YouTube has everything: Busch Gardens shows

this-is-oktoberfest

I waxed poetic about my love of Busch Gardens last year, but thanks to the power of YouTube, it’s never very far away.  There are point-of-view films of people riding the roller coasters, pictures of the various sights and sounds, but one of the things that makes Busch Gardens special is its themed shows.

One of the classic shows, as I mentioned in my previous post, is the “This is Oktoberfest” show, which to date has been around all but one year of the park’s existence.  While the specific line-ups and performances change and evolve over time, the show itself remains an entertaining watch.

Here’s a clip from 1987 (!).  That would’ve made me five years old, and odds are I watched all these performers quite a few times; it wouldn’t be uncommon for my parents to head over to Germany and spend an hour or two in the Festhaus, ultimately catching a couple of the performances of the show.

And here’s the 2013 version.  It’s still a fun watch, and the dancing is pretty amazing. And the voice of the Burgermeister, Bob Baumann, who passed away a few years ago, can still be heard even now!  Sadly, they’ve heavily reduced the number of musicians for this iteration, but at least the show goes on.

In Italy, the show that’s run the past few years is called “Mix It Up,” which is a nice musical performance with horns and percussion by obviously talented musicians.

In Ireland, it’s “Celtic Fyre.” The dancing is impressive and adds a nice program to the small Ireland section of the park.

They’re adding a show called “London Rocks” in the new year, replacing a 4-D show that nearly wouldn’t die (it was revived twice after being replaced) and starring Leslie Nielsen (who, sadly, did).

Until I can get back, at least there’s a piece of the park to enjoy.

2 thoughts on “YouTube has everything: Busch Gardens shows

    • Mike, this is AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing! It’s great to see video like this surface; I’m sure others like myself have fond memories of the shows at the park.

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