2/22 Mardi Gras Parade at Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts, Including Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen
Hi everyone!
I had just put up my photo walks of Disney's Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter when Andre Willey at PortOrleans.org asked if we knew about the Mardi Gras parade. We did not!
The parade is an annual procession which features Pargo golf carts decorated by Cast Members. It is really a lot of fun if you ever have the chance to see it! The decor was well thought out and often elaborate, and Cast Members in costume gave out candy and beads – enough necklaces to make Mr. T proud! We have a video of the full procession.
The theme for the parade was "Disney's Heritage Through the Decades", and featured carts representing each park. There had already been judging for the best carts in several categories.
Port Orleans French Quarter was decked out for Mardi Gras, and even a Mickey Mouse plush was ready to party:
I took photos from several locations and even had to get a few screen caps from Jeff to add details I didn't see. Cast members were often walking alongside the floats, and many came over to give me beads – so it was easy to miss the carts occasionally! We did wait about a half hour from what was to be the start of the parade at Port Orleans Riverside until it made it's way over the bridge and to the Port Orleans French Quarter. From my spot, I could see the carriage carrying Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, which I thought was a very nice touch!
Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen (I'll have close-up photos later in the story):
Pirates of the Caribbean:
it's a small world:
Haunted Mansion:
Bert from Mary Poppins:
Indiana Jones:
These carts represented Disney's Hollywood Studios:
There were a couple of carts from Disney's Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom, but then it was back to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Lights! Motors! Action! I missed a couple of carts around this point, but we'll have them later as they return.
