ELITE – Santa’s Little Yelpers II

I had seen information about this event in 2012 and it was a big part of my decision to apply for Elite status in 2013. I was so happy to have my mother join me as my «+1» for this event. She loves Christmas décor and I had been saying all year that if I became Elite, I’d take her to one of these holiday events. After a year of anticipation, this did not disappoint!
From the moment we arrive, we felt pampered with free parking. As dusk fell, the lights of Christmas Town came on, transforming the park into a holiday adventure. We caught the ice show, which was sort of standard for the park, but had some lovely music and skating. We wandered a bit, enjoying the lights, and had the good fortune to wander past Crown Colony right as the light and music show began. The building itself has always been beautiful and wonderfully landscaped, but I was really impressed by the thought and care put into the placement and choreography of the lights. I’ve been around theme park presentations all my life and found this really outstanding and enjoyable!
After a brief ride on the Skyride with great views of the park, we settled in for some dinner next to the immensely large tree. While sitting there, we got to see the music and lights show a few times, but we were distracted by eating. The concessions had a number of special items for the event and we went for a sandwich of carved ham with honey mustard and a side of sweet potato tots. Both were excellent and some festive fun. We circled the rest of the park, enjoying the lights and having a good laugh in the Snow Area watching Floridians be amazed at a little snow. Lots of dads riding with their kids on the snow slide and we wondered how many of them had never really seen snow either.
A really great night and my Mom said more than once that she was very glad I really know the park. It’s REALLY dark out there at night, but most areas had enough lighting you could find your way. There was one area heading south from the Nativity that was extremely dark and a little dangerous, but we managed it.
A HUGE thank you to Busch Gardens, Brett and all the Unilocal helpers that made this incredible event happen!

This was my first Unilocal Event at Busch Gardens and my first time at Christmas Town!
Unilocal always surprises me with their generosity, and with the spirit of the season I am reminded again of how thankful I am to be Elite. When I first heard the advertisements about Christmas Town and my friends talking about how cool it was, I knew I wanted to go. Wouldn’t you know it, Unilocal makes it an event!
We were given rock star parking, VIP passes into the park and a goody bag with treats and an ornament inside. My husband, who is usually my date, was again impressed at how Unilocal and Busch Gardens went all out to show us a good time. It sure feels good to be Elite!
The park was absolutely beautiful! The lights were just incredible, especially the areas where one color dominated — like all the pink in the Enchanted Flamingo Valley and the red in Poinsettia Parkway. The dancing light displays on the 40-​foot Christmas tree and Crown Colony were cool to watch, and I loved Penguin Point! We did wander into Snow World, but it was obviously the most popular area with the kids and found ourselves watching the madness instead of getting in the middle of it. Everything was absolutely beautiful, lights covered everything and I found myself wondering how I could decorate the trees in my yard with a million hanging pointy star lights. We walked through Holiday Hills enjoying our complimentary Sam Adams drafts and I bought an adorable cheetah globe ornament (after eyeing them on the trees outside of Cheetah Hunt).
The best thing about the special events at Busch Gardens is being able to ride the roller coasters in the dark! We rode Cheetah hunt and Sheikra twice and it was amazing! The lines weren’t bad either and we went through super quick.
What a great Unilocal event!

Once again, Busch Gardens was ridiculously generous and gave us Unilocalers free passes and VIP front-​of-​the-​line passes. This was a fun night out with friends that got everyone in the Christmas spirit.
The park is decorated beautifully, with each area of the park decked out with different colors and themes. I enjoyed just walking around and looking at the lights.
Since most people were preoccupied with the Christmastown activities, the rollercoasters were nearly empty. This was prime time to get in a bunch of rides (and they’re so much scarier in the dark!).
The ice show and Madagascar were both fantastic, as are all of the Busch shows. The energy was great in both.
I kind of dig how Busch Gardens kind of doesn’t give a hoot about throwing religion into their shows. And this is coming from a godless person. I mean, it’s Christmastown afterall so they’re sticking with the theme. I can only imagine the complaints they get which makes it all the more awesome.
My only complaint (and geez am I going to sound petty) is that our free drink coupon was essentially only good for one bar in the entire park. We made it a mission to find where we could get our free draft beer or mixed drink and turns out this was only available in Desert Grill. By the time we made it there, it was closing time. At previous events, the free drink coupon worked differently so it was a bummer that we could only get it at a specific location. But, this is more of a gripe than anything. Now I feel like a jerk!
Thanks to Brett and BG for hosting us!

