Come On Down To Christmas Town

Come On Down To Christmas Town

Busch Garden’s Christmas Town has put smiles on many faces since 2009. Beginning on November 12th, you can enjoy all these Christmas activities until January. Christmas town goes from 2pm to 10pm, and has activities for all ages. Annual pass holders have to pay $20 for a one day pass or $25 for a season pass. People without a pass pay $32 for a one day pass and $36 for an annual pass. Some of the festivities include Meeting Santa and friends, Light shows, The “Jingle Bell Express” and a special firework show for New Year’s Eve.

Many visitors have been extremely satisfied with the result of Christmas Town.

“It’s one of my favorite things of the season. I love taking my cousin there with my family. His face lights up when he sees Santa it’s so cute. You’d think that Busch Gardens wouldn’t be able to get any more cheerful but they’ve really outdone themselves,” said Freedom Junior Abby Novo.

“It’s so much fun going with friends,” said Freedom Sophomore Brandon Sun

“There is something to do at this park for all age groups. You can keep an 8 year old or an 80 year old thoroughly entertained all day long. There are a few thrill rides, a few moderate rides and some slow ones. Cheetah hunt was excellent and my wife’s all-time favorite roller coaster. The gondola is the perfect ride when you need a bit of time off your feet and the scenery is superb. It’s my favorite ‘end of the day and I’m tired ride’ anywhere. The great value compared to the Disney parks was very apparent to me and you can even get an ‘all you can eat’ option when you buy your tickets. I suggest buying them online as the prices are cheaper than at the gate. The overall feel of this park and rides is closer to a Disney than Six Flags or Knott’s Berry. We were there the week before thanksgiving so there we no lines at all. We still found after spending an entire day in the park that week could have stayed longer. They do a spectacular job with the landscaping and gardens and the animal enclosures and talks/shows are great. They even have a cheetah do a full speed sprint like they do at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We were surprised to find that this was one of our best days in Florida,” said a pleased customer on Tripadvisor.com

However, some visitors were not impressed:

“The parking lot attendant booth doesn’t open until 5:30 (30 min before event opens @ 6:00 pm) we arrived at 6:00 to the area to find the cars backup up for miles from Busch Blvd and Boganvilla Blvd so you can’t get into the parking lot from either direction. There are no Busch Gardens Parking Attendants or off duty police to direct traffic. Everyone had road rage blowing horns. It took us 45 min to pay to park. Got into park at 7:00 pm finally (it closes at 11:00 pm) lost 1 hour to the parking nightmare. Went to see Santa – there are 2 lines – regular and VIP – the gulag line doesn’t move because the VIP guest go to front of the line and get in immediately, after waiting 45 min we hadn’t even moved half way up the regular line and left. Tried to go to see Snow Play Area but it was wall to wall people walking, pushing, stepping on you, rolling strollers over you, smoking in the crowd, and when we finally got to the event it was a 2 hr 30 min estimated wait line – since it was now 8:30 pm and we had done nothing fun yet we decided not to wait in that ridiculous long line. We wanted to see the ice skating show but had to sit in separate sections in single seats with kids on our laps – couldn’t even sit together when we arrived 20 min early before show time. Basically we could only ride a few regular park rides and go home. It was more frustrating and fun – big disappointment for kids. They know how many advance tickets they sell by date – they know they can’t accommodate that many kids at the X-Mas Events but they still take the money and keep selling tickets – greedy! Where’s the customer service? Big rip off don’t waists your time or money,” said an angry customer for Trip Advisor’s website.

Even if you disagree, many people have enjoyed and experienced all the majestic Christmas activities that Busch Garden’s Christmas Town has to offer. It’s the event of the season that you shouldn’t miss.