said Jens Dahlmann, vice president, executive chef of culinary operations at Universal Orlando.
Guests can taste it in the dishes created specially for the monthslong Mardi Gras celebration, which is as big as Halloween Horror Nights and holidays at the Florida resort. They can also experience it in the festive nightly parade, but here’s what guests don’t get to see, as USA TODAY learned behind the scenes.
A taste of New Orleans and beyond
“We have beignets, of course. We're going to have a little king cake. You have a seafood boil with crawfish and shrimp. We have gumbo, étouffée. We have all those things here for you, but there's so many other flavors for you to discover,” Dahlmann said.
The cuisines of more than a dozen destinations, all tied to Carnaval, are represented at the event in Universal Studios Florida.
“There's definitely over 80 food and beverage offerings, all brand-new dishes that will get put out here,” said Chef Robert Martinez Jr., executive chef of shared services at Universal Orlando. “We don't serve these dishes in any other location, so it is a lot of research and development.” This year’s menus were being brainstormed as last year’s Mardi Gras event wrapped.
Already, the Pastelón at the Puerto Rico kiosk is a hit. Days later, I’m still thinking about its lasagna-like layers of sweet smashed maduros (fried sweet plantains), savory picadillo (seasoned ground beef) and melty cheese. It tastes like home cooking because it’s inspired by a family recipe from Christopher and Marcos Colón, two Puerto Rican brothers who are chefs at the resort.
“Mother Colón, if you read this, thank you so much,” Dahlmann said with a smile, adding his appreciation for the expertise team members bring from their backgrounds.
For the Pancit Bihon (rice noodle) recipe at the Philippines kiosk, which is new this year, the culinary team held a cook-off between four of their chefs of Filipino descent.
“The pancit, we got it from our grandma's recipe or mother's recipe,” said chef Glenn Garcia, who runs the kiosk. “I’m born and raised in (the) Philippines, so it means a lot to me, like I can introduce the food that I grew up eating.”
The chefs hope guests from regions represented at the event enjoy familiar tastes of home and that all guests come with open minds (and bellies) toward new flavors.
“We try and be very authentic and respectful to all the different cultures,” said Ron Cope, executive chef at Universal Studios Florida. “We try to bring something for everyone. We have options, gluten-free, vegan, so if somebody thinks, ‘Oh, it's Mardi Gras. It's just all spicy’ … it's a lot more.”
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‘The right way’
Food is just one part of Universal Orlando’s multi-sensory Mardi Gras experience, which is heavy on entertainment.
On select nights, guests can watch concerts by the likes of Luis Fonsi, DJ Khaled, and KC and The Sunshine Band, which are included with park admission.
But every night, weather permitting, there's a big Mardi Gras parade featuring dazzling performers and stunning floats made by Kern Studios, the family-run company that has shaped the way Mardi Gras is celebrated in New Orleans today.
“This is done the right way, and frankly, it's the only way that I would want to do it,” said Kern Studios CEO Barry Kern. “They've gone very far to make sure that it’s authentic of a New Orleans experience.”
The planning for each parade starts a full year in advance, sometimes sooner. Typically, each spring, Lora Sauls, director of creative development and show direction for art and design, entertainment at Universal Orlando, and a small team travel to New Orleans to comb through Kern Studios’ massive prop warehouse for ideas.
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“They have over 13 dens full of floats and props and all kinds of things, and we just go prop hunting, and every year we see something different,” she said. “We go in with a theme in mind.” It’s not always what they land on, but by the end of their short trip, they’ve narrowed down the theme and what they’d like on each new float.
Half of each year’s floats are new and tied to the theme, and the other half are returning signature floats, like krewes have in New Orleans.
Kern Studios designs and builds the new floats, but all the finishing touches, including lighting, glitter, foliage and other decor, are done by Universal Orlando over months.
“They hand-glitter all of these floats,” Sauls said. “It takes literally tons of glitter to glitter these.”
Universal Orlando also designs and makes the costumes for the parade, which this year include sparkling octopi, supersized flowers and shiny celestial bodies in line with the 2024 theme of elements.
Guests get a sneak peek of the costumes during the day as performers stroll through the park during pre-parade sets, handing out beads, posing for photos and inviting guests to the parade.
Everybody is welcome
One thing I noticed right away was how beautiful each performer looked, even though they were all built differently.
“We definitely wanted to focus on diversity within the Mardi Gras parade. Historically, it was a certain body type, and last year, we really made the big sweeping change to represent all types of bodies in all costumes,” Sauls said. “We're very proud of it. We got a lot of great feedback last year, so we wanted to keep that moving forward so people can see themselves in these really cool costumes."
She added this is the first year the costumes are gender-neutral and the first time performers were given a choice in what kind of makeup and how much makeup they wore, from very light to full. “Each performer got to choose what their face will look like.”
Performers are also encouraged to be themselves during the parade.
“The Mardi Gras parade is just about having fun,” she said. “This is not a choreographed parade. This is a party."
Guests who want to be in the parade can ride floats by joining a free Virtual Line or paying for a Float Ride & Dine Experience starting at just under $85. Usually, you have to be a member of a krewe to ride on a Mardi Gras float in New Orleans.
“What's great about Universal is that you have a very good chance of getting on a float,” Kern said, “That's a lifetime experience for people.”
All the Mardi Gras entertainment is included with park admission, which starts at $119 a day for guests ages 10 and up. The only thing extra guests have to pay for is food, but discounted gift cards are available, offering $75 worth of food and beverages for $65.
Universal Orlando's Mardi Gras celebrations run until April 7.
The reporter on this story received access to this event from Universal. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of reviews.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Universal Studios Florida brings Mardi Gras to Orlando