Around The Universe Universal Orlando Resort

Around the Universe March 2024 – Universal Orlando News & Discounts

Joseph Matt February 27, 2024 0 Comments

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The Mardi Gras parade keeps rolling as Universal marches into… March. CircuMcGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous reopens, Mel’s is reopening immanently, operational changes at Reigh of Kong, and the latest construction updates in this month’s Around the Universe. Grab that amazing coffee and a beignet from the New Orleans booth, and lets go.

Mardi Gras 2024

The Mardi Gras party continues through March so catch the parade, sample some delicious food, and party with the street entertainment. Our fearless food reviewers (trust us, it’s a hard job) battled the crowds and beads to find our Best Bites at Mardi Gras. Their conclusion: Mexico, Germany, and the Phillippines menus rock.

Universal Orlando Mardi Gras 2024 Guide

Universal Orlando Mardi Gras 2024 Best Bites & Menus

Universal’s Mardi Gras food booths operate daily and the parade performs nightly.

And don’t forget about the Mardi Gras concerts! Five shows remain including the incredibly popular Ava Max and icon Queen Latifah! Concerts perform on weekends at the Music Plaza Stage between Minion Mayhem at Race Through New York at 8:00 pm.

2024 Universal Mardi Gras Concert Schedule

March 2: DJ Khaled
March 9: Ava Max
March 10: Queen Latifah
March 16: Luis Fonsi
March 17: Zedd

Universal’s Mardi Gras is running now daily through April 7, 2024.

Circus McGrukus Cafe Stoo-pendous! Reopens with New Menu

Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous closed in 2023 for a massive overhaul that reimagined the premier Seuss Landing quick-service restaurant with a new menu and a mobile order focus. The refreshed restaurant recently reopened and one of our Universal Foodie Fam made a quick trip to grab some bites and photos.

Circus McGurkus is now a Mobile Order Table Delivery first restaurant like the new Minion Cafe. This means guests can order before they arrive, order at their table, or order and pick up at a Mobile Order window. The interior spaces are now rearranged with more seating and photo opportunities to take the place of the old cashier and pick-up areas.

Interior of Circus McGurkus is a… circus!

The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! passes through Circus McGurkus.

Circus performers swing above the heads of dining guests.

New tables and chairs at Circus McGurkus.

Oh, and they got a whole new food menu with lots of fun-looking options like Chicken and Biscuits and a spaghetti and meatballs handwich. Yes, a handwich. Do not worry, classic cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, and more are available too. Plus there are fun dessert options like a Green Eggs and Ham cheesecake and a caramel popcorn cupcake.

Our full meal – Big Top Burger, Meatball Cone, and Chicken & Biscuit.

Chicken & Biscuit – crispy chicken tenders and peanut shaped biscuit, drizzled with hot honey, and curly fries. I know this might seem obvious, but despite the biscuit shape this dish doesn’t contain any peanuts.

The Big Top Burger – fresh beef patty, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion, on a red brioche bun with curly fries.

Green Eggs and Ham Chocolate Cheesecake. At Green Eggs and Ham, the food stand. We expect people to get very confused by this.

Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendus is now open daily. We will cover the new food options soon so keep an eye on the TouringPlans Blog for more coverage!

Mel’s Drive-In Is Reopening Soon, Too!

Mel’s Drive-In also received a massive refurbishment that stripped the restaurant down to the foundations. The space where guests waited to place their orders is now an open seating area thanks to table delivery Mobile Order. Place an order using the Universal Orlando app before arriving or at the table, confirm your arrival and location, and then wait for delivery. a small cashier area is located to the left of the dining area under the digital menus for guests with cash, gift cards, and mobile app ordering issues.

Mel’s Drive-In is getting ready to reopen after its refurbishment with an updated menu. pic.twitter.com/lPdqUOoFzX

— Expedition Theme Park (@ExpThemePark) February 23, 2024

While the restaurant has not opened we got a preview of the menu signage inside. Expect to find new hot dog, chicken, and hamburger options at this classic car restaurant plus shakes and desserts. Mel’s can open any day now, including today! We will also cover Mel’s Drive-In food and atmosphere soon on the Touring Plans blog.

Reign of Kong Testing Without 3D Glasses

Universal Orlando is currently operating Skull Island: Reign of Kong without 3D and 3D glasses. This test is scheduled to run through March 9th with guest feedback and operations feedback taken into account. We will keep you informed on any updates in a future Around the Universe article.

Epic Update & DreamWorks Construction

Last month Universal Orlando finally unveiled the new Epic Universe theme park. Comprised of five themed worlds, this new park will open in 2025.

The entrance of the park features a large sculpture that guests walk under to enter Celestial Park, the home to several attractions, restaurants, shops, and bars. Between the gardens and fountains are four portals to other worlds – Super Nintendo World; Dark Universe featuring the Universal Monsters; The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic; and How to Train Your Dragon Isle of Berk.

Park entrance area under construction. The large awnings will house security and entry points for the park.

Behind the entrance portal is Celestial Park. The core of the park is covered in lush trees, gardens, and water features.

Two of the attractions of Celestial Park – the Constellation Carousel and The Astronomica water play area.

The carousel’s ride base has been installed. The ride system is below.

Carousel and water playground in the bottom left. Large blue circle is The Oculus water feature for shows.

Theming in Super Nintendo World is installed, including the iconic Mario flag pole and a Thwomp.

Cartoonish stone work installed along the Donkey Kong mine cart coaster.

Water battle attraction Fyre Drill. The floor of the attraction is waterproofed. Boats float clockwise through a path. Water cannons mounted on the boats let guests spray targets or other guests.

Family thrill coaster Hiccup’s Wing Gliders.

Rockwork surrounding a launch point where robotic figures are staged for a show scene.

Epic Universe will open in 2025.

But what about this year? Universal Studios Florida has a few projects up its sleeve such as the redevelopment of KidZone into DreamWorks Land. Opening later this year, DreamWorks Land is the new home for the Shrek, Trolls, Kung Fu Panda, and Gabby’s Dollhouse characters.

Birds-eye view of DreamWorks Land construction. (photo by @bioreconstruct)

Exterior work on Shrek’s house is wraping up.

Swamps water play area behind Shrek’s house. Note the outhouse themed building on the second floor.

Interactive play areas and meet and greet locations under construction.

Kung Fu Panda reuses some of the old Curious George structures for new a experience.

Universal has yet to announce an opening timeframe for DreamWorks Land, but we are expecting it to open in the summer of 2024. A new parade and nighttime show are also planned for this summer, too, and we will share more details as they become available.

Discounts

Universal Orlando frequently offers discounts on multi-day tickets and hotel stays. These are the latest discounts available to guests:

Tickets

All Guests – Buy Two Day Ticket, Get Two Days Free starting at $330.99 per adult plus tax
All Guests – 3-Months Free with an Annual Pass Purchase
FL Residents – Buy a One Day, Two Park Ticket and Get a Day Free

Hotel

All Guests – Save 20% on 5-night and longer stays at Sapphire Falls
All Guests – 40% off 4-night hotel stays on select dates

Universal Orlando Annual Passholder hotel rates are released in blocks about four to five months before reservation dates. We suggest using the UOAP Rate crawler to monitor UOAP hotel rate availablity.

Packages

All Guests – 25% off 3-park, 5-night Vacation Packages

For more deals, including discounts on vacation packages, visit the Universal Orlando website.

Refurbishments

The following attractions are closed for refurbishment:

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges – February 5 – March 8, 2024
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish – April 27 – May 24, 2024