When it’s time to decorate for the holidays, mistletoe and holly come easily to mind when thinking about creating window box arrangements. Here at the park, we have many window boxes and containers to fill. By coordinating the color palette for the individual countries, we can make use of a great deal of plant material we have available at the park.

Those of you who attended Pass Member Preview Day this past Saturday had a chance to catch a sneak peak of our new show in Italy, Mix it Up!, in a somewhat unconventional format. The show officially opens this Saturday for park guests, but we wanted to give our loyal fans a chance to see what it takes to rehearse one of our shows without the polish and finished look that you’ve come to expect.

“Ingenuity, plus courage, plus work, equals miracles.” - Bob Richards

One of the highlights of Christmas Town is the expansive, park-wide lighting design. With more than 1,500 live cut trees, and miles of garland, we have garnered enough Christmas lights to stretch to Pennsylvania and back. In reality, the park contains well over the advertised two million lights, and the truth is that we can really only guess the exact amount.

Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens is an extravagant event that entails numerous decorations and props throughout our park. Have you ever wondered how many pumpkins are in Ireland? Ever tried to count the ghosts in Scotland? You won’t ever have to wonder again.

There are:

2010 rats in France.

1500 potion bottles in Italy

1000 ravens in England

Howl-O-Scream is by far my favorite time of year at Busch Gardens. The entire park transforms into an eerie, spooky place with so much to do. Looking at the park over the past couple of seasons I’ve learned some things I feel I should share with you. Hopefully these tips will help you enjoy your time even more.