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

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is offering some new character dining options with the Sesame Street characters starting on March 27.

The Tampa theme park is opening its new Sesame Street Safari of Fun children’s area on that day, and you can make your reservations now to have breakfast or lunch with Elmo and friends.

Busch Gardens previewed their character breakfast for the media last week. Here’s a photo tour:

The dining venue is open air, so you will need to be sure everyone is dressed accordingly. It is covered and shaded, though, and will be a great respite from the sun this summer.

Most of the Sesame Street Safari of Fun is still under construction, but here’s a look at a finished walkway that shows the bright colors and mural painting that will be used in the new children’s area.

The preschooler who visited with me wanted me to take a picture of the bathroom, so here you go! It is conveniently located near the dining venue and will be close to the splash-play area, as well. I do wonder if that lone diaper-changing shelf will be enough on busy days at Busch Gardens.

The breakfast buffet included fresh fruit, muffins, cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, biscuits, bacon, sausage, pancakes and cold cereals. It was kid-friendly – everyone should be able to find something they like here. The beverage choices included coffee, milk (white or chocolate) and various juices.

The Sesame Street characters arrived with great fanfare. Classic Sesame Street music (“Doin’ the Pigeon,” “What’s the Name of That Song?” “Rubber Ducky,” etc.) played as the characters mingled. Elmo and Big Bird posed with kids for a professional photo at the backdrop shown in the picture at the top of this post, while Cookie Monster, Zoe, Bert, Ernie and Rosita made the rounds in the dining room.

The characters sign autographs. Be sure to bring a thick marker and a notebook or autograph book if you want them to sign; it’s hard for the characters to hold a regular pen.

I was impressed with the performance of the characters. They did a great job of interacting with the kids and getting down on their level. There was plenty of time to get pictures with all of them.

Breakfast with Elmo and Friends and Lunch with Elmo and Friends can be reserved online now. Breakfasts cost $18 for adults and $15 for children ages 3 to 9. Lunch is $23 for adults and $17 for children. Children under 3 are free at both meals, but they still need a reservation.

Right now, Busch Gardens is taking reservations for a 9:30 a.m. breakfast seating on Friday, Saturday or Sunday and an 11:30 a.m. lunch seating daily. Those times and days will likely be tweaked with the crowd levels once the Sesame Street Safari of Fun opens later this month.

Don’t forget about the new offer for kids 5 and under – a free pass to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay that is good through the end of 2010! You must sign up for this offer online at SesameStreetSafariofFun.com.

One of my favorite preschoolers and I attended a preview event at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this morning, where they promised us a big announcement.

And it was big – for Florida parents of kids ages 5 and under: FREE admission.

To celebrate the opening of the Sesame Street Safari of Fun at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this spring, the Tampa theme park is offering free admission for kids ages 5 and under for the rest of 2010!

Here’s how you can get in on the deal:

• Your child must be a Florida resident.
• The child must be 5 years old or younger when you register for the pass. If the child turns 6 during the year, he or she is still eligible for admission, as long as the registration was completed before his or her sixth birthday
• You must register online in advance; these free passes will not be issued at the park gate.
• Go to SesameStreetSafariofFun.com to register your child and print the e-Ticket.
• Bring the e-Ticket and a birth certificate or passport to Busch Gardens, and your preschooler gets in free through Dec. 31, 2010!

The Sesame Street Safari of Fun is a new children’s area that opens March 27. It will feature Sesame Street-themed rides, splash play areas and a brand-new junior roller coaster, Air Grover. Kids can see their favorite Sesame Street characters in a stage show at the Sunny Day Theater, get their picture made in a new character greeting area and dine with Elmo and his friends at character breakfasts and lunches.

I’ll have a sneak peek at the character dining options coming up tomorrow here on ThemeParkMom.com.

I had the chance to interview Busch Gardens Tampa Bay GM Donnie Mills about the new Sesame Street Safari of Fun. We talked about the junior coaster Air Grover, the splash play areas and all of the fun to be had in the new children’s section of the Tampa theme park. And we were joined by Busch Gardens’ unusual construction foreman for this job, Bif. Take a look:

The Sesame Street Safari of Fun opens March 27 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. After touring the construction yesterday, I am even more excited to see the project completed.

Construction crews are hard at work building Sesame Street Safari of Fun, the new children’s land at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Park officials say you’ll be able to see Big Bird, Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street gang at Busch Gardens beginning March 27.

Sesame Street Safari of Fun is located where the theme park’s Land of the Dragons children’s area used to be. It will feature a children’s roller coaster (Air Grover), a flume ride, a swing ride, a new carousel and two water play areas.

Busch Gardens also plans to offer Sesame Street character dining and photo ops.