Mardi Gras 2023. Laissez les bon temps rouler (let the good times roll). Parades, King Cake, Cursed Club, Voodoo Dolls, Food, Rocket Ships and more

[Robo56]

After dinner I walked out of Confisco Grille and noticed that for the first time there were two Mardi Gras food booths here at IOA. These were located near the water.











I always like this view over the water looking at Hogwarts Castle and Velocicoaster.














To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Wednesday, September 8th continued


I decided to take a walk over to Marvel Super Hero Island.















And onto Toon Lagoon and look who was out. Betty Boop and Olive Oyl.

 

[Robo56]

I was getting tired by now and I was ready to head back to the boat with hopes that I would be getting text that my room was ready.

I always like to walk through the Trading Company Store on my way out.





It’s nice that you can have your shirts customized it you want now.


The Pumpkin Juice bottles were something new I had not seen before. Also nice that there is a complimentary Pumpkin Juice fill with purchase.


As I walked out of IOA starting towards the bridge I noticed the Wind Vane on top of Antojitos. I have never noticed this before.


I love the name on this dining area of Margaritaville.
Ma

 

[Robo56]

There was a boat loading when I arrived. There was a pretty long line so would have to wait for the next boat. Not sure if I had mentioned, but it was busy for a Wednesday.

Once the next boat arrived I got a seat and received the text that my room was ready.

After the boat docked I went to my SUV in the garage and retrieved my small suitcase.


I always enjoy walking into the Lobby. It is huge open, airy and inviting.

There is plenty of seating.







The Strong Water Tavern serves delicious food and drinks. It is definitely worth a visit.


If you need assistance with car rental the rental desk is easily accessible.

 

[Robo56]

I had requested a Lagoon View Room and it was very nice.

The rooms are light, well designed and spotless.




There are always plenty of products provided and if you need more you just text what you need and it will be delivered to your room.










There are plenty of places to charge your electronics.

 

[Robo56]

I like the view from the Lagoon Rooms.









To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Wednesday, February 8th continued

After getting to my room I was pooped from all the walking. I was ready for a good bubble bath and a nap. It was about 4:30 pm and I had every intention of going to the parade after a quick rest, but decided to do the parade the next day.

After a nice snooze I woke up and did a little reading. It was about 8 pm I was feeling a little hungry, but did not want much to eat.

I went down to the Lobby and the decided something quick would do. So I went to the New Dutch Trading Company for a sandwich and a soft drink. They have a nice selection of hot and cold food items. They are pretty popular in the morning with coffee and rolls etc. They were very busy. I picked a sandwich and a soft drink and went back to the room.

There was a line of folks waiting get to into the Strong Water so there must have been a convention going on.

After my dinner I watched a little TV and it was time to sleep.

 

[Robo56]

Thursday. February 9th

I woke up early as usual. Took a quick shower and out the door I went to get some coffee.

I do like Starbucks coffee. There is a Starbucks located inside Aventura Resort just a quick walk. There is a sidewalk linked to Aventura From Sapphire Falls.

Compared to RPR, PBH, HRH and SF Aventura is what I would call a more stripped down Resort. I always say Universal has a Resort for any budget. I have read good reviews from folks who stayed at Aventura.




The Starbucks is usually busy here. I’am an early riser so I can usually get in and out pretty quickly.


I ordered my Grande Coffee


And a Venti Matcha Green Tea Latte with fat free milk and 3 pumps of Chai. It looks funky, but it is delicious.


Walk past the Starbucks and they have a few options for meals at Aventura. There is a Sushi bar, fresh fruit bar and an area where they serve hot breakfasts and burgers. They also have an area where they make pizzas.

I have ordered from the fresh fruit bar before. There are a number of bowls of fresh cut up fruit. You choose 5 of any of the fruits to create your fruit bowl. It is a lot of fruit. You can add yogurt and granola on top or on the side.

There is enough fruit for 3 people in the fruit bowl. I always get the yogurt and granola on the side. The plastics bowls are sturdy and is easy to take your left over fruit back to your room and put it in the refrigerator.


