Busch Gardens launches new Summer Celebration, with the return of free beer and weekend fireworks

After the launch of multiple new attractions and rides, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is pulling out all the stops for the summer, and that includes the return of free beer.

The park’s all-new Summer Celebration officially kicks off Friday, May 27 and lasts through Sunday Aug. 7,  featuring an array of park-wide attractions.

Throughout the day, guests can enjoy a variety of refreshments like a revamped selection of sweets from the Moroccan Delights ice cream parlor and complimentary beer samples at Pantopia Drinks & Snacks for those over 21.

Daily entertainment will include the return of  classic shows “Cirque Electric” and the award-winning “Turn It Up!” as well as the premiere of the park’s newest outdoor spectacle, “Gwazi Beats,” combining dancers, drums and stilt-performers.

At night, guests are encouraged to enjoy DJs, festive themes and other entertainment in the park’s new block party plaza sponsored by Coca-Cola, as well as conquer the park’s most recent attraction, Iron Gwazi.

To cap-off each night’s festivities, the park will feature a “Fireworks Spectacular” — with “dazzling lasers to mesmerizing fountains and pyrotechnics,” says the press release. The fireworks show will run every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night starting at 9:15 p.m.

The park also plans bonus fireworks shows on May 30 and July 4.

The Summer Celebration festivities are included with general admission or a season pass. 

This article appears in May 12-18, 2022.