Universal's Superstar Parade

Minion mayhem is running rampant everywhere at Universal Studios and the Superstar Parade is no exception. The obvious stars of this four-float parade are the characters from Despicable Me who lead the parade and kick off the street show. Gru himself is the announcer for the dance party that takes place at the parade's two stops.

If your kids are a fan of a particular float in this parade, you'll want to choose your placement carefully. Each float occupies a large and very distinct part of the street when the parade stops. Below you'll find a handy map for staking out the perfect parade spot. There's nothing as disappointing as ending up in front of Hop if you wanted a view of Gru, so use this map accordingly and claim your spot about 15 to 20 minutes before the parade for the best view. Click on the map below for a larger view.

The four themed floats in this parade are Despicable Me, Spongebob, Hop, and Dora the Explorer. Each float has lots of characters and colorful fun as well as several dancers following on the street.

The Despicable Me float features Gru and the girls as well as a host of minions. This float is one of the most entertaining to watch because it has the giant stolen Jumbotron mounted on the front. This screen shows a series of video clips during the dance party.

Next in the line-up is the Spongebob float complete with the giant pineapple from under the sea, and all of this square porous celebrity's friends.

Hop is the third parade float with all kinds of candy colored fun.

Finally, Dora the Explorer brings up the rear. The highlight of this float is the group of acrobatic monkeys that swing from the ropes on the float. If you've seen the Festival of the Lion King at Disney's Animal Kingdom, that's exactly what this show resembles (Swiper, no swiping!).

Check the park map on the day of your visit for the time of the daily parade at Universal Studios Florida. If you're a fan of any of these shows or movies, this is worth seeing. If your party consists of adults or teens who aren't interested in these characters, however, use the time to enjoy slightly shorter lines for the rides while the crowds are busy along the parade route.

Whether you're watching the parade or not, you do want to make a note of the time that it will roll out, as you may get stuck along the route on one side of the street or another while it passes. If this happens to you, the quickest thing to do is walk toward the back of the parade as it's moving forward and cross as soon as you get past it.

** Please Note: In inclement weather the parade my roll through without making any stops for the dance party. The parade may also be cancelled due to weather conditions. **