Happy Fat Tuesday! We visited Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter this morning for their annual Mardi Gras Pargo Parade.
Cast Members decorate golf carts and guests can vote for their favorites by scanning the QR code on display near the parade route. Last year’s golf cart “floats” were inspired by Walt Disney World attractions like the Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise, as well as by the resort’s 50th anniversary. The theme for this year’s parade was “The Legacy of Walt Disney World Resorts.”
Princess Tiana has led the parade for the past several years and 2023 was no exception. She was in a white horse-drawn carriage, behind the Walt Disney World Ambassadors and jazz band.
Each section of the parade was inspired by a different Walt Disney World Resort hotel.
These Cast Members dressed as pirates (with one small child dressed as a parrot) to represent Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.
They were followed by a pirate ship golf cart.
Representatives from Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts decorated their golf cart to look like a yacht.
The lighthouse from the resorts was constructed on one side and a “beach” was on the back.
They even built their own Cinderella Castle sandcastle.
Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside had a more standard Mardi Gras-themed float.
Louis the alligator was depicted floating in the bayou on the back of their float.
Disney’s BoardWalk lived up to their name with a cart covered in boardwalk imagery and a giant box of popcorn on the back.
The front of the cart features recreations of Disney’s BoardWalk façades and signs.
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge had an impressive float with a large model of the lodge.
It even included the resort’s entrance archway and garden.
An opening in the side of the model showed a small version of the Wilderness Lodge lobby.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge decorated their golf cart with zebra-striped paneling.
A (fake) baby elephant peeked out of the back of the cart.
Watch our video of the 2023 Port Orleans Mardi Gras Pargo Parade below.
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