My first time at Christmas Town!
It was crowded when I arrived, but I managed to snag one of the Preferred Parking passes. Still quite the walk.
Enjoyed all the lights and decorations. It’s a big park, can’t cover everything. We went to Santa’s house and enjoyed going back and forth with the elves. The ice show was great and only lasted 15 – 20 minutes. The light show on the Colony House was impressive.
Walked the entire park and sang along to some of the Christmas songs playing. We missed out on the Christmas sing-​a-​long train.
Went on a few of the rides, which I prefer at night.
Enjoyed my free drink at the Colony House after a long night of walking. I tried to tip the bartender but she said thanks, but we can’t accept tips. Interesting!
Thanks Brett and Busch Gardens for a fun night.

I didn’t even know Busch Gardens has a Christmas event until I found out through Unilocal Elite. So glad I made it on the list because it was awesome!
Let me preface this review by saying that I’ve never been to any Christmas events so I really don’t have a basis for comparison. But from the experience, it was darn good.
It was last minute when I found out that I had made it on the list so, of course, all my friends already have plans. Then I thought to myself, Christmas lights, carols, shows and snow, who’d better to take than my 3 yr old nephew.
The drive from St Pete to BG on a Friday evening was horrendous! Thank you, Brett, for staying longer at the check-​in table so the late people could get in, myself included. At check-​in we each got a Christmas Town reusable grocery bag, VIP pass, drink ticket, ornament, mini candy canes and a bag of Elf Munch (caramel and chocolate covered popcorn). Sweet!
The arches of the entrance were lit with Christmas lights. Most of the palm trees and bushes inside the park were lit, too. There was a very tall Christmas tree and a beautifully decorated tree with mistletoe. Various angels and figures lit with Christmas lights scattered around the park. My 3 yr old nephew and I didn’t really have a plan so we just walked around. At one point we passed the theater where the Angel Ice Show is at and my nephew ran up the stairs, I thought he wanted to watch it, turned out he didn’t want to go in but just wanted to go up and down the stairs. In the end we didn’t see any shows because you can’t make a 3-​yr old do something he doesn’t want to do.
I did, however, find one part of the park he loved — SnowWorld. He actually was fine with putting on hot pink closed to shoes provided by BG (no open toe shoes allowed as he was wearing flip flops) so he could get in to play with the snow. SnowWorld was great because it had 3 areas for different ages: snowball fight, sliding down a small hill on an inner tube, and an area to just be on snow, which is where we were. He didn’t want to leave!
We also took a round trip ride on the Sky Ride. My nephew loved it, although he did look apprehensive at first. Towards the end he and I went on the Sing-​Along train. It was pitch black so we couldn’t see any scenery except a bunch of giraffes standing really close to the tracks. Looked like everyone enjoyed the Sing-​Along train. It was a nice break from carrying my nephew around.
Even though we didn’t see any of the shows, it was still fun walking around the park to see the Christmas lights and décor. We must have circled the park several times and we stayed until the park closed. Most of the roller coaster rides were in operation. SnowWorld was a hit. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I’d definitely go again next year.

For Floridians like me, Christmas Town is a total treat!
Where else are you going to find so much holiday joy and cheer in one place?
+ badass rollercoasters
+ holiday gifts and foods
–waffles were not available with cinnamon ice cream or rum sauce this year (you know I had to say something)
+ snow!
I also really like that there is a «holiday romance» in the air. All of the twinkling lights, scents of pine needles pumped into the air, and calming Christmas music; makes for a perfect getaway for adults as well. Who doesn’t love making-​out on the Skyride?
YOU GO Busch Gardens Christmastown! Because every year keeps getting better.

