The holiday season is all about traditions. Putting milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve. Driving through the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights. Picking out a tree and decorating it with ornaments. For us frogs, we hop to all of the Orlando theme parks! However, we've recently started heading over to Tampa Bay for Busch Gardens' Christmas Town. We always have a merry time here and we're hoppy to share all of the details!
Christmas Town has a lot to offer — sparkling lights, seasonal shows, special character greetings (including Santa himself!), festive food and more. On select nights, there's even a special fireworks show to light up the night! Overall, it's best to make a plan if you wish to accomplish as much as possible — something we learned on the fly the first time around. If you have the extra time to hop over to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay during this holiday season, here’s what you can expect.
Overview of Busch Gardens Christmas Town
This year, Busch Gardens Christmas Town festivities begin on Nov. 15, 2024, and will continue through Jan. 5, 2025. While the event takes place daily, some experiences may only be available on select nights. For instance, the "Holiday in the Sky" fireworks show hoppens every Saturday, but also on select other nights. Additionally, "Three Kings Journey" only runs on select nights during the event. If you want to see showtimes for a specific day, check the park hours and entertainment schedule on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's website.
Best of all, the Christmas Town fun is included with park admission, a Fun Card or an annual pass. Most of the Christmas Town festivities take place after 2 p.m. (though during the week, shows may have earlier showtimes due to earlier park closing times), but we highly suggest arriving early. This is especially true if you plan to go over on a weekend or during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day as there are a lot of things to do! A good problem to have, right?
Busch Gardens Christmas Town Entertainment and Lights
No matter which land you're in, there's holiday excitement waiting to be found! Here's a list of the new and returning entertainment you can enjoy at Christmas Town this year.
Busch Gardens Holiday Magic
Enjoy a captivating performance by world-famous magician, Michael Turco. This show features amazing illusions, impressive choreography and festive music in the Stanleyville Theater.
Christmas on Ice
Christmas Town’s signature ice skating show is back at the Moroccan Palace Theater. Watch ice skaters glide to yuletide melodies with impressive choreography in solo, couples and group performances.
Get to the theater about 40 minutes early to get a good seat as it can fill up quickly. Once the show starts, guests can still enter, but you'll be directed up to the balcony so as not to disturb the performers. If you're in the park on a day when this show is hoppening, we recommend catching the first performance of the day (usually at 2 p.m.) so you have the rest of the afternoon and night to enjoy everything Christmas Town has to offer.
Three Kings Journey
Located in the Dragonfire Grill, Three Kings Journey chronicles the journey to Bethlehem. It is accompanied by lovely music that is, quite literally, music to your ears!
Elmo’s Christmas Wish
Join Elmo, Cookie Monster, Zoe, Grover and Rosita as they learn the meaning of Christmas during this tadpole-friendly show in Sesame Street Safari of Fun. The Sesame Street gang gets all of the tadpoles — and tadpoles at heart — into the Christmas spirit as they each share their own Christmas wishes. Cookie Monster stars in his "All I Want for Christmas is You" solo … which to no one’s surprise, "you" really means cookies, and Rosita teaches the crowd how to sing "Jingle Bells" in Spanish. The show concludes with Elmo and friends singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," which makes for a fitting finale!
We suggest catching the first show of the day at 12:30 p.m., so you have more time in the evening to explore the Christmas lights and catch the other shows. This is another show we recommend arriving about 30 minutes beforehand.
Storytime with Mrs. Claus
Without a doubt, this is our favorite must-do at the park! This merry little show stars Mother Christmas herself and one of her favorite elves! Located in the Coke Canopy, sit down on the bleachers or up in front on the rug and listen closely as Mrs. Claus reads classic holiday stories such as "The Night Before Christmas." Of course, Mrs. Claus is a multitasker. Therefore, she's also baking cookies!
This show is interactive and even includes a sing-a-long at the end! Grab some sleigh bells and warm up your vocal cords (with some delicious hot chocolate). And don't leave the stage area before grabbing a photo with Mrs. Claus after the show!
If your tadpole wants a spot on the rug, be sure to get here 30 minutes before showtime! If you don't have a seating preference, arriving 10 to 20 minutes before showtime won't be an issue.
