Busch Gardens Tampa Bay will host revised Summer Nights
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme park is reviving its annual Summer Nights promotion, holding the event on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between July 17 and Aug. 16.
The 2020 edition of Summer Nights will include a new laser and fireworks show at end of the night with an assortment of food options on a limited-time menu and extended operating hours. The fireworks show will be viewed from Festival Field, which will allow visitors room to spread out.
Summertime eating at the park will include gourmet hot dogs, loaded macaroni and cheese, Kung Pao ribs, pulled pork and brisket chop sandwiches, special cupcakes and frozen cocktails.
Last year, the attraction’s Summer Nights event began in late May and was held nightly. That kind of schedule was upended in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the park to shut down from mid-March to early June.
Since reopening, health and safety precautions have been added at the
Tampa park, including requirements for face coverings and temperature screenings. There is an emphasis on the physical distance between groupings of people and new, more strident cleaning procedures. To control attendance, the theme park also is requiring reservations to be made online before entering the park as well as admission tickets or annual passes.
Busch Gardens is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. -9 p.m. this Sunday.
Busch Gardens is operated by Orlandobased SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. SeaWorld Orlando had a three-day fireworks event over the recent Independence Day weekend, followed by a drive-in themed event featuring pyrotechnics the next weekend.
Although all other Central Florida theme parks will be open by then, fireworks and nighttime spectaculars have been suspended at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.
For Busch Gardens reservations and more Summer Nights information, go to buschgardens.com/tampa.