 This year Orlando Millennial was invited to experience Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay for the first time ever! Although we imagine things are different than years past due to enhanced safety measures with COVID, we have to say - Mardi Gras is definitely a MUST this season! Unlike some of the other festivals at Busch Gardens, where food and drink is more the bottom tier of the festival and the holiday is the main attraction (such as Halloween or Christmas) this festival is A LOT about the food and drink! Now, Mardi Gras may be a religious celebration, but at Busch Gardens, it can be celebrated by all - it really is just a FUN event full of bright colors, New Orleans must, delicious food, strong drinks, and a good time! I personally do not celebrate Mardi Gras, but I will celebrate Mardi Gras any day if it’s at Busch Gardens again- we had a blast! I recommend arriving early, since this festival starts at noon, so you can enjoy the park all day long. As I have said in some of my other posts, with COVID, I rarely leave the house and only will do outdoors things if I do, so I also do not ride rides right now, but they definitely had the rides going, so if you are currently riding rides - be sure to arrive early to enjoy it all! For me, it was about also getting to see all the animals and get in some of the great walking that you can get in while at this huge park. We got to see all the animals - it was truly the perfect day.   There's a baby in the pouch! Now, Mardi Gras - as previously mentioned, the food and drink is the main attraction, and I mean it. The food was REALLY good! Some of the items we tried were: the shrimp po’boy and chicken po’boy which both come with their own full bag of Zapps voodoo chips (yes! Full bag!), jambalaya, impossible jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, braised brisket, beignets with rum glazed bananas foster, Hurricanes - punch and traditional, smoked bloody mary, French Quarter salted caramel thrill shake, gold coin mojito, Tampa Vice, Cinnamon spiked dark roast coffee, and jello shooters. Personal Favorites: Shrimp po’boy and chips, impossible jambalaya, braised brisket, beignets, punch hurricane and the beignets. Honestly though, there wasn’t anything that wasn’t good. We all kept raving at how good all the food was during this festival. We got full, walked around the park, and then ate some more. I recommend getting the Sampler card so that you can try many of the foods and drinks to see what you like. If you are a passholder, you can actually get a 12 punch sampler for the price of a 10 punch; something that isn’t offered to anyone else! There is a small little pop-up parade that comes by periodically and two different bands that play. We did not explore the bead garden, but it is right near the kangaroos if you are interested. 
All in all, we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We used this as a pretty relaxing girls day of eating and drinking. This festival only lasts until February 16th, so be sure to catch it before it’s gone! After that - it’s Food and Wine Festival - and who doesn’t like a good Food & Wine Festival?
I am a Busch Gardens blogger ambassador. In exchange for sharing upcoming information sometimes I receive complimentary admission to events. As always, all opinions are my own.
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 Families can experience safe thrills, incredible animal encounters, seasonal events and more with the 2021 Preschool Card, offering FREE UNLIMITED admission to children age five and younger to both Busch Gardens and Adventure Island through December 31, 2021. Florida preschool children receive FREE admission for a year full of fun and safe park experiences in a spacious outdoor environment with limited capacity and enhanced health and safety protocols, including special events like Sesame Street Kids’ Weekends. Offered in spring, fall, and winter, this weekend series is perfect for pint-sized explorers and kicks off this year on Saturday, January 30 through Monday, February 15. Throughout 2021, Busch Gardens offers many opportunities for families to make safe new memories together such as enjoying the kid-friendly options at the Food & Wine Festival, trick-or-treating and participating in Halloween hijinks with fan-favorite Sesame Street Characters at Howl-O-Scream, and celebrating holiday moments with Santa during Christmas Town, and more. In addition to enhancing the park’s already strict health and safety measures including increased cleaning and sanitation, temperature checks, and face covering requirements, capacity will be significantly limited to create more open space for guests to enjoy their experience, while maintaining physical distancing in a safe environment. Register Now for the FREE Preschool Card! Busch Gardens and Adventure Island will offer kids ages 5 and younger a FREE Preschool Card, now available exclusively to Florida residents, and valid for visits through December 31, 2021 for unlimited admission to both Busch Gardens and Adventure Island. Advance registration must be completed online and is only valid for children ages 5 or younger at the time of redemption at the park. Please note registration is required by February 3, 2021 and first visit ticket redemption must occur by February 28, 2021. To learn more about the Preschool Card, Florida residents can visit BuschGardensTampa.com/Preschoolcard to register today.  