Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Tampa Opens to Guests

Busch Gardens Tampa is inviting guests to start a new tradition this weekend with the opening if their first Christmas Town celebration.

Premiering new attractions, shows, shopping, and more, Christmas Town is the first time in the park's 53 year history that a special nighttime holiday event has been held.  Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, from 6 to 11 p.m., November 30th through December 23rd, the park will be filled with seasonal sights, sounds, and flavors.

Busch Gardens Tampa has a lot of special attractions for visitors to explore while at the park.  SnowWorld, presented by Coca-Cola, allows real snowball fights, snowmen, and snow angels to be made.  It goes without saying that real snow in Florida will be quite a draw.

Along with several rides that are open, including Cheetah Hunt, SheiKra, and Gwazi, the Christmas Town Express train ride will delight passengers with a holiday song sing-along.  The park's penguins will also be featured, as they show off their love of the cold at Penguin Point.

Christmas Town would not be complete without some holiday lights, right?  The park has plenty of them, and each different themed area of the park features their own light motif.  Celebration Village, the entrance area, features jewel-tone ornaments and glowing lights and plenty of shops filled with gifts.

Ice Wonder Way features a 'frozen' pathway of sparkling and shimmering lights, and the Jungle Jubilee is a festive section with a special Carol of the Bells light show.  Red and white lights are the mainstay of Candy Cane Lane, and a Florida Christmas is celebrated in the Enchanted Flamingo Valley, an area where you can get an overload of twinkling pink lights.

There's plenty of food to be found at the event as well, with much of it featured in Christmas Town Village.  From apple pies to eggnog and roasting nuts, all the holiday favorites are available.  Mrs. Claus' Family Feast features a buffet of holiday fare, accompanied by Mrs. Claus and her elves.  Guests who attend the buffet also get fast access to Santa's House (you didn't think he would be missing, did you?) and Snow Wonderland.

Plenty of live entertainment is also being offered, with Jars of Clay performing a finale to each night in Gwazi Park, an angle inspired ice show titled Angles of Peace: A Christmas Journey on Ice, and Jimmy Osmond's Christmas Jukebox in the Stanleyville Theater.

If you want to learn more about Christmas Town, check out the park's official website.