Christmas on Ice at Busch Garden's Christmas Show in Tampa Bay, Florida

As Len and I are pass holders at Busch Gardens we were sent an invitation to preview the Christmas on Ice show at the Stanleyville Theater. The four dress rehearsal shows were at 1 and 3 p.m. on Nov. 29 and 30.

We arrived as Busch Gardens opened this morning at 10 a.m. to pick up free tickets for the first of the preview shows. They were on a first come basis for 1 and 2-year pass holders.

We had time to spare so after visiting the animals we checked out the new Christmas from the Heart show at the Marrakesh Theater. We arrived 20 minutes early and that was a good thing as the seats were soon taken.

A pianist was first on stage and played "What child is this" to the tune of "Greensleeves" one of my all time favorites. Then the stage was filled with people singing hymns and Christmas songs. Their voices were amazing and anyone of them could have won "American Idol". I am not joking. The costume changes were beautiful and the whole performance left you feeling the Christmas spirit.

From here we headed over to Stanleyville and to the Christmas on Ice show. We were allowed in the theater 30 minutes before the performance. We were able to get seats center stage near the back, which gave us a perfect view.

The stage had 3 Christmas trees either side and was tastefully designed. It started out as a pastel blue and the lightening changed as the show continued.

The music again was traditional Christmas songs and some cute fun ones as well. The 'chorus line' skaters were really great and even though this was a rehearsal there was only one slight fall.

The lead male was an excellent skater, kept time with the music, and looked as if he was enjoying himself. The female lead didn't have his energy or finesse and from the applause I think most of the audience felt the same way. The pairs skaters were outstanding and I would have given them a 10 any day. The guy lifted the girl over his head and then laid her on his head, no hands, and did a spin with her. There was another female skater, who had a hoop above the ice, and did acrobatics on it. She did a good job too.