Light Up the Holidays at Busch Gardens Christmas Town

What a merrymaking way to celebrate the season! I loved how each country was decorated, the music, the characters and just the whole, warm feeling at the park. If you’re searching for a holiday experience gift, this would be a great one, suitable for toddlers through adults.

The Santa Express Photo credit: buschgardens.com

We arrived 30 minutes before the park opened, but that gave us plenty of time to park, use the restroom, get all our winter gear on, and get checked in. You can enter the park early, but the rides won’t start until the official schedule time (schedules are on the Christmas Town website).

There are 3 parking options (general/preferred/VIP). We parked in general ($30), and were less than a minute walk to the tram. We parked in VIP when we visited years ago, and I think it is worth the price *if* you plan on going back to the car more than once.

KID-FRIENDLY

If you have toddlers/preschoolers, the best spot is Sesame Street – Forest of Fun. There are a handful of rides, large play area, character meets (we saw Murray!), and Sesame Street holiday shows. {There is a family restroom and nursing room just behind the Elmo’s Spire ride.}

Land of the Dragons is the other section designed for kids. There is a huge tree house, rides, rope climbing. *This area is open on Saturday & Sunday only.

Every country has something for kids, but the park is SO huge! I planned and researched so we could spend our time riding rides, and seeing shows/characters, and make it back by 9pm. (I wanted to stay longer, but I just can’t ever be that Mom to let bedtime completely go – sleep is one of my non-negotiable parenting things.) We stayed for about 5.5 hours, and walked 3.5 miles mind blown – wear your sneaks!!

PLAN AHEAD

1. Before you go, download the Busch Gardens app. It was a huge help. We used the map, the wait time info, and the show schedule throughout our day.

2. While you can’t bring outside food into the park, you can re-enter, so we packed snacks/dinner and went out to the car to eat instead of purchasing food at the park. I am SO glad we already had that food in the car, because the smell of funnel cakes wafting around just about got me.

3. There are several upgrades, a dining plan ($29.99/person), Santa’s Fireside Fest ($45/person), Quick Queue, Santa Photo Packages, etc. Decide which, if any, are of value to you and go ahead and purchase them to save time once you are at the park.

TICKETS & SAVINGS

Ticket prices range from $39.99 to $65.99. Pre-school passes can’t be used for Christmas Town.

Water bottles are permitted inside the park. Bring your own!

If you purchase ONE dining plan ($29.99), you can have an entree, side dish and drink every 90 minutes. Depending on how much your family eats, sharing this plan could be a great deal + money saver.

One current Black Friday deal offers a membership for $138/person. Run the numbers – if you go to Christmas Town a couple times and then use it at Water Country, it will pay for itself.

Carolers at Busch Gardens Christmas Town. Photo credit: buschgardens.com

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More things to do in and around Richmond:

•Places to take photos with Santa in the Richmond area
•Ice skating and roller skating rinks in Richmond
•Winter Vacation Activities for Kids
•Chinese restaurants in the Richmond area to enjoy and savor

Lindsay Garrison loves Richmond and is proud to raise her own family here. As a teacher for 12 years, she learned how to save, budget and stretch every penny. Additionally, she led groups of students to Europe annually, and took great pride in planning affordable, fun-filled trips. She transferred those skills to her daily life and shares them with readers of RVA on the Cheap. Lindsay utilizes RVA on the Cheap to make enriching life experiences accessible to all. Check her instagram: rva.familyfun for more affordable family adventures!