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Mardi Gras World
Rating Details »
12 reviews for Mardi Gras World
Have you ever wondered what you'd look like in a giant paper mache Bill Clinton mask? Wonder no more! Go to Mardis Gras World and know for sure.
Seriously, you have to go there once, especially if you have never been to Mardis Gras. This is where most floats are made. They have warehouses full of floats. They have artisans and craftsmen working on all stages of float develpment, building and painting.
Most of the cool stuff is the information the tour guide gives you about how the floats are made and what not. The photo ops are insane.
There is a video, a chance to try on costumes and a snack. The gift shop has lots of souveniers. And they will drive you back to the French Quarter. We walked there and wish we'd taken a shuttle or cab. The walk is not pretty or pleasant unless you have a big thing for vacant convention centers. The Algiers location was more charming, but I can see why they moved.
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It was fun just walking thru the warehouse and looking at the floats and taking pictures. The colors are so vibrant you can't help but be in awe. In the beginning of the tour we got to dress up in some costumes. The heads that you can put on were huge and heavy but were really funny.
The video they show in the beginning of the tour needs to be updated but it made me want to come back to New Orleans just to experience Mardi Gras.
The tour itself wasn't that long and for $18 I expected more. If you are a student there is a discounted fee of $14. All in all, I'm glad I had a chance to experience it.
When my friend suggested an excursion to Mardi Gras World, I was quick to dismiss the idea. Spending the $18 entrance fee to look at a bunch of clowns and floats was just not appealing to me. However, I was so happy that she convinced me into the fun experience.
Be prepared to take some fantastic pictures of these creative displays of paper mache. The tour guide will provide some cultural history on each of the floats, but the colorful art just may distract your attention. Your tour will end with a brief film profiling the Mardi Gras event, a photo opportunity to dress up in loud costumes, and a sample of some deliciously sweet King's Cake. The cinnamon-enhanced pastry tastes like something manufactured by Entenmann's and contains a tiny plastic baby doll. The lucky person that nearly digests this toy will receive a prize from the gift shop.
The Mardi Gras Museum might not sound like a cool destination, but a visit is sure to amuse.
This place was pretty cool just to walk through and see all the different floats, even though only about 20 floats were there we were also able to see lots of props...lots of info. and very interesting. Would love to go when Mardi Gras is about two weeks out.
When u first come in, they give u a bead necklace w/ the mardi gras world/ clown logo..after u pay for the tour of course.
My sisters, my daughter and I didn't stay for the tour, instead we wondered around and took many pictures!! my daughter loves beauty and the beast, so she was super excited to see the float and demanded that i should take pictures of her with beauty and the beast!
There were so much floats to see, my favorite floats were either Chucky (Child's Play), Abraham Lincoln, or Jimi Hendrix....
Went to New Orleans a few weeks ago for the first time. This was one of my favorite things visiting in New Orleans. They allowed us to put on mardi gras costumes and take pictures with some of the props. It was really interesting to see all the different floats and the reasons behind them. They also show you how they sketch and build all the floats and props. Its really interesting and they allow you take as many pictures as you want so you can have fun with it.
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This tour no longer lives in Algiers, it is across the river just west of the convention center.
We did not go on the tour but wandered around and saw all the big floats from this year's parade. Amazing, crazy stuff. Then someone told us we had to go on the tour if we wanted to wander around but we'd already seen everything at that point so we left. Oops.
Go on the tour, you want to see this stuff.
Just go.
Its kinda nerdy but super cool.
A little pricey (for me at least) but you get free beads with admissions!
*Ask for student discount, if you have a student id*
So you start with a mini-video about Mardi Gras and after you get a piece of King Cake and coffee. After that you get assigned your tour guide and he takes you around spotting out famous floats, the krewes, etc
There are some floats that are super cool--Ninja turtles, Ray Charles, Bart Simpson, "where the wild things are," etc. Its silly but fun.
I was not sure what to expect from Mardi Gras World, but was pleasantly surprised. They say you can watch floats and giant figures being created and it is actually true. When we walked through the work area, there were painters and carpenters working on projects with airbrushes, jigsaws and drills. Pretty cool, frankly.
The guide was knowledgeable about the krewes and lore of mardi gras, and he pointed out some interesting facts about the re-use of figures ("that giant Willie Nelson head has also served as Ringo Starr" or "the headless horseman on that float was Andrew Jackson--we just took the head off and put it where he used to carry a sword.")
You have lots of chances to take pictures with the floats and figures, and they serve King Cake and coffee right before the tour begins. An interesting (if dated) video also tells you a lot about Mardi Gras and Mardi Gras World founder Blaine Kern.
During our visit, we saw Blaine Kern (who must be in his 80's!) walking around the shop. He looked great and stopped and chatted with our group for a minute. What an icon--Mr. Mardi Gras indeed.
My only caveats are (1) it is a little pricey and (2) you should come with a sense of playfulness and fun or it is just a waste of your time and money.
I went here for a party and was blown away. I was hanging out with giant Marilyn Monroe and Ginger and Fred. I hear they sometimes have roller derby here. So I didn't pay to get in. I did think it was weird that those bathroom attendants that try to get you to put on cheap lotion hang out in there and have crappy things to buy but no one cleans the bathroom.. I mean, it was sort of trashed. But Mardi Gras World is oh so fun.
Although I enjoyed seeing all the floats and hearing about Mardi Gras parades, I thought this tour was overpriced considering that we just walked through a couple warehouses. If you are there around lunch time, you can buy lunch that is prepared by a local well known chef. It smelled really wonderful, but we didn't want to hang around there until lunch time. After the tour is over, we were allowed to wander around and take photos of the floats for as long as we wanted.
The ferry from New Orleans to Algiers is free and there is a shuttle van waiting to take people to Mardi Gras World. I was impressed how quickly the shuttle was ready to transport us and it seemed like perfect timing that we didn't have to wait for the shuttle or ferry once we were finished with the tour.
If you were ever curious to see where they store all of those huge floats they use during the Mardi Gras parades, then come here. You get to go on a pretty lengthy tour of the super huge warehouse and see various floats they've used in the parades. They also serve you king cake. Yummy. And since it's across the river from the main city, you can take a fun boat ride to get there.
