Iceploration to debut at Busch Gardens Tampa in February

September 8, 2011, 8:26 AM · If you've visited our Busch Gardens Tampa listing page in recent weeks, you might have noticed a listing for Iceploration, a new show that we'd tipped to replace Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy. This morning, Busch Gardens made it official: Iceploration will debut Feb. 2, 2012 in the park's Moroccan Palace theater.

Iceploration logo

Iceploration will be a 30-minute skating show that explores the four corners of the Earth, featuring Broadway-style costumes from a Tony Award-winning designer. The show will focus on a digital-savvy teenager and his grandfather, who urges the teen to explore the world in person, rather than simply through computer and smartphone screens.

From Busch Gardens' press release:

The adventure unfolds as they arrive in the African Serengeti. Here, larger-than-life puppets and spectacular set design bring elephants and other awe-inspiring animals to life at a watering hole. Solo and chorus skating performances accompanied by acrobatics tell an anecdote of an agile cheetah stalking graceful gazelles and meerkats.

Austin and Grandpa then dive into the Great Barrier Reef to explore the harmony of life on the ocean floor. An amazing black light transition and never-before-seen helium-filled puppets immerse the audience in the wonders of the sea, filled with parrotfish and lionfish, sea urchins, turtles and a moray eel.

In the Arctic, majestic skaters become striking snow flurries as a winter storm threatens the travelers. Austin and Grandpa witness even more beauty as they encounter the Aurora Borealis phenomenon, represented with theatrical lighting and projections. Then, they share the stage with amazing live animal stars, including a Siberian lynx and a sled of Siberian huskies as they continue to traverse the tundra.

Austin and Grandpa wrap up their adventure around the globe immersed in the lush, tropical Amazon Rainforest. Squirrel monkeys, sun conures and colorful macaws fill the air as playful frogs and a graceful dragonfly skate into the grand finale: a new signature song called "Meet the World."

Thoughts? Sound like something that would make it onto your to-do list?

Replies (4)

September 8, 2011 at 11:45 AM · Skating show? At a theme park?
Count me out...
September 8, 2011 at 2:16 PM · Sounds great. I didn't get a chance to check out Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, although I wanted to. But hopefully I make it out to the park in time to see this.
September 8, 2011 at 3:25 PM · An ice skating show at a park themed after Africa??? What's next? Cheetah Hunt becomes Polar Bear Hunt?
September 8, 2011 at 3:31 PM · I believe that Polar Bear Hunt is the "Lost"-themed knock-off of Cheetah Hunt that Disney's building in Animal Kingdom.

This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Park tickets

Weekly newsletter

New attraction reviews

News archive