Mardi Gras World New Orleans Traveling with Teens. Get a behind the scenes look Mardi Gras World where they make the floats and sculptures for Mardi Gras and parades around the world.
After waiting in the gift shop for a bit we started the tour by trying on costumes watching a video about Mardi Gras traditions, and eating a slice of king cake. The tour is all indoors making this a perfect rainy day activity for people all ages.
My husband and son were having a good time despite the looks on their faces. The hubs was the most excited about putting the costumes on and getting a family picture…he just forgot to tell his face. My son has decided that he will no longer smile for pictures, he will only stare blankly off into the distance. Arguing would only make everyone miserable so I don’t bother. That’s a key to less stressful family travels pick your battles. Don’t fuss about every little thing, it will only make everyone miserable. My daughter and I have fantastic smiles so it’s all good.
After the video we got a look in the studio at the artists at work.
Artists carve sculptures from sheets of Styrofoam that have been glued together. Those sculptures gets covered with paper mache, primed and painted.
After the parade the sculptures come back to Mardi Gras world for storage and repair. Some are updated and transformed into new pieces.
About 70% of the sculptures are used for Mardi Gras parades while the rest are used by brands for other purposes.
The floats are built on large frames and have hitches that allow them to be towed. Several can be hooked together to make one mega float. They have 2-3 restrooms each (those parades can get long) for the crew members’ convenience.
Hour long tours of Mardi Gras World are available seven days a week from 9:30 am until 4:30 pm. Shuttles are available from several locations, there was one that picked up from the Drury Inn were we stayed but check to make sure.
After wrapping things up at Mardi Gras world we headed over to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum <<READ MORE>>
