Riding in the Universal Mardi Gras Parade

Over the span of Mardi Gras, I had the chance to ride on a float in the parade twice (so far). The first time I won tickets in an annual pass holders drawing. The second time, I showed up about a half hour before the parade started, and asked about it, and they had some extra room, so I went on. The first time I did it I rode on the sports float. They give you a shirt to wear, along with something to wear on your head that you can take home (hat, crown, etc.). You then have to put on a belt that attaches to a cable that goes into the floor of the float. Somewhere near you, you have a row of hooks that hold your beads to throw out to the people in the audience. (they tell you to take 6 for yourself) You are also given coins to throw out. There's no spot to put these, so they could go anywhere you want.

The majority of the floats are wooden structures on flatbed trucks that put you about 10 feet off of the ground (higher than the stiltwalkers). They lower portion of most of the floats are covered with painted fabric, and the figures on top of them are made from paper machie. The floats hold between 2 people (1st float) to 35 people (gator).

Below, you'll find pictures of each float that I have ridden on, along with facts that I learned about that float...

Sports Float

This is the first float that I rode on. I won tickets to this because I'm an annual pass holder. You got up into this float by climbing a ladder behind a pannel that opened up on the side of the float. This float held 10 people. I rode on the back half. Here's a picture that someone took, and since it was a cheap camera when I took a picture, it didn't come out too well, but you get the general idea.

And that's another picture of me on a float that came out better.

This is a picture of the float behind the sports float which was the space float. You could also see part of the football helmet on the back of the float I was on. Look at the people down below. It shows you how high the floats are.

Doesn't it always look like the people throwing out beads have an unlimited supply (they don't)? Here's how much they have on average, and the hooks that the beads hang on before they are thrown out.

This is the picture of the harness that keeps you from falling off of the very bumpy floats.

Here's a picture looking foward from the sports float.

Here's a backstage picture of the characters walking to their places in the parade (the stilt walkers don't do this. They wait by where the parade enters the park (except for a few who talk to the people on the floats)).

Here's where I kept my coins to throw out during the parade...

and who couldn't forget to take a picture of the screaming croud on the ground, fighting over beads!!!