Mardi Gras World
Mardi Gras World operates a year-round New Orleans tourist attraction offering guided tours of the Kern Studios float-building warehouse, serving individual tourists, group bookings, corporate event clients through its River City Venues sub-brand, and institutional partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1984
- HeadquartersNew Orleans, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Mardi Gras World does
Mardi Gras World is a privately held, family-owned tourist attraction in New Orleans, Louisiana, operated by Kern Studios and located at 1380 Port of New Orleans Place at the south end of the Convention Center. Founded in 1984 as a public-facing extension of Kern Studios' float-building operations (which trace back to 1932 and were formally incorporated in 1947), the attraction offers guided, year-round tours of the working float den where artists, sculptors, carpenters, welders, and painters construct Mardi Gras floats, props, costumes, and parade elements. Tours run every 30 minutes, last approximately one hour, and are complemented by a 15-minute introductory video, a complimentary shuttle from 10 downtown locations, and on-site proximity to the Convention Center's parking facilities. Revenue is generated through individual and group tour admissions, corporate and private event hosting via the affiliated River City Venues sub-brand (capacities from 20 to 20,000 guests), team-building workshops (mask-making, mini float building, mixology), and custom prop fabrication services through Kern Studios.
Mardi Gras World firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mardi Gras World
- Legal name
- Mardi Gras World
- Website
- https://mardigrasworld.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1984
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Mardi Gras World operates a year-round New Orleans tourist attraction offering guided tours of the Kern Studios float-building warehouse, serving individual tourists, group bookings, corporate event clients through its River City Venues sub-brand, and institutional partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mardi Gras World industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Tourist Attraction & Event Venue
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Parades, Carnivals & Street Fairs (MPAGAEAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Decor Props & Themed Set Rentals (HSACAFAK), Pavilion & Country/Group Exhibit Build-Outs (THAHAHAD)
Keywords
Where Mardi Gras World is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Orleans
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mardi Gras World business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Tour Tickets: Individual and group tour admissions to the float den attraction. Tours offered every 30 minutes, lasting about an hour, with a 15-minute introductory video. Group rates available for 20+ guests.
- Event Hosting: Rental and hosting of events at River City Venues, including concerts, conferences, galas, corporate events, and private parties. Capacity ranges from 20 to 20,000 guests. Custom prop creation services available for corporate branding.
- Team Building Workshops: Add-on workshops including mask-making, mini float building, and mixology classes for groups. Mask-making requires 20 adult minimum or 30 student minimum. Mini float building requires 45 guest minimum. Mixology requires 20-75 guests.
- Free Shuttle Service: Complimentary shuttle pickup from 10 central locations in downtown New Orleans and Canal Street for day tour guests
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Day Tour (Individual) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Group Tours (20+ guests) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Team Building Workshops |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Parking |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Mardi Gras World product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mardi Gras World sells year-round guided tours of the Kern Studios float-building warehouse in New Orleans, where visitors see artists, sculptors, painters, and robotic CNC equipment actively building Mardi Gras floats, props, and costumes. Beyond tours, the company offers three team-building workshops (mask-making, mini float building, mixology) for groups and operates the affiliated River City Venues event complex for hosting concerts, conferences, galas, and corporate events for groups of 20 to 20,000+.
Product overview
Mardi Gras World is a year-round tourist attraction offering guided tours of the Kern Studios float-building warehouse in New Orleans. The core product is the standard tour experience, which provides behind-the-scenes access to float construction, props, sculptors, painters, and robots. The company also operates River City Venues as an affiliated event complex for hosting groups of 20 to 20,000 people. Supporting products include three team-building workshops (Mask-Making, Mini Float Building, and Mixology) that can be add-ons to group tours or standalone activities. A modern online ticketing system powered by Roller.app enables advance bookings for individual and group visits. The company also provides custom prop fabrication services through Kern Studios for corporate events. Kern Studios, the parent company, fabricates floats for various Mardi Gras krewes including the Krewe of Cleopatra.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- River City Venues: Event venue complex operated by Mardi Gras World/Kern Studios for hosting events, concerts, conferences, and galas at the Mississippi riverfront.
Products and services
- Mardi Gras World Tour Year-round guided tour of the Kern Studios float-building warehouse, providing visitors a behind-the-scenes look at Mardi Gras float construction, props, costumes, and the history of New Orleans' Carnival tradition. Tours run every 30 minutes, last approximately one hour, and start with a 15-minute introductory video. Open to individual tourists and visitors.
- Group Tours Specialized tour packages for groups of 20 or more guests with discounted rates. Includes an hour-long behind-the-scenes tour, Mardi Gras history video, and complimentary king cake. Optional add-on workshops include mask-making, mini float building, or mixology classes. Reservations required; online booking for groups up to 75; larger groups connect with the sales department.
