 Hey friends today, I'm hanging out at Universal Studios Orlando, and I am so excited It's the opening day of Mardi Gras season. I'm ready to eat jambalaya gumbo cold boys all of the great Mardi Gras food So let's go do this The music as you're walking in really just gets you all pumped and ready to go. This is gonna be such a fun night Obviously I'm excited for the food, but there's also gonna be a bunch of different entertainment They are gonna be throwing some beads We're gonna figure out all the details as we go along and that way you can see it and then playing to come down here Because this is gonna be going on for another whole month, and I'm just excited. I'm probably gonna come more than once I love Mardi Gras season. Oh wow, would you look at that? Well? Hello there kitty Thank you Just as I'm walking in now. I can tell it is super busy here today at Universal It is an opening day thing actually that's happening, but it's also the weekend So we're gonna be looking at very long wait times more than likely 90 minutes for despicable me and it also looks like they have the walkway to islands of adventure open So that that tells you right now. It's gonna be super busy today if they open this up That's usually what they do when it's a busy day in the park Regardless though. My number one goal today is to make the most of it and have fun Seize the day Carpe diem We're coming up on where they're showcasing some of the floats and it kind of reminds me of Halloween horror nights like a scare zone Doesn't it? It's kind of strange and I think they're gonna be tossing beads Maybe this year's theming is all about pirates. So I'm excited Oh Fancy hit the camera. Yeah, come on get it on there You got it. Yep, as you can see they have these little blue dots This is where you actually stand and that's when they'll throw some beads to you They're not gonna throw the beads that people that are walking by you actually have to take a spot And that's how we got to the throw, but oh, it's starting to rain We got to go Normally they be tossing the beads off of the floats and during the parade but since there's gonna be no actual parade They just have a whole bunch of bead stations all over the park and we're gonna get as many beads as we can I came prepared with a couple already, but I plan on getting a whole neck full of beads. I'm very excited for this I'm also very excited for all the food. You see they're cooking up some food right outside here And it's a little bit rainy out and look at the rain is actually hitting it How cool is that and it's causing that little sizzle sound? Look at this fanciness coming right down the street right now Wow Yeah, I like your dress Happy money-gross Before we actually get some food we're gonna need to get ourselves a handy-dandy Landyard which is basically like a sampling lanyard and we'll go over the prices of them But it makes things easier I like when there's like food festivals that have them available because it's a lot easier to just buy up front and then Not have to pull your wallet in and out So we're gonna find one of those and get them and then get some food. Oh Look at you Thank you. Thank you. Wow, that is nice and fancy. Wow I ran into some friends Yeah, we did and I knocked you over Oh He has the lanyard and it's actually how much is a 60 so AP's get 15 items for 60 Five yep, or if you're a non AP if they knock it down to 10 I'm definitely getting one and then Pretty much get five extra items for 10 more dollars, which is a steal sold Sold sold We're gonna be hanging out with promise and Travis all day long and then also I have another friend joining up with us too, and you might have seen earlier, but Jackie Monty Graz is great, but Monty Graz is great with friends. That's the thing. That's the ticket Right on right on And I definitely think a perfect first stop is the New Orleans Shipping crate because that's what this is look at they made a shipping crate into a stand and they've got the jambalaya here So we'll buy our lanyard and then use it for the jambalaya. I'm excited. I love jambalaya All right, I got my lanyard and now I'm getting my jambalaya. Look at this. It's beautiful It's so beautiful I Love jambalaya. We got shrimp in there. We got sausage. We got the crawfish right on top. This is gonna be so amazing I thought first things first is the crawfish But I That is not the appropriate way to eat a crawfish promise as told me so I thought I think I'm gonna stick to the jambalaya for now. We'll come back to this guy later. I Know I'm gonna enjoy the jambalaya though This is amazing though I love that there was more than just one piece of shrimp in there because I already ate all of them Oh, like I don't know why I grabbed the shrimps because I'm gonna eat them, but he got shrimp chicken. Yeah And only sausage. I love it. I think it's got like the perfect level of spice I love jambalaya later on I plan on mixing a little jambalaya and gumbo together and making yeah jambalaya Oh gumbo lia gumbo lia that's the way jumbo Nope Now I'm actually gonna try the crawfish the proper way. Oh, you got a good. Yeah, I de-shelled it or would you call it a shucking a Shocking. Yeah, we shucked it. So now I'm gonna actually try it and I have to be honest I think this is the first time I've actually had crawfish. I think so. I don't know I can't remember if it came with like a little dipping. Oh little dipping. Oh, yeah, I Originally thought that I was gonna