Busch Gardens - Any Good?

[Ware Bears]

I agree ~ we visited on a Saturday and found the park full of local teens. We still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but have earmarked to visit on a weekday this time.

 

[Northstar]

Just went on Dec. 20th for the first time. Also totally uninterested in coasters, focused on animals.

Best things about Busch gardens, in our limited experience:

Serengeti Safari tour

Nice landscaping and animal exhibit areas

Katonga show

Friendly customer service

Worst things about Busch Gardens, in our limited experience:

Snacks!! All the little snack places we could find had the exact same limited menu... packaged ice cream treats, popcorn, and the worst nachos ever... melted Velveeta poured over taco chips.

Lack of info about what was open when and unreasonable early closings... the park was listed as open until 7:00 but the Crown Colony restaurant closed its kitchen at 5:00??? So our plan to have dinner there was no go... Also, when we reached the Lory Landing at 5:45 there was a sign on the door saying the birds go to bed at sunset and the door was locked. So why couldn't the open hours have been listed in the park map/guide so we could plan on getting there earlier?

Lack of protection for animals from ignorant guests. Unlike Disney AK and any zoo I've ever been to, there are plenty of places where people are close enough to throw stuff into animal enclosures, and no staff members around to stop it... I saw people banging on glass to liven up fish that weren't moving enough for them and throwing popcorn on sleeping alligators. Nothing horrible, I guess, and maybe someone is watching on hidden cameras, but it startled me a little to see how exposed some of the animals were.


So would I go back? Sure. The place is huge and we didn't even get to all the animal exhibits. But next time I'm smuggling food in!

 

[Mystry62]

As a Busch Gardens passholder for 10+ years, definitely take the others' advice and go on a weekday. Busch Gardens offers a FL resident promo every year to pay for one day and play all year, so many local teens get these passes and hog the park on weekends. During the week you will see more of the retired crowd and tour groups, but most of the rides are walk ons. Coming from Disney, it will be a nice change. I have not yet fed the giraffes but want to eventually. You will have a great time! Enjoy!

 

[kennancat]

We went in November on a weekday and it was pretty quiet. The only bad part was that is was so slow that they didn't have a lot of vehicles on the rides and waits were longer than I felt they should have been. Especially when you can see that there's only one car on Kumba and you have to wait for it to come back around. Plus, it drives me nuts that they don't make much of an effort to fill the ride vehicles like they do at Disney (which means I have to wait that much longer). DH and I frequently go ahead and let a party of 1 or 2 in front of us to make sure the row is full.

Oh, and FYI with the Python ride being pulled out, I believe they were going to shut down part of the white tiger exhibit as part of the rehab.

 

[DebbieinWA]

We were there December 12th and had a wonderful time. Wait times were very short. We were not able to see the white tiger because of the rehab going on, but we did see the baby gorilla, which was a treat. As someone else mentioned, the Katonga show is great. The coasters are amazing. And don't miss the Pirates 4-D show if you like Leslie Nielson. For food, we went to the Crown Colony counter service area. The amount of food for the price was good in my opinion. BG is definitely someplace we would go back to in the future.

 

[DisDee]

We visited BG last Feb. for the first time. We purchased the combo silver Passport which also includes SW. We'll be flying to Florida on Jan. 20 to visit both parks again, and of course WDW. I loved the African theme at BG! Don't miss the show Katonga, which is presented in an indoor theatre. It's an easy drive from Orlando...you should do it!