Busch Gardens Tampa

[crazy_for_the_dis]

Just found out that DC no longer offers the Aquatica only add--on, and the only way to get Aquatica (with a DC package) is to do the $50 add-on and get SW/BG/ and Aquatica.

Is Busch Gardens worth making a trip to Tampa for? I think it is 45 min drive correct? Our girls are not coaster fans, one is a wimp when it comes to coasters and the other is too short for most of them. If I had known this earlier in the week, I would have booked out flights info Tampa instead of MCO and made BG a half-day the day we get there. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.....

 

[dolphingirl47]

We are not coaster fans either, but love Busch Gardens. When we went in November, the only "rides" we did was Rhino Rally, the train and the sky ride. Apart from this we just concentrated on the different animal exhibits. We also did the Serengeti Safari and were able to feed and touch some giraffes. We had a wonderful day.

dolphingirl47

 

[bucsfan1029]

Busch Gardens is not just an amusement park, but also one of the best zoos in the country. While it is well known for their coasters, there is plenty of other things to do there. They just opened Jungala, which is very kids friendly and there are also several shows throughout the park. Edge of Africa is also an awesome animal exhibit. You can easily spend an entire day at the park without setting foot on a roller coaster.

 

[fan of the TTA]

We are not coaster fans either, but love Busch Gardens. When we went in November, the only "rides" we did was Rhino Rally, the train and the sky ride. Apart from this we just concentrated on the different animal exhibits. We also did the Serengeti Safari and were able to feed and touch some giraffes. We had a wonderful day.

dolphingirl47

same here.

most of the rides there are for real thrillseekers.

would not go back

 

[lovinpoohbear]

I was debating the same thing, just got back 2 weeks ago, and Busch Gardens was GREAT!! We LOVED Rhino Rally and the steam train that travels all through the African safari. It was great and worth the trip. We got to see so many animals up close and it was such a nice and relaxing day!! We would certainly return our next trip and Aquatica was also enjoyed by all!!
Go to www.tripadvisor.com and when you search for Busch Gardens you can read trip reports as well as tourist pics and seeing the reviews and pics really helped me decide if Busch Gardens would be worth it for us.
We aren't thrill seekers either and really enjoyed the animals!!!!

 

[fan of the TTA]

I was debating the same thing, just got back 2 weeks ago, and Busch Gardens was GREAT!! We LOVED Rhino Rally and the steam train that travels all through the African safari. It was great and worth the trip. We got to see so many animals up close and it was such a nice and relaxing day!! We would certainly return our next trip and Aquatica was also enjoyed by all!!
Go to www.tripadvisor.com and when you search for Busch Gardens you can read trip reports as well as tourist pics and seeing the reviews and pics really helped me decide if Busch Gardens would be worth it for us.
We aren't thrill seekers either and really enjoyed the animals!!!!

lol... all the more for you

there was a water ride, nothing special, something you could have probably done at universal's Islands of adventure, but just with out the sounds.

loads of coasters (not for me)

the rhino thing, which is a copy of what you can find at animal kingdom

a 4 d pirate show (pretty good actually!) though we do have the same show in england, so i've seen it loads of times.

animals (again, animal kingdom or zoo would do that)

and a sky train

 

[bucsfan1029]

There are a lot of coasters (6 all together if you count Cheetah Chase, which is like Primeval Whirl at Animal Kingdom). But, it's not like you are going to Cedar Rapids, where there are 17 coasters. There are actually 3 water rides, one that is similair to Kali Rapids ar Animal Kingdom, and the other 2 are more like flume rides.

I haven't even mentioned the 2 kids areas (Junagala and Land of the Dragons), that blows Animal Kingdom's kids area away. There are also other kids rides spread throughout the park.

The 4D pirate show is okay, but "KaTonga" has recieved outstanding reviews from Boradway critics. It is compared to the Lion King and is fun for all ages.

If you are a beer fan, there is also a Beer Gardens area, where you can get complimentary samples of a few of Anheuser Busch's brands. There is also a beer school which explains the history of the company and how the beer is made.

Animal Kingdom has a great zoo, but many of their animals are only seen on the safari ride. The great thing about Busch is that there are countless displays spread throughout the park. This is by far my families favorite part of the park.

 

[crazy_for_the_dis]

Beer...now your talking (just kidding)! Thanks for all the responses. I guess I'll have to start looking at the BG website to determine if it is for us. Does it get crowded? Plus, hot how (dumb question I know its FL, but to me AK is the hottest park at Disney and we always have a miserable time there. My husband hates crowds and heat.........but does like beer!)

