I don't feel like it was executed as well the past trippy stores were looking snazzy Feeling
Jazzy guys we're currently at Universal Studios Orlando and Florida it is Mardi Gras time it's
one of my favorite times of the year to come to Universal Studio so we're gonna show off the
tribute store all the new merchandise that they have pricing the new food I'm excited
to see what Easter eggs that the creative team put in the tribute store for us underneath the
Universal Studios Archway they have The Medallion of Universal's Mardi Gras from February 4th until
April 16th a couple hours before the parade starts they'll have all the performers out kind
of doing meet and greets time going to the trivia store it's not over New York where it used to be
um it's taken over the Annual PassHolder lounge and the dark room so it's going interesting
and let's head in
foreign
here welcome World Travelers to the Ambassador Ballroom live music nightly we have some little
matches so this is going to be the reception right where you check in then they have a little sign
right here ambassador's Ballroom now for 65 they had the tie-dye hoodie the king of the Bayou right
there so we have a bucket hat right Mardi Gras 23 is gonna be 34 on the inside I'm digging that
design then they have some new candles these are each gonna be twenty dollars each um the blue one
brings me enough kind of smells like penicillin for some reason that for 15 they have a little
wine glass 35 they have this black and white shirt 28 dollars for black and white kind of
drawstring bags now for 80 they still have that dragon design on these blankets they're 80 bucks
but I have several of these blankets and they're super comfortable 30 they have a white hat Light
Up Bracelet for 12 and here's a Mardi Gras fan for 18 so the theme this year is kind of like mythical
beasts right so we've dragons and unicorns there's a headband for 16 now they're probably gonna sell
a lot of these uh so it says Mardi Gras right that's gonna be fifty dollars it's gonna be a
little purse but it's got kind of like a purple chain and then a leather strap they also have
socks with that same design on it it's gonna be twenty dollars for the pair of socks now here's
like a woman's cut tee it's gonna be 35 for This Woman's cut tea all right thirty dollars for this
green short sleeve shirt I've kind of figured out what this design reminds me of back of my sister
was really into like horses and stuff um this kind of reminds me of like if you remember the
store like justice like something I feel like my sister would get from the store Justice now this
is gonna be 35 for this baseball cut tee and for 35 they've kind of this like almost tie-dyed hard
washed T-shirt with that same design toothpick holder for ten dollars and they have a mug for
18 a girl's kind of like crop top hoodie for forty dollars and then this is gonna be the lanyard for
this year honestly I kind of like this art design that they have on this lanyard kind of this like
gator and everything it's a little more cartoony twelve dollars for the sticker sheet I guess his
name is the king of the Bayou for eleven dollars each they have these button packs then you can get
some uh face gems if you'd like King of the Bayou candy bars milk chocolate Gator some gummy Gators
it's kind of sick it's almost like cannibalization he's like selling his own kind to be eating the
king of the Bayou now 29 for this tumbler and see again this is kind of that cartoony art design
Coke freestyle cup holders thirty dollars for this shirt with that cartoon design 57 for this hoodie
with the design let's see what's on the front and then on the front it's gonna be a nice zip up
that's gonna say Universal Mardi Gras then you can get three beads for fifteen dollars now for thirty
two dollars they have a simple black bucket hat um it's not reversible though for thirty dollars they
have kind of a trucker cap I'm kind of a bead deal at 35 for this ringer t-shirt I'm kind of
a bead deal also thirty dollars looking snazzy Feeling Jazzy and then again a baseball cut tee
35 looking snazzy Feeling Jazzy thirty dollars King of the Bayou short sleeve black T-shirt now
Seventeen dollars and they have a standard glass with that cartoon design 35 I'm digging this one
this is the king of the Bayou right it's more than just a standard gray t-shirt it almost looks like
alligator scales or skin I'm loving that a little bit of texture that's added that's pretty cool 33
they have this like bead necklace and I kind of like this design a little better it's 35 dollars
can be a woman's cut purple t-shirt but when you see the skater right it always has something like
covering this area but then when you see it without it just looks very strange almost
like when you see like a cartoon character when they're running around and they're supposed to
be covered for 15 they have this heavy duty pin but do you see what I'm talking about like now
