Busch gardens touring plan

[Haley R]

We’re thinking about going to Busch gardens in Tampa next Saturday. It’ll be just Dh and I. Neither of us has been there before and I haven’t seen much about a touring strategy. Our main thing would be to go on the coasters while we’re there. Is there a certain order we should go in? Anything else we should know about the park before going? Is it gonna be crazy busy on a Saturday?

 

[Haley R]

Anyone?

 

[bobbie68]

Hi we just got back from Bush Gardens and it was our first time. I do belong to several forums that gave me tips for it. I didn't necessarily follow it only because my DD wasn't feeling good. This is what was suggested to me.

When you go through the gate go to the right and ride Cheetah Hunt, Cobra's Curse and Montu. We walked through the animal trail when we left the area. We came up by the train station and a snack place. We decided to do to train later. We walked up to the middle to Falcon's Fury in the middle of the park. The guys rode it then we took a break and got the stuffed pretzels from the stand next to it. The best-stuffed pretzels. They were like a meal they were so big. From there we walked around and saw the tigers. We decided to do the sky ride but thought it went all the way around but instead we had to get off at the front of the park. We did then we took our time looked around then went the other way to left. This would bring us to Sheikra, Tigris and a few others. I would study the map of the park. There are people who suggest to go to the back of the park and work your way to the front. Tigris will have a long wait so you could go right thereafter Cheetah Hunt and that area. It was over 100 degrees when we were there so we ended up riding the train a long time and left early. The train and the sky ride are nice to sightsee the park.

It is a nice park and I can't wait to go back.

I have a trip report on this thread that has our Bush Gardens Day! Enjoy your trip!


https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...ation-trip-report-6-19.3760349/#post-60866621

 

[Haley R]

Hi we just got back from Bush Gardens and it was our first time. I do belong to several forums that gave me tips for it. I didn't necessarily follow it only because my DD wasn't feeling good. This is what was suggested to me.

When you go through the gate go to the right and ride Cheetah Hunt, Cobra's Curse and Montu. We walked through the animal trail when we left the area. We came up by the train station and a snack place. We decided to do to train later. We walked up to the middle to Falcon's Fury in the middle of the park. The guys rode it then we took a break and got the stuffed pretzels from the stand next to it. The best-stuffed pretzels. They were like a meal they were so big. From there we walked around and saw the tigers. We decided to do the sky ride but thought it went all the way around but instead we had to get off at the front of the park. We did then we took our time looked around then went the other way to left. This would bring us to Sheikra, Tigris and a few others. I would study the map of the park. There are people who suggest to go to the back of the park and work your way to the front. Tigris will have a long wait so you could go right thereafter Cheetah Hunt and that area. It was over 100 degrees when we were there so we ended up riding the train a long time and left early. The train and the sky ride are nice to sightsee the park.

It is a nice park and I can't wait to go back.

I have a trip report on this thread that has our Bush Gardens Day! Enjoy your trip!


https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...ation-trip-report-6-19.3760349/#post-60866621

Hey thanks for answering! Did you do the all day dining deal? I can't decide if we should do it or not.

Does Cheetah Hunt get a pretty long line? We will be there on a Saturday so I'm wondering what to expect in terms of waits for the coasters. I'm thinking we'll head to Tigris first since it's the newest. Here's what I'm thinking:

• Tigris
• Sheikra
• Falcon’s Fury
• Kumba
• Sand Serpent
• Scorpion
• Cheetah Hunt
• Cobra’s Curse
• Montu

How does that look? Dh and I used the map to try and make a plan. We didn't put any animals or anything in because we'll probably just do that stuff on the fly.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi you're welcome. I think starting with Tigris is fine but then I would go to Sheikra or vice versa. They are close to each other. Then I would go to Kumba and work your way to the center where Falcon's fury is. You can do that Scorpion and Sand Serpent. Then I would do the last 3 together. Of course eat somewhere in between. I really enjoyed the stuff pretzels by Falcons Fury they are filling and awesome. If you and DH like beer you can get some free samples at the Serengeti Overlook restaurant.

We did not do the all day dining for 2 reasons. 1 I heard there are not enough restaurant choices the other is I saw how crowded it was and you could spend more time in food lines.

Cheetah Hunt does get a long line. However they run quite a few trains and have a decent loading time. You could be looking at 45 to 60 minute waits. The weather could always change things.

We did quite a few of low key things. We usually are running from one to another. It was about 100 degress. We were tired and not feeling great.

I hope this helps and you have a great time.

