Mardi Gras World Tour: Behind-the-Scenes Experience
4.4
481 Ratings
New Orleans

Discover Mardi Gras magic! Explore float-making, try costumes, and savor King Cake on this all-access New Orleans tour. Perfect family fun!

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World - Mardi Gras World offers a complimentary shuttle for people taking our day tour with ten central pick-up spots. See images for shuttle pick-up locations. The shuttle is covered with photos of Mardi Gras World and has the logo on the side. There are no prearranged pick-ups, just call when you are at one of the…
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What's Included
  • Self-guided walking tour
  • Slice of King Cake
  • Shuttle pickup and drop-off from select downtown New Orleans locations
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Get a unique behind-the-scenes look at the makings of Mardi Gras with this all-access tour of Mardi Gras World in New Orleans. Perfect for the whole family, this self-guided tour shows you where the magnificent floats for the famous Mardi Gras parades are made. Witness the hard work and artistic skill that goes into every float, and learn about the…

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Location
Mardi Gras World
Port of New Orleans Place
Arrive using your own transportation or take the free shuttle. Transport is provided from 20 downtown New Orleans locations. A list can be found on your ticket. Shuttles run every half hour from each location from morning until mid‐afternoon. Please call tour operator for estimated pickup time.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(481 Ratings)
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Sheila
Jan 14, 2025
Real Fun experience - The tour of the Mardi Gras factory was even better than I expected. It was amazing to see the floats up close and how they are made. Our tour guide was excellent and answered all of our questions. The video at the beginning was interesting and gave us a background before we started the tour. The King Cake at the beginning was yummy!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sherry_n
Jan 13, 2025
Be ready to take plenty... - Be ready to take plenty of pictures. Also have cash on hand to tip the shuttle driver, he was very friendly.
Review provided by Viator
Kathy
Jan 12, 2025
Very interesting tour - It was great to see the floats and decorations up close. Tour guide was very informative and has a great sense of humor. Be aware that the shuttle rides might take longer than you'd expect. Construction along Canal Street plus heavy traffic from convention center events and cruise ships added an hour or so to the total time we anticipated.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
16042102217
Jan 12, 2025
interesting and FUN - What a great warehouse filled with floats for the Mardi Gras parade - old and new and getting finished! We'll not see the parades so this was the next best thing. They show the process of making the incredible people, things, cartoons etc...that sit up there. How cool! And they also have a gift shop. You'll taste King Cake at the beginning of the tour as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bektrips
Jan 11, 2025
Mardi Gras History Lesson - Parking was a bit challenging due to the convention center events and a cruise ship departure, but once we found a spot, the experience was well worth it. The tour began with an informative 15-minute video, followed by a complimentary slice of delicious king cake, which was a nice touch. After the tour, we had plenty of time to explore and take photos, which added to the enjoyment. The gift shop is spacious with a wide variety of souvenirs, and they also offer drinks to keep you refreshed. We visited on a Saturday, so there weren’t many artists working that day, which was a bit of a disappointment. If you’re hoping to see more of the creative process in action, a weekday visit might be a better choice. Despite this, we had a wonderful time and are glad we made the trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cruisequeendee
Jan 9, 2025
Great Insiders Up-Close Look! - We really enjoyed our time at Mardi Gras World! We have never attended Mardi Gras in New Orleans but being from Orlando, we see the one at Universal yearly. This was such an informative tour and really showcased the skill involved in making these massive pieces of art! We were toured all around the facility as artists were at work. We then had free time at the end of the tour to spend as much time going back around to take photos. Highly recommend visiting here once!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tonya_b
Jan 6, 2025
Our tour guide on 1/2/25... - Our tour guide on 1/2/25 was awesome. We had a great time looking at all of the artistry. Awesome!!!
Review provided by Viator
Rogerhga
Jan 7, 2025
do this! fun and informative - This was a fun, little tour that gave a great behind the scenes look at Mardi Gras, the float and parade decorations and really made us want to see a parade in New Orleans. Tour takes about 60-90 minutes in total and is pretty casual, but really informative and insightful. Not a place you'd likely walk to, so I'm glad we called and took the free shuttle.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Efgh_12
Jan 5, 2025
Cool Thing to See - It starts off with a movie about the history of the company and Mardi Gras. They give a half hour tour through a work area, where you can see people making parts of floats, which is really cool. Then you get to wander around the warehouse to look at old and newer parts of floats that they've made. The ticket prices seemed a little steep for the tour, but it included a free shuttle ride to get there and back, so that made it worth it to us. They have a very nice gift shop. When we left Mardi Gras World, a cruise ship was apparently loading, and the traffic got really jammed. If we had gone there a little later we might not have been able to get in. I don't know how frequently that happens, but just be aware that it could be an issue to get to Mardi Gras World.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_c
Dec 31, 2024
Great tour; be wary off shuttle service - The actual warehouse tour is exceptional. The tour also offers pick up and drop off from many hotels. Website said 20 when it was actually 10. And when it was time to return after the tour, the bus driver dropped us off at the ONE stop he chose which was just off property. Leaving us to find our way back. Not cool.
Review provided by Viator
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