I visited Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World in July 2006, pre-Katrina. It was a great little excursion on my business trip and I was made to feel welcome by the friendly host, shuttle driver, and tour guide. The ferry dock from New Orleans is not too far from the French Quarter or the Convention center (it is near the Aquarium and shopping mall, and the streetcar stop is close by as well) and the ferry ride itself is free.

A short ferry ride later, I was in Algiers and was picked up by a (free!) air conditioned shuttle that took me through Algiers and by the House of the 7 Sisters Voodoo Shop and to Mardi Gras World.

Guests met by a host and given souvenir Mardi Gras beads in the gift shop. Then we were ushered to the waiting area where I was allowed to take pictures with different costumes, headpieces, and to view a short film on the history of Mardi Gras.

Then, the group was taken on a tour of floats and pieces of the floats used in the parades. Our group saw some pieces that the artists were working on and was allowed to take photos and ask questions at any point of the tour.

It was a good excursion worth a couple (2-3 hours) and I got lots of photos - afterwards a friendly staff member also helped me out and took photos of me as a jester in the photo area.

The $15 price is a bit steep, but I think it's worth it. Blaine has thought of lots of little things to make the trip to his place nice; shuttle to/from the boat, coffee & cake, and beads and trinkets to take home. The tour itself is short, but you do see plenty of floats and historic N.O. stuff in that time. This is a must see if you don't plan to come for parade season.

Something to do besides Bourbon St and Shopping. Interesting look at Mardi Gras, and how it all comes together. Small gift shop. Take the free ferry across to Mardi Gras World.

My husband and I visit New Orleans every May for JazzFest. We really never have much time for sightseeing. A co-worker of mine had been to New Orleans last year and kept telling me I MUST go to Mardi Gras World. So we went, and it was fabulous. We took a ferry from Canal Street to Algiers, and from there, we took a shuttle to Mardi Gras World. I must interject here that half the fun of the experience was our shuttle driver, who calls himself "New Orleans Nick Scott." He was informative, kind, and hilariously funny. He took us on a little tour, pointing out slices of humanity we would never otherwise have seen.

Mardi Gras World is, in a word, incredible. You enter through the gift shop, and then go to a room where there are several costumes you can try on. My husband and I tried on several and took photographs in them. You are then shown two short films - one about Blaine Kern, the man who started the company, and another about Mardi Gras. After that, you are given King's Cake and coffee, with an explanation of the meaning of King's Cake, and that is followed by a tour of several warehouses. Our tour guide was Patrick, a very down-to-earth, low key guy, who explained how everything is done.

The warehouses are filled with enormous floats and figures, massive in size, impressive in creativity. Unlike so many places where you are afraid to go near what is on display, here you are encouraged to touch and photograph. After the tour, you can roam around on your own. We did that, and were just amazed at all we saw.

When we were waiting for the shuttle to return to pick us up, a friendly doggie came in and greeted us, followed by Mr. Blaine Kern. He was a lovely man, and we had our picture taken with him... a very nice end to an entirely wonderful experience.

If you to go New Orleans, take the time to visit Mardi Gras World. It is uniquely New Orleans, and great fun.