Busch Gardens Williamsburg Mardi Gras 2022 - Full Review with Videos!
Mardi Gras is back at Busch Gardens Williamsburg!
The Mardi Gras festival debuted in 2021 in Williamsburg as a limited offering and has expanded this year with new entertainment and food & beverages.
Parking, Self-Service Ticketing, and Security
Parking (Rating: 5/5) - As platinum pass members, we received complimentary preferred parking in England. At the gate, the team member scans your pass, checks your ID, gives you a preferred parking pass, and tells you how to get to preferred parking.
Self-Service Ticketing (Rating: 1/5) - I needed to use the kiosk to print out my free member food item. Unfortunately, it never printed out because the kiosk was broken (or out of paper). Inside the park, guest services instructed me that they could add it back to my account but I’d need to go back to the kiosks to print it out (i.e., exit and re-enter the park). That’s not a great experience, but we understand that the kiosks don’t always work.
Security (Rating: 5/5) - This was amazing. I had a backpack full of camera gear (for our vlog) and I walked right into the park. It was a breeze getting through security and the gate.
Entertainment
Carnaval Imaginique (Rating 5/5) - A brand new festival show inside the Globe Theatre in England. This was incredible, and a must-do if you’re attending Mardi Gras.
New Orleans Jazz Band (Rating 4/5) - Last year, the jazz band played outside alongside the France street entertainers. It was great to see them indoors, but it’s a big improvement to have them indoors since this is a winter festival.
Samba Jamboree (Rating 5/5) - These drummers are the lifeblood of Mardi Gras. Don’t miss their performance.
Killarney Village Band (Missed) - Sadly, we didn’t have time to catch this performance, but we love that they’re performing indoors. The musicians are usually really good, so this is worth checking out if you have time!
Food & Drinks
We purchased a couple of 10-item sampler cards and tried as many festival items as we could!
Overall rating: 4/5. We love the expanded food and drink offerings, and are looking forward to seeing how the menu evolves for next year!
Grogan’s Grill - We loved the fried okra and chicken and andouille gumbo. Our shrimp in the shrimp etouffee were overcooked, so sadly we can’t recommend the Po’Boy or the shrimp etouffee. The grasshopper was a nice green mint chocolate cocktail - we received a full pour with our sampler card!
Grogan’s Pub - We tried the meatballs last year (they were ok), so we stuck to the drinks. The King Cake shot, French 75, and the hurricane are all good! Our King Cake shots counted toward our sampler card.
Cafe Lulu - We didn’t get to try the jambalaya, but we recommend Blake’s cider on draft and the beignets. Our rum runner was good but full of ice. You may want to ask the team member for no ice.
Trapper’s Show Grill - The crawfish boil was very tasty with the old bay seasoning. We didn’t try anything else, but the corn was ok last year. Where’d the spiced Mexican hot chocolate go?
Das Edelweiss - This is the one location we’d love to go back to. We tried the King Cake Cinnamon Roll, but it wasn’t very chewy and it wans’t very warm either.
Bayou Bar - We tried two drinks. We recommend the Southern Spiked Lemonade. The Big Easy Mojito was just ok.
Das Festhaus Foyer Bar - We went straight to the Brauhaus Craft Bier Room so skipped this drinks-only location.
Overall
Mardi Gras is one of the best festivals at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and we had a great time. It’s great to have the park open in the winter, even though temperatures can dip below 40 preventing coasters from operating safely. It’s also great to have a Mardi Gras festival in the Mid-Atlantic US since usually those have been focused on the Orlando area.
