Christmas Town:  A Busch Gardens Celebration Opens Nov. 23

Williamsburg, Va. (Nov. 14, 2012) – Christmas Town™:  A Busch Gardens® Celebration will open in just over a week. When it does, guests will be treated to an all-new thematic area that pays homage to a simpler time when life seemed less hectic. Holiday Hills™ is the latest creation at Busch Gardens’ annual Christmas event and celebrates mid-20^th-century Christmas traditions complete with tin toys, miles of garland and painted Christmas lights.

            Transforming the 100-acre park into a Christmas wonderland takes many people and many hours. Holiday Hills alone requires a team of nearly 100 people to create. Installers will spend the next week hanging more than one million Christmas lights and span the area with more garland than some towns hang on Main Street. Holiday Hills is being created in the park’s Festa Italia area. It expands the park’s footprint and adds additional ride and dining opportunities along with the over-the-top thematic elements that have become a Christmas Town tradition. A fact sheet has been included below that provides additional Holiday Hills details.

            Vice President of Entertainment Scott Gasparich said the inspiration behind the new area comes from nostalgic Americana Christmas traditions.

            “There is nothing stronger than families sharing, caring and having fun together during the holidays. This theme is celebrated in Holiday Hills,” Gasparich said of his thought process behind the new area.

“Holiday Hills heralds back to simpler times, but also incorporates larger-than-life themes, colors, shapes and materials. The contrast of simple and bold provides a perfect theme that complements the rest of the park, but has the visual power to stand on its own.”

Christmas Town opens Nov. 23, 2012 and will continue on select days, through December 31, 2012.  For more information, including an operating schedule, visit:  www.ChristmasTown.com.