be able to just like bite the back end and kind of like cherry stem it and actually get the Tail out and then like, you know spit out the the shell But that didn't work at all. So we're just gonna try it the way that we should be eating it It was very good I like it a lot very good. Yeah But now that I've gotten jambalaya I need to jump on over to the gumbo. Well, that's funny I got jambalaya, but jumping to gumbo and like the way that sounds and I'm just loving the atmosphere in here We've got tables with different umbrellas on top the fun atmosphere We have a float over here tossing out beads and then character formers just walking around and their best outfits Look at that that they look so fancy and festive. Hi. How are you? I? I decided on getting the gumbo because you know, I had to have the gumbo But then I seen the muffa letta sandwich and because we have this fancy lanyard This was six dollars and this was 13. Yeah, so it's so worth it I didn't want to pass up getting this because it was $13. So, okay, that's why I was like, oh, well I'm gonna get this. So this is the muffa letta sandwich. Yeah That's why it's worth it. Yeah, one thing I noticed is the lack of spoon So we're eating everything with a fork today and this is all shrimp gumbo, but I love it I love gumbo so much. I love rice and like I said, I love Cajun So I'm gonna kind of see if this is better than the jambalaya Okay, I gotta say the gumbo is way better than the jambalaya. I love it. I am obsessed. I might actually get another May I have another? Other than shrimp they do have indoli sausage inside the gumbo So it's not just shrimp and like I said, I think I like this a lot better than the jambalaya This is so good the okra. Everything's on point Just go for it And now I think we're gonna move along like I said so far the gumbo has been my absolute Favorite but before I was telling you it's not just New Orleans food So they're gonna have a whole bunch of different culture and food at all the different stands and I'm excited for that We have brazil and then right over here. We have columbia So isn't that cool? And like I said, there's a germany stand and of course new orleans And they all have like a little flag symboling where that food came from So as you're walking around if you see something that you like you just look at the table and I'll tell you where it came from that's really fun The columbia stand has some amazing arepas That's what promise told me because she already had them So I figured we'd come back because that seemed like there was a long line Instead we'll jump over to another one that I see no line and that's kind of how you do things around here Another fun thing is that each area they have different little like tables So by the columbia they had tables with like little drums in them And now we're gonna hop over to another stand and you'll see like the different tables that they have there You can see here. This is the trinidad and you can tell by the shipping container the colors And you look over and they have these barrels And these are like the tables that you actually would eat at and it kind of matches it I like that now. I've seen three different areas like that. It's very fun and festive I really wanted to try some unique beers actually at the Mardi Gras festival But now we're at trinidad and they have a unique beer that I do want to try But they also have a unique mixed drink So I might be double doing it here just because I'm eager to try both of them. We'll see And you can see by the food here. They have the little flags in them. These look really good But like I said, I'm very interested in trying this queen's part swizzle You can't get two alcoholic drinks at the same time. So we'll come back and actually get the lager But this seems very fancy Oh, it is fancy You're adding a whole bunch of stuff to it I'm excited Thank you So I wanted to get the beer but uh, they only give you one one drink per person at a time So I can go back up after I have this but I seen they put the bitters in there and it was a little bit strong So we set the sale at taste Oh, it is good. Yeah, what is this? Oh, it's the mint. So you gotta like Rub it on your beard. Yeah, now I'm gonna be minty fresh all day. Yeah And the queen swizzle here is actually very delicious as well. Trinidad did well. It did very well today Makes sense that they would call it swizzle Oh, so we're gonna make this the queen swizzle monjito Yeah This is kind of fancy Did it I want to try to keep a good balance between Drink and then food and then maybe like a dessert And it's hard because there are so many different things that I enjoy and I want to try Now I think we're gonna head on into the tribute store. I haven't been in there yet They did have a preview the other day and I wasn't able to come out But from what I see it looks amazing and plus they have some pretty good snacks in there as well As we wait in line to get into the royal street jazz Preservation hall. I'm so excited. I'm going what? I don't know if I go in. Oh Four Wow, look how fancy it is in here. It likes we're going into a like a nice concert venue Oh, is that ring? Oh, I like this coat very fancy They are just getting more and more creative with these tribute stores The halloween horror nights one was great and then this year for the holidays and now the mardi gras They're so well themed and it's just fun to be in here This is so fun just walking through these