Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Tampa

My family and I visited Busch Gardens Christmas Town on this year's opening day, November 28th.  My boys were thrilled that their oldest brother and his son joined us for the day at Busch Gardens.

After parking and riding the tram to the park's front entrance, we were greeted by playful elves and stacks of huge ornaments.  I noticed lights and garland decorated the ticket booths and awnings.

Christmas Town transformed Busch Gardens Tampa into a holiday wonderland.  I hadn't realized that the entire park was Christmas Town (instead of a small area within the park). We found lights, carols and tasty treats of the season.  All of the shows were reformatted to have a Christmas theme. Even the park map was replaced with a Busch Gardens Christmas Town map.

Thousands of twinkling lights surrounded many of the Busch Gardens' trees.  Holiday characters, like snowmen, spread cheer throughout the park.  Enormous Christmas trees decorated seasonally named areas like Three Kings Oasis and Christmas Time Terrace.  I loved the organic nativity scene, made of plants and straw.

A 50-foot tree light show that came to life every ten minutes

The sign reads "The tradition of Christmas lights comes from early Christians who displayed lit candles to represent that Jesus is the light and hope of the world".

Live band in Holiday Hills

I was excited to board the Christmas Town Express sing-a-long train!  I sang along to my favorite holiday songs until I had tortured my 10 year old enough (he was lucky enough to sit next to me).

Christmas Town Village was the perfect spot to buy gifts or yummy holiday treats like warm cookies, hot chocolate, or waffles.  My boys enjoyed watching the electric trains go around and around.  The younger kids could go for a ride on the Jingle Bell Express next to the electric trains.

Our entire family had a wonderful day visiting Busch Gardens Christmas Town.  Dylan even wanted a Santa hat tiger to remember the day (his words as he talked me into buying him a souvenir).

Busch Gardens Christmas Town is open 23 select dates from Nov. 28 through Dec. 31, 2014. You may experience all of the Christmas celebrations throughout the day with your park admission.  Park closing times range from 8pm to 9pm throughout the event.

Disclaimer: I was given 4 tickets to Busch Gardens as a Busch Gardens Ambassador.  All opinions are my own.

A Day at Busch Gardens Tampa

This month my family and I visited Busch Gardens Tampa.  We had not been to the local theme park in a couple of years so it was fresh and exciting for my boys.  The weather was perfectly cool with a clear blue sky and warm sunshine.

I simply love Busch Gardens!  Being a Tampa native, roller coaster junkie, animal lover and former employee, I've visited Busch Gardens more times than I can count. I know this park from top to bottom and enjoyed the recent changes since the last time we visited.

The biggest change was Timbuktu became Pantopia.  The new vivid colors and building decorations were fantastic!  Timbuktu was always a hot area with plain brown buildings that blindingly, reflected the sun.  Not anymore, now that it changed into Pantopia, it was cool and colorful with more shade trees, decorative water fountains, and less cacti.  I loved the theming!

Pantopia was also home to Busch Gardens' new ride Falcon's Fury.  My husband, Mike, and my 10 year old, Dylan, went on Falcon's Fury but Jared and I sat out that time around.  Dylan was impressed that he could see over Sheikra from the top of Falcon's Fury at 335 ft in the air.  Then, the ride turned their seats face down to prepare for the drop at 60 mph.  Mike and Dylan were a little nervous at first, but thoroughly enjoyed the 5-6 second free fall.

Also new to Pantopia was Opening Night Critters which featured rescued dogs, cats, birds, a rat, horse, and kangaroo.  My boys loved seeing the rescued animals have fun on stage with their human co-stars.  They even got to meet some of the furry stars after the show.



I love the intense look of love in Dylan's eyes

Of course we couldn't miss all of the animals.  I always loved the nocturnal cave and the meerkats.  My boys loved seeing the hyena up close and personal.  After seeing the hyena's hair and spots, they thought our newest dog, Rocco, might be part hyena.  He certainly acts like a wild animal!!



Meerkat on a mound posed with my boys

 

And last but not least, the Busch Gardens' roller coasters.  This was Dylan's first ride on the big coasters.  The last time we visited Busch Gardens, he was not tall enough.  He rode those coasters like a pro!  Montu was his favorite with it's 60 ft vertical loop, Immelman loop, zero-G roll and intense 3.85 G pull.  Dylan road Montu 5 times!

My favorite coaster at Busch Gardens was Cheetah Hunt.  This coaster started with a 30 mph launch that took us up, around and down a big drop.  Cheetah Hunt launched us two more times with a top speed of 60 mph and 4 Gs.



Boys ready to ride Cheetah Hunt

Cheetah Hunt

Jared and Dylan even got me to ride Sheikra again.  Its 200 feet high, 90 degree drop down at 70 mph, freaked me out in the past.  But I rode it for my boys and it wasn't as scary as I remembered.  The back row was better for me so I didn't have to look over the edge for those agonizing 5 seconds before the first drop.  It was a gorgeous day to be at Busch Gardens Tampa!



Sheikra

Are you a roller coaster junkie or animal lover?

Disclaimer: As a Busch Gardens Tampa Ambassador, I received 4 tickets to the park.  All opinions are my own.

