Busch Gardens and Wild Adventures both offer what is essentially a free season pass for your 5 and under kids. It’s literally as simple as registering online and then activating it at the park. This can be a great way for a family to have a year of fun on the cheap when coupled with season passes for the older kids and adults. Just see the links below for registration with the expiration date in parentheses.
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There are a lot of coaster clones out there from the numerous iterations of “Batman” at the Six Flags parks to the Sky Rocket II rides across Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. However, the one that may be the most numerous is “Spinning Coaster” by Italian manufacturer SBF-Visa. This simple figure 8 spinning coaster seems to be everywhere from family entertainment centers to small amusement parks. By my count on Caosterpedia there are at least 66 installs of the several different variants of this ride all in just 10 years from its 2014 debut.
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Penguins can be the stars of an animal exhibit as they are cute, active and playful. Many guests would love an up close encounter with these “cool” animals and you can do just that at SeaWorld San Antonio Penguin Encounter. Most people only ever see the main exhibit below, but the Penguin Encounter Tour lets you go backstage to see the animal care areas, meet some trainers and even pet a penguin! At just $45, this animal encounter is a great value too.
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March 31, 2024 was the last show of Turn it Up at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. This long running show opened on May 26, 2017 and transitioned to the “Remix” version on January 22, 2023. It played in the beautiful and nicely air conditioned Moroccan Theater displaying singles, pairs and group ice skating routines. The park teased the closing the last couple of weeks on social media, but it was pretty obvious that although this particular show was going away that ice skating in the park was not. In the final performance it was announced that Turn it Up would be replaced with a new show called Rhythm of Nature. (thanks to @ThemePark_Dan for the pic and info)
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It’s not uncommon to have a playground type area at a theme park consisting of slides and suspension bridges. There are some huge outdoor play areas like Elmo’s Treehouse Trek at Busch Gardens, but Dollywood is in a league of their own with a massive indoor play area in the Wildwood Grove area of the park called Hidden Hollow. However, “Hidden Hollow” is a very appropriate name as the building it’s in is very nondescript and without obvious signage, so you could easily pass it by thinking it was a shop, restroom or something else. The indoor space is well air conditioned with seating for parents and is a great place for families to refresh on a hot day, get out of the rain or cold or just give kids something to do with zero wait.
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Walt Disney referred to the fireworks display at the parks as their “kiss goodnight” for the guest, a way to end the day on a memorable note. For many visitors the fireworks are an essential part of the Disney experience and they’ll arrive in front of the castle 1-2 hours in advance to scope out the best seats. However, did you know Disney has several options that give you reserved seating for the fireworks? The fireworks pre-party, post-party and sweets & seats provide reserved seating along with unlimited desserts and alcoholic beverages. Of course this comes at nearly a $100/person price, but is it worth it?
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On Monday, April 8, 2024 a total eclipse cuts across much of the central and eastern USA and some theme parks as well!. These celestial events are rare and we won’t have another one for 20 more years. I had the chance to watch the “Ring of Fire” eclipse back in 2023 at SeaWorld San Antonio and it was a fantastic experience! There’s something about experiencing an event like that with a crowd that brings energy and excitement you just can’t get on your own. You can see below on the map that the “totality” (where the sun is 100% covered) occurs in several major cities like San Antonio, Dallas and Cleveland and the nearby theme parks below could be a great place to watch the eclipse.
Continue readingOn a recent trip to SeaWorld Orlando we did the “Dine with Orcas” lunch. Here’s a review of our experience and the bottom line is, I couldn’t recommend it more. This is a essentially a great meal and a private orca show in one.
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In the south it feels like spring is here. Daffodils are blooming, temperatures are warming and trees are budding. This also means the return of most of our favorite theme parks! Some of the new rides and attractions may not be ready yet, but the parks will be open. The parks are open more days than ever (for example Dollywood is open 280 days this year, 23 more than last year), which means greater value for our season passes and more fun! Here is a partial list of opening days:
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Update April 2025: For 2025 all season cups are still an amazing $19.99! There’s also a new dining pass offer for $29.99 where you get a meal, 2 snacks and an all season cup and only $25.99 if you’re a passholder. Even if you just visit for a hot summer day you can probably get $20 of value from a cup and if you’re a season pass holder it’s a no brainier. If you’re going to have a meal and a drink the dining pass is a no brainier too.
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BGT Safari 