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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay

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Park Info

Busch Gardens is a vast African-themed animal and thrill ride adventure park in Tampa Bay, Florida. Home to almost 3,000 animals, a visit to Busch Gardens is like an African safari and rollercoaster adventure all rolled in to one!

At Busch Gardens, it’s all about diversity. Here you’ll come face to face with Bengal tigers, orangutans, antelopes, exotic birds and rhinos. You can watch spectacular Broadway quality shows or try your hand at being a tiger and orangutan keeper.

Where else can you enjoy a Serengeti Safari, brave the Congo river rapids, ride a seven loop rollercoaster and visit a tropical jungle village all in one day? Enjoy all this and much more at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Interesting Facts

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is today set in a vast 335 acre area filled with animals, thrill rides and attractions of all kinds. When it first opened its doors to the public on March 31st 1959 however, it was a very different place. Then, Busch Gardens was a hospitality facility for the Anheuser Busch Brewery on the grounds of their manufacturing plant. Here, guests could enjoy beer tastings, admire birds in a bird garden and take the ‘Stairway to the Stars’ escalator to admire the views from the roof of the brewery.

By 1964, the brewery plant had closed and Busch Gardens began to concentrate on increasing its number of exotic animals and developing its incredible tropical landscape. The entertainment on offer gradually became more complex over the years until the present day, when Busch Gardens is renowned as one of the world’s top theme parks and one of the most visited theme parks in the United States.

Tips

Operating Hours

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s operating times vary depending on the season and the area of the park that you’d like to visit. In some of the summer months for instance, the park opens at 9.30am and closes at 6pm, but times would differ in the winter.

There are many activities that take place outside of these times, so it’s best to check right before you go. The best way to find out operating times for a particular day is by clicking on ‘Plan your Trip’ and then on ‘Hours and Showtimes’ on the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay official website.

Parking

  • Busch Gardens has almost 5,000 parking spaces are available for vehicles
  • The fee for parking a car or motorcycle is currently $13
  • Parking for buses, recreation vehicles and trucks is $15
  • Valet parking is offered at $26 or if you’re a Passport member, $22
  • Preferred parking is $20 for the general public, $10 for Passport members and free for Platinum members
  • Tour buses may park free of charge

Please Note: Both Valet and Preferred parking are subject to availability and not guaranteed.

Location

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay full address:

10165 N McKinley Drive
Tampa
FL 33612

Telephone Number: 1-888-800-5447

Busch Gardens is easy to find, whichever direction you’re travelling from:

  • Approximately one hour from Orlando via Interstate 4
  • Eight miles northeast of downtown Tampa
  • Two miles west of Interstate 75 at exit 265
  • Two miles east of Interstate 275 at the Busch Boulevard exit
  • Thirty minutes east of area beaches and Tampa International Airport

General Time Saving Tips

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is huge, so seeing everything in a single day can be a real challenge. These simple but useful tips will help you plan ahead and save both time and money.

When to visit Busch Gardens:

If at all possible, start by carefully choosing the time of year that you visit, peak periods will have the largest volume of visitors and therefore the longest queueing times. Don’t forget about National Holidays, peak periods are not restricted to just the summer months.

Peak periods at Busch Gardens may include:

  • Summertime: Late May through to early September.
  • Weekends: Weekends are obviously more popular than weekdays. Monday through to Thursday is generally a quieter time to visit.
  • Easter: The week either side of Easter can be busy.
  • Thanksgiving Weekend: Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the 4th Thursday in November.
  • Washington’s Birthday Weekend: Celebrated each year on February 21st.
  • Independence Day Weekend: July 4th.
  • Christmas Holidays: Includes the whole of the Christmas period, right through to the New Year.

Remember that although these times of year may be busier than others, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do or see all that you want to. Busch Gardens is vast and therefore the queues are often not as long as they are in other theme parks.

Food

If possible, eat before you arrive at Busch Gardens because apart from the extra expense, eating at the park can take up time that is better spent having fun!

Getting There

  • FloridaTix Busch Gardens Tickets include free bus transportation to Busch Gardens on the Busch Gardens Shuttle Express. This service departs from various locations in the International Drive and Kissimmee areas.
  • If you can, plan to arrive half an hour or more before the official park opening time, (see operating hours). The queues will be shorter, you’ll have more time to spend in the park and less time standing in the sun.
  • If you are travelling in from the Orlando area, you can avoid most of Tampa itself by using Interstate 275 rather than the I-4. Allow at least an hour and a half for the journey.

Planning is Everything!

