Wrap up the year with holiday cheer earlier than ever at Busch Gardens Christmas Town, the park’s award-winning holiday event. New this year, the event kicks off with a preview weekend with light displays and select entertainment elements on November 14 and 15. Christmas Town runs daily with park-wide festive fun from November 20, 2020, through January 3, 2021.

To bring the merriment to life, Busch Gardens’ creative team has consulted with medical experts to offer a modified event with required reservations and limited capacity that celebrates the spirit of the season safely. This seasonal event features open-air entertainment and experiences as well as enhanced health, safety, and sanitation measures, including temperature checks, face-covering requirements, and physical distancing. Included in park admission, park guests can enjoy holiday traditions with a twist, from millions of twinkling lights throughout the park’s 335 acres to physically distant holiday shows, breathtaking animal encounters, and contact-free visits with Santa and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.




Heartwarming Holiday Entertainment

A warm-weather winter wonderland awaits park guests with a variety of holiday programs offered throughout the event. Guests are encouraged to check the park’s website before visiting to learn which programs are available each date.

• NEW “Spark the Night” Fireworks Show: This year, guests will have several opportunities to enjoy festive bursts of Christmas colors as they cover the sky in a dazzling display. Fireworks are offered select nights throughout the event at the Festival field, offering plenty of space for guests to spread out and enjoy the sights.
• “Christmas on Ice”: For the first time ever, park guests can enjoy Busch Gardens’ longest-running holiday show at a NEW outdoor location on the Festival Stage. This fan-favorite skating production will perform awe-inspiring delights on real ice for physically distant audiences every Friday through Sunday and additional holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

• Elmo’s Christmas Wish: Families can sing and dance with their favorite furry friends in this fun holiday show. Celebrate the Christmas spirit with Sesame Street in the outdoor Sunny Day Theater with physically distant seating.
• Three Kings Journey: The musical tale of the famed journey to Bethlehem is now offered alongside festive eats at the spacious Dragon Fire Grill.
• Holly Jolly Express: All aboard for Christmas Cheer! With limited capacity, this locomotive is on track to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with favorite songs of the season as guests venture through the park in festive fashion.

Card-Worthy and Contact-Free Photo Opportunities

• Santa’s Merry Meet & Greet: Jolly elves guide guests to see Santa for a physically distant photo at a spacious new outdoor location this holiday season.
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Jingle all the way to Pantopia to Rudolph’s Winter Wonderland to find the most famous reindeer of all and snap some contact-free pictures with Rudolph and Clarice.
• Original Christmas Town Characters: For moments that sparkle, guests will encounter the Poinsettia Princess, Sugar Plum Princess, Ice Princess, and jolly snowmen throughout their Christmas Town journey.
• Sesame Street Friends: Enjoy physically distant photo opportunities with everyone’s favorite furry friends in their festive holiday attire.

Holiday Eats & Unique Gifts

As guests dash through the night between iconic rollercoasters, they can explore the Christmas Town Village: a delicious destination filled with drinks and dishes from an all-NEW chef and mixologist created holiday menu. Beyond a selection of fan-favorite seasonal beers and mulled wine, guests can also choose from a variety of NEW holiday inspired beverages rooted in classic Christmas traditions. These unique, limited-time options include specialty cocktails like the “Winter Wonderland Hot Toddy” made with winter cider, honey whiskey, and a chai infusion and the festive “Spiked Hot Cocoa” with gingerbread crumbles, caramel, and whipped cream.

The spirit of the season is in every bite of holiday dishes throughout the park such as sliced pork tenderloin, smoked turkey legs with pumpkin cider glaze, harvest turkey and prosciutto sliders, and a variety of peppermint desserts.  The best way for guests to savor and save during the holidays is with a Christmas Town Sampler Lanyard, starting at ONLY $34.99 for a 5-punch lanyard. Pass members can enjoy an extra special offer with an exclusive 12-punch lanyard for the price of a 10-punch lanyard to sip and savor throughout the event.

After fueling up for festive fun, guests can check everyone off their holiday shopping list from dazzling ornaments to charming nutcrackers with Busch Gardens exclusive 2020 holiday merchandise which is only available during this special event.




Give the Gift that Gives All Year: Busch Gardens Fun Card and Annual Passes

For a limited time, buy a 2021 Fun Card and get the rest of 2020 FREE or upgrade to an Annual Pass starting as low as $11.50 per month with no down payment. Annual Pass Members* receive 12 months of visits, now with the best benefits ever such as FREE parking, up to 6 free guest tickets, Pass Member VIP Ride Nights, an exclusive 2020 Pass Member Ornament, and up to 50% savings on merchandise, photo prints, Quick Queue, and more. The Fun Card gives park-goers unlimited access to the park to visit again and again for the remainder of the 2020 calendar year and all of 20211 for one low price, but does not include the additional pass benefits!  Visit www.BuschGardensTampa.com for more information, park hours, and to purchase tickets, Fun Cards, or Annual Passes.

Expanded Health and Safety Measures

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is committed to the health and safety of our guests, employees, and the animals in our care. The park has worked diligently with state and local health experts, outside consultants, and attraction industry leaders to enhance our already strict health, safety, and cleanliness standards. These protocols and guidelines will be modified based on evolving industry standards and methodologies, public health, and governmental directives, and advancing scientific knowledge on the transmissibility of COVID-19.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is excited to continue to provide our guests with fun, inspiring, and memorable experiences, while addressing important health and safety needs during this time. For detailed information about the measures that guests can expect when visiting the park, including key operational changes, visit buschgardens.com/tampa/safety.

For the latest on Busch Gardens Tampa and other theme parks, attractions, and more across the region, be sure to follow Touring Central Florida on twitter @androckb & @TourCentralFL, and like our Facebook page.