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WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia (Oct. 23, 2018) – Busch Gardens® Williamsburg commemorates a decade of decking the halls with its most festive Christmas Town™ celebration to date in 2018. The annual yuletide celebration begins a week early, Nov. 17, and runs 35 days through Jan. 5.
To salute Christmas Town’s 10 magical years, the family-friendly holiday event offers more than 10 million lights, an all-new Christmas Town Express holiday-themed train ride experience, festive food and drink, unique holiday shopping and heart-warming shows to make the spirit of the season come alive.
“This is one of the most special times of the year for our team to present the park in a whole new light for our guests. Ten million lights to be exact,” said Kevin Lembke, park president for Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. “Christmas Town is truly a place to believe,” added Lembke.
Christmas Town 2018 Overview:
- NEW Christmas Town Express – The familiar Choo Choo of the Busch Gardens Railway will signal an unparalleled experience around the world’s most beautiful theme park. Park guests can sing along to favorite holiday songs while enjoying the lighted decorations along the park’s popular train route. The experience will feature festive caroling, two million stunning Christmas lights and themed holiday vignettes meticulously placed around the 1.5-mile tour.
- NEW Wilkommenhaus – Located in the park’s German village, the Wilkommenhaus transforms into a fantastic visual Christmas spectacle through beautiful projection mapping. The sweet smell of Christmas treats from the Cookies & Cocoa Shop wafts through the air as virtual gingerbread men make this festive village come to life nightly, every 15-minutes during Christmas Town.
- NEW Sesame Street® holiday show: Elmo’s Christmas Wish – Elmo’s Christmas Wish debuts this year on the stage at Sesame Street® Forest of Fun™. Guests can enjoy this holiday musical show with Rosita, Grover, Zoe and Cookie Monster as they help Elmo find his Christmas wish.
- NEW Battle For Eire™ – The innovative virtual reality attraction joins an exciting lineup of rides that also includes roller coasters InvadR™ and Verbolten®.
- Santa’s Workshop – Children can meet jolly ol’ St. Nick at his workshop in the NewKastle building, take pictures and drop off their Christmas wish lists.
- Spectacular yuletide shows – A cappella show Gift of Harmony™ is back for its second year. Popular shows Twas That Night, headlined by former Olympic skater Elvis Stojko, Deck the Halls, Scrooge No More!™ and Gloria! also return, along with the popular 50-foot Christmas tree light show O’Tannenbaum in front of the stunning Das Festhaus.
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™ – The classic Christmas character is back and joined by friends Clarice, Yukon Cornelius, Bumble and Sam the Snowman. Guests can meet and have their pictures taken with the beloved characters at Rudolph’s Winter Wonderland in Holiday Hills™ and enjoy a multisensory presentation of the timeless Rudolph story at Rudolph’s Movie Experience.
- Sesame Street® Forest of Fun™ – Visitors can meet their favorite Sesame Street characters, including Elmo and Cookie Monster, and capture a special holiday photo. Families can ride Grover’s Alpine Express and take time for some Christmas shopping at Abby Cadabby’s Treasure Trove.
- Santa’s Fireside Feast – Christmas Town offers an assortment of special dining experiences, including Santa’s Fireside Feast, where Santa recounts a classic Christmas story while elves prepare a scrumptious all-you-can eat buffet and Mrs. Claus dazzles the dining room with holiday cheer. Children are able to visit Santa and get that all-important photograph as part of the experience.
Busch Gardens is open 2 – 10 p.m. on most Christmas Town operating days and 12 – 10 p.m. on Saturdays from Nov. 17 through Jan. 5. For more information about Christmas Town and operating days, visit www.christmastown.com/va.
The best way to enjoy Christmas Town and other park events and attractions all year long is through the newly-enhanced Busch Gardens Williamsburg Membership Program. Guests can receive unlimited visits to Busch Gardens, Howl-O-Scream and Christmas Town for as little as $9.99 per month. For more information, visit www.buschgardens.com/joinBGW.
About SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment™ is a leading theme park and entertainment company providing experiences that matter and inspiring guests to protect animals and the wild wonders of the world. SeaWorld is one of the world's foremost zoological organizations and a global leader in animal husbandry, behavioral management, veterinary care and animal welfare. The company also rescues and rehabilitates marine and terrestrial animals that are ill, injured, orphaned or abandoned, with the goal of returning them to the wild. The SeaWorld® and Busch Gardens® rescue teams have helped more than 33,000 animals in need over the last 50 years.
SeaWorld owns or licenses a portfolio of recognized brands including SeaWorld®, Busch Gardens® and Sea Rescue®. Over the company's more than 50-year history, it has built a diversified portfolio of 12 destination and regional theme parks that are grouped in key markets across the United States. Many of the parks showcase its one-of-a-kind zoological collection and all of the parks feature a diverse array of thrill and family rides, shows, educational demonstrations and/or other attractions with broad demographic appeal which deliver memorable experiences and a strong value proposition for guests.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: SEAS), a publicly traded company. Visit www.seaworldentertainment.com for more.
