Which BG

[ahill004]

Hoping someone has been to both Busch Gardens and give me a comparison! Is one better than the other? Are they essentially the same deal?

 

[jeffn5631]

This is like comparing the old apples to oranges situation. BG Williamsburg is themed as the Old Country and the park is set into the separate european countries for its attractions. BG Tampa is themed as Africa and has a zoological park with a large open area for animals to roam freely and it also as different parts of Africa for its attractions. Which ever park you decide on it will be a win win situation for you.

 

[DOOM1001]

Been to both but being a Floridian I've been to the Tampa one 100 times for each time I've been to the Williamsburg park.The parks are both great but different,for example the Tampa park is located essentially in the middle of the city while the Williamsburg park is in a more open woody and hilly area.The Tampa park has an African/zoo theme while the Virginia park is all about European countries.I think both parks are pretty even on shows and coasters with Tampa having opened Cheetah Hunt and Iceploration in the last two years and Williamsburg opening their new coaster Verbolten this year,but I'll give the coaster edge to Tampa and the shows edge to Williamsburg since I love their Irish dance show.Williamsburg also wins out in the flat and unique rides category where Tampa falls pretty flat and Williamsburg wins big with rides like Europe in the air and Curse of Darkcastle which is a similar ride to Spider man at Universal.If you like animals Tampa wins on this one for sure,I love their new Walkabout Way area where you can pet Kangaroos and wallabies.Dining is also pretty even but I'll give the slight edge to Williamsburg.My final category is theming and park atmosphere,some people love zoos,I'm not one of them as I have one 5 minutes from my house and I go like once every 5 years so I'm obviously going to go with the Virginia park as I also love the European theme.The location of the park in a woody hilly area is much nicer but even though the Tampa park is in the middle of the city it is still very nice and clean inside with tons of gardens and plants.In the end I prefer the Virginia park but they're both excellent parks,especially if you like coasters,animals and shows,both are very much worth doing.

 

[ncfamily]

Have been to both recently. IMO BGW is a much nicer looking park and everything is themed very well. It seems to me that even though BGT has an African theme there are places where it seems they've forgotten about having a theme altogether. Tampa definitely gets the edge in animals, although there are still plenty of animals to be seen in Williamsburg. Tampa has a wooden roller coaster which Williamsburg does not. Overall though I'd give the coaster edge to Williamsburg, despite the fact that I think Cheetah Hunt is a much better launch coaster than Verbolten. Also seemed to me that Williamsburg has a lot more rides for the whole family than does Tampa. However that could be because the kids weren't with me in Tampa so I wasn't really looking for them.

 

[ahill004]

Thank you sooooo much for the detailed descriptions and opinions. They are incredibly helpful. I appreciate it so much!

 

[ncfamily]

One more thing. BGW is having all kinds of problems with Verbolten. So don't count on riding it if you're thinking of going there.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

BG Williamsburg consistently wins awards for most beautiful park. It is decorated very well and kept immaculately clean.
I prefer the rides and animals at Tampa though Williamsburg is a great change of pace.
I think a deciding factor for me is that Williamsburg always has seemed very crowded when walking around and ride lines are generally long whereas Tampa does not seem as congested and ride lines seem to be much shorter.
I think the parking lot in Wills is very big with so many sections compared to Tampa so maybe they draw a bigger crowd.

 

[ncfamily]

I was correct in my earlier assessment that Williamsburg has more rides. I think I counted 23 on their website while Tampa only boasts 16.