Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[nayTake pictures of my feet]

I'm really curious to see what this event is like. I'm hoping to take my parents there in a few weeks. Everything I've seen so far looks great!

[SueI know more about donkeys than women!]

Really looking forward to seeing some trip reports on this!

[jjune4991Jar-Jar Binks smells like Donkey]

I will be going in the next few weeks. I can't wait because I've been wanting this since I've seen the pictures from BGW. I have friends who have been working on it for the past few months, and they are very excited for it to be open and love how good it turned out.

[jedimaster1227Delicious & Refreshing]

On Friday I had the chance to visit the brand new Christmas Town extra ticket event at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Inspired by the success of its Busch Gardens Williamsburg counterpart, Christmas Town takes the already stellar park experience and gives it a holiday twist while retaining some of the favorite attractions available normally in the park.

Let me just say that this event, like rival extra ticket events found in Central Florida will require proper time management and possibly even additional visits to see and experience it all (I know I want to go back to catch what I missed during this visit). There is simply so much to do at Christmas Town that for the price of $35-$40 (depending on advance ticket prices and annual passholder rates) is easily justified, if not proven a steal of a deal for the total value.

The event offers several special entertainment offerings that are exclusive to Christmas Town. Of those offered, I was able to see three, but will definitely go back to revisit those and to see the ones I missed. Rather than list out my thoughts here, I'm going to include them in the captions for the related photos... But seriously, if you were on the fence about Christmas Town or were interested in this event, take a look because this is one of my new favorite holiday experiences for Florida! There's really so much to love, so let's begin!


Click to download video to your computer or iPod/iPhone

[MrlittleI prefer to mate with donkeys over humans!]

^ NO wait times for the coasters, plus awesome Christmas lights and music, and REAL FREAKING SNOW. Sounds like a lot of fun.

[simon8899I love donkeys more than me.]

End of January I'llbe in there....

This Schwarzkopf looper is still very forceful, smooth and insanely fun!

Next to all the new fancy coasters I'm also looking forward to Scorpion as it will be the only Schwarzkopf looper of my Florida trip...

[Hilltopper39Why do I still have a donkey title???]

Wow, looks like another great offering from SeaWorld parks. I've been very very impressed with their seasonal events over the past years, everyone I've ever been to (Christmas at Seaworld, Hallowscreeams, Summer Nights, Bands Brew and BBQ, Sppoktacular) have all been REALLY good and this looks no different. Kinda cool that it's a separate ticketed event, the Cheetah Hunt and Kumba walk ons make this event worth the admission price alone.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

The snow-play area is in particular a nice touch. I'd like to see Williamsburg do this, as well--and, hey, how about a big ice house with an ice slide and an ice bar, while they're at it?

The Busch parks are doing a great job with Christmas events.

[SoCalCoastersYoung and Stupid! I blame my parents.]

Looks like someone didn't view their photo at the kiosk.

Great Coverage. Looks like a fantastic Holiday event.

[Skycoastin SteveFive babies drowned in a fire]

Really excited to check this out and see how it stacks up to BGW's Christmas Town (which blew me away last year).