Universal Orlando’s latest-and-greatest daytime parade began technical rehearsals in early July, and we’ve got your Unofficial Guide to enjoying the new Universal Mega Movie Parade, currently running every afternoon at Universal Studios Florida.
After a few years with no regular afternoon parade, Universal Studios Florida introduced its biggest daytime processional ever in the Universal Mega Movie Parade this summer. It features nearly 100 performers and 13 floats celebrating iconic Universal Studios films like E.T. and Back to the Future, along with Illumination’s Despicable Me and Sing and DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls and Kung Fu Panda.
1990s nostalgia will give Gen Xers the feels, while their offspring should perk up for Po and Poppy.
Highlights include a 16-foot-tall Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man atop the Ghostbusters float, a marching band drumline playing the Jaws theme, and a Jurassic Park finale featuring a giant T. Rex puppet.
With a throwback soundtrack that includes “Back In Time” and “We Are Family,” plus highly interactive characters who roller-skate, ride BMX bikes, and twirl batons, this is certainly Universal Orlando’s most ambitious attempt yet at a Disney-style parade.
The floats are impressively large and detailed with clever cinematic Easter eggs—search for Slimer, E.T.’s Speak & Spell, and an “OUTATIME” license plate—but (aside from the dinosaur) they are disappointingly static, lacking any kinetic lighting or animated effects.
Watch a complete technical rehearsal performance of the Universal Mega Movie Parade with our 4K video below. Stick around until the very end to hear the finale roar from the T. Rex!
Universal Mega Movie Parade Times and Parade Route
The new parade runs once daily, typically at 6 p.m. when the park stays open late, or at 2 p.m. when it closes early (like during Halloween Horror Nights). The procession lasts around 45 minutes total, and it takes about 15 minutes to pass by any particular point, traveling clockwise around the park in the same direction as the Holiday parade (but opposite the old daytime parade). The route begins at the Esoteric Pictures gate in Hollywood between Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show and Cafe La Bamba.
It turns left onto Hollywood Boulevard, makes a hard right near the park entrance into Minion Land on Illumination Avenue, then heads toward New York. From there, it turns right and proceeds along 5th Avenue past Revenge of the Mummy, then takes a right at Louie’s Italian Restaurant and follows the waterfront past Transformers: The Ride–3D and Mel’s Drive-In, before disappearing backstage through the gate where it entered.
Universal Mega Movie Parade Viewing Tips
The best viewing spots are along Fifth Avenue, on the front steps of faux buildings in New York, and along Hollywood Boulevard. The wheelchair viewing area is in front of the Macy’s facade; a section is reserved for Universal Visa cardholders across from The Bourne Stuntacular; and annual passholders sometimes get exclusive access to the corner by Mel’s Drive-In, where you can watch the show twice.
If you plan to leave the park after seeing the parade, you can watch it step off in Hollywood, then follow it down the street and slip out the park exit before it loops back around.
The interactive bubble wands sold in DreamWorks Land also react to select parade floats.
Finally, be warned that this parade is frequently delayed or canceled due to afternoon thunderstorms.
What do you think of the new Universal Mega Movie Parade? Let us know in the comments below!
For all there is to see and do at Universal Orlando, check out The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando.
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