The Santa’s Little Unilocalers event was another spectacular evening at Busch Gardens for the Tampa Bay Unilocal Elite!
Busch Gardens is one of my very favorite attractions in Central Florida, and we’re incredibly lucky to have this combination of thrill rides, entertaining shows, and live animal exhibits in our own backyard. For the Holidays the park is decked out in it’s seasonal finest with hundreds of thousands of colored lights, specially-​designed decorations, piped-​in Holiday music, hot cocoa, and a treat for Floridians — real snow!
The Unilocal VIP experience began with the parking attendants who gave us our free hanger tags and directed us to turn on our vehicle’s flashers and follow the blue line to the Preferred parking lot near the front gate. From there we walked towards the main gate, and spotted Brett and Lauren at the Unilocal registration table. We all received our nametags along with a special VIP «Front of the Line» lanyard, and our goodie bag from Busch Gardens which included a special Holiday ornament for our tree, a couple of bags of the very tasty «Elf Munch» treats, and a coupon for a free drink.
I met up with some Unilocal friends at the registration tent and we set off for our favorite roller coaster rides, while stopping along the way to take photos of the lights and decorations. We started with Cheetah Hunt, and watched the synchronized lights and music at Crown Colony. Then off on the Skyway Ride to the other side of the park to see the construction for the new Falcon’s Fury extreme face-​first drop ride. We walked to Sheikra, and then on to Christmastown, and circled past Gwazi and the front gate to start all over again.
By the end of the night I had ridden Cheetah Hunt twice, and once each for the Christmas Carol train, Gwazi and Sheikra. I stopped to watch the elephants, and the penguins, and many more animals that were hunkered down for the evening but still visible to the park’s visitors.
I circled the park twice before stopping at the Crown Colony Restaurant for some water and a cold beer at the end of the night, and visited with some more Unilocal friends. Along the way I saw hundreds of people enjoying the Holiday festivities, and listened to the little kids oohing and ahhing around every corner.
Everyone should make the effort to bring the family and spend one evening at the Busch Gardens Christmas Town experience, and for those fortunate enough to become Unilocal Elite in 2014 I hope to see you here next year!
My sincere thanks to Brett, Lauren, and the entire staff at Busch Gardens for an amazing night!

All I can say is, «Wow!» My very first Unilocal event and my husband and I were blown away by all the 5 star treatment. As the other Unilocalers stated free parking, VIP passes, free Elf Munch, Christmas Town ornament, and admittance into the park. The BG staff were very welcoming and made us feel special. The snow activities were very cute and as I trudging through the snow play area, it reminded me of walking around after a snow storm up north. The lights throughout the park were amazing! It was also enjoyable that it was not overly crowded. We enjoyed the Madagascar Christmas show as well. Unfortunately, I was too scared to go on the roller coasters so we didn’t get to take advantage of them.
Thank you to Brett and all those involved for this spectacular night. I look forward to another event and meeting the other Unilocalers.

We had a great time at Christmas Town last night. My favorite thing about Christmas Town is the amazing lights and the park was just beautiful. My BFF was my +1 and we were able to take our kids thanks to some media passes, and the six of us had a great time exploring the park.
Dinner at the Colony House café was fine with the kids… who doesn’t like chicken strips and fries? My friend had the turkey pot pie and said it was pretty good, but salty.
We loved that there were no wait times for the roller coasters regardless of the VIP passes, and my son got to ride his beloved Cheetah Hunt three times. We also rode Gwazi, which I have to say is not my favorite as it is so rattley and loud. But we survived and my 9 year old loved it.
Snow Town was the worst part of the park. The way that had it split up into multiple queues this year caused a major traffic jam in that part of the park. The wait times were long. Luckily our somewhat older kids weren’t interested in anything else in Snow Town after we did the «Snow Play» area, but just that alone sucked up a large part of our time. This was really the only negative part of the evening, but I would still give the event five stars because hey, it was free and it was fun!
We enjoyed our complimentary free beverages (water for me and soda for my date), but I thought it was a great perk that the Unilocal tickets included alcohol options, as the media tickets did not.
It was a fun, albeit a little too warm, evening. Thanks Unilocal!Hope you are feeling better Brett.

