Busch Gardens Tampa-Help Needed!

[gone2disney]

We are making a visit to BG in April -the week before Easter. Anyone have experience with their Quick Que (I think that's the name)-is it essentialy paying for a fast pass? Is it worth it? We are leaning towards it since we will only be there for 1 day and definitely do not want to spend a lot of time in lines.

How about the meal plan? I am on the fence about it-We will be there from opening to closing. Does it include snacks? Drinks?
Is there a rope drop that it is important to be there for?

Any other helpful tips about the park would be appreciated!

 

[DOOM1001]

I go to Busch Gardens a lot,but as an AP holder I've never felt the need to purchase a quick queue pass.I would say that unless you're going on a weekend or a busy time like a holiday,summer or spring break you just might not need it,maybe wait till you get to the park to see how busy it will be.Now the meal plan is something that's definitely worth it,especially if you plan to be there all day.The way it works is you get a wristband and can essentially go to all the restaurants and grab an entree,dessert or side and soda or water bottle as often as you want throughout the day.It's $30 for adults and $15 for kids and in my opinion totally worth it.Universal has or had a similar plan for $20 but the restaurants are very limited to the worst places in the park,at Busch Gardens pretty much all the main CS restaurants are included and if you've ever been to Busch Gardens you know the food quality is very good,especially the desserts which are made on the property.I've never felt the need to be there at rope drop but try and get there early to get things in before the crowds show up,maybe you can skip having to purchase the quick queue.Busch Gardens is opening their new Cheetah Hunt coaster May 27th so if you were going after it opens you will definitely see increased attendance.

 

[momtoejanda]

We were just there and had the dining plan. It came free with our tickets. the only problem with the dining plan is that to get a drink you have to go into one of the participating places. so you cant just pick up a drink at any cart along the way. the dining plan has deserts but not the usual park snacks like ice cream, soft pretzles etc.... It will give you half off these items tho. I still do recommend it if you plan on eating 2 meals there.

There really werent any lines but I guess it depends when you go. I would say dont buy them. You can always buy them there.

 

[FormerFF]

We were just there and had the dining plan. It came free with our tickets. the only problem with the dining plan is that to get a drink you have to go into one of the participating places. so you cant just pick up a drink at any cart along the way. the dining plan has deserts but not the usual park snacks like ice cream, soft pretzles etc.... It will give you half off these items tho. I still do recommend it if you plan on eating 2 meals there.

There really werent any lines but I guess it depends when you go. I would say dont buy them. You can always buy them there.

+1. Buy the QuickQueue at the park if you find you need it.

BTW, it's not really like the FastPass. If you have the QuickQueue wristband you get to up to the ride and get on it within a couple of minutes. When you get off, you can immediately use it again. So, you could ride one of the coasters until you were sick if you so desired.

The day we were there it was moderately crowded, and since we were only there for a day it was worth it. Also, at the end of the day, the Gwazi coaster was almost deserted. My daughters took advantage of this to ride it six times in about 30 minutes. I made it twice, then my neck told me to get off. Like all wooden coasters, it's a rough ride.

 

[DOOM1001]

+1. Buy the QuickQueue at the park if you find you need it.

BTW, it's not really like the FastPass. If you have the QuickQueue wristband you get to up to the ride and get on it within a couple of minutes. When you get off, you can immediately use it again. So, you could ride one of the coasters until you were sick if you so desired.

The day we were there it was moderately crowded, and since we were only there for a day it was worth it. Also, at the end of the day, the Gwazi coaster was almost deserted. My daughters took advantage of this to ride it six times in about 30 minutes. I made it twice, then my neck told me to get off. Like all wooden coasters, it's a rough ride.

Gwazi was closed for a couple of weeks where they retracked the coaster and exchanged the old trains to Millenium Flyer trains,this change was very needed as like you said the ride had gotten extremely rough to the point where it was hard to ride without getting hurt,I rode it last month and the change was amazing,sure it rattles like a normal wood coaster but it is very smooth and comfortable where you can ride it multiple times.I rode it right before it closed for the work and it was close to unrideable,now it's good to go.