Snacking Around the World at Busch Gardens' Food & Wine Festival
WILLIAMSBURG, VA — Busch Gardens Williamsburg once again welcomed guests to its annual Food & Wine Festival, a popular seasonal event featuring a diverse range of global cuisine, live performances, and access to the park’s acclaimed thrill rides. The combination of warmer weather and springtime energy always makes this event one of the most anticipated times of year at the park. This year, the festival runs from April 24 to June 22, 2025, operating Thursdays through Sundays along with the Memorial Day holiday and giving guests an extra long window to taste some of the park’s specialty dishes from around the world.
The festival offers several ways for guests to enjoy its culinary selections. As platinum pass holders, for example, we typically receive complimentary food vouchers during each day of our visit. All guests, regardless of pass tier or added perks of membership, have the option to purchase a 10-item sampler card that remains valid throughout the entire festival season. Sampler cards can be used on any booth food or beverage item, though alcoholic beverage portions are generally smaller than full-priced servings. In addition to extending the Food and Wine season by two extra weeks this year, the park also expanded the offerings of the event itself by adding two all-new booths and more than 25 new food and drink selections across the menu’s of the existing booths…
New booths and offerings for 2025’s Food and Wine event included, but were not limited to…
Poland Booth (ALL-NEW for 2025)
Pierogies – Potato, cheese & caramelized onion jam with sour cream (vegetarian)
Kielbasa – Bacon, sauerkraut & brown mustard sauce
Kołaczki – Raspberry & apricot filled cookies (vegetarian)
Strawberry Rhubarb Kompot (non‑alcoholic)
Wines: St. Cosme “Micro Cosme” Blanc; Argiolas Costera
Mad Dog Shooter – Tito’s® vodka, raspberry & hot sauce
China Booth (ALL-NEW for 2025)
Shrimp Siu Mai Dumpling – Steamed shrimp dumpling with soy dipping sauce
Pork Bao – Steamed BBQ pork bun
Vegetable Jiaozi – Steamed vegetarian potstickers with chili crisp
Dumpling Trio – Combination of shrimp, pork & vegetable dumplings
Panda Dessert Bun – Steamed dessert bao with coconut caramel sauce (vegetarian)
Lychee Mule – Tito’s® vodka, lychee, lime, ginger & mint
Virginia Booth:
Chesapeake‑Style Crab Cake Slider - Slider with microgreens & remoulade
Jalapeño & Cheddar Hushpuppies with Dijon mustard marmalade
Hawaii Booth:
Coconut & Macadamia Chocolate Tart - Nnew plant‑based dessert
Ube Tea‑ade - Refreshing purple tea‑ade; non‑alcoholic
Africa Booth:
Puff‑Puff - Vegetarian fried dough dessert
Brazil Booth:
Cordeiro – Lamb with mint, garlic, lemon & spicy cilantro‑mint chutney
Mexico Booth:
Tidewater White Sauce & Chips - Vegetarian tapas-style dip & chips
Italy Booth:
Bruschetta - Vegetarian, toasted bread with garlic, tomato, basil, olive oil & Parmesan
Turkey Booth:
Chicken Döner Kebab
Beef & Lamb Döner Kebab
Çoban Salatası - Tomato‑feta‑cucumber‑olive mint salad
Simit - Sesame bread ring
Mozaik Pasta Tarifi - Tea biscuit, pistachio & chocolate cake dessert
Herbal Infusion Booth:
Herb Cheese Spread with prosciutto & crackers
Roasted Garlic Tortellini Pesto Salad - Vegetarian
Mint Chocolate Crème Brûlée - Vegetarian
Island Freeze Booth:
Key Lime Tart - Frozen dessert
Purple Rain - Frozen cocktail
Loch Ness Lemonade - Frozen cocktail
Electric Ocean Margarita - Frozen cocktail
Bellini - Frozen cocktail
OktoberTaps Booth:
Numerous new draft beers and ciders from local Virginia breweries, such as O’Dark Thirty, Captain’s Lager, Squared Pants Sour, Craney Island Brown Ale, etc.
Sangria Garden:
Classic Sangria - New cocktail
Blood Orange Sangria - New cocktail
Cucumber Melon Sangria - New cocktail
Sweet Tea Sangria - New cocktail
Pineapple Jalapeño Sake Sangria - New cocktail
Sangria Gelatin - Dessert jelly (21+)
….and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Although there aren’t enough hours in the day nor circumference in our stomachs to consume each and every one of the new offerings at each year’s ‘Food & Wine Festival’ event, we always do our best to sample some of the annual additions as well as some of the forever classics. The latter category included, as always, the Kalua Pork Slider from Hawaii and the Taco Trio (which requires three vouchers/sampler punches to redeem) from the Mexico booth. Devastatingly, the Mexico booth no longer offers Horchata as a beverage option - an omission that we hope to see returned in 2026.
Above: Busch Gardens Williamsburg recently opened a spiritual successor to the park’s now-defunct Arrow suspended coaster, the Big Bad Wolf, in the new family coaster ‘Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge’.
To be sure, Food & Wine season brings an elevated culinary experience to the park…but it would be a shame to visit the park without getting in a few rides, too! On the weekend of our visit, we experienced heavier-than-usual crowds due to the Music in the Park event, during which school groups and musical ensembles are hosted by the park. This influx of visitors resulted in altered traffic flow into the park and longer wait times for popular attractions. Many guests opted to purchase Quick Queue passes to help maximize time in the park and minimize waiting - ourselves included.
Among the featured attractions was Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge, a brand-new family inverted coaster located behind Festhaus in the newly-expanded Oktoberfest section of the park (Germany). The ride is not included in all tiers of Quick Queue, so early arrival proved helpful in managing wait times. For what it’s worth, operations for this attraction have been stellar since opening. Although brief operational pause occurred during one cycle, the ride resumed within minutes and impressed guests with its immersive theming and smooth pacing, and we were actually able to get in three different rides over the course of our visit - and at little more than 25-30 minutes’ wait per ride. The attraction is designed to be accessible to younger thrill-seekers without compromising on fun or atmosphere, and on that front, it succeeds splendidly. Other fan favorite attractions that we were able to conquer before the day was done included Le Scoot, Invadr, Griffon, Loch Ness Monster: The Legend Lives On and Pantheon. We were even able to score a back row ride on the Darkoaster, despite its not being part of our Quick Queue allowance.
The Food & Wine Festival Season signifies for us the start of another great year of Busch Gardens fun, as it is often our first visit of the calendar year. The weather and temperature are often milder than in the dead of summer, the pop-up performances (such as the performance we captured from TN-based artist “Daughter”) are wonderful, and there is never a better time to eat at the park than when all the festival booths are open - and, on a personal note, the platinum pass-holder perks offer exceptional value at this time of year. Despite increased crowd levels, the 2025 festival once again delivered a satisfying and well-rounded experience and continued the festival’s legacy of excellence and innovation in entertainment, engineering and edible arrangements. For a play-by-play of our entire day and all the park attractions that we were able to experience, check out our event vlog below!
