Summer at Busch Gardens

IllumiNights

Every country at Busch Gardens celebrates IllumiNights in their own way. You could visit the park for several consecutive days, and not see the same show twice, or walk through the various countries and see a little bit of each show all in one night!

• In France, winding cobblestone streets provide the perfect setting for the first parade ever presented at Busch Gardens. Inspired by the World’s Fair held in Paris at the turn of the century, the parade features the high fashion and glamour Paris is known for.
• In Germany, the world’s largest living cuckoo clock takes up residence at the park’s Das Festhaus. This enormous invention stands more than 50 feet tall and springs to life with live performers and special effects culminating in a surprise ending!
• In Ireland, powerful Irish legends come to life as performers spin a mythical tale of leprechauns, lost fortune and fairy princesses. The rooftops become a stage for oversized puppets.
• In Italy, colorful acrobats are the highlight of the show in Da Vinci’s Garden of Inventions. They perform impossible feats while balancing elements of fire and water.

Performances repeat several times each evening, culminating at 9:30pm with the big fireworks finale, which you can see from several locations throughout the park. No Busch Gardens staff member could pinpoint the best place to watch the fireworks from, but other than the Rhine River Cruise, I'd say one of the various bridges would seem to be the ideal viewing spot. Unfortunately they were packed to the brim with people that had the same idea! So many that there was barely enough room to pass through the middle!

We also watched a portion of The B-52's concert, the first of a series of summer concerts during the IllumiNights festivities. Taking the stage in the next few weeks are American Idol star David Cook and Hannah Montana’s Emily Osment, among others. IllumiNights runs through August 22nd. For more information, and complete list of concert acts, please visit buschgardens.com/va.

Have you ever been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg? Would you agree that it's the world's most beautiful theme park?

Mariana Perez blogs about life as a stay-at-home mom to two beautiful little girls over at Riding With No Hands. Follow her daily adventures on Twitter @ohMariana.

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Disclosure: Mariana and her family were invited to Media Day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. They were given complimentary admission to the park, along with dinner and gift bags. All opinions (and photos) are hers.