By Melanie

My family and I are originally from Connecticut. Every summer, we would make the drive to Williamsburg, Virginia for our vacation. Busch Gardens was always the first on our list. We loved going on the monorail over to the brewery and riding the sky buckets and the antique cars. I will never forget going down that first hill on the Loch Ness Monster thinking we are going to plunge into the water, hit the other car over in the other loop, or crash in the cave. That was the best! I also remember playing with the toy boats at the bottom of the hill (those steps were always a killer!) I loved being able to buy a souvenir at one of the many gift shops and showing all my friends back at home. Those plastic change purses were always the best! We would always go to the Festhaus and my dad would have a beer, sing songs and watch us kids dance. We couldn’t wait until the organ started playing and all the ladies and gentlemen came in starting with the band. I loved it so much, I couldn’t wait to get a job at Busch Gardens. I remember we would always meet at the Big Ben clock if we ever got lost and I loved getting an ice cream and churro at the shops before we left for the night. The free bags of peanuts were always a plus!

Over the years, my parents grew tired of Connecticut and needed a change of scenery, so we all packed up and moved to Virginia. I grew up as a teenager only 15 minutes away from Busch Gardens and decided to make that my first job. I loved all the countries and the different clothes/uniforms that each country brought. When they asked me where I wanted to work, I chose Germany because of all those great memories at the Festhaus. I worked in the games department for two summers and in the gift shop for one summer. I couldn’t wait to see what merchandise we received in for the summer, and I loved being a cashier and watching all the kids eyes light up buying things with their own money. The guests would always want to take pictures of me with their families, and I loved making new memories for them. When I worked the games, I loved watching the kids win prizes and stuffed animals, and getting wet playing the balloon water race! Also, one summer, I worked on the train, telling all the guests about Busch Gardens and what new adventures were in the next country. Visiting there for many years as a child and as a teenager made me a wealth of information.

My parents always had season tickets every year and would come visit me at work. They would walk around all day and take in the new animals and flowers that were brought each year. My brother even had a job for a short time in Italy. It was such a great place to work and visit.

Luckily, the company that I work for takes all its employees for employee appreciation day to Busch Gardens once a year. Now, I can bring my family there and have them experience all the joys that Busch Gardens has given me growing up. I love that Busch Gardens can bring a smile to anyone’s face and that it is something to look forward to when the weather gets warm. I will never forget the memories that my family has made there, and cannot wait to make new memories with my family as well.