Busch Gardens touring plan?

[lvdis]

We will be going to Busch Gardens in Tampa for our first time this summer. My son has been wanting to go for quite some time and we are finally going to fit it in! Planning to spend one maybe two days there (they are currently offering a 2nd day free for single day tickets).

I'm used to planning everything for Disney trips and finding all kinds of information. That same level of information seems to be very much lacking for BGT! I'm wondering if anyone has any advice as far as what rides / shows to hit first, etc. We are big roller coaster fans, so we plan to ride all of them, but would also like to see the animals and some shows. We will be going sometime the week of July 16 - 23. I know... it will be hot and probably busy! Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[chiamarie]

Hot, yes it will be.

Busy? Probably not as busy as the MK will be. If you go on a weekend, then yes, it might be busier with the locals showing up to ride the new ride, Cheetah Hunt.

Top Thrill Rides:
-Shiekra-sit in the front row for the biggest thrill. It's a 200ft drop face-first to the ground. It's a really fun ride.
-Montu-a floor less coaster, where the track is above your head.
-Kumba-a typical roller coaster
-Gwazi-Wooden Roller Coaster.
and their new one:
-Cheetah Chase: to which I don't think anyone knows much about.

Take your time and explore these animal areas:
-Jungala:Tigers and Organ tan's as well as a few other small primates in the back and some otters if you look closely.
-Primate area- Chimpanzees and Gorilla's
-You can feed the Kangaroos. Keep in mind, because of health reason, it's acutally against the law for BG to let children under the age of 5 in this area. Children's immune systems aren't fully developed, and there is some bacteria that they could catch from them that isn't good. So avoid this area if you do have small children, that way they won't want to go in and be disappointed when they aren't able to. Because BG won't make any exceptions for the rules here.
-Edge of Africa-There are Hippos,lions, a savannah with various hoof-stalk (including giraffes), laughing hyena's, meerkats, lemurs and a crocodile.
-Elephants
-Jambo Junction with smaller animals (snakes, and insects as well as flamingos, lemurs, tortoise, etc. A fun little area to explore.

I'm not really familar with their shows there, I typically spend most my time on the rides and looking at these animal exibits.

I would also suggest looking into taking a Safari Tour. You can go out in a truck and see giraffes up close (as well as other animals on the safari) as well as feed the giraffes too!


Hope this helps a little bit!

 

[lovebuzz]

How old are your children? We just got back, so if you have any questions, fire away.

 

[tarrbear]

Honestly, I love all of the shows at Busch Gardens.

But here are my favorites
Critter Castaways- A cute show featuring plenty of animals doing cute tricks
Cirque Dream: Jungle Fantasy- A cirque du soleil style show
Lets Dance: Now this show ends May 1st and will be replaced, with what, I don't know. But this show takes place in the Desert Grill, we like to time our lunch to a showtime. And whatever takes its place, will be entertaining.

Now- I see that you are going in July, during the summer months on weekends, Summer Nights takes place where the hours are extended into the night and there are DJ's throughout the park. Last year they had a show called Kinetix, an acrobatic stunt/dance show with live vocalists. This year they are bringing this show back with a new twist so I have heard. We saw Kinetix for the first time in the passholder preview and throughout the summer we ended up revisiting in the evening just to see this show. This is only preformed once a night but there are PLENTY of seats, but if you want to be up close, arrive a little early. To me, this is a not to miss show.

 

[lvdis]

How old are your children? We just got back, so if you have any questions, fire away.

They are 19 and 16. How many days were you there for? I'm trying to decide if one will be enough. We all like roller coasters and I'm wanting to schedule the safari where you get to feed giraffes.

 

[lvdis]

I saw some information about Summer Nights. I didn't realize it was weekends only. We will only be there one or two days during the week. Probably a Tuesday for sure. I'm not sure about the other day if we decide to spend more than one.

 

[gardener14]

My understanding is that Summer Nights runs nightly during the designated dates.

 

[jeffn5631]

Summer Nights runs during the Summer vacation break for the local school systems.