Busch Gardens on weekend after Thanksgiving

[alexandra uk]

Has anyone been to BG's on the Sat or Sun after Thanksgiving ?
I know that its better to avoid the Disney parks, but I was wondering how the crowd levels would be at Busch.
Would people who are only there for the Thanksgiving holiday drive the journey there

 

[vernon]

BG/SW are offering the year long passes as they did last year. This does mean that a lot of the locals have taken up the offer and I found that weekends (any weekend) tend to be quite busy with local teens. Nothing against them, in general they behave pretty well, but it does mean the park gets pretty busy, particularly the "thrill rides". If possible I would visit BG on a weekday, when hopefully the local kids are at school. I've found SeaWorld is the best park for crowds/holidays as it isn't the first place that local season ticket holders think of going plus the majority of the attractions are shows that have pretty big capacity.

Alex, I've just remembered you were asking about a 2 year old. I do think it's worth you trying to fit BG into your schedule, they have a wonderful play area with lots of little versions of rides that would be ideal for a toddler. There are treehouses, rope bridges, slides (hours of fun, and that's just chasing the kids in an attempt to get em out of the damn place LOL ) There are also a couple of areas with "carnival" type rides (aeroplane swings, teacups etc) that are particularly sized for little guests. The play area, called land of the dragons, is conveniently situated a couple of minutes walk from the hospitality area, so you and DH can grab a couple of free "hospitality beverages" and have a refreshing slurp with DS has a charge round the play area.

 

[alexandra uk]

Thanks Vernon
Dh is more excited about Busch than he is about Disney, Dis. cove or anywhere else, so we'll definatly be going there.
I didn't really know there was that much there for little ones though, it sounds like he'll really enjoy himself.
I haven't looked at their website yet, so I'll have to have a look later and see all thats there.
Going on what you've said about the locals, I'll leave it until mid week to visit. I'll do anything to avoid crowds of people, nothing spoils my day more.
I'm thinking of just giving all of the parks a miss, and visiting Wonderworks, Ripleys, and Guiness world book of records. They're things that I want to do anyway, so as long as they're not normally crowded, I'll give them a whirl
Thanks again
Alex

 

[Peebee]

Hi Alex

When we visited Busch on the Monday after Thanksgiving last year it was pretty quiet, and to be honest a good proportion of the 'crowds' seemed to be Brits. Really was good that day, with walk-ons on all the attractions.

Have to agree about the hospitality area - it's about 2 mins walk from the bird show, so you can time this right and enjoy the show with a beer sample or two!

We tried the Crown Colony sit-down restaurant last time and were pleasantly surprised. Pretty decent food and cheaper than Disney too, I thought. You sit way about the area that contains all the animals and can watch whilst you eat. There was also an old-style piano player to entertain you, if I remember rightly. Nice change of pace on the whole.

Paul