Christmas Town returns to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on select dates from November 13, 2026 through January 4, 2027. The event is included with park admission and runs from park open to park close. The admission price leaves four separate purchases, each with its own deadline.
The park publishes a date calendar, a hotel-package page naming fifteen partner properties, a pre-paid parking product, a 2027 Fun Card and the CityPASS bundle. Buy them in this order.
First, the room
Start with the Christmas Town Package on the vacation-packages page. It includes unlimited visits for the length of the stay, a room from the park's hotel partners, free parking at the park, a $25 merchandise credit and discounts on food and merchandise. The package is sold only during the event.
Two published rules set the timing. A cancellation more than 72 hours before 6 p.m. on the arrival date is refundable. Every hotel package must be booked at least 48 hours before the check-in date.
Read the two rules together. A booking made at the 48-hour floor already sits inside the 72-hour no-refund window. Book inside the refund window and the room stays reversible while the rest of the trip firms up.
Fifteen properties carry a Book Now link on the hotel-partners page. The roster includes Hyatt Place Tampa/Busch Gardens, Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa USF Near Busch Gardens, Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa Busch Gardens Area and Home2 Suites by Hilton Tampa USF Near Busch Gardens. The page publishes no nightly rate. Ask for the rate and the cancellation deadline in writing before you weigh the package against a room-only booking.
The Buy 2 Nights, Get 1 FREE package adds a third hotel night free from three nights. Unlimited visits run up to seven days from first visit.
Second, dated admission
Christmas Town has no ticket of its own. Park admission covers it, so the date you buy decides the night you see. The event runs select dates across 53 days, and the hours page states that schedules update periodically and that guests should check back within a week of the visit date.
Buy admission for a date the calendar shows the park open. Read the calendar again the week you travel. A ticket bought for a closed date admits nobody.
The 2027 Fun Card is the alternative. It lists at $129.99 and covers unlimited visits through December 31, 2027, with the rest of 2026 and Adventure Island free on the two-park version. The page warns about blackout dates and special seasonal events where Fun Card entry does not apply, and it does not list them. Confirm that the Christmas Town night accepts the card before buying it in place of a dated ticket.
Third, parking
Parking is the purchase most visitors leave to the gate. The parking page states that guests without a pass carrying free parking should pre-pay to save time on arrival. It also states there is no fee to change an upgrade purchase later.
The pre-paid fee covers cars, motorcycles, trucks, recreation vehicles and campers. Two pages give different starting rates: the parking page says $30 and the Fun Card page says $34. Confirm the current figure at checkout.
Two products remove the charge. The Christmas Town Package includes free parking at the park, and the Silver Pass at $201 a year includes free general parking with three free guest tickets. Price the pass against the parking you would buy. The Fun Card at $129.99 plus two days of parking at $30 runs $189.99, which is $11.01 below the $201 Silver Pass. At three park days the same arithmetic runs $219.99, and the pass wins by $18.99.
Fourth, the sampler card
Tampa Bay CityPASS comes last. It bundles Busch Gardens admission with four more Tampa Bay attractions from a list of seven, prices at $149.95 for adults and $139.95 for children aged 3 to 11, and allows visits in any order across nine days. The park advertises savings of up to 55 percent against separate admission.
The card pays back through the other four attractions. A Christmas Town trip built around one park day can wait until the room and the dated admission are settled.
Dates that move the order
Four dated moments sit inside the window. The tree lighting runs at Cheetah Hunt Plaza on November 13, with a live broadcast from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the lighting at 7 p.m. Hanukkah runs December 4 to 12, with the menorah lit at 6 p.m. each night between the Moroccan Palace and the cheetah habitat. December 31 runs 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. The Three Kings Journey runs select dates through January 4 at Dragon Fire Grill.
Book the room first. The package's cancellation window keeps the holiday nights reversible until three days out.
The order in one line
Room inside the refund window, then dated admission for a night the calendar shows open, then pre-paid parking, then the sampler card once the first three are set. Package bookings and rebookings run through 407-401-8477.