<P> Houston's Busch Gardens opened in May 1971 and was closed within several years . It was located adjacent to the Anheuser - Busch brewery, which opened in 1966 . The 40 - acre (16 ha) park had an Asian theme except for an ice cave with a temperature controlled environment for several varieties of penguins, polar bears and sea lions . It also had its own 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway . </P> <P> Anheuser - Busch and Grand Tibidabo, S.A., owners of Tibidabo Amusement Park, in Barcelona, along with other Spanish investors, made plans to build a Tibi Gardens outside of Barcelona, Spain, in the late 1980s . During construction, several of the Spanish investors backed out, and investors from The Tussauds Group stepped in . The park was renamed Port Aventura and when it opened in 1995 in Salou, Spain, Anheuser Busch had a 20% investment in the park while The Tussauds Group had 40% . In 1997 the majority of shares in the park were sold to Universal . </P> <P> In 2008, Busch Entertainment Corporation announced plans to open a new park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2012 . It was going to be placed on a man - made island shaped like Shamu in Dubai with SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, and Aquatica also being built on that island . The Dubai park would have added on a third park to the Busch Gardens brand . The plans have been shelved because of financial issues . On February 4, 2009, Busch Entertainment announced that the Dubai plans had been canceled due to the global recession . </P> <P> After InBev sold the amusement parks in 2009 to Blackstone, many beer - affiliated traditions ended, including the tradition of offering free beer samples in their Hospitality Centers, and Brewmaster Clubs would come to an end in the parks . Also announced was that workers will not get two cases of beer a month for free, which they would receive under old parent Anheuser - Busch . </P>

Busch gardens amusement park in the united states