WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — Busch Gardens confirmed Wednesday that the amusement park will be increasing its capacity for the Williamsburg Christmas Celebration event that begins this week.
The special event will take place on select dates from Nov. 13 to Jan. 2, 2021, with eight of the park’s villages and 15 roller coasters open in addition to the Christmas lights and entertainment. The park’s train will also be open.
On Nov. 5, Gov. Ralph Northam released the Fifth Amended Executive Order 67 and Order of Public Health Emergency Seven that allows further easement of restrictions on gatherings, traveling, and business operations.
The amended document states:
“Large Outdoor Amusement Parks and Zoos are outdoor amusement parks and zoos comprised of at least 25 acres of land that contain one or more permanent amusement exhibits or rides and that host at least 500,000 visitors annually.”
It continues to say that, “Total occupancy for the venue must not exceed 50% the combined occupancy load on the certificates of occupancy for all areas of the venue.”
The increase in capacity is bumped up from the park’s previous 1,000-person limit.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg confirmed the park plans to increase capacity and released the following statement Wednesday.
“We are excited for the opportunity to safely increase our park’s capacity in time for this year’s Busch Gardens Christmas Celebration event running from November 13 to January 3. This important change increases the availability of reservations for our guests to provide more opportunities to safely visit the park’s expansive outdoors grounds to celebrate the holiday season with us,” said Cindy Sarko of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
“We look forward to continuing to create fun, inspiring and memorable experiences while creating a safe environment through enhanced cleaning and sanitizing, face covering requirements, temperature checking, social distancing and capacity limitations,” she continued.
Other adjustments made to Executive Order 67 include the continued closure of indoor lines and rides. Indoor restaurants, concessions, gifts shops, or retail spaces, and restrooms can open. Details can be found here in section 11.
For more on the event and to review Busch Garden’s safety guidelines, click here.
