Theme Park Rangers Radar: Mardi Gras moments at Universal, going barefoot on SeaWorld’s Pipeline

Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel
Updated ·6 min read

Theme Park Rangers Radar detects a lot of activity around Universal Studios these days, complete with strings of plastic projectiles and people beseeching their feet to not to fail them now. (That’s just the Mardi Gras talking.) It also looks into the future and ponders sensible shoes for the Pipeline roller coaster coming to SeaWorld Orlando sometime this spring.

Radar is a weekly whirl through Central Florida attractions. It is posted on OrlandoSentinel.com on Wednesdays.

What we saw at Mardi Gras

Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration is in full swing, with its sparkle, stilts on parade, concerts and international cuisine. I took a first-timer to the first night of the 2023 event, and we collected a few twists to know before you go. The event runs nightly through April 16.

  • The Tribute Store, the park’s seasonal pop-up souvenir store, has been relocated. Visitors will discover it in the Hollywood area and enter through the former annual passholders lounge. The store winds through the repurposed Darkroom and Williams of Hollywood stores. Its theme is scenes of New Orleans, including a ballroom and an extremely dark alleyway. For sale: merchandise and munchies.

  • Festival foods are sold across the park, mostly bunched by countries of origin. They go beyond typical Mardi Gras expectations to include menu items from Denmark (frikadeller meatballs), India (onion bhaji), Indonesia (chili crab with fried mantou) and Japan (okonomiyaki), for example. Fear not, king cake and beignets remain. On opening night, the queues generally were long for food, sometimes double what a first glance indicated. After waiting in one line to order and pay, patrons waited in a second, sometimes snaking line to pick up the food. Weigh that against your hunger level.

  • But there were manageable lines to be had. We had good luck at the Colombia market and gave thumbs-up to the coco loco (limonada de coco spiked with rum and tequila). A bonus was Colombia’s seating on the “Animal Actors On Location” plaza. It’s surprisingly serene there, slightly away from the fray and shielded by the construction wall around the now-closed KidZone.

  • Of course, the fray is one reason to hit Mardi Gras in the first place. We certainly found it — in a nonviolent way — for the concert featuring Patti LaBelle, an energetic crowd-pleaser. Unless you absolutely must be near the stage and standing on the unforgiving fake grass of Music Plaza, a viable option is to parking yourself on the far right, on the Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon ride side. There’s elbow room, quick access to restrooms and a drink vendor with multiple beer options. We could hear LaBelle belt it out and see her up on stage and on the big screens.

  • Before the concert came the parade. Universal mixed in six traditional floats with six new ones with a “mythical realms of Mardi Gras” theme. We saw unicorns, dragons and fire-breathing creatures. The resort continues to embrace creative lighting techniques incorporated into performers’ costumes. Bringing up the rear was the big green King Gator float. My Universal Mardi Gras virgin pointed out, without prompting, that it was the best float. Who would argue? Long live the King. May his good times roll.

Feet first

During a recent “Sea the World with Cindy Simmons” podcast, Rob McNicholas, vice president of operations for SeaWorld Orlando, let on about shoeless testing of Pipeline, the roller coaster opening this spring. It’s a safety thing.

McNicholas and other SeaWorld execs were in Europe for a vendor visit during the creation of the new surfing-centric thrill ride, and they got to see the ride vehicle.

“It was a great opportunity to actually put your hand on the ride because you look at pictures, you look at drawings, you look at manuals, but when you’re actually there you see things differently. It’s an opportunity to maybe make some last-minute tweaks or changes,” McNicholas said during the podcast.

“It’s a very, very large vehicle. Very impressive. I was able to actually get into the restraint and look down and just kind of mimic what you would be like as a rider. We want to make sure that (1) it looks like surfboard and it physically looks like a surfboard and it has a wax look to it. ... But also it needs to be slip-resistant,” he said.

“We want to make sure that when you’re on there and you’re getting on or off that your feet are stable. So I’m in Switzerland, with all of these engineers and vendors, and I take my shoes and my socks off. I kind of rub my feet on the surfboard. Because I want to make sure, of course, because if you’re in Florida, there’s a good chance you’re wearing flip-flops. You can’t ride this roller coaster wearing flip-flops — you would take them off. Is it too rough? Does it feel OK?”

Remember, there’s an upside-down stretch aboard Pipeline.

“If you’re wearing flip-flops and you’re going on a roller coaster that goes upside down. you may come back without a flip-flop,” McNicholas said.

The lead car has been on display near the entrance of SeaWorld Orlando. We’ll say McNicholas is a fan.

“It’s the sexiest roller coaster I’ve ever seen. It really is. It’s sexy. It’s powerful. It’s sleek. It’s modern,” he said. “When guests see it, it’s not just your old mom and pop coaster, you sit in the train and there you go. This thing is unbelievable-looking.”

Weekend outlook

  • It’s the second weekend for Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration. Concerts on tap feature JVKE (“Golden Hour”) on Friday and Goo Goo Dolls (“Iris,” “Slide”) on Saturday. The Universal Studios performances follow the parade, which steps off at 7:45 p.m. both nights. More info: universalorlando.com/mardigras

  • Disney on Broadway concerts continue as part of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts. On stage Thursday, Sunday and Monday are Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”) and Michael James Scott (“Aladdin”), with Kissy Simmons (“The Lion King”) and Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”) on Friday and Saturday. More info: disneyworld.com/epcot.

  • SeaWorld Orlando’s Seven Seas Food Festival concerts include Commodores on Saturday, followed by tribute bands to the Bee Gees and the Beatles on Sunday. Show time is 7 p.m. both days. More info: seaworldorlando.com.

  • Pirate Fest Weekends continue Saturday and Sunday at Legoland Florida. More info: legolandflorida.com.

  • Big Bounce America Tour, home of the world’s largest bounce house and other major inflatables, stops again at Dezerland Action Park, Friday through Sunday. Tickets and more information: thebigbounceamerica.com/tickets

What’s on your radar? Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com