Another VIP experience at Busch Gardens thanks to Unilocal and Brett!
I’m getting super spoiled and won’t remember what it’s like to just be regular folk at this place ;)
Chowed down on delicious Elf Munch (which came in a super handy Christmas Town reusable tote along with a groovy ornament!) while strolling through the pretty lights and cute Christmas areas throughout the park. Great event for kids which there were plenty of :) Loved Snow World and was thinking how cool that would be for a kid that grew up in Florida and didn’t know the fun of snow (sledding, throwing snow balls, etc). As an adult that grew up in MI I was like ‘oh, how fun for the kids but man I do NOT miss snow at all!‘
It was cute to watch a caregiver dangling a cat toy wand for the penguins at Penguin Point. I waited around for a while hoping they would jump in the water and swim but that never happened — boo. I did the Christmas Town Express and was shocked by how loud the sing-​a-​long songs were over the speakers, how slow the train went, and that there were no light displays along the way — a little disappointing. My other thought for Busch Gardens is that it would be nice to have an area showing how other cultures celebrate holidays (Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, etc.) Perfect opportunity for a learning moment for the hordes of kids. Perhaps they did have an area like this and I missed it?
And my overall feedback: Christmas Town didn’t seem as impressive as Howl-​O-​Scream. Howl-​O-​Scream had ghouls, creepy music, and fog throughout the park really enveloping you in the environment. Christmas Town just seemed like they put up a ton of lights — maybe they need elves, Santa being pulled through the park by reindeer, and falling snowflakes throughout the park? Yeah, that’s all… lol ;)

It is always nice to be treated like a VIP. Busch Gardens and Unilocal rolled out the royal Christmas red carpet at this event. We were treated to front of the line passes, a swag bag, a really cute ornament, some tasty Elf Munch, and drink coupons.
I have not spent a lot of time at Busch Gardens, so this night was a real treat for me. Everything was decorated beautifully throughout the park. I loved how the light color scheme changed as we went from place to place. My favorite was the Christmas tree light show and the Poinsettia Trees.
We ate at the Zambia Smokehouse (I had to have a sandwich!) We enjoyed the Sam Adams Winter Lager and the Candy Cane Sprite Delight (sprite, mojito mix, and a candy cane.) I love festive drinks, and these were both holiday perfection.
We jumped on the Skyride and viewed the park and the lights from above. This was spectacular, and a perfect date night activity. It was fun to see everything from that perspective.
We played some games and also did a little Christmas shopping in the plethora of stores that populate Busch Gardens. We peeked in on Snow World and loved when snow would magically start blowing in random places. This was especially fun for my Husband, who has never seen real snow!
We jumped back on the trolley and picked up our freely parked car with ease. Thanks so much to Brett and Busch Gardens, I loved my night as a Christmas Queen.

A truly amazing event! I can’t believe it has been so long since I’ve visited Busch Gardens… and it’s just down the street from me.
The service and attentiveness from the staff began from the moment we pulled into the parking lot. All the clearly identified staff (Santa Helpers) smiled, said hello and were more than helpful to help guide us through the park to make sure we didn’t miss a thing. When we went to the bar, we wanted to show our gratitude by tipping and they refused saying it was their pleasure and «Happy Holidays!» We were speechless. You never see service like this anymore.
The decorations were festive and guided us through the park. Park goers were also all smiles which made it contagious. We had an opportunity to ride the Cheetah Hunt, a ride we didn’t now existed and it was so amazing, we’re still talking about it. We’ll definitely be back and are so fortunate to have Busch Gardens in our backyard!

