Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding is a new holiday dessert at Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. See our full review, sampler lanyard tips, and event details.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Christmas Town is back for the holiday season, bringing new entertainment, returning favorites, and plenty of seasonal treats. One of this year’s featured desserts is the Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding, a festive twist on a classic comfort dish, available at the Evergreeen Eats Food & Beverage Cabin. Below is our full review, including what to expect, how it’s prepared, and whether it’s worth using one of your Christmas Town sampler punches.
What Is the Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding?
Priced at $9.99 (or one punch if you’re using a sampler lanyard), this dessert is described by Busch Gardens as:
“Sweet and savory eggnog brioche bread pudding topped with rum-infused syrup and berries.”
It’s a large portion and one of the more unique seasonal dishes offered at the festival. Instead of being pre-plated, the bread pudding is scooped warm from a heated pan, emphasizing its homemade, holiday-comfort-food style.
Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding: Our Tasting Review
We visited Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to try this new seasonal dessert, and here’s what stood out:
Presentation
- The dessert comes scooped out of a warmer, unlike many other Christmas Town desserts which come pre-portioned and chilled.
- This results in poor presentation, lacking the polished appearance you might expect from a plated holiday sweet.
Texture & Flavor
- The portion contains a large amount of raisins, which may be a pro or con depending on your preference.
- Many bites felt more stuffing-like than dessert-like due to the density and savory notes.
- The bread pudding is not overly dry, which is a positive for a warm dessert served in large batches.
- We found the dish missing a glaze, which would’ve added a needed sweetness and helped balance the savory eggnog base.
- The cranberry-eggnog flavor concept is festive, but the combination didn’t fully come together for us.
Portion Size
- It’s generously sized, making it a solid value if you use the sampler lanyard instead of paying full price.
Overall Impression
This is a very festive bread pudding, but one that feels like it’s leaning too much into experimentation. Between the heavy raisin content, stuffing-like texture, and missing glaze, the dish has potential but doesn’t quite achieve holiday-dessert perfection.
What Is the Christmas Town Sampler Lanyard?
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay offers a Christmas Town Sampler Lanyard, officially known as the Christmas Town Food & Beverage Punch Card, available for purchase online or at the event.
How It Works
- Purchase a lanyard with a set number of prepaid “punches.”
- Each punch can be redeemed for one food or beverage item at participating cabins.
- These lanyards typically offer significant savings, especially on higher-priced dishes like the Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding.
- Guests can choose between different punch quantities, making it a flexible option for sampling multiple treats across the festival.
For the $9.99 bread pudding, using a punch instead of paying out of pocket makes the value much more reasonable. The pricing for these sampler lanyards include:
- Five Items $45
- Ten Items $65
- 12 Items $65 ( for passholders only)
About Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Christmas Town transforms the park into a sparkling winter celebration each evening.
Event Highlights
- Runs nightly through January 5
- Holiday shows, festive entertainment, meet-and-greets, and millions of lights
- Exclusive Christmas-themed food and beverage cabins
Food & Beverage Hours
- Christmas Town food cabins open at 4:00 p.m. nightly
- This includes locations offering the Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding and other seasonal treats
The event is included with park admission, making it one of the most value-packed holiday offerings in Central Florida.
Christmas Town Busch Gardens: Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding
The Christmas Eggnog Bread Pudding is warm, seasonal, and generous in portion size, but it struggles with balance. The raisin-heavy, stuffing-like texture and lack of glaze hold it back from being a must-try dessert. If you’re using a sampler punch, it’s worth a taste for the novelty and festive flavor profile, but paying full price might leave some guests wishing for more sweetness and refinement.
For more theme park dining reviews, visit MSM News every weekday at noon Eastern Time. Additionally, we sometimes publish bonus reviews such as this one. As always, eat like you mean it!
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