Safely Celebrate All-NEW Themes for Sesame Street Kids’ Weekends From partying for Elmo’s birthday to a very fuzzy Valentine celebration, limited-time festivities at the Sesame Street Safari of Fun play area offer more special moments for families to safely make incredible memories together with physical distancing measures in place. Elmo’s Birthday Celebration: Jan. 30 – 31 and Feb. 6-7 Kids can celebrate Elmo’s birthday with meet and greets, special treats, physically distanced photo opportunities with Sesame Street friends and much more! NEW Birthday Dance Party Guests can get moving to the birthday beat with Elmo! Join in for a fun-filled dance, physically distanced party, including a special song for the guest of honor. Giant birthday cards will be available for families to send well wishes to their favorite red monster. Be sure to boogie over to the Sesame Street Pavilion early, as space is limited for everyone’s health and safety. NEW Elmo’s Birthday Storytime Elmo has a very special story to tell for his birthday, and he wants his friends to be there! Families can take a physically distant seat at the Sunny Day Theater to celebrate safely. Physically Distant Photo Opportunities It’s Elmo’s birthday celebration, and the best present would be a special (and physically distanced) photo with you! Guests can meet Elmo and his Sesame Street friends in a safe way throughout the day at the Sunny Day Theater. Limited-time Birthday Treat! What’s a party without cake? Be sure to stop by Snack-N-Geti for a delicious celebration cupcake in honor of Elmo, available for purchase for a limited time. NEW My Fuzzy Valentine Weekend: Feb. 13-15 Sesame Street fans will find more to love this season at Busch Gardens including special moments with their favorite furry friends especially for Valentine’s Day! NEW Valentine’s Storytime Families can learn what love means to each of their favorite characters during a heart-warming reading of “Love from Sesame Street” at the outdoor Sunny Day Theater with plenty of physically distant seating available for everyone. NEW Find the Valentines Scavenger Hunt Everyone’s favorite Sesame Street friends have lost their valentines, and they need help from you to find them throughout the Sesame Street Safari of Fun play area. Once families have found all the valentines, they can pick up their appreciation sticker at Abby Cadabby’s Treasure Hut gift shop. NEW Valentine’s Art with Sidewalk Chalk Guests are invited to take their imagination to the streets as they learn to draw Sesame Street friends in a physically distant sidewalk chalk activity near Air Grover. NEW Make-Your-Own Valentine Families can get crafty together and embrace their artistic abilities with special messages at the Sesame Street Pavilion throughout the day. Physically Distant Photo Opportunities Guests can share their love for their favorite furry friends -with physically distant photo opportunities just for Valentine’s Day at the Sunny Day Theater. NEW Cookie Decorating To-Go! Guests can unleash their inner culinary creativity as they create a heart-shaped version of Cookie Monster’s favorite treat. Cookie Monster will even make special guest appearances at the Sesame Street Pavilion to wave hello! Specialty cookie decorating kits available for purchase at Snack-N-Geti for a limited time. Best Way to Play -Including Great Offers for Parents! With a Busch Gardens Fun Card, you pay for a day and play all year! For a limited time, guests who purchase the Busch Gardens Fun Card for $113.99 will receive an Adventure Island Fun Card and a bonus one-time parking voucher for FREE! For the price of a single day ticket to Busch Gardens, the Fun Card allows access throughout the year to visit again and again, including access to great events like Mardi Gras and the upcoming Food & Wine Festival. Offer ends January 31. For more park benefits, guests can upgrade to a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Annual Pass to enjoy the perks they want most throughout 2021. Annual Pass Members* receive 12 months of visits with the best benefits ever, including FREE parking, up to 6 free guest tickets, Pass Member-exclusive ride events for the NEW Iron Gwazi opening in spring and up to 50% savings on merchandise, photo prints, Quick Queue, and more! Guests can visit www.BuschGardensTampa.com for more information and reservations—and to purchase tickets, Fun Cards, or Annual Passes. Fans can stay up to date with park events, attractions and more by following Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Expanded Health and Safety Measures: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is committed to the health and safety of our guests, employees, and the animals in our care. The park has worked diligently with state and local health experts, outside consultants and attraction industry leaders to enhance our already strict health, safety, and cleanliness standards. These protocols and guidelines will be modified based on evolving industry standards and methodologies, public health, and governmental directives, and advancing scientific knowledge on the transmissibility of COVID-19. