Anybody remember Houston’s Busch Gardens? I was only two or three when my parents took me, so I don’t really remember it, but apparently it only lasted a few years here in Houston. 

The strategy was solid. You own a brewery. You want to sell more beer. You build a theme park, basically in the parking lot, and sell beer to the visitors. 

Busch Gardens locations all have a theme. The ones in Tampa and Williamsburg are still going. Houston’s Busch Gardens had an Asian theme. It was a lot smaller than the other parks but you could spend an afternoon watching brilliantly colored macaws in the aviary, cool off inside the wonderfully surreal Ice Cave and wander among king penguins, monkeys, elephants and tigers without ever leaving Houston. The Ice Cave even had polar bears. POLAR BEARS. In a city warm enough for parrots to live in wild flocks and where orange trees grow. Craziness. There was a brewery tour and beer tastings, and a petting zoo. And a treehouse. The pagoda was one of the park’s defining landmarks.

But, sadly, the park didn’t last. Attendance never met expectations so Busch pulled the plug in 1973—just a few years after opening. Now all that’s left is the detritus of what has been—including, implausibly, this TV tray. 

I’m sorry, did you say TV tray? 

Yes. TV tray. “But why, though?” you might ask. Bro, I’m not a hundred percent sure if we’re being completely honest. But I am all here for it; what a brilliantly quirky collectible. Truly I debated whether or not I wanted to see this or just keep it in the living room as a collector’s item. Serve chips and salsa on it during college football games. 

Best I can tell this item of original Americana is from a time when the television wasn't background noise; it was the event. Now people watch TV while also watching reels on their phone and having half-baked grunting conversations with people who are also on the phone watching other reels—probably with AI generated cat videos or arguing pointlessly with strangers about politics. 

But that’s not the world this tray was born into, no siree. 

When this TV tray was made, families planned evenings around television programming. Dad settled into his favorite chair. Mom emerged from the kitchen carrying Salisbury steak or fried chicken. The kids negotiated who got the TV tray without the wobbly leg. Then everyone gathered to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, The Six Million Dollar Man, an Astros game or whatever happened to be on one of the three channels that came in clearly that night via a pair of rabbit-ear antennae that resembled something from a Roger Corman creature feature.

Which is exactly why television trays became such an unlikely canvas for American nostalgia.

They weren't designed to become collectibles. They were designed to hold TV dinners, root beer floats and bowls of popcorn while Johnny Carson interviewed celebrities long after the kids were supposed to be asleep. Most were scratched by forks, stained with bright red Kool-Aid and eventually hauled off to garage sales when "eating in front of the television" somehow became less fashionable.

It’s weird, right? Back in the day we felt bad about sitting around with the family watching TV rather than having “quality time.” Now TV is the “quality time,” even though we’re actually paying even less attention to each other with all of these devices.  

This original Busch Gardens Houston television tray remains in good overall condition. The colorful illustrations still display beautifully, with the honest wear you'd expect from an item that actually spent years serving TV dinners instead of hiding in a closet. Rather than focusing on a single attraction, its illustrations serve as a visual greatest-hits album of the park with scenes featuring many of Busch Gardens' best-loved attractions and animals.

The piece shows sporadic wear and use marks, possibly from years in front of the original Bob Barker Price is Right—but that’s not been officially verified. There is also a visible water stain, or possibly fondue, maybe Tang, around the illustrations of the ice cave and the pagoda. This does not detract from the vibrancy of the piece or the individual illustrations. No attempt to restore this item to its original condition has been made.

It makes a wonderful display piece whether you're a Houston history enthusiast, a Busch Gardens fan or simply appreciate the cheerful optimism of mid-century American design.

Details

• Original Busch Gardens Houston television tray

• Features illustrations of Macaws, the Bird Show, King Penguins, Tiger Temple, Monkeys, the Pagoda, Elephant and the Ice Cave

• Vintage souvenir

• 18” length X 1’ height

• Lap tray, no legs or stand

• Good overall condition with marks from honest age and use

• Swanson’s frozen Salisbury Steak dinner not included 

Busch Gardens may be gone, as is the era of TV tray as cultural icon. Still, this item endures ready to serve up hot, humid nostalgia on demand.