My family (wife and two tween children) attended the Friday, March 15th “Mardi Gras Dessert Party” at Universal Studios. The parade was at 7:30pm and Cinematic Celebration at 9:15pm.
The parade viewing area was a roped off section of sidewalk in front of the Horror Makeup Show and down to the Esoteric Studios gate where the parade begins. Check in began around 6:30pm and some awfully nice staff checked tickets and provided wristbands which allowed you to come and go from the reserved area at your leisure (said wristbands were also used for access to the Cinematic Celebration viewing area in Central Park). They had a few tables set up with bottled sodas and water on ice, and dispensers of coffee and hot chocolate. At around 7:00pm a few Simpsons characters roamed the area and pictures could be taken with a “Hollywood” sign backdrop. There were, at most, about two dozen fellow guests in the parade viewing area with us.
We ended up sitting on the curb for about half an hour for the parade to begin, sipping sodas, enjoying some time off our feet, and being amused by some of Homer’s antics. There was absolutely no reason to be there any more than 1 minute before the parade started but we were a bit tired so just decided to wait. The parade itself was a blast and we collected a metric ton of beads! If you decide to stay, you will see the parade twice as it begins and wraps back around and ends. My daughter was loving the parade so much that she and I stayed to see it finish, while my wife and son went off to ride some rides (meaning you do have the opportunity to head out once it has passed for the first time). The Central Park viewing area for Cinematic Celebration didn’t open until about 8:30pm, so you would definitely have some time to get a last ride or two in if you headed out after the first pass of the parade.
The entire Central Park hilltop grass area is roped off for the Cinematic Celebration portion of the dessert party, and this is where most of the action happens for the entire event. There were 6-10 high-top tables set up, a bar serving unlimited prosecco for adults and sparkling apple juice for the kids, and several tables of both sweet and savory food (along with more bottled sodas and water on ice, and dispensers of coffee and hot chocolate). My recollection was that there were several large vegetable trays (typical crudité varieties) with a variety of dips (ranch, blue cheese, etc), fresh fruit (pineapple, melon, berries, grapes), and a cheese and cracker selection. For desserts there was a substantial spread of chocolate cake bites, mousses, beignets, macarons, and a few other things I’m forgetting. All of the offerings were fresh and tasty.
There ended up being, at most, 18 guests (and that count may actually be high). It was actually mildly embarrassing to have that much space, and that much food, available for so few people. You could easily fit at least 100 more people in the space provided and it still wouldn’t have come close to feeling even remotely crowded. Staff were extremely engaging - although I suspect it’s because they were somewhat bored and there were so few guests. One staff member indicated that these parties were a new experience Universal was offering (which I knew) and that they were hoping to do more but it was still very much in the test marketing phase. They offered to lay out blankets on the hill for anyone that wanted them and most took them up on the offer. The show itself was a blast, but the very bottom of the view was a bit cut off if sitting on the blankets, so we stood for most of the show. Food and beverage service ended as soon as the show started.
From a pure cost-benefit analysis, I’m not sure it was worth $50 per person. But as a splurge and as a way to feel like you had exclusive access and a completely no-hassle experience for viewing the parade and show, it was great. Having never been to Universal before, I’m glad we did it.
The parade viewing area was a roped off section of sidewalk in front of the Horror Makeup Show and down to the Esoteric Studios gate where the parade begins. Check in began around 6:30pm and some awfully nice staff checked tickets and provided wristbands which allowed you to come and go from the reserved area at your leisure (said wristbands were also used for access to the Cinematic Celebration viewing area in Central Park). They had a few tables set up with bottled sodas and water on ice, and dispensers of coffee and hot chocolate. At around 7:00pm a few Simpsons characters roamed the area and pictures could be taken with a “Hollywood” sign backdrop. There were, at most, about two dozen fellow guests in the parade viewing area with us.
We ended up sitting on the curb for about half an hour for the parade to begin, sipping sodas, enjoying some time off our feet, and being amused by some of Homer’s antics. There was absolutely no reason to be there any more than 1 minute before the parade started but we were a bit tired so just decided to wait. The parade itself was a blast and we collected a metric ton of beads! If you decide to stay, you will see the parade twice as it begins and wraps back around and ends. My daughter was loving the parade so much that she and I stayed to see it finish, while my wife and son went off to ride some rides (meaning you do have the opportunity to head out once it has passed for the first time). The Central Park viewing area for Cinematic Celebration didn’t open until about 8:30pm, so you would definitely have some time to get a last ride or two in if you headed out after the first pass of the parade.
The entire Central Park hilltop grass area is roped off for the Cinematic Celebration portion of the dessert party, and this is where most of the action happens for the entire event. There were 6-10 high-top tables set up, a bar serving unlimited prosecco for adults and sparkling apple juice for the kids, and several tables of both sweet and savory food (along with more bottled sodas and water on ice, and dispensers of coffee and hot chocolate). My recollection was that there were several large vegetable trays (typical crudité varieties) with a variety of dips (ranch, blue cheese, etc), fresh fruit (pineapple, melon, berries, grapes), and a cheese and cracker selection. For desserts there was a substantial spread of chocolate cake bites, mousses, beignets, macarons, and a few other things I’m forgetting. All of the offerings were fresh and tasty.
There ended up being, at most, 18 guests (and that count may actually be high). It was actually mildly embarrassing to have that much space, and that much food, available for so few people. You could easily fit at least 100 more people in the space provided and it still wouldn’t have come close to feeling even remotely crowded. Staff were extremely engaging - although I suspect it’s because they were somewhat bored and there were so few guests. One staff member indicated that these parties were a new experience Universal was offering (which I knew) and that they were hoping to do more but it was still very much in the test marketing phase. They offered to lay out blankets on the hill for anyone that wanted them and most took them up on the offer. The show itself was a blast, but the very bottom of the view was a bit cut off if sitting on the blankets, so we stood for most of the show. Food and beverage service ended as soon as the show started.
From a pure cost-benefit analysis, I’m not sure it was worth $50 per person. But as a splurge and as a way to feel like you had exclusive access and a completely no-hassle experience for viewing the parade and show, it was great. Having never been to Universal before, I’m glad we did it.