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is excited to continue to provide our guests with fun, inspiring and memorable experiences, while addressing important health and safety needs during this time. For detailed information about the measures that guests can expect when visiting the park, including key operational changes, visit buschgardens.com/tampa/safety I am a Busch Gardens blogger ambassador. In exchange for sharing upcoming information sometimes I receive complimentary admission to events. As always, all opinions are my own.  Modified with enhanced health and safety measures and limited capacity, guests are in for a treat with new chef- and mixologist-crafted menus, live performances, and debut of the Seven Seas beer garden! SeaWorld is kicking off 2021 with a food festival that’s bigger, better and packed with more flavor than ever before! This year at Orlando’s largest theme park food festival, foodies and families alike can discover the widest variety of chef- and mixologist-curated tastes inspired by cultures from across the Seven Seas. After a year of limits on international travel, guests can plan a safe, limited-capacity visit to the park where they can roam the expansive open-air grounds and embark on an international flavor journey inspired by the tastes and smells of the Caribbean, Italy, Brazil, Asia and beyond. The event, which happens every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 5 through May 9 (and President’s Day on February 15!), will feature the park’s enhanced health and safety measures including increased cleaning and sanitation, temperature checks, and face covering requirements. With more than 50 fresh global cuisine tastings from around the globe, guests can taste everything from the most indulgent fare to the park’s all-new savory Vegan bites. In addition to the amazing food, this year’s festival includes SeaWorld’s most expansive beverage menu ever with more than 75 specially curated cocktails and wines, and more than 75 craft beers from Florida and beyond. Guests can discover the flavors of the globe at more than 26 festival marketplaces:
A complete menu of the Seven Seas Food Festival dishes and drinks can be found online at seaworld.com/orlando/events/seven-seas-food-festival/menus/  New this year! Seven Seas Beer Garden: Guests can relax and unwind as they sip on new favorite craft beverages in a lively setting. With physical distancing and limited capacity, the Seven Seas Beer Garden is an open-air, shaded space—the perfect place to sit back and enjoy the festival.  Move and groove to exclusive live performances: Along with the delicious eats, Seven Seas will once again feature an amazing line-up of top concerts so guests can enjoy a taste of rock, country, Latin or 90s throwback sounds—all included with theme park admission.
 Best Way to Savor and Sip: Discover boundless combinations of food and drink selections with a Seven Seas Food Festival Tasting Lanyard. Guests can embark on their culinary journey with a 10-sample lanyard starting at only $60 or take it up a notch and save over 30% with the fan favorite 15-sample lanyard for the best savings. SeaWorld Orlando pass members also get the VIP treatment with even more flavor and savings with their 3 free samples with the purchase of a 15-sample lanyard. https://seaworld.com/orlando/events/seven-seas-food-festival/ Best Way to Play: Guests can pay for a day and play all year with the new 2021 Fun Card! That means for the price of a single day’s admission, SeaWorld Fun Card holders can visit again and again throughout 2021. This offer is available only for a limited time as prices increase on February 1. For guests who enjoy additional discounts on like parking, guest tickets, and access to special VIP events, and more, upgrade to an Annual Pass and make memories with SeaWorld all year. Annual Passes start as low as $11.75/month with no down payment. Restrictions apply. For more information, park hours and to purchase tickets, visit SeaWorldOrlando.com. Follow SeaWorld on Facebook, Instagram and the SeaWorld Orlando Blog for the latest Seven Seas Food Festival details and information. I am a Seaworld blogger ambassador. In exchange for sharing upcoming information sometimes I receive complimentary admission to events. As always, all opinions are my own. |
Hey Ya'll!
Hi all! I'm Michelle and I have been a lifestyle blogger since 2017. I used to host fun networking events around Orlando and now I've decided to take a step back and continue to focus on my favorite part - bringing you all the fun happenings around Central Florida, plus filling you in on my travels, life, and more! I'm a foodie, selfie-taking Millennial that loves spending time at the theme parks, traveling, and spending time with her dog, and trying new wine. I hope you enjoy reading my blog!
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