Culture 2 Go
Video: Christmas Town Preview at Busch Gardens Tampa
When I was growing up in New Jersey during the prehistoric ante-Best Buy era, the popular local electronics chain Crazy Eddie (Slogan: “His prices are INSANE!”) advertised an annual “Christmas in August” sale. The owner Eddie Antar ended up in the slammer for securities fraud, but his spirit lived on in Tampa this past Tuesday, as Busch Gardens introduced their new Christman Town event on an steamy July morning.
In contrast to the Obama campaign, Busch Gardens knows how to treat valued guests, as evidenced by the preview performance they put on for invited media and annual Passholders. Fortified with iced coffee and candy canes, we settled into the theater that normally houses the park's ice skating show, and were treated to the following sampling of Busch's upcomming after-hours seasonal event:
As you can see, the park's Christmas Town parties (which will run Friday through Sunday nights, Nov 30-Dec 23) will feature musical pageants, posing snowmen, and polar penguins. Admission, which is not included in Annual Passes, costs $40 (less with advance purchase discounts) and there's no indication any roller coasters will be operational.
I appreciated Busch Gardens' hospitality in highlighting their holiday plans (especially the gift box of free fudge), and have heard that their similar event in Williamsburg was a hit. I just hope the high-quality Christmas extras that sister park SeaWorld includes at no extra cost aren't scaled back this year to push patrons towards Tampa's paid event.
You can learn more about the event and purchase tickets at www.ChristmasTown.com
