But spring is also fair and festival season at the theme parks. And it’s also the time of year where the weather is heating up again, which means both locals and vacationers are flocking to the water parks.
Here’s what’s happening in March at the theme parks and attractions in the Tampa Bay area and beyond.
Busch Gardens and Adventure Island
While Busch Gardens’ Mardi Gras ends on March 5, the Tampa theme park’s popular Food & Wine Festival kicks off on March 10 for more than two months of chef-inspired dishes and drinks. The Food & Wine Festival runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 21 and features more than a dozen pop-up kitchens and bars serving all-new menu items and wine and liquor tastings.
Sadly, there are no Flamin’ Hot Cheetos street corn this year. But some of the most intriguing-sounding dishes include vegetable samosas, buffalo chicken egg rolls, berbere spiced chicken batbout, lamb lollipops and a pina colada trifle.
There are also spots for tasting Wines of the Americas, Old World Wines, bourbon flights and stacked menus of classic cocktails with a twist.
This year’s concert lineup is one of the most star-studded in years with acts like Kansas (March 11), Maddie & Tae (March 12), Dustin Lynch (March 19), Flo Rida (March 26), Hoobastank (April 29) and Walk the Moon (April 30) performing at the festival grounds behind Iron Gwazi.
The Food & Wine Festival and concerts are included with park admission, though food and drink purchases and VIP seating are separate.
Across the street from Busch Gardens, Adventure Island finally reopened last weekend. New this year at the water park is Shaka-Laka Shores, a splash pad type area with interactive elements built for the youngest guests.
This small addition comes a year after some of the park’s biggest upgrades in its history. In 2022, Adventure Island opened a reimagined Wahoo Remix and the new Rapids Racer raft rides. Other big changes included a revamped entrance area and more greenery and modern tropical decor around the park.
We’d be remiss to not mention the importance of the Bay Area Renaissance Festival in this list of spring events in the Tampa Bay area.
The Renaissance Festival celebrates a whopping 45 years in business and two years since it moved to a new home at the Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City. Running weekends through April 2, the Renaissance Festival has everything you could want to celebrate the end of the Middle Ages and the several hundred year period of cultural rebirth.
The whole festival is themed like a 16th century European village, with 15 stages to see musicians, magicians, jugglers and jousting as well as more than 100 artisans in the market and modern fair food offerings.
Yes, there is roasted street corn and turkey legs.
Perhaps the most exciting entertainment at the festival are the jousting tournaments, meet and greets with the Trident Tails mermaids and the various bards and jesters around the grounds. The themed weekends also include limited time experiences and entertainment, like during the Viking Invasion (March 11-12), Shamrocks & Shenanigans (March 18-19) and the High Seas Adventure Bon Voyage (April 1-2).
Like any good fair or theme park, the Renaissance Festival has games and attractions: axe and knife throwing, a castle-themed escape room, a rock wall, a place to toss throwing stars, pony rides, elephant rides and chances to throw tomatoes at some poor actor in the stocks.
Tickets to the Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Dade City are $19.95 for adults online and $23.95 at the gate. There are discounted tickets for seniors (65+) and children ages 5-12. Parking is free.
SeaWorld and Aquatica
Busch Gardens’ sister park in Orlando, SeaWorld, has its own Seven Seas Food Festival that began in February and runs through May 7.
SeaWorld’s food fest does have street corn (roasted corn on the cob with queso fresco, cilantro avocado crema and tajin) as well as Korean corn dogs, a margarita bar, bananas foster beignets and Coaster Cocktails which are basically, adult Capri-Sun.
SeaWorld’s concert lineup includes Sean Kingston (March 12), Hanson (March 19), Eli Young Band (March 26), The Commodores (April 29) and more.
SeaWorld’s Aquatica water park is open year-round except for the few dates where Florida experiences winter. New this year to the park Reef Plunge, a 330-foot water slide that features a transparent section that runs through an underwater habitat filled with dolphins, sharks and other cold-water marine life.
Disney World
Lo and behold, Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival also has grilled street corn. This savory snack found at the Florida Fresh kitchen features corn on the cob covered in savory garlic spread and spicy corn chips. The dish is one of nearly 100 new and returning favorites to the festival, which runs daily through July 5.
The Flower and Garden Festival is arguably the most popular event at Epcot. While food and drinks aren’t in the title, it’s become known for the wide variety of sweet, savory and creative offerings that are all inspired by, what else, flowers and gardens.
There are even dishes that include edible flowers, like the strawberry rhubarb upside-down cake (Springtime Menu), avocado toast with toybox tomatoes on ciabatta (Brunchcot) and frozen violet lemonade (Pineapple Promenade).
Beyond the food and drinks, the festival actually does have a lot of flowers and gardens. There are over a dozen topiaries themed after Disney movie characters. New this year are topiaries of characters from “Encanto” and Princess Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog.”
At different countries and spots around World Showcase are a butterfly garden, gardens of bamboo, herbs and spices, and a Chinese Zodiac Garden.
And, of course, Disney World’s spring festival has a concert series. The chaotic lineup includes Steve Augeri (former lead vocalist in Journey), Smash Mouth, Blue Oyster Cult, A Flock of Seagulls, Kool & The Gang, Plain White T’s, Simple Plan and more.
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This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2023.