We spent Thanksgiving afternoon and evening at Busch Gardens and Christmas Town and we had a blast! We are so thankful to have been invited by Busch Gardens to check out Christmas Town 2017. Savannah, Jordan’s fiancee, was visiting from Michigan so this was her first trip to Busch Gardens and seeing how Floridians celebrate a green Christmas. We arrived at the park at about 3:15pm, most of the Christmas Town activities ramp up at 6:00pm, with the character meet and greets starting at 2:00pm, so we wandered the park and the guys hit up a few rides before the Christmas festivities began. Since it was Thanksgiving the crowds were incredibly light and we were able to accomplish a lot of attractions in a short amount of time.
Visiting Santa’s House at Christmas Town
Our first Christmas Town activity was visiting Santa’s House. We were greeted by Half Pint the elf who escorted us into the house, where we met Mrs Claus in the living room. We got to peek into her kitchen before heading down the hall to meet Santa in his study. Santa took lots of pictures with us with both the professional photographers and our own cameras. He even suggested we take an “Elfie” with him. The entire interaction was lovely and we were not rushed at all. We didn’t purchase any of the photo packages because they are expensive, starting at $30.00 and going up.
Meeting Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Friends
We wandered the park some more and headed over to Pantopia where we found Rudolph’s Winter Wonderland. As you enter this area there are several games themed around the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer television special. I really wanted to play Sam the Snowman’s Snowball Toss because one of the prizes was a stuffed Hermie the Elf but again at $5.00 a game it was cost prohibitive for our budget. Once you walk past the games there are scenes from the TV special that uou can pose for pictures with. Finally you arrive at the meet and greet area. We were able to meet with Sam the Snowman, Bumble, Rudolph, and Clarice. I was looking forward to meeting Yukon Cornelius but he wasn’t available when we were there. There is an adorable gift shop at the end of the meet and greet area with lots of Rudolph themed merchandise.
We kept walking and we arrived at Christmas Time Terrace just in time to catch the first 50-foot Christmas Tree light show of the evening. Next we jumped on the Sky Ride to head back towards the Edge of Africa. We arrived just in time for the Carol of the Bells Light Show. We strolled through Penguin Point on our way to the Christmas Town Express for a ride on the Christmas Town Sing-Along Train. Being a family of musicians, we had a blast singing in 4 part harmony, with the musical track singing melody. We sang, laughed, and had a jolly old time!
We rode the Sky Ride back across the park to finish our Christmas Town tour. We wandered through Miracle Way, saw part of Elmo’s Christmas Wish, visited the Three Kings Oasis, caught the end of the Three Kings Journey, and got some delicious donuts in Christmas Town Village. We walked through Holiday Hills and listened to the Holiday Hills Band on our way to Celebration Village and ultimately the park exit.
Mom Maven’s Thoughts on Christmas Town at Busch Gardens
We had a wonderful time at Christmas Town. We were sad that we missed so many of the shows, we were always on the wrong side of the park at showtime! We made some fun family memories and we hope to come back again next year. Christmas Town is taking place at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on select nights through December 31st and is included in the price of admission. Christmas Town is an amazing holiday event for the entire family! For more information visit the Christmas Town website.
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