Who's been to NOLA for Mardi Gras & USO Mardi Gras?

[MickyLynn]

I've been to NOLA twice. Would I find USOs MG lame? I got a Season Pass last month so we'd have to upgrade 2 passes 2 weeks before they expire.
Original plan for late Jan or early Feb 2021 was to drive down Sat/Sun, stay in OKW until Thurs, switch to a premiere hotel for the EPs, then drive back Fri/Sat.
But now I'm seeing everyones MG posts and I'm itching for beads and Boubon House. I could fly to MSY, then to MCO on Sunday, then back to NY on Friday.
It would cut down on one hotel night on the road and no pass upgrades. So its practically wasteful not to, right?

 

[lborne]

If you are only adults, you will be disappointed. US MG is nothing like MG in NOLA. Not just the parades, but the food, music, and general atmosphere. Even between parades, the party keeps going all day and night. And there are lots of parades. I don't recommend NOLA MG for kids, so the US MG is perfect for them.

 

[MickyLynn]

Yeah, I just don't see how it could be as good. I'm a big proponent of the position that you can take your kids to NOLA for MG because it should be for everyone, but this whole thing about parades that run on time and keep happening after Ash Wednesday just seems insincere in like a Great Pumpkin kinda way.

 

[lborne]

Many other cities around Louisiana do parades and most all are more family friendly and have events going on all day.

 

[Robo56]

With Universal Mardi Gras your getting the best of both worlds.

You can enjoy the park rides, shows, character interactions during the day and watch the Mardi Gras parade in the evening.

I was there 4 weeks ago. The floats are beautiful, stilt walkers are awesome and you can catch beads to your hearts content.

Been to NOLA....... lots of sweaty, drunk albeit happy people catching beads, but Universal offers so much more in my opinion.

Go and have a good time.

Laissez les bons temps rouler

 

[lborne]

One more note - you can catch the parades in NOLA along other sections of the parade route that are mostly locals and not the drunk tourists section.

 

[soniam]

It's cute if you can't get to NOLA or don't want to take your kids to NOLA. However, nothing can beat the real deal. The Mardi Gras food at USO is mostly abysmal compared to anything/anytime in NOLA. I will sometimes eat it in desperation at USO, since we haven't been back to NOLA in a long time. I still think it's fun, but I wouldn't plan a trip there to specifically do Mardi Gras if you I could get NOLA instead. The music from the bands from Louisiana is pretty good though, not the big night concerts.