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As a Busch Gardens Thrill Seeker I was provided Busch Gardens Christmas Town tickets for the opening day of Christmas Town. All the opinions expressed are 100% my own.
On what seemed like the coldest day in 2014 I had the privilege of opening Busch Garden’s Christmas Town [1]! As part of their blogger program I have gotten some fun behind-the-scenes looks at things and our last meeting for 2014 did not disappoint. I am excited to tell you about this amazing park.
About a month ago they asked all the Busch Garden Christmas Town bloggers if there was ONE thing we could do in the park to truly make our visit memorable what would it be? The answer was overwhelming. “WE WANT TO PET A PENGUIN.”
Don’t get me wrong- roller coasters are fantastic, the food is amazing and I love the swag but come on, we got to pet a penguin! To answer your question- they are softer than you would think. Almost like petting a cat. The penguin, Maggie, was getting a bit antsy as we were finishing up with her so her trainer put her on the ground to stretch. I had a tiny penguin running around my feet. Then about a foot to my right, she stopped, relieved herself and continued her celebration. At the end of the night when my niece was asked what her favorite part was she easily answered “the penguin pooped.” Ah the memories.
We had a few hours to kill between the penguins and our next event so we got to wander around the park. In case you don’t know the park opens progressively one country at a time. If you are getting there with kids I wouldn’t come right at opening at 2 p.m. There really wasn’t much to do with the kids until about 3 (all the rides were in the places closed off) and it was hard to keep them entertained. So shoot to get there at 3 p.m. and you will be in great shape.
Once some rides were open we strolled through Christmas Town and looked at the eight million lights in between rides and shows. We watched the “Gloria” show in Ireland which is always one of my favorites. (I still need to see “UnScrooged”- the new show in the Globe Theater). We watched them bathe one of the horses (in my next life I want to BE one of those horses). We saw the tree lighting ceremony. We did the bumper cars and ate a light snack.
One of the things that makes Christmas Town so special to me is taking my niece (age 2) and nephew (age 4). While we walk around sometimes I get these little pockets of time with them- when it’s just the two of us- and it’s a few minutes to hear their thoughts while they walk.
My nephew is very big into super heroes right now. We spent a lot of time pretend fighting while walking, making super super hero noises and falling into traps etc. (I miss having a big imagination). In the park the walkway toward Ireland has a long path FULL of trees with green lights- thousands of them. My nephew and I were in the middle of talking about school (he’s on his level four reader and very excited) when he looks up at me and gets this HUGE grin on his face.
“What?” I said.
“You look like the hulk.”
As I looked down at my hands I saw he was absolutely right- my skin had a nice green tint to it from the lights. Bruce Banner would have been proud. Then we proceeded to “smash” our way through Ireland until we got to Santa’s Fireside Feast [1].
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We settled down in a nice warm room to eat dinner and visit with Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves. Just like the Dine With Elmo [2] event, the food was fantastic- there was the normal chicken nuggets and hot dogs for the kids. For the adults they had stuffing, a wonderful salad, turkey, sweet potatoes and everything else you could possibly want for this season. Jolly the Elf came around and handed out coloring sheets and crayons for the kids. Mrs. Claus had cookies. Everyone had a turn to sit on Santa’s lap (a most EXCELLENT Santa BTW) and discuss with him what they wanted. And then Santa did a wonderful recitation of “Twas The Night Before Christmas.”
But the cute moment of the night goes to my sweet niece. Actually several moments. Three times during the night she got very quiet (unusual for her) and just stared at the lights, trees or buildings around her. Then she would look at her grandma and say with a big grin on her face “This Place Makes Me Happy.”
That’s the best I can say about Christmas Town. It makes me happy. It’s full of memories with my family and friends. The music, the scenery, the smells and the beauty of it just suck me in. When I’m there I forget about work and real life and take some time to relax and celebrate. It’s magic. I look forward to it every year.
Want to visit yourself? Right now you can get single day Busch Gardens Williamsburg discount tickets online [3] for $27 ($5 off the regular price) or a Christmas Town Fun Card [3] for $32 which gets you in unlimited until December 31st!