- Mask-Making Workshop Team-building activity where participants create original Mardi Gras masks with guidance from instructors, including a brief history of masking in New Orleans. Optional upgrades include private tours, food, wine, beer, cocktails, and live jazz or Cajun band. Minimum 20 adults or 30 students required.
- Mini Float Building Workshop Team-building activity where participants tour the float-building warehouse and collaborate to construct their own mini float. Includes a two-hour workshop with instruction from Kern Studios craftsmen. Minimum 45 guests required.
- Mixology Workshop One-hour hands-on cocktail crafting experience where participants learn to make classic cocktails with Louisiana twists, including espresso martinis, traditional daiquiris, or old-fashioneds. Features Louisiana-made rum and New Orleans-style infusions, concluding with a trivia challenge. Minimum 20 guests, maximum 75.
- River City Venues Event Hosting Event complex adjacent to Mardi Gras World at the Mississippi River front, capable of hosting groups from 20 to 20,000 guests. Offers various event spaces including ballrooms, the Float Den, and antebellum-style rooms. Provides full-service event planning for concerts, conferences, galas, corporate events, and private parties.
- Custom Prop Fabrication Kern Studios artists create custom-branded sculptures and props for events, including corporate logos. Props can be designed and fabricated in front of guests during events, using robotic CNC router (KUKA Robots) technology for live demonstration and dynamic prop creation.
Quantifiable outcome
- Widely successful attraction drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year
Companies that use Mardi Gras World
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Mardi Gras World technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Mardi Gras World partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Mardi Gras World competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cirque du Soleil: Global themed live-entertainment operator with in-house custom fabrication of costumes, props, and sets. Comparable through the combination of ticket-based entertainment, in-house craftsmanship, and scalable IP.
- Walt Disney Parks and Resorts: Largest themed-attraction operator globally, combining immersive guest experiences with in-house design and fabrication at massive scale. Most relevant as the upper bound for what a theme-IP-driven attraction business can scale to.
Regional players
- National WWII Museum: The dominant ticketed cultural attraction in New Orleans, operating a year-round, multi-site visitor experience. Competes for the same tourist dollars and Convention Center overflow in the same operating geography.
- Audubon Nature Institute: New Orleans-based operator of aquariums, zoos, and insectariums. Operates multiple ticketed attractions drawing family and tourist visitors in the same geography, competing for convention overflow and school field trips.
Others
- Royal Caribbean: Cruise operator that has explicitly extended the Mardi Gras brand via a ship class and onboard experiences. Tangentially connected via shared Carnival/Mardi Gras IP rather than direct operational competition.
Direct peers
- Madame Tussauds: Global chain of wax-figure visitor attractions where guests view artisans and curated displays behind the scenes. Closest peer in business model: paid admission to a curated, behind-the-venue experience in a tourist destination.
- Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Chain of themed indoor attractions offering self-pay, family-friendly viewing of unusual and curated exhibits. Comparable D2C ticketed attraction model with similar group/tourist customer base.
- Guinness World Records Experience: Interactive attraction offering paid entry to explore curated records and stories, similar in structure to Mardi Gras World's pay-to-enter themed experience with strong group/team appeal.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Mardi Gras World social profiles
Digital presenceMardi Gras World financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mardi Gras World leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Mardi Gras World funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mardi Gras World M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mardi Gras World
What does Mardi Gras World do?
Mardi Gras World sells year-round guided tours of the Kern Studios float-building warehouse in New Orleans, where visitors see artists, sculptors, painters, and robotic CNC equipment actively building Mardi Gras floats, props, and costumes. Beyond tours, the company offers three team-building workshops (mask-making, mini float building, mixology) for groups and operates the affiliated River City Venues event complex for hosting concerts, conferences, galas, and corporate events for groups of 20 to 20,000+.
Is Mardi Gras World a public or private company?
Mardi Gras World is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Mardi Gras World founded?
Mardi Gras World was founded in 1984. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Mardi Gras World based?
Mardi Gras World is headquartered in New Orleans, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mardi Gras World make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Tour Tickets are the primary driver. The others are event Hosting, team Building Workshops and free Shuttle Service.
Who are Mardi Gras World's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Cirque du Soleil and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Regional players are National WWII Museum and Audubon Nature Institute. Royal Caribbean is listed as an others. Direct peers are Madame Tussauds, Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Guinness World Records Experience.
Does Mardi Gras World have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mardi Gras World.
What industry is Mardi Gras World in?
Mardi Gras World's product category is Cultural Tourist Attraction & Event Venue. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAEAE, Community Parades, Carnivals & Street Fairs, with a secondary code of HSACAFAK, Decor Props & Themed Set Rentals. Its NAICS code is 7121.