Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

Classic swing, pop and rock n’ roll artists will perform each week this spring during Busch Gardens Tampa Bay‘s Real Music Series. The series kicks off today with The Les Brown Band of Renown with Les Brown Jr.

The concerts happen Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Stanleyville Theatre, with shows at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Here’s the lineup:

• Jan. 13-16: The Les Brown Band of Renown with Les Brown Jr.
• Jan. 20-23: The Terry Myers Orchestra with The Swing Sisters
• Jan. 27-30: The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
• Feb. 3-6: Paul Revere & The Raiders
• Feb. 10-13: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
• Feb. 17-20: John Davidson
• Feb. 24-27: Chubby Checker & The Wildcats
• March 3-6: The Osmond Brothers
• March 10-13: Davy Jones
• March 17-20: The 5th Dimension

Another new show kicks off today at Busch Gardens’ Desert Grill. Let’s Dance featuring Burn the Floor is a contemporary ballroom dance show. Performances are scheduled for noon, 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. That show schedule may vary, especially as shows are added on busier Saturdays and Sundays. Let’s Dance is slated to run through April 18.

If you haven’t visited the Desert Grill before, it’s one of the better places to eat at Busch Gardens, so you can plan to have a meal while you watch the show. There are lots of choices – pastas, salads and sandwiches. There are kids meals available featuring hot dogs or spaghetti.

Desert Grill is also one of the choices on Busch Gardens’ All-Day Dining Deal.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has a new Oasis Guest Lounge to cool off and relax during a day at the Florida theme park.

Have you ever just wanted a quiet place to cool off during a day at a theme park? Right now you’re saying, “Uh yeah, Leigh, like every. single. time.” So here’s the scoop on a new place at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to get out of the sun and chill.

The Tampa theme park has built the Oasis Guest Lounge. It’s like an exclusive VIP room, but all of us non-VIPs out there can get in, for a price.

For the cost of $25 per person or $80 for a family of four, you can buy unlimited access to the Oasis Guest Lounge for the day.

The new Busch Gardens Tampa Bay lounge has comfy seats, air conditioning and a children’s play area that includes video game consoles. Soft drinks and some snacks are included with your ticket, and there are discounts on alcohol and lunch and dinner items. Some of the animals who live at Busch Gardens are brought into the lounge during the day for unique animal interactions.

Also? The lounge has Wi-fi, which probably has you asking, “Who brings their laptop to a theme park?” Theme park bloggers, that’s who! (And it also makes your iPhone, iTouch or Kindle usable if you aren’t lugging your lappy to the park.)

Now I know the Oasis Guest Lounge isn’t for everyone. There are some of you who want to see everything at Busch Gardens and are raring to go from the time the gates open until the last tram has left the parking lot.

But in the right situation, this seems like a wise purchase. For example, if you have young kids, the Oasis Guest Lounge might be the perfect place to rest your feet while they take a short nap.

You can get all the details and buy tickets for the Oasis Guest Lounge at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Web site.