he's uncovered and then everywhere else you look he's like covered up 28 it's a little bag 48 they
have a pin set of all the different floats here this year for Mardi Gras they always have a new
little bold machine the parrot of Mardi Gras a unique collectible thing that's gonna look
like that now they have a piano I did spot a little Easter egg Dear Mr Earl the honor would
be entirely mine if you could attend my little carnival party heading to the next little area
I'm digging this a little more now this is made by the Halloween Dirt Company but these are HB 35 so
these are made by third party not by Universal but yet the pumpkin adjuster over here kind of
looks like a tarot card and then down here to a grim reaper pulling off his mask when you get it
in these little rooms you feel transported into another little world the first one just kind of
felt like I was in the annual Passover lounge and they just kind of like put up some merchandise on
the wall That's Mardi Gras theme I didn't really feel too immersed in the first room this you feel
like you're transported to New Orleans despite the sound they feel like you're in a different
place so far this is my favorite Greg always gets a little shout out here so I like this right the
peacock room the top it says he's performing at the peacock room you didn't know peacock is the
streaming service that is owned by NBC it all started with kind of like Greg and his birthday
so it's Greg the Llama if you remember in the Christmas tribute store you could actually see
Greg delamo he's now performing it's based off of a guy named Greg it's spelled gerd is it gerg
or is it Greg I'm just gonna keep calling him Greg the Llama let me know down in the comments
if I'm wrong if it's actually pronounced gurg the Llama for 35 they have this tie-dye shirt louder
Wilder spicier Universal's Mardi Gras 23 35 for this little bag now the posters on the wall over
here it says the lily pad Earl and friends and then over here they have an advertisement for the
next wax mold grinning devil members only password is required is our password hidden in here that
we have to figure out 35 this is made by the Halloween Shirt Company voodoo witch doctor I'm
digging it right and then down here you have like some shrunken heads with the beads like this is
the merch that I'm like vibing with then they have a tank top also for 35 now if you look up here
they have the uh Halloween Henry that was from the sweets Revenge scare Zone from Hollywood Hornet
31. that's hidden up there which is nice and then over there you can also see another one the clown
mask from that same scare Zone and then if you look over here they have the crying baby mask from
that scare Zone I believe this is a nod said the black cat right for the facade that they have for
the Halloween Hornets trivia store a couple years ago they always kind of do nods to that apparently
they have the number one restrooms in the state so it says join the New Orleans family February 3rd
the tiny Ivory the Hackenberg cats and squirrel and Earl special performance by Hot Lips daily
so they have their our very own bead tree right here they do have a little street sign here they
were saying that this is a little nod to Earl the squirrel you got his own little street sign
you hear that they like audio of the caps in the alleyway
thank you
cigarette is an alley right and then the Speakeasy is going to be right over here
but you know here's like the little thing that will slide open to hear that your password so it
says close for violation of national prohibition act by order of the United States District Court
all persons are forbidden to enter premises without order from the United States Marshal
so now we're in the Speakeasy so it's going to be the brass and brimstone now they have a
wonderful picture of Greg delami's performing up there just make it honestly t-shirt and put that
same design on the t-shirt and people would buy that okay so then when you're over here
you can spot me right over here I always reuse the exact same photo right there but I also have
some friends that are on here Jackie and Sam are right down there look who I spotter there's also
some pretty familiar little dogs over there now if you look all the way up here at the top of the
Shelf there's a little Earl the squirrel hidden up there you stop me bite down the whiskey bottle
thank you
I like this what what is that though I'm very confused is this like a magic spell being cast
they were saying that little projection is the spirit of the Speakeasy and they don't have a
name for him yet if you do need a Coke product they do have a little fridge here with different
beverages coke diet coke powerades and Waters so this would be the other wax molds could be
eight dollars for the grinning devil they're not a fan of the police so they drew a little devil
now for thirty dollars we did get a annual pass holder shirt it kind of reminds me of like what
we used to get on like the little buttons that they to give out to the annual pass holders then
