Mardi Gras 2026

[MrBradferd]

I can answer this, just visited Saturday afternoon. Tampa’s food and drink-themed festivals are different because they have all of the booths in one area, just past Iron Gwazi near their concert area. There’s pros and cons to this because some might prefer the spread out booths that BGW and even SeaWorld Orlando have because it encourages exploring, spreading out bites, etc. At BGT we used up all of our samples quickly because we didn’t want to have to come back to that area after going to ride Montu on the other side of the park. They had great performers and photo ops and I think the layout favored that as opposed to BGW trying to cram everything in France. Operations wise, a few coasters were down but at least Gwazi was running 2 trains which was a big step up from our previous trip.

Does gwazi ever close lmao

Yea Im nit sure I would like it all to be in 1 area. I like to be able to walk around the park. Tampa kinda all feels like more of the same area in the park though vs BGW

 

[horsesboy]

I have reliably been told that the park has already told employees that they will not be open this weekend.

 

[Zachary]

It's 100% the right call. Hope BGW announced it publicly sooner rather than later.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

It's 100% the right call. Hope BGW announced it publicly sooner rather than later.

It was announced yesterday via Instagram Stories. Park will reopen 2/6

 

[RKRCC]

Anyone hear if the park plans on opening this weekend? We are thinking about going up Friday afternoon..... According to the website and instagram they have BGW bucks. Don't want to show up if they are not opening.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

Anyone hear if the park plans on opening this weekend? We are thinking about going up Friday afternoon..... According to the website and instagram they have BGW bucks. Don't want to show up if they are not opening.

As of today they’re set to. But heads up it will be low 30s - high 20s so they won’t have any rides open

 

[R75]

In light of how the weather has affected BGW this year and the lower attendance for this event compared to other seasonal events, does anyone know if there have been discussions regarding the viability of Mardi Gras for future years?

I’m not asking in hopes they remove the event, but just wondering if there have been broader discussions about park operations and Mardi Gras.

 

[MrBradferd]

Does mardi even turn a profit? I find it extremely hard to believe an event like this in the worst time of the year maintains profits.. unless they are making absolute bank off the food/food passes. Mardis been a thing for awhile so I can only assume it does

 

[rswashdc]

Does mardi even turn a profit? I find it extremely hard to believe an event like this in the worst time of the year maintains profits.. unless they are making absolute bank off the food/food passes. Mardis been a thing for awhile so I can only assume it does

My guess is it sells more memberships and fun cards. It may be a bit of a loss leader, or just breaking even on its own, but worth it in the grander scheme.

 

[Thriller]

This is a bad can’t be pulling many one day ticketg

Does mardi even turn a profit? I find it extremely hard to believe an event like this in the worst time of the year maintains profits.. unless they are making absolute bank off the food/food passes. Mardis been a thing for awhile so I can only assume it does

I doubt if it attracts many ticket buying customers. With the short operating hours and limited attractions, its really not worth the trip for a one-time customer. Even when i had a pass, i didn't think this time of year was worth the travel time and expense to go there.

If the event is attracting mainly season passholders, there is virtually no additional gate revenue coming in. However, this park does not have meal plans, so all food sold is revenue and profit. Are they selling enough to turn a profit? Probably not. The short operating hours also mean people don't have to eat at the park, they aren't as captive.

 

[RKRCC]

Beautiful at the park today! It’s the first time I’ve been at the park in the snow.

 

[SixFlagsIssues]

Did you get any snow rides? If so, how was it?

 

[horsesboy]

Did you get any snow rides? If so, how was it?

Rides were not running tonight.

 

[Thomas]

Rhine River ice fishing cruise upcharge would have made bank.

 

[horsesboy]

The park actually stsyed open till 7 which was onlyb1 hour short of it's scheduled time. I really was magical walking around in the snow.

 

[RKRCC]

Did you get any snow rides? If so, how was it?

The only thing we rode was the train. We saw the tea cups running. We were hoping that Apollos would be open because it was about 41 degrees when we got to the park at 3pm. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. We watched some shows and did some food and drinks. It started snowing about 4 or 5 and it was beautiful!!! The park was dead but the few of us there were having a blast!

 

[BGW_Enthusiasts]

Be careful.
No photo! Sorry, we will return on Friday to try to get a photo.
In France, lulu café their point of sale location doesn't have a secondary touch screen for tips. However where you use your card to pay has a tip option. And the tip options are as follow. 18%, 25%, 32%, & 45%. Im not 100% positive about the tip amounts. But im close. I was shocked to see a tip over 40%. And I just want to say please use cation when day drinking here because that could be easily accidentally pressed. And you could end up way overpaying. Also it's in small print. So anyone with difficulties reading smaller literature might not knowingly understand what it says. And could mistake it for something other than a tip option.

 

[horsesboy]

I appreciate the great effort but forth for genuine Mew Orleans Mardi Gras music today.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

Attraction closure update:

Pantheon opens tomorrow and the Skyride opens March 7, leaving:

Operating:
Alpengeist
Apollo's Chariot
DarKoaster
Finnegan's Flyer
Busch Gardens Railway
Most flat rides and kiddie rides (including Little Balloons, previously closed) (see below)
Pantheon
Skyride (*in one week*)
CLOSED:
Big Bad Wolf
Verbolten (retheme)
InvadR
Loch Ness Monster
Tempesto
Griffon
Prince Elmo Spire
Trade Wind
All water rides

 

[horsesboy]

Attraction closure update:

Pantheon opens tomorrow and the Skyride opens March 7, leaving:

Operating:
Alpengeist
Apollo's Chariot
DarKoaster
Finnegan's Flyer
Busch Gardens Railway
Most flat rides and kiddie rides (including Little Balloons, previously closed) (see below)
Pantheon
Skyride (*in one week*)
CLOSED:
Big Bad Wolf
Verbolten (retheme)
InvadR
Loch Ness Monster
Tempesto
Griffon
Prince Elmo Spire
Trade Wind
All water rides

Both Trade Winds and Tempesto were going through active testing and training this afternoon I would not be at all surprised to see one or both suprise soft open in the near future based on what I was seeing probably trade winds first and Tempesto may next week.