Ice and brews this summer at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Summer officially starts June 20, 2024. Still, many people see the beginning of summer as Memorial Day weekend. Schools close for the summer break, and many families leave for vacations during this time of year. The state of Florida continues to be one of the most-visited places for vacations. The summer season in Florida presents numerous attractions and opportunities for fun for any group.

For example, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay started celebrating the summer season the Friday before Memorial Day. They invited us to visit to see some incredible theme park offerings. This summer, guests can experience thrilling rides, live entertainment, delicious food, and refreshing drinks all in one place. What did we find to do at Busch Gardens this summer during our visit?

“Rhythm of the Night” Ice Show

An ice show may not sound like summer to you, but Florida gets a bit warm this time of year. Though we love the Florida weather, the heat can sometimes feel overwhelming. A break for an indoor show sounds fabulous. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay kicked off Memorial Day weekend with a brand-new ice show.

The new show, “Rhythm of the Night,” premiered exclusively at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Guests venture into the Moroccan Palace Theater for a new adventure on ice. They join Dakari, a brave young hero, on a journey into a magical dream realm on a quest to uncover the wonders of the animal kingdom and embrace their destiny. This ice spectacle dazzles with nature’s beauty, danger, and wisdom, offering a thrilling and unforgettable journey. The show guarantees to offer cooler temperatures than outside, since the performers are on ice.

We watched this show on opening night. Our group found it entertaining. Also, this ice show stands as a continuing step up in terms of ice show quality at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. As always, the amount of activity that can be done on such a small space of ice within a theme park theatre deserves respect.

Red, White & Brews at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Busch Gardens Tampa also unveiled a new food festival on Memorial Day Weekend called Red, White, and Brews. This serves as an addition to the yearly Summer Nights celebration at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Busch Gardens says guests can celebrate summer nostalgia with summer-themed culinary delights on the Festival Walkway every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and July 4) during this event this summer. Red, White, and Brews runs until July 7, 2024.

Another celebration, Bourbon & BBQ, will provide food and fun starting July 19 and running through Sept. 2, 2024 to round out the summer at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

According to the Busch Gardens website, this Festival Walkway opens each evening during Red, White, and Brews nights at 6 p.m. Though some of the festival food and beverages are sold outside the Festival Walkway area, we suggest enjoying the food and beverages from the stands inside the Festival Walkway. This provides a nice, relaxing area, and we expect queues not to be too long based on their placement in the theme park.

What did we eat from the Red, White, and Brews offerings?

For this summer food festival, guests can choose from a selection of new culinary creations inspired by summer nostalgia, such as “Hushpuppy Dogs,” mini-corn dogs with spicy mustard, roasted corn on the cob, or walking pork tacos. Of course, many varieties of beer and cocktails are available for guests to purchase during their theme park day.

As part of our invitation to visit Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, we were offered some food items from the Red, White, and Brews event. Several styles of food items were available.

Even though our personal trainers and medical professionals may not have been pleased, we tried all four flavors of cupcakes:

• Peach Pie
• Fried Oreo
• Cotton Candy
• Caramel Corn

After eating all of them, we found the cupcake’s base to be slightly higher quality than the standard cupcake quality we encounter at most theme parks. Our cupcake rankings would be in the same order as above, with Peach Pie being our favorite and Caramel Corn being the least favorite.

The Peach Pie Cupcake offered the most unique flavor without being too overwhelming. Our concern for guests buying the Cotton Candy and Fried Oreo cupcakes would be the robust sugar kick. Those tasted good. Still, we will not suggest handing one to a small child vulnerable to the power of sugar if you have a full day left at Busch Gardens with them.

Other Red, White, and Brews food items we tried

We were given the chance to taste some savory food items as well. Those included the Walking Pork Tacos, Grilled Beef Kabobs, Mac & Cheese Egg Rolls, and Pulled Smoked Chicken Sliders. The sliders and kabobs provided decent flavor for guests. The Walking Pork Tacos extended the best portion size for those needing to feed a hungry teenager, for example. The Mac & Cheese Egg Rolls tasted fine, but suffered from not looking like a standard concept of an egg roll.

Is anything else going on this summer at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay?

Besides the all-new ice show, “Rhythm of Nature,” Busch Gardens offers indoor shows like “Icons” and “Cirque Electric” to help cool off this summer. There will also be nightly fun with the Stanleyville DJ. For those wishing to rock, the “Gwazi Rocks” show in Gwazi Plaza presents that option. As you might expect, memorable “summer” photo ops can be found throughout the theme park.

Did we mention the Summer Nights Fireworks Spectacular?

As the sun goes down, the park lights up with a dazzling display of colors and sound. Guests should not miss this every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday now through Aug. 11, 2024 at 9 p.m. on the Festival Field. This fireworks show can also be seen on Monday, May 27, 2024 and Thursday, July 4, 2024.

Learn more about Summer Nights and Red, White, and Brews on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s website. We wish you a pleasant summer celebration this year.

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