we will be exiting the Speakeasy and over here will be the tribute store snacks see what we
got to try we got chocolate dipped bacon they got some like tie-dye fudge a lot of like the cookie
dough ball bites they do have a s'mores king cake macaroons so they have all this luggage over here
I did spot a little cool little Easter egg they have a little advertisement all this vintage
luggage for Cabana Bay howdy from Cabana Bay Beach Resort Orlando so then we exit into this
like living room but it just kind of feels like you're still in the Williamsville Hollywood prop
shop now this is also where you can get the new annual pass water magnet for 14 now this
statue I believe was also used in another Mardi Gras tribute store a couple years ago
so you start in the ballroom right sort of like the music is happening with Orchestra and then
you head into the alleyway which then leads into the Speakeasy now they said we're inside the hotel
which holds the Speakeasy when you pay that's like the check-in for the hotel so that's kind
of the theming the story behind the tribute store this year's now they always have the golden coins
here at the tribute store five dollars each or four for 15. so we have kind of a like a voodoo
skull Universal Orlando louder wild or spicier than the king of the Bayou Gator and then you
exit out here by Mel's let's try the chocolate covered bacon sometimes this chocolate covered
bacon dude they're really good or really bad I love like the design of the sprinkles that
they put on there it's really fun and festive good smokiness to it the chocolate almost kind
of adds like almost like a bourbon flavor to it I'm doing like 8.5 oh it's chocolate
covered bacon we finished the treated store as you know I love the true story the birdie
passion the first room just felt like you're in the annual Passover Lounge second room I like
when you're in like the alleyway right so then when you get into the Speak Easy I don't know
it's just the trivia store didn't work for me I think going to take a couple tribute stores for
the creative team to figure out how to operate the space because when it was over in New York
right once you entered into that facade you were immersed in this world from beginning to end and
here it just kind of felt like you were like in a store instead of being in its own little
world except for the alleyway the alleyway was great I wanted more Easter eggs you know
with like Orlando and stuff there's so much it was just packed and talked full of Easter eggs
there's a couple per room that's about it and the merchandise is fine the only shirt that I
really liked was the gator shirt where it had like the scales but I'm looking for the cursed
coconut shirt because that's what I want to get because that Design's really dope but it wasn't
in there so I don't know where it is I popped over to the minions Cafe there's not too much new
um they added up some tarping around the structure over there all right so we came to the main
Universal gift shop because normally there's like a scavenger hunt it's called like the crew crawl
um but I'm guessing they're not doing it this year because we didn't see any like statues to find
throughout the park so we're over at Island's Adventure now they added two Mardi Gras food
booths in the entrance area there's no other Mardi Gras theming anywhere else but they just like
plopped two random food boots here so since uh Universal Studios close to a private event we're
gonna try the food here see what's that again now you do get an annual pass holder discount on these
menu items all right so this booth is called Mardi Gras hits this is what we're dealing with for the
shrimp cup though it looks pretty good smells pretty good it's going to be a stew of shrimp
and dually sausage bacon and Trinity Over white rice let's get a big whop of everything in there
all right solid little shrimpies in there nice flavor profile had a little bit of heat to it
it's not too crazy with the flavors where it's like a 10 out of 10. but it's a solid little
dish I'm doing like an 8.5 pretty filling with all the rice now it's time to go to the other
food Booth over here it's like the little sweet stem all right so this little stand over here is
named New Orleans dessert now it would be a Mardi Gras event without having some Beignets Beignets
were here it's just like fried sweet sugary dough with powdered sugar on them these are hot
and fresh now sometimes theme park Beignets are amazing or they're just terrible these actually
look really good nice crunchy outside fluffy and Flaky on the inside great powdered sugar
These Are Done Right 10 out of 10. it's a must all right so culinary team good job this year
there's two food booths pleasantly surprised with everything the food was hot and fresh and
very tasty so when you come into Island one is on each side kind of near the smoking section
all right now we hopped over to all house Eve Boutique normally they do like an overlay but