If remember correctly this food area opens at 7 am. They were just sitting up the fruit bar when I took the photo.

I walked back over to Sapphire to get my keys. I had a plan for this morning.


A couple of pictures of the pool on my way back to my room. This is one of the biggest of pools of all the Resorts.







To be continued

 

[Robo56]

Thursday, February 9th continued


After retrieving my keys from the room I headed over to the parking garage. I like how convenient for the garage is. The garage is protected from the elements and I like that.

I planned to go drive to the Vineland Outlet Mall. I like it better then the Mall on International Drive. My younger sister is a big Disney fan and I always make a trip over to the Disney Outlet Store for her while I’am in Orlando.


I arrived at the Mall about 9:30 am. It was strange not seeing anyone here as this Mall is usually teeming with people. The Mall does not open until 10 am on weekdays and Saturday and 11 am Sunday.

The route to the Mall is very easy from the Resorts.

If you are staying at Sapphire Falls come out of the Resort and turn right. Then turn left at the light. Take that to Turkey Lake Road Light and turn left.

Stay straight on Turkey Lake road. You will be on it for a little while. It will eventually turn into Palm Parkway and will you will come to the light at Apopka Vineland (SR535). You will turn left at the light. Stay in the left lane. Go straight under the bypass for I4. You want to turn left at the light. That road winds around a bit till you reach the outlet Mall.

I call this the back way to the Mall. If you got on the I4 and got off on 535 it would be quicker , but I4 I is usually busy and backed up with traffic.

You can access Sea World from this road also.

Some of you may remember the big nest of restaurants that were located on Apopka Vineland (SR 535) not far from the entrance to Hotel row that leads to Disney Springs. Those have all closed pretty much.

They have started another huge cluster of restaurants on Palm Parkway. You will pass these on the right and left as you are traveling. There is a White Castle, Portillo’s,
McCallister’s deli and many more.

You also pass the Super Walmart on your way as you are on Turkey Lake Road. This is a very busy Walmart as it is busy with locals and everyone from Disney and Universal. Go early in the morning if you want to shop there as you can get in and out very easily. Later in the day or evening it is slammed.

You will also pass Sand Lake Road. There are a lot of nice restaurants on Sand Lake Road.

There are a lot of nice shops here to look in. Some of my favorites to have a look in are Vera Bradley, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Coach, Gucci, Tory Burch and Prada And of course the Disney Outlet for my little sister. They have a huge Nike store that is very popular with folks.


They have a big food court and it is pretty full during normal shopping hours.




When the Mall opened I gave my sister a call and let her pick what she wanted me to buy.


They had a nice selection of Dooney and Bourke purses.


They had some Christmas items


Halloween Items

I did get a couple of this OOGIE BOOGIE tumblers.




3 of the Hocus Pocus Binx tealight candle holders and a few other things.

 

[Robo56]

My sister wanted these Chip and Dale kitchen towels. These Mickey Christmas bubble wands were cute.




People were very busy filling of their hand cart with lots of items. I took the few things I purchased to the suv and came back to have a look in a few other stores.

I picked up a few Birthday and Christmas gifts from Gucci and I was ready to leave.

I decided to make this a quick shopping day. Nothing wrong with that. My next stop was the Mall at Millenia.

This is one of the nicest Malls. I have been making sure to stop in and do a little shopping on all my trips to Orlando. I read about the Mall a few years ago on one of Schumigirls trip reports and I have been coming here every since.

It is very open and inviting.














They have one of my favorite Macy stores it is huge and very nice. I didn’t take a photo of Macy’s I was to busy looking around….LOL

 

[Robo56]

I did get my name in for lunch at Cheesecake Factory as they were very busy.


I was having a look around Williams Sonoma I really like this store. I always have a look and see if they have the Fortnum and Mason chocolate biscuits (Cookies) as I bought these for hubby before and he really liked them. They also have a nice selection of their teas, but I’am not a tea drinker. I do know folks that are so I need to find out their favorites and maybe buy some next time.