tribute stores. They put so much detail and adventure inside them. I love it Earlier I told you guys this year steaming was all about pirates And they actually have their own separate pirate room inside the tribute store and I like it Honestly, I feel like I'm coming out of pirates of the caribbean. It looks like the exit like gift shop area, doesn't it? It really does look like pirates of the caribbean gift shop Our mateys Oh, wow, and now we're going down to the bayou. This is so awesome in here After a brief run-through Inside this room I'm going to be buying a lot of food items because there was a lot of things that I like now unfortunately This does not count inside the tribute store. So you can't use this to get these snacks But because they look so amazing, I'm gonna buy them up front. I'm just gonna buy it because they just they look that good Can I get the mardi gras vanilla cake with cinnamon swirl right there? That's the one And it's got macaroons on top and then they actually have like a macaroon donut down there So many amazing things. Oh all ready to go. Thank you. Oh, wow I love it This is the bayou bites and they have so many amazing things. Look at these indoli sausages up here They're like little pigs in the blankets Thank you Ah, is this for the cake? Yeah, no good The first thing that I want to try though is this indoli sausage roll as soon as I seen this I was like, okay Just stopped I stopped recording and literally went back to the back of the line And I was like, I'm getting the cake in the sausage. This is gonna be so good. I am pumped All right, this takes the cake right now is the best thing so far Uh, the gumbo was really up there before but man, this is right up my alley. This is like a pigs in a blanket I love it. Absolutely love it I'm not even sure what the proper name for that is. Oh, I like that. This is happening right now It was amazing. Just think it's the indoli sausage pig in a blanket inside the tribute store. Absolutely amazing Now I want to try the cake the cake looks so good And I think I had like this version of cake for the holiday and I thought that was my favorite So it'd be interesting, but I don't think it'll toss it won't touch that sausage. No way So it's a vanilla macaroon and then like a cinnamon tasting but vanilla cake These are so fancy to cut into but they're so pretty you don't want to ruin it Should I eat cake and macaroon together? Yeah Should I do it? No full send. Uh-oh Oh boy That's going in One big bite unless I end up dropping this Oh Much more cinnamon than I thought Yeah, it's very good. But listen, you know what I did Jackie got the same cake. I ate the cake with the macaroon So then it was like extra vanilla, but like super sweet. It's very good little double dipping double dipping Now I'm starting to feel a little full So I think I'm going to switch to just getting some drinks The cake was phenomenal though and the sausage took my number one spot as my favorite thing so far But we will get some more food eventually, but we're gonna have to browse through the menus and just see what they have to offer In the italy boot, they have arnichi which took me a little bit to actually say that I don't know why But nothing. I'm really looking forward to drink at the moment. Oh, they do have a little stage here Were you guys just about to put on a show? Oh really The king and queen are out and about now greeting all their guests Thank you But before we actually get some more food or drink items, we need to get more beads I need to get a better bead collection Can you try to hit the camera? Ring toss it you got this Got a couple more, but I'm still lacking I need a little bit more to be impressive or to be king of mardi gras And I've seen some people walk around a lot. I think they bought them though The next stand that we're going to go to is actually another new moreland stand And this is the crawfish and shrimp boil stand, but it's also the beignet stand and look it's even got some entertainment here I like it. We're here for the beignets Yes for the beignets Here is what we're talking about the sweet fried pastry with powdered sugar But they also have a king cake milk punch Nine ounces of bourbon milk punch using our house made king curd syrup This sounds actually a little bit interesting. So I might have to get king cake milk punch and beignets But then again, there are a bunch of different boils. Oh boy. I'm overwhelmed You can take a look at the food here. We have the beignets We have the seafood boil and then that big mixture right there is the king cake milk A little shocked by it though looks a little creamy a lot creamy So I've learned from promise that you need to be very cautious when you're eating these beignets. You're gonna lean in Don't breathe in don't breathe in bend over bend over and then just take it to bite it like that Beignets here are definitely very delicious not so doughy crispier darker I don't know. I really I actually these might be the best in me as I've had ever I don't know. They really I really enjoy these actually So I did decide on getting the king cake like alcoholic drink and I dipped my beignet in there Yes, and it is amazing. This goes so well together. It's like boozy beignets Even though the boozy beignet idea is great You definitely can drink this on its own. It is actually very and I thought it was going to be very creamy But it's not it's not very creamy at all. I actually like it a lot