  • Decide before you come which attractions you’d like to see at Busch Gardens. If you can get there early, start with attractions at the back of the park and work your way forward, going against the flow. This should help you to avoid much of the crowd.
  • There are no bags allowed on any of the rides at Busch Gardens. Instead, they must be placed in lockers which are located at the ride entrance. These cost 50 cents each, so ensure you take plenty with you to avoid scrabbling for change at the last minute.
  • Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always sunny in Florida, there are often rainshowers in the afternoons. Make the most of Busch Gardens outdoor rides when you can and save the indoor/undercover attractions for last or for when rain threatens.
  • The best time to ride the most popular rollercoasters in Busch Gardens is as soon as it opens or the hour or so before closing time. Currently, the most popular rides are Sheikra, Kumba, Montu and the all-new Cheetah Hunt.

Highlights of the Park

Must-Do Rides at Busch Gardens

There are a huge number of rides and attractions at Busch Gardens, and like at any theme park, some stand out from the rest. These are just a few of the most popular rides currently on offer:

Don’t-Miss Animal Attractions

Busch Gardens is home to almost 3,000 animals covering a huge variety of species. Whilst visiting the park, must-see animal attractions include:

Dining at Busch Gardens

There’s no need to go hungry at Busch Gardens, with seventeen eateries offering every kind of cuisine imaginable, there’ll be something to suit every palate and pocket. Food at Busch Gardens is renowned for being a step above most theme-park fare, so wherever you choose to eat, you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Best Value

For the best value, choose the All Day Dining Deal, currently $29.95 per adult and $13.95 per child. This allows you to eat and drink all day long at most of the dining venues. If you’d like to eat at Colony House, it’s best to make your reservation as soon as you enter the park, it’s a very popular choice.

Waiter-Service Meals

If you feel like being pampered, waiter-service meals are offered at two Busch Gardens restaurants, the Crown Colony Restaurant and Desert Grill.

Of the two, many people particularly like visiting the air-conditioned Crown Colony Restaurant (the lower floor is the Crown Colony Café) because it offers outstanding views over the Serengeti Plain. A typical menu includes fish, seafood, steak, pasta dishes, fresh salads and vegetable platters and specialist sandwiches.

Café and Bistro Meals

There are five café and bistro eateries at Busch Gardens, offering different types of meals. These are:

  • The Bengal Bistro (Jungala)
  • Crown Colony Café (Edge of Africa nr Montu)
  • Garden Gate Café (Bird Gardens)
  • Zagora (Morocco)
  • Zambia Smokehouse (Stanleyville)

Of these, two appear to be particularly popular. These are:

  • The Zagora Café - The Zagora Café serves lighter, healthier meals, including chicken, veggie and turkey wraps, grilled chicken sandwiches and salads.
  • Zambia Smokehouse - Food at the Zambia Smokehouse includes corn on the cob, smoked beef brisket, grilled salmon and an apparently delicious array of BBQ goodies.

Snacks

If you want to eat on the fly, then there are plenty of snacks to tempt you at Busch Gardens. There are seven quick-bite outlets scattered throughout the park, offering snacks from doughnuts and corn dogs to nachos and pretzels.

Vegetarians Options

Vegetarians can get a tasty vegetable platter at The Colony House and great veggie burgers at the Zagora Café.

What’s Going On?

There’s always something happening at Busch Gardens and 2012 is no exception. This year’s must-keep dates include:

Summer Nights - June 10th to August 14th

Enjoy the attractions at Busch Gardens under a night sky. From June 10th to August 14th this year, Busch Gardens will stay open later so you can enjoy rides such as Cheetah Hunt, see the incredible Kinetix contemporary rock acrobatic show and enjoy spectacular fireworks finales on July 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Howl-o-Scream – October 2012

Make the most of Halloween at Busch Gardens. Due to the nature of the haunted house and scare zones, Howl-o-Scream is designed for an adult audience only. Howl-o-Scream tickets, which are available from FloridaTix, allow entry to Busch Gardens after 4.30pm on the following dates in October:

  • Friday 7th
  • Saturday 8th
  • Friday 14th
  • Saturday 15th
  • Friday 21st
  • Saturday 22nd
  • Friday 28th
  • Saturday 29th

Holiday Wonderland - November to December

Busch Gardens is transformed into a festive wonderland featuring Christmas characters, classic Christmas tunes, festive decorations and more.

New Years Eve – December 31st

Billed as the biggest party this side of midnight, don’t miss the New Years Eve fun and festivities at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay!

Shows

There are many free shows included in the price of your Busch Gardens tickets. Most shows run several times a day. It’s always a good idea to try and stage your movements around the park, adding in a show every few hours to allow you, and perhaps younger family members, to have a breather whilst still being entertained. Shows include:

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