Busch Gardens quick trip report

[Jedana]

So, we went to BG over Memorial Day weekend (Sat-Mon).

After searching for hours (I had a 2 day notice we were going), I narrowed it down to doing a stay and play deal or buying annual passes. We chose to get the Annual Passes, with ezpay. Starting cost: $40 for all 3 of us. We pay $40 a month, for 11 more months. Much easier to manage, financially. Passes gave us free parking ($15 a day, so we paid less for the passes up front then we would have for parking for 3 days), plus 10% off food/drinks/merchandise.

Rented a car: Enterprise. Gave us an upgrade for less than $10 for the whole weekend, ended up with a Ford Edge. Loved it! About $110 for Sat morning-Tues morning. Drove to Tampa Saturday during the day.

Hotel: ended up with Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa North. about 20 minutes from BG. Lots of parking. $266 for 2 nights
Positives: Hotel was clean. Had a King 1 bdrm suite, so the bed was in a separate room. DS slept on the sofa bed. had a full kitchen, 2 tvs. Room was very big! checked in at 2pm
Negative: bed was uncomfortable. in the sink area of the bathroom, both lights were out and not replaced. No clean towels on Sunday--they took the dirty ones, but didn't leave any. Breakfast was just bad--we went out to Einstein's Bros Bagels (Oh, how I have missed this place--we don't have them in Jax) instead.
Won't stay again, negatives outweighed the positives.



Now, the good, the bad and the ugly of BG:

Spent about 20 minutes in line getting the APs. Not bad on a Saturday afternoon! Showed our ids, and away we went. DH did a couple of the roller coasters, DS did a few rides, and I took lots of pictures! (I am not a rides person--the most I will do are bumper cars and the river rapids, which I couldn't do this weekend for personal reasons)

We did purchase a refillable cup, was 6.99 without discount, and refills were .99 without discount. (Note: cups can be used all season long.) We did purchase dinner. The Zagora Café--DS had chicken tenders (good), DH a burger (dry) and I had the fajita wrap (mushy). Got 10% off on all that.

Be warned: park closes at 8pm and most restaurants close by 6. Not good if you want a late dinner.

 

[Jedana]

Sunday, we purchased the all you can eat wristbands for each of us, plus an unlimited quick queue pass for DH. We also purchased the Savannah Safari for all 3 of us. Prices were higher, due to it being a holiday, but with the APs, and the very nice lady at the counter, we spent around $160 on all this. ($19 for each for Safari, $24 each for DH/I food, $21 for food for DS [supposed to be 40 each adult, 35 for kid], and $25 for QQ [supposed to be 40] plus tax.)


Saw the tigers and cheetahs, and all sorts of awesome animals! DS loved going up the Tiger tunnel and having the tiger laying right next to his head!


The QQ pass was awesome--DH rode each coaster at least twice, and his favorites 3 or 4 times. (Cheetah Hunt and Sheikra)

We rode DS's favorites (bumper cars, Sand Serpent, Carousel), and he spent a lot of time playing at the Trails area--including the water fountains. We left the Sesame Street area for the little ones, though he did ride a couple of rides there before we left).


Shopping—ah, my third favorite word. Bought the girls some souvenirs (magnets for one, keychain and pins—including a passholder one--for the other); DS got a necklace and a mister fan; I got a keychain. Also, bought 2 more insulated mugs for camps this summer.


The all you can eat wristbands worked well for us. Not only did we get free drinks all day long (I would go and get them while the guys were riding), but we also got 50% off snacks. Dippin Dots, Popcorn (refillable) bucket (3.99, refills 1.99), cotton candy and another refillable mug (this one was insulated and was 8.99 before discount)...all 50% off! For the drinks, we didn't wait in line, just walked up to the end counter and picked them up (they have them made up) and walked to the cashier. As long as no one was in front of us, the cashier would just wave us through.

Lunch was at the Desert Grill and was actually pretty good. DS had a hot dog and fries, and DH and I both had the corned beef sandwich. We also had fries, and we both got watermelon as well, then went back for cookies. Saw the show here (was ok).


The Bad and Ugly (turns into Good later): DS walked out the door while I was throwing away trash and DH was in line getting another drink--DS (9) didn't realize I wasn't behind him. He had kept walking, and ended up near a ride, away from the restaurant. He kept his cool, though, and went to the ride guy and told him he lost his parents. They got security there within a minute, and then they started searching for us, while talking to DS. I had turned around and DS was gone--I grabbed DH and had him check the bathroom, then we looked all over the restaurant. Didn't find DS, so I went to the cashier to get security and DH went out to look for DS. Within 5 minutes, he was back with us. Very scary, but DS did the right thing, and we learned a lesson--always make sure we know who is doing what!


Dinner was good--Zambia Smokehouse. DS had chicken (natch), I had the brisket sandwich and DH the brisket platter. Fries all around, watermelon and grapes. Very good, though I wish they had a better BBQ sauce. The strawberry shortcake was ok, the whipped cream tasted weird though.
All in all, the all you can eat pass worked for us.

A quick note: if you want just water bottles, outside the Zagora Café is a small bar. You can pick up water bottles with your wristbands there, and not have to mess with going into the café.

We would have spent $70 on lunch and dinner for all 3 of us, so having paid $61 for the passes was a bargain. I would have spent at least $20 on water bottles that day alone, and instead, they were free.

 

[Jedana]

The Safari. Ah, that was the best part of the trip! $19 each. We got to see the rhinos up close, as well as zebras and water buffalos (I think). The giraffes are DS’s favorite animals…and to watch him feed them and pet them was amazing! One giraffe was very smart, and knew the cooler contained lettuce and palm fronds—she managed to open it up and was eating out of it while the guide was giving us instructions! Was absolutely worth every penny.


Stayed to close the park. Was never super busy.




Monday:
Ate breakfast at EB again. I really miss that place! Panera just isn’t the same.

Busier today than it had been all weekend, but the lines were still less than 30minutes each.

DH just walked on to Sheikra and Cheetah Hunt several times.

We did more of the animal stuff today—got to see the inside (via ultrasound) of a female bush baby! They were doing checkups on the bush babies before allowing them to mate again. Way cool.

Had snacks, rode the train, and did DS’s rides again. More shopping—DS got a pair of sunglasses and a sports cord, plus a “build a bear” type stuffed wolf.

We left about 2pm, and grabbed lunch at a Cracker Barrel about an hour later, on the way home.


All in all, an awesome trip! Can’t wait to go back!

 

[tleager]

We are headed there next week, thanks for a great report, I feel ready to tackle the park

 

[tink20]

We are headed there next week, thanks for a great report, I feel ready to tackle the park

Us too. Going to BG on Wed and Fri. It will be our first time, kinda of nervous, I have no plan

OP, thanks for the review. Glad your DS kept calm and did the right thing. We will have the All day dining one day while there. I wonder what time the restaurants will close when we are there. The park will close at 6pm on Wed. the day we plan to use our All day dining.

 

[angelmom27]

Love your trip report. I wanted to do a summer weekend trip but found out we are expecting. I am a huge coaster junkie so it wouldn't be worth it. We do all day dining too at SW and its always worth it. Like you one meal alone for a family of 9 almost covers the cost of the plan.

 

[wiigirl]

Great report!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

An excellent report . Just another reminder that I need to keep Busch Gardens on my Florida to-do list for future trips!