Bush Garden

[rings]

It will be our first time in orlando and wondering if bush garden is worth a vist also could you tell me if once you pay to get into the park is there any other charges eg any attractions? As we have been told you have to pay for some rides once you enter the park which can be expensive once you have already paid your entrance fee.
Emma

 

[Spondishy]

If you love the roller coasters its a must. Can't remember paying for extra rides. Remember it being a bit tricky to find and a little less organized than Disney.

 

[Double k]

It's a good park it is more relaxed than most of the others, i did not pay for any extras inside that was nov , there is a new coster opened this year called Shekra i am told it is fantastic there is a video of it on there web site all in all i say yes it is well worth a visit i will be going back next year

 

[Shooby doo]

I suppose it depends on how long you are going for,what I mean by that is if you are planning on doing all the WDW parks,US,IOA,SW & the 3 main waterparks you don't get much change out of 2 weeks! It is well worth going to AK on a much bigger & better scale,also if you are a coaster fan it beats IOA hands down. What I think people mean by paying extra is that there is a mini fairground type area near The Haunted Lighthouse that costs extra but it has never intrested us & there is more than enough "freebies" in the park.
HTh SD aw:

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Busch Gardens fans over here. Can't imagine not visiting it on our trips. We travelled up from Ft Myers beach this year (2.5 hrs) to visit Busch during our "relaxing" two weeks before we hit Orlando.

It's got so much to offer. It's better than Animal Kingdom, more animals, more conservation stuff which really is very interesting, especially the Gorilla reserve.

The rides are great - we've never paid extra for anything, including the 4D Haunted Lighthouse. The only "extras" are the fairground 'splat the frog', hoopla type things in one small area. Just walk through!

It's well worth the entry fee, we've never had a problem finding it either from Orlando or down South, it's well signposted. Getting out sometimes is a little more difficult, because then it's not so well signposted, just remember which road you came in!

If you are considering visiting SeaWorld, as they are sister parks there are often good deals to be had on two park tickets.

 

[julieannbabe]

i really enjoyed - although i didn't get to see half of it as i went for the day and it like 335 acres!

i would recommend going - but don't go with the idea of comparing it to Disney.

Enjoy!

 

[wicket2005]

It is not a park I would visit on every single visit to Orlando. We went in 1998 (twice) and once this year. Though we had a good day, we are not bothered about going back next year. When we first went in 1998 the coasters were the big attraction but now IoA is up and running and is far superior. There were quite a few animals to see but no more than in the Animal Kingdom.

We didn't pay for anything else inside. You can book for things like the giraffe safari which would be extra. My youngest son really fancied this so we will probably do this at some point.

 

[disneyvillainlover]

I Love BGs and would say defo try and fit it in ..

it is not Disney so don't expect the Disney magic but I love the animals the rides and the atmosphere
I think it has far more than IOA .. though I love IOA too it is such a small park when you take a good luck...

as for paying for some rides ... maybe they booked the safari (this does cost extra) but it is only like the behind the scenes tours at Disney or the keeper for a day etc at Seaworld that you pay extra for ..

 

[Andy Lou & Meg]

No question you have to go. It is one of the best parks for rides (DH rode Sheirka twice, although I never had the courage to do it and said it was the best ride he has ever been on). I really cannot say enough about how good this park is, but it is only worth going to if you enjoy the big rides or you are really into animals.

Our DD5 loves it because its the only place that has a ride that she is big enough for that goes upside down - Scorpian.

Also you get free beer - what more could you ask for.

 

[vicky1bfc]

I love BG and if you love roller coaster's it's a must..

Imo it is very poorly sign posted ,first time we got very,very lost but this time we got the instruction's out of "Brit's guide" and found it very easy.

 

[Tron[ADS]]

We always visit Busch Gardens on our trips, and will be doing so again next May. Its maybe not too brilliant for really young children, I cant remember my eldest going on that much when we were there last time (she would have been 3&1/2), but she did enjoy seeing the animals etc, which I think it is better than Animal Kingdom for. She will be 5 and a bit next trip, so there should be plenty for her to do.
Ive always found it not too bad to get to, its only really about 4 turns from the 192 (although with obvious long stretches inbetween, hehe).
Last time we went I took my PDA with TomTom on it, to see if It told me any alternative ways home, but the damn thing crashed on me and my wife wasnt too impressed with me trying to get it working again whilst driving, so it got put away. Now I have the newer version (5) and on my phone, Its a lot more stable, so I'll have another go at that next year.

 

[Laurafoster]

As far as im aware its only the extra stuff like the safari you need to pay for but we didnt do that, didnt even have time to!

 

[tartangirl]

We went a few years back and thought the park was starting to look a bit tacky - fun fare stalls that attract the kids and cost you a extra $$s to get a soft toy you could do without.

We also found there was less cover than the other parks and there was no Fastpass system which ruled most of the rides out for us as we couldn't find the desire to Q in the heat.

That said, the rollercoasters look great and with the new ride the others may become quieter. There were also a couple of less scary coasters that still go upside down that are usually very quiet (Python was good fun).

There was a kids area for the young ones - it only had a few rides and they were pretty tame.

If going during a busy time make sure you check the opening time and arrive early - we got the wrong opening time and by the time we arrived (9:30) Rhino Rally already had a 45min waiting time

 

[margaret2]

its a must do, they have some of the best coasters there and i have never had to pay for rides once inside go on enjoy yourself you will love it

 

[mkmarty]

The park has excursions, like the Busch Gardens Serengeti Tour. This is well worth paying extra for. You are taken out onto the 'plains' with a tour is an open land rover and he tells you about the animals and you get to feed them and have a photo with them. I think it was like $25 but made the holiday - can't wait to do it again!
Oh...it's worth the drive

More info at
http://tinyurl.com/a3ut9

 

[orlando novice]

Busch Gardens is only really worth a visit if you love Coasters, my daughter and husband did them all and loved them but thought Animal Kingdom was better and more informative about the animals.

 

[Cochise]

We had 3 weeks and have just returned. I felt the need to visit Busch on two occasions, there are no issues with the directions if you are organised and the park is a wonderful mix of styles.

Sheikra is awesome

Well worth a visit if not twice.