Holiday in the Sky: A Fireworks Spectacular
End the night with a bang (literally) as you watch colorful fireworks burst into the sky during this pyrotechnic display, which is synced with everyone’s favorite Christmas songs and holiday tunes. Plus, Iron Gwazi is lit up in red and green, adding a jolly backdrop if you’re viewing the fireworks from the Festival Field.
Last year, the winds were too high to view the show from the Festival Field, so keep that in mind if you're attending this year. The best place to go if that happens is right next to the Coke Canopy and, yes, the show's music is still played over the speakers.
Christmas Lights
Wander in awe of the millions of dazzling Christmas lights displayed throughout all corners of the 335-acre park. From the entrance’s festive projections to adorable waddles of light-up penguins, there are plenty of opportunities for merriment and photos.
We frogs definitely (and unanimously) agree that our family’s favorite display was the giant tree with dancing lights right in between Serengeti Overlook and Cheetah Hunt. Sing along to classic holiday melodies as festive designs illuminate the towering Christmas conifer!
Holly Jolly Express
Hop aboard the Holly Jolly Express! Celebrate the holiday season with a scenic ride into the safari while listening to popular Christmas tunes. We suggest getting on the train at the Nairobi station so you can catch the animals in the Serengeti Plain, though you can hop on or off in Stanleyville.
Character Greetings at Busch Gardens Christmas Town
A few guests from the North Pole traveled a great distance to make a special appearance at Christmas Town. Meet Santa in Nairobi and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer accompanied by Clarice and Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster in Pantopia and pose with each of them for a festive photo.
Additionally, be on the lookout for festive characters such as the Sugar Plum Princess, who have fun meet-and-greets around the park! The holiday princesses have meet times listed right next to their photo locations. They normally come out once every hour once the sun starts setting. Equally important are the adorable photo ops you'll take home!
Busch Gardens Christmas Town Dining and Shopping
Indulge in holiday treats and pick up any last-minute Christmas gifts while you're visiting. The options are endless at the Christmas Town Village cabins offering seasonal flavors and festive beverages. A cabin just for cookies and cocoa?? Guess where I'd stayed all night! Christmas Town Village Food & Beverage Cabins open at 4 p.m. daily. There are also Christmas Town food booths right outside of Christmas Town Village, and as far as Jungala.
Marrakesh Market (home to Santa's Workshop) is the one-stop shop for all things Christmas. For example, this gift store has ornaments, nutcrackers, snow globes, pillows, nightlights and so much more. Furthermore, there's even special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer merch! You'll also find special holiday merchandise at Xcursions, Light Up the Sky on the Festival Field, Rudolph's Winter Store in Pantopia and various Holiday Artisan Craft booths on and near the Festival Walkway.
New Year’s Eve Celebrations During Busch Gardens Christmas Town
On New Year's Eve, you’ll be able to celebrate with your favorite thrill rides, animal encounters and everything Christmas Town has to offer. Meanwhile, at night, you can experience all of the Christmas Town offerings while the park is beautifully lit up and countdown to 2025 with a special New Year's Eve fireworks show at 12 a.m.
Additional Tips for Busch Gardens Christmas Town
Here are our best tips for having a holly jolly time at Busch Gardens' award-winning holiday event:
- If you’re like us and want to try ALL of the yummy treats and drinks, consider purchasing a Food & Beverage Sampler. Choose between a 5-item sampler for $45 or a 10-item sampler for $65.
- First, know that the holiday season is notoriously pretty wild at the theme parks. As a result, don't expect low wait times. If it’s your first visit or if the rides are a big priority, arrive early! When you do, focus the first half of the day on hitting as many rides as possible. That way, you can enjoy all the Christmas Town festivities later.
- "Christmas on Ice" is without a doubt the most popular show in the park! Last year, we tried to catch the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. performances and didn't make it because they stopped letting in guests. We arrived at the theater for the 8 p.m. performance at 7:20 p.m. and were held at the top of the staircase. Doors opened at 7:30 p.m. and team members began pulsing groups in to make sure they didn't exceed capacity. We were able to grab some seats in the lower section near the stage!
In conclusion, we're so hoppy that we went to Busch Gardens Christmas Town this year! We look forward to continuing this new Frog Family tradition! Let us know in the comments below if you have any questions.
Related: The Frog Family's Wild Guide to Busch Gardens Tampa
Hoppy planning!