A 5 star event for sure! Loved the VIP goodies of free elite parking, goody bag with ornament and yummy popcorn snack as well as front of line passes. First timers to christmas town and we were impressed by the snow world and beautiful lights all around the park. Having grown up in ny, have seen plenty of snow but for the floridians who have never seen, this was a delight of the senses. We took a ride on a tube down a man made snow hill. Was short but loads of fun. Best snow area this side of the mason Dixon I have seen.
Saw kids and people of all ages having a blast. The shows were all themed for the holiday and high energy. Took a ride in the sky ride and got to see it all. Especially enjoyed the colony house light show, carol of the bells.
Thank you Busch gardens and Brett for this awesome event. You guys both rock and I’m sure Santa will keep you on the nice list ;)

Free tickets, preferred parking, VIP passes and snacks? Amazing. Unilocal is the BFF of a broke grad student like myself.
My favorite part: riding Sheikra at night in the front row. Highly recommended. Also, the pirate ship that turns you upside down in the air… catching a common thread here? Oh and the Christmasness! It put me in a good mood. Watching kids dance around in the ice shaving snow was cute.
Chris’ favorite part: being with me, obviously! And the Angel ice skating show. He loved it. I thought it was corny as heck, but go figure.
As usual, the BG employees were fun and friendly and we had a great time. Thanks Unilocal

Oh man, do I feel spoiled now!
Coming into the park, I stopped at the parking station, they handed me my pink pass and told me to follow the blue line… that could only mean one thing: PREMIUM PARKING! Score! I arrived a little bit early, so I touched up my make up and then wandered up to the VIP tent area and checked in with Brett. It was nice to see things from this side of the venue, usually I’m one of the people doing the entertaining. I was handed by ticket, a candy cane, my VIP badge with it’s free drink coupon & front of the line passport and tote bag with Ornament & Elf Munch — that stuff is addictive and began to wander into the park, ready to be amazed by the «OVER 1,000, 000 lights» that Busch Gardens has strung up. I as NOT disappointed.
The whole park has stepped it up this year. There are more lights, more activities going on. Sure things have changed, but it’s certainly for the better. As a relatively new event, I’m betting that they’re going to make it better each year.
Specialty shows: Angels Of Peace, Hallelujah Showcase, Madagascar live! Operation Christmas Vacation, Elmo’s Christmas wish, Carol of the Bells & Christmas time terrace light show offers something for everyone’s attention. Both Carol of the bells and the Christmas time terrace light show are innovative and creative with timing and music. You’ll not see anything quite like it anywhere else.
Most of the rides were open too! I rode both Sheikra & Cheeta hunt, but I saw the bumper cars, Scorpion and a few other rides open, so people have other things to do, rather than just look at the pretty lights.
Shopping: There is a whole slew of special Artisans that have been brought in just so you can shop for specialty items, things you won’t find just anywhere.
Food: Did I mention the Elf Munch? Don’t forget the Turkey with a Twist and the Belgium Waffles everything looked delicious and smelled wonderful.
And you can’t forget the snow area! They’ve expanded it this year to be HUGE! I didn’t get to play here, after all, I wasn’t dressed for it, but I watched kids come out being damp and laughing, so they were certainly having a great time!
All in all, I think this was one of the best events I’ve attended this year! Thank you Brett for putting this together. Thank you Busch Gardens for letting us come and play in your park and partake of all you had to offer. You’ve got a fan in me and I know that i’ll be back once more this year. and again next.