I did get my text that it was time to return as my table was ready.

I had a quick late lunch and I was ready to head back to the Rescort.

I brought some of my shopping haul in. Our youngest grandson who is 19 was the one who told me Gucci is popular with the younger crowd on a vacation summer before last. So I try to make a stop while at Vineland Mall and look in for gifts.


After I put my purchases away. I took a nice bubble bath. Plugged in my Apple Watch and phone to charge and took a nap.

I wanted to be rested up and ready to enjoy the parade this evening.



To be continued

 

[wdwrule]

Loving your report! It’s nice to hear about what’s outside of the park bubbles. One of these days maybe we’ll venture outside of the bubble. I’ve always wanted to visit Character Warehouse.

I can just smell Sapphire Falls’ lovely scent from your photos. That’s one of our favorite places to stay. Lately we’ve been on the Aventura kick and they do have a nice selection of food… and big portions as you mentioned. During my first visit to Aventura I was a little dismayed at the very sterile and blah atmosphere but we’ve grown to love it; that and its small footprint. That’s one of the things we love about Universal though… many of the resorts are a hop skip and a jump away to visit. Loving this!

 

[schumigirl]

It`s nice to see so many offsite places we know so well Robbie, Mall at Millenia is a firm favourite, it`s such a pleasant mall to wander round.

The Florida Mall used to be completely horrible, but it has got better since they revamped it a couple of years ago, it`s worth a short visit but nowhere near as good as Millenia.

Enjoying seeing your visits to other places, and yes the Character Warehouse does have some lovely little gifts, it`s been a time since we went there.

 

[Robo56]

Loving your report! It’s nice to hear about what’s outside of the park bubbles. One of these days maybe we’ll venture outside of the bubble. I’ve always wanted to visit Character Warehouse.

Thank you for your kind words wdwrule. I needed a little nudge out of the bubble myself. I‘am so glad I did start venturing out. There are so many nice shopping options and restaurants in the area to try.

My younger sister is really a big Disney fan. She watches the personal shoppers that go to the Warehouse and show the things they have there. The Character Warehouse used to be very quiet and easy to shop in. Now it can be pretty busy. They do have some nice things.

I can just smell Sapphire Falls’ lovely scent from your photos. That’s one of our favorite places to stay. Lately we’ve been on the Aventura kick and they do have a nice selection of food… and big portions as you mentioned.

It does have a nice smell. It was more noticeable to me on this most recent stay.

They do have some of the happiest people who work there. You are greeted with a smile as you pull up to the door and it continues from there.

During my first visit to Aventura I was a little dismayed at the very sterile and blah atmosphere but we’ve grown to love it; that and its small footprint. That’s one of the things we love about Universal though… many of the resorts are a hop skip and a jump away to visit. Loving this!

I’am glad you have had such a great experience at Aventura. I have been over there mostly in the early morning for coffee. It seems like a nice Resort. They have a wonderful gift shop and their food options are nice.

You’re right it is centrally located to be able to hope over to a few of other Resorts. Across the parking lot from Sapphire Falls. Across the street from Cabana Bay and a short walk from Royal Pacific.

The Florida Mall used to be completely horrible, but it has got better since they revamped it a couple of years ago, it`s worth a short visit but nowhere near as good as Millenia.

I have been to the Florida Mall only once a few years ago and have not been back since. Thank you for sharing that it has been revamped.

Enjoying seeing your visits to other places, and yes the Character Warehouse does have some lovely little gifts, it`s been a time since we went there.

Thank you, so glad you are enjoying the report. They really have a lot of nice shops at Vineland Mall. I do enjoy walking around and seeing whats new.

It`s nice to see so many offsite places we know so well Robbie, Mall at Millenia is a firm favourite, it`s such a pleasant mall to wander round.

I really like Mall at Millenia. Thank you so much for sharing that information on your trip reports. I do enjoy stopping in there when I’am up in Orlando. They have such nice shops and nice options for lunch too.