Winter has Hope #DolphinTale2

As part of an exciting Dolphin Tale 2 weekend, my family and I visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, home of Winter the dolphin and star of Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2.  The Clearwater Marine Aquarium's CEO, David Yates, explained the CMA's mission to rescue, rehabilitate and, when possible, release injured animals back to their environment.  David told us about the amazing story of a baby dolphin's rescue which coincidentally happened during the evening wrap party for Dolphin Tale.  Many of the cast and crew were there to witness baby Hope being carried to the pool where CMA staff was waiting to care for her.  Harry Connick, Jr. recalls, "Everybody was oohing and aahing because she was just so adorable, never thinking that what we were watching would, in time, prompt a completely new storyline that would bring us back together."

My boys loved seeing Winter and Hope playing together but they weren't the only rescued animals at the CMA.  They also had sea turtles, otters, rays and pelicans.  All of these animals have been rescued and rehabilitated but can't be released back into the wild.

In Dolphin Tale 2, Sawyer, played by Nathan Gamble, and Hazel, played by Cozi Zuehlsdorff, have grown up.  No longer young kids, they gained more independence and responsibilities and are faced with making some tough decisions.  Harry Connick, Jr. is back as Dr. Clay Haskett and Hazel's father.  He also adjusts to having a teenage daughter who wants to make her own decisions as part of the CMA team in Dolphin Tale 2.

 Both Dolphin Tale movies show perseverance against impossible odds.  I was amazed at how much Winter, a dolphin without a tale, has touched so many lives of those living with disabilities. Bethany Hamilton had a role in Dolphin Tale 2.  My boys knew right away that she was the surfer who survived a shark attack because we'd seen Soul Surfer and Bethany's incredible story of survival.  It's heartwarming that Winter and Hope are a huge inspiration to so many!

Dolphin Tale 2 is in theaters on September 12!  Find out more about Dolphin Tale 2 on Facebook or Twitter.  Visit Winter and Hope at the CMA in Clearwater, FL.

Disclaimer: My family and I were granted entry to the CMA and a showing of Dolphin Tale 2 as part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers.  All opinions are my own.

Disney On Ice Let's Celebrate review

 

Our family had the pleasure of seeing Disney On Ice's newest show, Let's Celebrate! at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in downtown Tampa.  Disney On Ice presents Let’s Celebrate! brought more than 50 Disney characters to Tampa for one colossal party on ice!  This all-new show featured an action-packed, magical montage of celebrations and was set to a blend of contemporary music and favorite Disney songs.

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse started out the show with some of our favorite characters as they celebrated a Very Merry Unbirthday Party with Alice and the Mad Hatter.

 

 

After the Unbirthday party, Mickey donned a hat and robe as he captured the crowd with his magical life-size brooms from Fantasia.  The kids in the audience, including my own, loved these glow in the dark, dancing brooms and familiar music.

 

 

Since Mickey was dressed in costume, the rest of the gang wanted to dress up too.  Jack Skellington hosted a Halloween haunt with our favorite Disney Villains.  This was Jared's favorite act from the show.  We were excited to see Maleficent since her upcoming movie will be out soon.  It was also fun to see Captain Hook since Jared and I just watched the season finale of Once Upon a Time.

 

 

From frightful to delightful, the showed moved on to a Royal Valentine’s Day Ball with the Disney Princesses.  Each princess entered the ice with her one true love.  They danced to a contemporary version of one of their movie's songs.  At this point I noticed the kids in the audience getting a little restless.  It may have been the slower moving act or the contemporary song versions that were not recognized by the younger patrons.

 

 

Following intermission, Mickey and the gang traveled around the world visiting different celebrations.  We saw Mardi Gras with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen; a Hawaiian luau with Lilo & Stitch; a Japanese Spring Holiday with Minny; a Chinese New Year with Mulan; and a winter wonderland with Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear.  I loved the Rex and Hamm costumes from Toy Story!

 

 

We had fun seeing all of our beloved Disney characters in one big party on the ice!  Both of my boys really enjoyed the show.   Dylan thought our time there flew by, indicating he was enthralled with the entertainment.  This was a wonderful show for the entire family.

Disney On Ice presents Let’s Celebrate skates into The Tampa Bay Times Forum May 15-18.

Performance Dates and Times:

Thursday, May 15, 2014 - 7 p.m.

Friday, May 16, 2014 - 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 17, 2014 - 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 18, 2014  - 1 p.m., 5 p.m.

Ticket Prices
Rinkside Dining $75
Premium $45, $40, $32, $28, $25, $18, $15, and Kids Tickets start at $12.

Save $5 on select performances using promo code MOM5. This offer is not valid on Rinkside Dining or Premium seats. No double discounts. Not valid day of show. Not valid for Sat. 11am, Sat 3pm or Sun. 1pm performances.

Tickets are available at DisneyOnIce.com or ticketmaster.com, at any Ticketmaster outlet, by calling 800.745.3000, or at the Tampa Bay Times Forum ticket office (phone for information only: 813.301.6500).  For group ticket sales and information, call 866.248.8740.

To discover more about Disney On Ice, go to www.disneyonice.com, visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

*Disclaimer: My family received 4 tickets to see Disney On Ice presents Let's Celebrate in exchange for promotion and review.  All opinions are my own.