Mardi Gras is returning to the Universal Orlando Resort again next spring, and there will be a couple of changes this time.
First, the event is getting a longer name - Universal's Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval. Universal's focus at its annual spring event for some time now has extended beyond New Orleans' famous occasion. So this time Universal is reflecting that broader focus officially in the event's name.
Though, to be fair, everyone's just gonna keep calling it "Universal Mardi Gras," right?
Universal also revealed the dates for next year's event: February 4 through April 16, 2023. That's actually a week shorter than this year's event was, but Easter falls a week earlier in 2023, so there ya go.
[Explainer for non-Catholic readers, in case anyone cares to review the context here - Mardi Gras is the last-chance-for-decadence day before the start of Lent (Ash Wednesday), which is the 40-day period, not including Sundays, of repentance that leads up to Good Friday and the start of Easter weekend. But Universal keeps the carnaval party going all the way through Lent and even past Easter itself because... well, it can, I guess.]
Universal will announced details later about headliner musical acts for this year's event, as well as the parade and available food and drinks. Stay tuned.
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It also looks like Universal is using their annual events (Mardi Gras, Grinchmas, and HHN) to offer more unique food and beverage options. I was pretty surprised by the expansion of the HHN food when we were there last week, and my guess is that expanding the definition of Mardi Gras to include similar festivals around the world will allow the culinary team to expand the unique food items offered during the event.
Universal is a bit slow on the uptake here, but they are finally capitalizing on an audience coming to the parks to have a different experience from a normal park day.