 

[DL1WDW2]

The Millenia Mall is always fun on Black Friday to start the holidays !
Have to visit Santa…
This year we stayed at Sapphire for the boat and SuperBowl Sunday .
They turned on that giant TV and the sound for the big game .
It was packed with everybody but me wearing green…I wore KC Chiefs red . So I had fun
And I have stayed twice now trying to see Mardi Gras Parade & it has rained and been cancelled both times . Their parade is incredible and the floats are designed by same team that designs floats for New Orleans Mardi Gras Parades. I love watching the children catch their beads .
Cabana Bay usually has the Super Bowl on those giant screens in their food court too.
I just think USO knows how to make everything Fun and cares about the guests and their team members too ! Thats important to me especially considering the stance Disney has taken with cast negotiations.

Anyway thanks for great report with lots of pictures !

 

[Robo56]

Thursday, September 9th continued

After a nice nap it was time to head out for the Parade. I was refreshed and ready for an evening of celebrating Mardi Gras.

I dressed and out the door I went. It was not as busy this evening getting the boat over to CItyWalk.

I had planned it so I would be there about 45 minutes before the parade.

People were already lined up on the street waiting for the parade to start. I did find a spot and had a nice conversation with a family who were visiting Universal for the first time.

The food and beverage card is a good deal and does not expire.










I’am always amazed at how the Motorcycle Police can maneuver those big bikes in such a small space. They are all so happy






I’am always amazed at how these ladies and gents can walk on stilts. The Mummers are walking with their umbrellas in back of this lady on stilts.

 

[Robo56]

The Theme of the Parade was supposed to be Mythical Creatures if I remember correctly.



I enjoy catching the beads for fun, but some people have it down to an art form. It is fun to watch them.

There were two little ones with the family I was talking to so I decided all the beads I could catch would be divided up and given to them. There were adults reaching over them and taking beads. The littles did not have much chance of catching any.






To be continued

 

[macraven]

super pictures

 

[Robo56]

The Millenia Mall is always fun on Black Friday to start the holidays !
Have to visit Santa…

It is such a nice Mall I bet it is busy on Black Firday.

This year we stayed at Sapphire for the boat and SuperBowl Sunday .
They turned on that giant TV and the sound for the big game .
It was packed with everybody but me wearing green…I wore KC Chiefs red .

I bet that was something to see. You have to represent your team of course by wearing you colors.

So I had fun
And I have stayed twice now trying to see Mardi Gras Parade & it has rained and been cancelled both times . Their parade is incredible and the floats are designed by same team that designs floats for New Orleans Mardi Gras Parades. I love watching the children catch their beads .

Thank you for sharing the information on the float designers. The floats are beautiful and I have had the chance to watch a number of the Mardi Gras parades at Universal Orlando and they just keep getting better every year.

I hope you are able to see the parade without threat of cancellation in the future. It is a wonderful way to Celebrate Mardi Gras.

It is so cute to see the little ones walking around with all the beads they have caught around their necks.

It‘s interesting to see so many adults and teens being so competitive in catching those plastic beads.

Universal really did a great job in the food offerings this year.

Cabana Bay usually has the Super Bowl on those giant screens in their food court too.
I just think USO knows how to make everything Fun andcares about the guests and their team members too ! Thats important to me especially considering the stance Disney has taken with cast negotiations.

I couldn’t agree with you more. Universal is I feel a destination vacation and has been for years. People are just waking up to that and it has really gotten busier.

They considerate of their AP holders.

I have read a lot of folks have become disillusioned about things that are happening at WDW. I think we are very fortunate to have a place like Universal to vacation at.

Universal does have happy wonderful TM’s.

The rides are of course are a big part of the experience at theme parks, but it is the people that operate the rides and work in the parks that make the experience even more special. I hope Disney fixes things for those who work there.

We are truly very fortunate have so many options for vacation opportunities in the area.

I’am looking forward to Epic Universe.

Anyway thanks for great report with lots of pictu

You are so welcome. I’am glad you are enjoying the report and photos.

 

[Robo56]

super pictures

Howdy Mac. I’am so glad you are enjoying the photos.