Bush Gardens?????

[LimoFam5]

Have you been? Going this January will be Me, my hubby, and our girls ages 5 and 6. Just wondering is the 1hr drive from a Disney resort to this park worth it? I was also thinking of doing the all day dinning plan while I was there in the park. All day all you can eat is $29.99 for adults and $14.99 for chids, have you tried that before how is the food.......IS IT WORTH IT?????

 

[jeffn5631]

I have been a passport member for over 10 years and I do highly recommend your attendance. Be advised that in Jan, parks hours are from 9 to 6 so be sure to get there as early as possible. Recommend you go to the BG web site to plan on what attractions you will want to see. As for the dining plan, it is a hard call for me because I have never used it. Also, BG's sister park Seaworld in Orlando is also a park I highly recommend.

 

[dolphindan1]

I love BG so do my two boys but they are older 10 and 14....the coasters there, except for the wood coaster, are amazing....We waited to go till they were older because I didnt think it would appeal to them at a younger age...the animals are cool to see but as far as young kid entertainment its just not there compared to Disney....Sesame Place is suppose/ or already has opened that may help with that...the 4-d show is terrible and the singing stage show is not very good but I compare all those type shows to Lion King in Animal Kingdom...nothing measures up to that for me....its a beautiful place and lots of animals....I would look online and see what will appeal to your kids and then make the decision..

as far as the drive its not that bad till you get off the interstate...then its kinda busy but easy to find....we like BG and are going again this year...for the roller coasters

 

[DOOM1001]

I love the park so I would suggest you visit.The drive is very easy,just over an hour from Disney.I feel Busch Gardens has the best food of any theme park in Florida,it's much better quality than what you find at other CS restaurants in other parks for example they make their own desserts right there and they are excellent.However I would be hesitant about getting the dining plan with the shorter hours that time of year,if the park closed at 9 or 10pm like in the summer then yes it would be worth it to get two good full meals out of it.I would suggest the Desert Grill where you can catch a show and eat at the same time and the Zambia Smokehouse for BBQ.

 

[tarrbear]

I love the park so I would suggest you visit.The drive is very easy,just over an hour from Disney.I feel Busch Gardens has the best food of any theme park in Florida,it's much better quality than what you find at other CS restaurants in other parks for example they make their own desserts right there and they are excellent.However I would be hesitant about getting the dining plan with the shorter hours that time of year,if the park closed at 9 or 10pm like in the summer then yes it would be worth it to get two good full meals out of it.I would suggest the Desert Grill where you can catch a show and eat at the same time and the Zambia Smokehouse for BBQ.

Yes, I agree with that, I'm a passholder and we go often, we've never did the dinning deal but for that time of year I don't know if its worth it. The food there is fantastic! Another place I recommend is the Desert Grill, if you walk in at the right time you have a meal and a show. Its a very nice show and its fun, its typically a dance show, but none the less entertaining. If you kids like animals you'll love Busch Gardens, I prefer it to the Animal Kingdom actually. Critter Castaways is a very cute show that I recommend seeing. I would also recommend seeing Katonga- but it will not be around when you go. Katonga is a Broadway style show, its very wonderful. BUT- by January I hope Katonga's replacement will be showing, and fingers crossed, they bring back an ice show! haha.

 

[N_Phoenix]

Yes, I agree with that, I'm a passholder and we go often, we've never did the dinning deal but for that time of year I don't know if its worth it. The food there is fantastic! Another place I recommend is the Desert Grill, if you walk in at the right time you have a meal and a show. Its a very nice show and its fun, its typically a dance show, but none the less entertaining. If you kids like animals you'll love Busch Gardens, I prefer it to the Animal Kingdom actually. Critter Castaways is a very cute show that I recommend seeing. I would also recommend seeing Katonga- but it will not be around when you go. Katonga is a Broadway style show, its very wonderful. BUT- by January I hope Katonga's replacement will be showing, and fingers crossed, they bring back an ice show! haha.

Thanks tarrbear, could you give some more info on Katonga? Will it be around at the end of August? The show times aren't posted yet and I think this is something we might want to see. I have a DS5 and a DS3, will they enjoy it?

 

[tarrbear]

Thanks tarrbear, could you give some more info on Katonga? Will it be around at the end of August? The show times aren't posted yet and I think this is something we might want to see. I have a DS5 and a DS3, will they enjoy it?

Yes, it should be around right now its scheduled to close Labor Day weekend, but things can change. Katonga is a Broadway style musical that follows the story of 4 storytellers who all want to become master storytellers. So they all tell a story and they revolve around animals, the sets are fantastic and its a very entertaining show, your children would enjoy it.

 

[Maribel]

We just got back from BG. Our girls are 4 and 6 and they liked the sesame street area and the area where the 3D theater is that has some kiddy games. We saw the animals but we were not impressed by the safari. The park is big and most of the rides are roller coasters. DH and I did go into the big one, it is the kind of roller that takes your breath away...literally as I couldn't breath in while I was in the two bigger drops, LOL. We couldn't see everything as we decided to get to the park at 3pm as I didn't want us to be run down by the extreme heat of midday florida and stayed until park closing at 9pm.
There was a new show called kinetix that looked very interesting, unfortunately we didn't make it to the stage area on time and missed it. We didn't even realized we were so far away from it until they called on the speakers that the park was closing and started making our way out. We walked non stop for 15 min until we reached the gates.
I went to BG before I got married and it's a different story without kids, as you move much faster and are able to ride the big rides.
I don't think we will be going back until the kids are in the teens. I hope I still can ride the coasters by then as I have noticed my aging body doesn't do the thrill rides as well now as in the past.