Busch Gardens Tampa: 5 Important Things to Know Before Visiting

I absolutely love amusement parks and theme parks! Whenever we have the chance to visit a new one (or an old favorite), I pretty much jump at the chance. So when we were in Tampa last year, you better believe Busch Gardens Tampa was at the top of my bucket list!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite as prepared for the experience as I thought I would be, and it put quite a damper on our trip. We’ve had season passes to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for a few years now, so I thought that I knew what to expect. But things function quite a bit differently in this Florida park.

If you plan to visit Busch Gardens Tampa this year, here are five things you need to know before you go!

Busch Gardens Tampa is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo.

Safari animals grazing at Busch Gardens Tampa in a large green field

That’s right–Busch Gardens Tampa isn’t just roller coasters and rides; it also has an entire zoo to explore! Between rides, you’ll find exhibits with all sorts of animals and enclosures. Gorillas, elephants, giraffes, a hippopotamus, and all kinds of wild cats, to name a few! Plus, a working animal hospital where you can learn how they care for the creatures on site.

I enjoyed watching the animals while we waited in different lines, as well as going on the Safari Train. It was a super-unique experience, and I loved the wide variety of animals in the park. Exploring the “zoo sections” was also a nice break from standing in lines and riding rides all day.

My only concern with this was that the animals are so close to the rides. While seeing gazelle grazing below a roller coaster was cool, I wondered if the noise bothered them. I didn’t see any signs that it did, but it’s obviously not their natural environment. They do have this statement posted on their website: “Busch Gardens has passed expert third-party audits to join fewer than two dozen facilities in the United States in earning the Humane Certified™ seal from American Humane, the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare.”

But that concern aside, it was really neat to be able to combine the two activities into one.

You need at least 2 days to see and do everything at Busch Gardens Tampa.

One of my biggest regrets about our trip was that we didn’t have enough time! Busch Gardens Tampa is absolutely massive, and you really need a couple of days to enjoy all 335 acres. There are 11 different park sections to explore, each packed full of rides, activities, and animal habitats.

The safari portion of the park has over 200 species of animals spread across the park in 10 main habitat areas. Some of these feature a single animal, while others are collections of habitats with several different creatures in one place. Additionally, Busch Gardens Tampa has 22 different rides to try out, including ten roller coasters. (If you exclude kids’ rides, there are still 16 total).

roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa on a cloudy day

That’s a ton of stuff to fit into one day! And unfortunately, when you add lines (and Florida weather) into the mix, it’s nearly impossible to do everything.

So before you book your ticket, I’d try to carve out two days to let yourself explore and enjoy the experience.

All rides and attractions close for 15 minutes every time they hear thunder.

large Summer celebration mural at busch Gardens Tampa underneath a roller coaster

I definitely understand the safety concerns here, but this rule can drain a lot of your day. It’s no secret that Florida is known for its unpredictable weather. And if you happen to visit on a particularly ornery day, you’ll spend a lot of your time just waiting for rides to open.

The rule is if thunder is reported within a certain mile radius, everything in the park closes down for 15 minutes. It doesn’t matter if there isn’t rain or lightning. It’s an automatic shutdown. Unfortunately, that means there’s nothing to do but keep standing in your line or maybe check out the shops.

We chose to visit on a day that was supposed to be all sunshine and blue skies. But by the time we arrived, it was clear that it was going to be cloudy for a while. We ended up spending over 2 hours at the Safari train station, just waiting for things to reopen. Each time the 15 minutes was almost up, they’d get a report of thunder two miles away, and everything would reset.

This was an absolute killer for us because we only had one day to spend here with our Tampa CityPass. But if you buy a single or multi-day ticket, you’ll be covered by their Sunny Day Guarantee. If the weather affects your visit, you can go to guest services and receive a complimentary return ticket that’s good for up to a year.

Lines are incredibly long during the weekends and peak season.

This is true with almost every amusement park, but it’s always good to have a reminder. Many lines stayed in the 1-hour+ wait time throughout the day, which really cuts down on how many you can do.

I did appreciate that each ride had a wait time estimate posted at the entrance, so you knew what to expect before getting in line. This is helpful if you’re on a time crunch because you can go ride something else and then circle back to see if the line is shorter.

Of course, you can always spring for a Quick Queue pass, but…they’re so expensive! Prices start at $30 per person, but that’s for low-demand days when you could probably walk right on anyway. On the days you’d need the pass, prices skyrocket to as high as $170 per person.

Busch Gardens Tampa has some of the best rides in the world!

The Iron Gwazi ride at Busch Gardents Tampa

Last but not least, you need to know that Busch Gardens Tampa has some of the best rides in the entire world! Not only are they fantastic thrill rides, but several of the 22 break state, country, and world records! Here are some examples:

The Serengeti Flyer is the world’s tallest and fastest dual-arm swing.
Cobra’s Curse is Florida’s first spin roller coaster.
Iron Gwazi is the world’s fastest and steepest hybrid coaster.
Montu was the first roller coaster in the world to have a simultaneous loop and roll.

If thrill rides are your bread and butter, Busch Gardens Tampa will definitely trump some of the other popular Florida parks. It also has some unique rides, like the Serengeti Safari Train, the face-first drop tower, and its scenic cable cars.

Closing Thoughts

While we didn’t get to enjoy Busch Gardens Tampa as much as we wanted, we still had enough fun that we’re planning to return sometime soon to give it another go. We definitely learned from our initial mistakes, and I hope that sharing them here helps you have a better trip than we did!

If you have any questions, I’d love to answer them! Just drop them in the comment section below, along with any thoughts about the post.

For those in search of more things to do in the Tampa area, I would encourage you to check out the rest of my Tampa, Florida mini-series, which is full of suggestions on things to do in the area.

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I hope you’ll be back soon! Happy travels!