This was another great Unilocal and Busch Gardens event! Busch Gardens always treats us like VIP and this event was no different. We were treated to free parking, free admission, front of the line VIP passes, a free drink each, a bag of elf munch each, a Christmas Town bag and a cute Christmas Town ornament.
The event itself was really neat. I was happy with how they spread the events throughout the park this year. One of my favorite things was riding the skyride. You could see all of the lights and hear the music from above, plus there was a cool breeze. It was so romantic.
The lights were gorgeous and I especially loved the «light shows» that they had throughout the park. The one at the Crown Colony was amazing. It definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.
We traded in our drink tickets for the candy cane sprite drink and a soda. We also decided to split a ham sandwich (on a pretzel bun with honey mustard… yum) from the Snowland area. The sandwich was really good and worth the price (something I rarely say about a theme park). The ham was thick REAL ham and it had three huge pieces. I found the candy cane sprite to be very refreshing and tasty. It’s like a childhood dream come true putting a candy cane in your soda. :)
We left this event with sore feet, a big smile on our faces and swag. I would say that is a huge WIN! Thanks to Brett and Busch Gardens for this awesome event!

What a great event! Not only did we get in free, with free parking, and a free drink coupon, but Busch Gardens gave us an ornament, a tote, and a scrumptious popcorn treat.
Glad we got there early evening — there seemed to be a lull in the crowd, so we got to walk through the park with ease. By the time we left hours later, we were dodging strollers and high schoolers every step. We ended up having dinner at the Zambia Smokehouse in the park. Jon’s brisket dinner was good. My turkey dinner with smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, double serving of green beans (no stuffing), soft roll, and cranberry sauce was excellent.
The whole park really looked beautiful — oak trees were covered in lights of every color. Buildings were festooned in lights and garlands. There were differently decorated Christmas trees and colorful poinsettias everywhere. My favorite event was the light show on the Crown Colony Restaurant to Carol of the Bells — awesome! I also really liked the small park area where we got to have an Edward Scissorhand moment, and stand in the falling snow.
Huge thanks to Brett and Busch Gardens for this A+ event.

What an awesome event! I was so worried we weren’t going to get in because the place was packed and traffic was awful, but we finally made it.
This was my first time going to Christmas Town, and I was not disappointed. Not only were we treated to VIP passes, but we also got goodie bags with elf munch (tasty chocolate covered caramel popcorn), an ornament, candy canes and free drink passes!
The lines weren’t too short for the rides and we got to ride the roller coasters which was a blast. The lights were beautiful all over the park and it really felt like Christmas there. I didn’t get to check out the snow area because it was so crowded, but I did stop at the snow stations and walking around was truly like a winter wonderland (but with much better weather).
I am so glad we got to attend this event. It truly was a 5 star time!

Thanks to Busch Gardens and Brett and company for a very delightful evening.
Highly recommend Christmas Town at Busch Gardens.
Bring the kids. Don’t forget parents and grandparents. It’s fun for all.
The snow area is awesome. Walk on ice, throw snow balls, and ride a tube down a snowy hill. Fun for all.

Busch Gardens really treats us like royalty for these events. Free preferred parking, free admission, a free drink, free VIP front of the line passes, and a free goodie bag that had treats and an ornament. They are so generous and it really is appreciated. I had never been to Christmas town before so I was really looking forward to seeing what the park would look like. While I didn’t think that the park looked as spectacular as it does during the Halloween event, the designers still did a great job. The highlight for me was the Crown Colony building. I’m so glad we came back to this area and were able to see it when the light show was happening. The whole building came alive with lights and lasers timed to the music that was playing.
I normally am already sick to death of Christmas music by this point in December, but the sing-​a-​long train did manage to make me smile.
I ended up with a group that likes coasters (although I think Martic R might disagree with that one). I will never get tired of riding Cheetah Hunt. Even though I love it I still get a little freaked out when I get on a coaster I haven’t been on in a while. I may or may not have cursed loudly when my stomach dropped after the first launch on Cheetah Hunt. Steve E might know something about that. It was involuntary, I swear. When it was time to leave the park I couldn’t resist going back for one more ride. I used my VIP pass to bypass the crowd that was entering the same time I was and had a short wait for the first row.
I really enjoyed myself and want to bring my family here when they visit for the holidays.
Major props to Brett for even showing up considering that he said that yesterday he was running a fever and was stuck in bed.