Oh, yeah, you can taste the bourbon This is like a good good drink like it's refreshing I do have to say I have not had many drinks But that king cake drink is probably the best one so far But that might change because we are going to the germany stand and I know that they have some october fest beers They are so I'm excited to see what they have and also It's a little bit of a rainy day, but it looks like the sky is trying. It's really trying to clear up for us I do have to say though after we talked about the lines and how busy it was going to be here today I haven't waited that long for any of the boots the longest I waited was probably 20 minutes So like I said regardless, we're going to make the best of it and we have I've been having such a great time And now I see more beef tossing This one might be my favorite though. Look at this Oh, I love it This is so cool That is so awesome Now we're coming up on the port of rico stand. They got piccadilla Apanadas, but we want to go to germany and I think that's right on the other side I'm mainly looking for that october fest You know the way You can't travel in here And here it is. I'm so excited. They have tons of stuff and look at some more entertainment Prost Prost there you go. You're not gonna do it. Oh man, I'm gonna get myself Probably two of the beers, but I'm gonna have to come back up and down But I also want to get that pork schnitzel slider a pork schnitzel slider and then a beer So I went with the october fest and then I got the schnitzel But also I wanted to get the pretzel because the pretzel looks so good This is just like overwhelming Huge proportion the schnitzel is like gigantic and it comes on this little tiny pretzel bun You can almost put that whole schnitzel on the pretzel itself schnitzel pretzel schnitzel schnitzel, yeah, I don't know how to say it, but it would be fancy schnitzel First I have to try the pretzel now german pretzels are a little bit more harder It's not so much a soft pretzel, but I'm excited because it's gonna probably have a little little bit of a little bit of a snap. Yeah The pretzel is kind of just like a pretzel, but jackie also got the schnitzel and she got it with the grouere grouere The cheese, but I got it without it and it still looks good either way, but I already have a feeling I probably already know The schnitzels are better by But it's super super super big so like Well, you're gonna have to like take a bite of the schnitzel first you can't get you can't get some bun and schnitzel on the first bite Now we can get a go at a full bite After eating it I can concur it is definitely better than the pretzel actually I'm having a tough time deciding whether the schnitzel Or the actual indoli sausage inside the tribute store is my favorite I don't know if I can even count the sausage in the tribute store because it's not a part of the muddy grod like lanyard Yeah, so I guess this is it right now. This is better than gumbo But it's not a part of the lanyard So we don't know you don't know but this is number one. I guess The october fest beer though Oh, it is much too good much too good for the children. I need more beans. Hello Next it's starting to get a little bit darker out So the lights are turning on and I'm excited to head back in the direction that we came So we can see all of the floats all lit up in their pretty colors Oh, wow guys the floats look so much cooler all lit up I wish there was a parade this year, but at least they're out and they're actually showcasing them and this is really beautiful Look at that Look at all of the attention to detail and these So awesome. I love the pearls right here actually I also enjoy how they have the music pumping all over the park right now We're walking through simpsons and you can hear it's got like that muddy grod's jingle going on And they have a couple of different festival boots and floats back here by ec so we're gonna make our way back there right now Oh, there it is another pirate and another float Fancy whoa champion I'm feeling good about the amount of beads I got here I'm gonna always keep these too. I actually have somewhere I hang them at my house And then I pulled them out again for next year like tonight. I started off with two I think I had two bands two beads on and now you got a pretty good stack Looks like we're coming out on the last float of the night I think we've actually visited all of them and this is the only one we haven't been to yet And this is like the longest one. This is really pretty Wow This is huge. There's nobody out right now actually throwing any beads off them But this is such a big big float This definitely has to be my favorite float of the night It is so colorful and bright. I love all the beads hanging out of the gator's mouth I wish we were here earlier so we can see like people tossing the beads and then the separators Are actually beads. Look at that So festive isn't it And I guess this is a good enough place to call it a night We went to all the floats ate so much food. I still have a bunch of punches left over All the food you saw in this video still didn't fill up one punch for $69 That is absolutely amazing. I hope you enjoyed the video. I enjoyed making it. We'll see you next time Bye And in good Mardi Gras tradition here. You ready? Almost I gotta try again. I gotta try again. Here we go pink one. We're right next to each other. Oh my gosh That's our bridge right there. That's it. Very cool