 

[Haley R]

Hi you're welcome. I think starting with Tigris is fine but then I would go to Sheikra or vice versa. They are close to each other. Then I would go to Kumba and work your way to the center where Falcon's fury is. You can do that Scorpion and Sand Serpent. Then I would do the last 3 together. Of course eat somewhere in between. I really enjoyed the stuff pretzels by Falcons Fury they are filling and awesome. If you and DH like beer you can get some free samples at the Serengeti Overlook restaurant.

We did not do the all day dining for 2 reasons. 1 I heard there are not enough restaurant choices the other is I saw how crowded it was and you could spend more time in food lines.

Cheetah Hunt does get a long line. However they run quite a few trains and have a decent loading time. You could be looking at 45 to 60 minute waits. The weather could always change things.

We did quite a few of low key things. We usually are running from one to another. It was about 100 degress. We were tired and not feeling great.

I hope this helps and you have a great time.

Hmm okay maybe we won’t do the all day dining then. I probably wouldn’t eat enough to make it worth it anyway. I usually just snack here and there.

I’d really rather not wait 45-60 minutes for cheetah hunt so I’m not sure what we should do about that. It’s not close to Tigris at all so idk how to get them both done right away. I guess if we don’t ride some of them we just don’t. It wouldn’t be a huge deal.

I’m anticipating it being pretty hot. We’re going this weekend coming up. I also need to remember that there could be an afternoon storm. The park will be open until 10 but we’re driving to Orlando after so idk if I want to stay that late.

 

[bobbie68]

You could go to cheetah hunt at opening if you can get there early. I know it makes sense to not go back and forth but in this case, you may want too. You could do Cheetah Hunt then go to Tigris or Sheikra. Kumba could be done next. I think it will be early enough if you are there early that you can get those two or three done without a big wait. I know for me it was important that I rode Cheetah Hunt and Tigris, whatever else was gravy. You may not be able to get to everything so prioritizing what you want is important.

I think skipping the all-day dining is a good idea. I think it will be busy and you don't want to waste time.

What I do before I go to a new park I always a lot of reviews on the coasters. I have gotten to a point in my life that I can't handle older ones that rattle my head. I also compare the style of the coaster to others that I have ridden that are similar. I really have a set plan of what I want to ride.

 

[Haley R]

You could go to cheetah hunt at opening if you can get there early. I know it makes sense to not go back and forth but in this case, you may want too. You could do Cheetah Hunt then go to Tigris or Sheikra. Kumba could be done next. I think it will be early enough if you are there early that you can get those two or three done without a big wait. I know for me it was important that I rode Cheetah Hunt and Tigris, whatever else was gravy. You may not be able to get to everything so prioritizing what you want is important.

I think skipping the all-day dining is a good idea. I think it will be busy and you don't want to waste time.

What I do before I go to a new park I always a lot of reviews on the coasters. I have gotten to a point in my life that I can't handle older ones that rattle my head. I also compare the style of the coaster to others that I have ridden that are similar. I really have a set plan of what I want to ride.

Okay I’m gonna put cheetah hunt first then. We’re used to crisscrossing at Disney so it shouldn’t be a problem. I’d rather ride them with a short wait and have extra walking than wait until later and have an hour wait. We’ll be driving over in the morning (about a 2 1/2 hour drive). I still plan to be there for opening though. How early do you suggest getting there before the park opens?

What other food did you eat besides the pretzels that you liked?

My goal is to ride all of the coasters. I did watch some POVs and I think sand serpent was the one that’s like the crazy mouse coaster. I would be okay skipping that one. I’m sure when we get there we’ll be flexible depending on wait times. Thanks for all your help!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

How early do you suggest getting there before the park opens?

In Feb (off season - not sure if applicable), they opened the parking lot 30min prior to park opening. So, don't bother to arrive before that.

 

[Haley R]

In Feb (off season - not sure if applicable), they opened the parking lot 30min prior to park opening. So, don't bother to arrive before that.

Okay that’s good to know because I would’ve gotten there like an hour before lol. I guess we’ll plan to get there around 30 minutes before. That means I won’t have to wake up as early

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Yeah, we may have sat outside the parking booths eating some granola bars for 15min... took a while before even another car showed up.

 

[Haley R]

Yeah, we may have sat outside the parking booths eating some granola bars for 15min... took a while before even another car showed up.

Lol good to know. I seriously would’ve showed up at least an hour early if you hadn’t said anything. When I told Dh he looked at me like he couldn’t believe it.