Universal Orlando is sprucing up their daytime offerings with a new parade dubbed “Universal’s Superstar Parade.” This is the first-ever daily parade for the Orlando theme park and is expected to begin at Universal Orlando sometime this spring.

Until now, Universal has only offered parades occasionally, typically as part of seasonal offerings like at Halloween and Christmas and during the famous Mardi Gras celebrations. But that’s all about to change!

Just as its name suggests, Universal’s Superstar Parade will be filled with the characters from four popular movies and TV shows including “Hop,” “Despicable Me,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Dora the Explorer.” And as with any new parade come some new technologies to enhance the parade-watching experience.

Universal’s Superstar Parade will feature all-new self-propelled floats. That means there won’t be trucks hauling them as in the Mardi Gras Parade. The floats will also be able to rotate and spin on their own axis, giving them an incredible degree of maneuverability. And to accompany the floats’ new moves are new customized soundtracks including theme songs and character voices that float along with them through the park. When the floats aren’t propelling, rotating and blasting theme songs from high in the sky, they’ll be backdrops for character meet-and-greets during the day.

And while the new parade is expected to be a daily show, it is equipped to run at night if Universal Orlando feels so inclined to do so. Universal Orlando also plans to run both the Superstar Parade and Mardi Gras Parade on certain days so guests will be able to enjoy both year round.

In addition to the incredible new floats, the Universal’s Superstar Parade will also debut several costumed characters, including Gru and the girls from “Despicable Me” and friends of “SpongeBob.” And that’s not all! What’s a parade without dancers, street-performances and stilts? Yes, stilts! “You will absolutely see stilts in this parade, and a couple of new street-performances, ground-talent experiences that you haven’t seen before,” says Jeff Timon, senior vice president of entertainment.

With all this talk about “Despicable Me” characters and floats debuting in the new parade we have to mention Universal Orlando recently announced the new ride based on the hit animated film will open this summer. The “Despicable Me” ride replaces Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast simulator and will utilize a sophisticated digital 3D projection system.

Stay tuned for more details about Universal’s Superstar Parade and the new Despicable Me 3D ride as well as other new Universal attraction news. In the meantime you can always enjoy Universal Studios Mardi Gras parade and all of the fun of Bourbon Street with discounted Universal Orlando tickets right here on OrlandoFunTickets.com.