Busch Gardens Williamsburg Christmas Town Visit 2016

The tickets were provided to me by Busch Gardens.  All opinions are 100% mine.

By the time Black Friday actually ended I was exhausted.  After a week of deal finding I was ready for a night out to do some silliness!  Fortunately Busch Gardens Williamsburg opened that night and invited the family and I for a media event so I could check out all the goings on.  There are some great changes for 2016 and I was excited to take a look around the park at the 8.2 million lights and drink some wassail!

Get Your Tickets Ahead of Time

For those of you who have missed the memo the first big change has actually happened BEFORE you reach the park- it’s how you buy the tickets.  The single day ticket prices vary by how popular the night is going to be.  If they are expecting the park to be packed they will have sold more tickets so the price will be higher.  For example if the tickets for the night you want to go are $16 they aren’t anticipating a huge crowd.  The night we went the tickets were $38.  The park was at capacity.  Just be sure to buy your tickets ahead of time.  If you go to the park on a $16 night you will see the price at $16 online and $38 at the gate.

Get There Early To Park

We arrived 25 minutes before the park opened and there was an hour wait to get into the parking lot.  If you are coming on a night where the park is at capacity I would try to arrive at least 45 minutes before you want to be in the park.  It would be worth getting there crazy early and having a snack in the car or something to not wait in that line.

Consider Getting a Photo Key

I don’t talk much about the Photo Keys but it’s really one of my favorite fun things to grab at Busch Gardens.  This isn’t for every trip but if you have special people coming to town or a new family member who should consider it.  For $35 you can get a Photo Key for the night- which means all the pictures they take of you around the park with Santa or Rudolph or on the rides are saved on the card.  You have the rights to put the pictures online and they also give you a photo release so you can print them yourself or at your local store.  Or you can pay $60 and get one for the entire time Christmas Town is open.

Rudolph’s Winter Wonderland is Slightly Underwhelming

New to Christmas Town in 2016 is Rudolph’s Winter Wonderland.  For those of you familiar with the park the attraction is where you wait to ride Apollo’s Chariot (which is closed for the season).  They took the actual place where you wait in line, put up wooden walls, added a REALLY sparkly floor (which my niece loved) and created a new section.

Unfortunately unless your kids happen to be completely obsessed with Rudolph, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius or Bumble it’s going to be a big let down. Along the way there are stand ups of the characters to take pictures with (see above) but that’s about it.  Nothing moves, nothing is interactive- it’s basically just flats of the characters.  At the end of the wait you get to meet one of the characters (ours was Yukon Cornelius) and then you get your picture taken with Rudolph and Clarice.

So unless your kid is a total Rudolph groupie I would just skip it.  Especially if there is a line.

Sesame Street Forest of Fun is Now Open for Christmas Town

While the new Rudolph’s Winter Wonderland wasn’t exactly overwhelming I am THRILLED that the park has decided to open the Sesame Street Forest of Fun during Christmas Town 2016.  So many families with young children go to Christmas Town and to have that extra section open with rides is fantastic.  Also the water play area in the middle is full of live Christmas trees covered in lights.  T was thrilled to be able to run around and touch the lights and trees with no one scolding him.

Every child should have a picture of themselves with their grandmother on a coaster.  

Please Don’t Miss ‘Twas That Night

Due to the INSANE events of Christmas Town 2015 (click here in case you forgot) my sister and T had not gotten to see “‘Twas That Night”- the ice skating show that premiered at the park last year.  If you don’t do anything else in the park during the holidays PLEASE try to see it.  T is not even two yet and absolutely loved it while the oldest two sat still for the first time in the entire night.  It’s the highlight of the park for me.

Here are some other of our great memories:

P finished my red velvet cake at the Marco Polo Marketplace.

The beautiful lights in Germany.  

C and I making a silly face before “Twas That Night.”

And here is the video I made last year of how to save big in the park!