I don't see like a special Mardi Gras overlay they did add the giant pumpkin from the sweets Revenge
scare Zone in here they do did add another one of the little pumpkin Stacks over here so over
here in the all Housey Boutique they've brought over the mold Halloween Henry okay we just did
the entire Islands of Adventure Loop the only two Mardi Gras offerings are those two booths there's
nothing else throughout the park okay so guys we are back at home uh let's talk about my thoughts
about the tribute store this year for Mardi Gras also I was able to get the cursed coconut shirt
you'll see in an upcoming video look how good this is so good I love the true story of the burning
passion right I have spent many many hours in many videos covering it for you guys showing off what
the creative team has made and I felt like this move to the smaller tribute store I feel like it
has some Growing Pains I don't feel like it was executed as well the past trippy store is right
last year they're all bangers so we started off the year right with how the Mardi Gras floats
were being made there were like hundreds of Easter eggs everywhere and then you go to the summertime
so I consider the best tribute store ever made one of the best things Universal has ever made
I still have to edit the video for you guys but it's a 10 out of 10 Masterpiece right with the
level of detail and theming and immersion then we go to hhn right then that old Dark Ride feel then
we go to Christmas with Orlando so my expectations that a lot of your guys expose locations were so
high with what Universe was going to pull off they set such a high bar for themselves I felt
like this was very lackluster in this new location and the old location right there's a lot more room
though a lot more hallways a lot more area for the creative team to collect their ideas grow and I
feel like they're very constraint with what they can do in this area the first room you enter into
like the ballroom right we're supposed to be kind of like the band is playing they're supposed to be
dancing and everything I think the color choices of it being white doesn't blend very well I think
if they did like a red or maroon color would match very well with like those golden curtains that
they had and also differentiate itself from the annual Passover Lounge that was there before so
I think that room could have been good but I just think the color Choice was not good there wasn't
too many Easter eggs in that room the details on the Easter eggs are so important into like how
Universal makes money but also to like the annual pass holders and guests right this is things that
keep people coming back time and time again to kind of walk through their tribute store and
discover new things and show off to people like oh look at this look at this you remember this
and this nod to this by adding little Easter eggs in different more detailed elements they
keeps guests in the tribute store longer keeps them coming back keeps them spending more money
I was kind of watching all the guests the first room they just kind of like walked through right
because it was kind of missing that like love and care that the other tribute stores have had then
we get into the second room right I think the second room is great that is what the creative
team is known for that is the level and quality of like what I know and love from the tribute store
team and then you go into like the Speakeasy the Speakeasy is kind of like this like weird
mishmash when you get into like the hotel area it just feels like the old Williams of Hollywood
Prop Shop normally in the tribute store there's like a big Grand Finale right there's Kong with
his hand there's the big ship there's the float there's a Triceratops little feeding area there's
Orlando the tribute stores always have this big wow moment that you like remember and it's
ingrained in your memory I really didn't have any feelings like that throughout this entire
tribute store we just kind of got some random props and the fireplace so I felt like the last
room was very lacking well checkout area didn't feel very deemed to like a hotel with a summer
trivia store popping up up next I think will that be minions themed so when the velocity coaster
came out they did like a Jurassic World Tribute store so will it be like a giant minions themed
tribute store oh God also the tribute stored treats were just kind of a copy and paste of
the years in the past that's my little hot take about the tribute store I think it's not perfect
but it's still a lot of fun to go through let me know down in the comments what are your thoughts
about the tribute store for Mardi Gras we have more Mardi Gras videos coming up we're
talking about the cursed coconut on that note if you enjoyed this video make sure to hit that
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around the country hi guys I love you all and I'll see y'all very soon
I had a dollar every time I came here and there's a private event