Busch Gardens questions

[lidec]

We are going to Orlando in April. I would like to do Busch Gardens. I will be traveling with my son 13, handicap daughter 17 and parents early 70s.(when doing Disney my parents go to the shows with my daughter while my son and I ride. It works out well) Son loves roller coasters and daughter and parents would love the shows and animals. Can we do it in one day or do we need 2. Im not sure if we should drive from Orlando (over an hr drive time), take the bus offer from SeaWorld( so I dont have to drive but stuck with the time offered by the shuttle and Im not even sure how this works) or spend the end of our vacation by getting a hotel in Tampa for 2 nights to do BG and flying out of Tampa instead of Orlando. Any thoughts would be great. Ive looked at Tampa hotels but some say to watch the area you are in because it can be sketchy. I would love to hear what others have done. Also traveling with my daughter, I try to make it as easy as possible for all of us. We have done Disney several times along with Sea World and would like to try something different Thanks so much

 

[zilp]

If you and your son don't need to see the shows, then I think one day would be plenty. On our recent trip we drove to BG from Orlando. It was an easy drive and it took about an hour. I would recommend taking your own vehicle versus relying on a shuttle. I like the flexibility of being able to come and go as I please.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

One day is fine. We went in July and had planned on 2 days for a mostly coasters trip, but fit it all in in one. Just drive down for the day.

 

[wdw4rfam]

One day is fine. If you have a car and driving is an option...DRIVE IT. The drive is an easy one, and it is so worth it. The shuttle is time consuming, it makes many stops, so takes almost double the time, so if you are only doing one day, you want to save the time. We actually got there when it opened, and finished seeing everything an hour and a half before the park closed. So we would have had to wait for the bus, instead we just hopped in the car and went back.