I looked at buying AQ passes on the website and it only is 38 for adults and 32 for kids. Plus, I was going to book a DC package with Marriott, and I did not realize that if you do that, you cannot get the upgrade for $50 to include the other parks. So in the long run, it might be better to just pass on BG this time. But, I could stay at another hotel (actually cheaper too since I could use points to pay for it, don't have enough Marriott points for the other hotel) and buy the DC passes directly from DC and do the upgrade. It just might be hard to fit in BG into our schedule. It would make SW a half day the day we get in. If you had to give up SW (or at least a half day of SW) for BG, for those who did like it, would it be worth it?

 

[Daysleeper40]

lol

animals (again, animal kingdom or zoo would do that)

Sorry but BGT kicks AK's **** when it comes to animal exhibits.

The only way to see most of the animals at AK is to take the Serengeti Safari which involves queueing and a very small chance of getting any good photos. At BGT you get to spend as long as you want viewing the animals. I believe BGT has a much wider variety of animals and superior exhibits than AK and would definately recommend it.

We are adrenaline junkies so loved the coasters at BGT - but we still only rode four of them and spent the rest of the day looking at the animals. Now Jungala is open I would dedicate a whole day to the animals and go back for at least half a day for the coasters.


Have a look in my trip report for photo's and a little video montage thing of BGT's animal exhibits - it's day 3

 

[Daysleeper40]

...and in reply to your last post:

I couldn't choose btw SW and BGT - they are two of my favourite places. I would drop a Disney day for either of them.

We were spoiled when we went in sept - no crowds and really relaxed atmosphere at BGT. AK by contrast was rammed and not relaxing at all.

 

[fan of the TTA]

Sorry but BGT kicks AK's **** when it comes to animal exhibits.

The only way to see most of the animals at AK is to take the Serengeti Safari which involves queueing and a very small chance of getting any good photos. At BGT you get to spend as long as you want viewing the animals. I believe BGT has a much wider variety of animals and superior exhibits than AK and would definately recommend it.

We are adrenaline junkies so loved the coasters at BGT - but we still only rode four of them and spent the rest of the day looking at the animals. Now Jungala is open I would dedicate a whole day to the animals and go back for at least half a day for the coasters.


Have a look in my trip report for photo's and a little video montage thing of BGT's animal exhibits - it's day 3

obviously you never went to AK. the ride is called kilamanjaro, and actually it's quite a good ride.

yeah, okay, you can spend all the time you want at bush gardens looking at the animals, but for crying out loud, they have zoos for a reason. look for a while at the animals, then do the rides.

make a day of visiting a zoo or something

 

[gardener14]

I say BGA is most definitely worth the trip for more than one day even if you are not a coaster fan. There are so many wonderful and engaging animal exhibits, family rides, fabulous shows, and great food, and an awesome atmosphere.

 

[ChrisFL]

obviously you never went to AK. the ride is called kilamanjaro, and actually it's quite a good ride.

yeah, okay, you can spend all the time you want at bush gardens looking at the animals, but for crying out loud, they have zoos for a reason. look for a while at the animals, then do the rides.

make a day of visiting a zoo or something

Sorry, but I agree with that poster, BG's animal exhibits are much more accessible than AK's (and much nicer than most zoos) and I've been to both several times.

As far as being hot...BG is more out in the open, it doesn't have as many trees as AK but it also does not have much shade.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that their food is very good. The Crown Colony restaurant has an excellent table service restaurant, and most counter service places are good (and not just typical burgers, chicken fingers, etc.)

 

[Daysleeper40]

Sorry, but I agree with that poster, BG's animal exhibits are much more accessible than AK's (and much nicer than most zoos) and I've been to both several times.

As far as being hot...BG is more out in the open, it doesn't have as many trees as AK but it also does not have much shade.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that their food is very good. The Crown Colony restaurant has an excellent table service restaurant, and most counter service places are good (and not just typical burgers, chicken fingers, etc.)

Thanks ChrisFL

Sorry - my mistake on the name of the ride but my reasoning still stands. It is a ride first an formost. Not a bad ride, but not much good for actually spending time viewing the animals - especially if you happen to get a seat on the right hand side (which we did).

For a park named Animal Kingdom I would expect veiwing animals to be a BIG part of the experience and found that it could do more to live up to it's name.

You can read about our experiences of both parks in my trip report.

Crazy_for_the_dis - We had a fantastic time at BGT but it was a really tiring day. If you are struggling to fit it in to your schedule it might be better to leave it for another trip when you can do it justice. SW is also fantastic and it would be a shame to only half experience either of these parks.

 

[crazy_for_the_dis]

Thanks for all the responses. I actually have a friend from work down in Tampa this week, and they are going to BG, so I may give her a call Friday or Sat to see what they thought of it too. I wish we could fit it in, but with DC, SW Aquatica, a pool/cabana day with BMG in the evening, IOA and Univ, and traveling to and from on the first and last day, the week is somewhat spoken for. We have been to SW, so if I move SW to the day we get there, and make it a half day, we would have a day for BG. But it just seems like I'm trying to crowd too much in.