Planning Ride to Tampa

[nlenguyen]

We are traveling in January and want to do a day in Tampa, we either want to do ZooTampa or Busch Gardens. If we decide to do ZooTampa, how many hours would you allot to be there? Same with Busch Gardens. We cannot do both seeing we can only do one day to visit there, so if you had to choose which one is better?

 

[skeeter31]

Well, we live in Tampa and love the zoo. Never been to Busch Gardens as those type of theme parks just don’t do anything for us. So I’d recommend the Zoo. It’s a great little Zoo with some amazing animals. I’d allot about 2-3 hours there if you are going to do some of the rides and want to see everything. We usually spend about an hour, but we don’t have kids and are members so we’re there every month or so. Have fun!

 

[nlenguyen]

Well, we live in Tampa and love the zoo. Never been to Busch Gardens as those type of theme parks just don’t do anything for us. So I’d recommend the Zoo. It’s a great little Zoo with some amazing animals. I’d allot about 2-3 hours there if you are going to do some of the rides and want to see everything. We usually spend about an hour, but we don’t have kids and are members so we’re there every month or so. Have fun!

thank you so much

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Are you roller coaster people? BG has top notch coasters. If you are not going to enjoy the big ticket rides, then BG is also a top notch zoo but not sure if it's better than ZooTampa as I have not been there.

I would allot a full day to BG if you're doing the coasters. Such a fun day!

 

[Capt_BJ]

are you wanting a zoo day, or a theme park day ... with animals?

BG has a bunch of animals AND is a full blown theme park with serious rides

I'm sure you know but one day admission:

Zoo: $40 (on line advance purchase) .. take your time and the zoo can be 4 hours (stopping for a snack/lunch)

BG: check the web site!!! Midweek days in Jan can be had for $57 (pp) ... that's a very good price ..... about half off regular price ... but if not into 'rides' may not be best option.

p.s. I believe BG requires an advance purchase / registration ..... Zoo Tampa does not ..... from what I see on web pages TODAY.

 

[nlenguyen]

My mom who is going with us is a big zoo person, but not as excited for the roller coaster as I am

 

[CAPSLOCK]

My mom who is going with us is a big zoo person, but not as excited for the roller coaster as I am

Would she want to enjoy animal exhibits while you ride things? If you're a real roller coaster fan (I am), you'll find coasters in BG that you can't ride elsewhere, other than Cedar Point. Having the zoo as entertainment for the non-ride person is a nice compromise. If you're more meh about coasters, do ZooTampa.

 

[kathy884]

If you choose to do Busch Gardens there is a free shuttle bus to and from SeaWorld to Busch Gardens that is also an option. We on our last trip ubered to and from SeaWorld and used that to go to Tampa and back.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

We are traveling in January and want to do a day in Tampa, we either want to do ZooTampa or Busch Gardens. If we decide to do ZooTampa, how many hours would you allot to be there? Same with Busch Gardens. We cannot do both seeing we can only do one day to visit there, so if you had to choose which one is better?

Till the 27th of December they have a sale right now on Seaworld.com where you can do both Seaworld and Tampa Bush Gardens for $74 total.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

If you choose to do Busch Gardens there is a free shuttle bus to and from SeaWorld to Busch Gardens that is also an option. We on our last trip ubered to and from SeaWorld and used that to go to Tampa and back.

When does that leave. How long do you get at Tampa Busch Gardens with that shuttle?

 

[Disneyfan754321]

If you choose to do Busch Gardens there is a free shuttle bus to and from SeaWorld to Busch Gardens that is also an option. We on our last trip ubered to and from SeaWorld and used that to go to Tampa and back.

I was going to say the same thing... this was so easy. They actually have a couple pick up spots besides seaworld

 

[kathy884]

With COVID 19 and fewer vacationers in Orlando, it looks like the free shuttle bus is temporarily suspended from what I see on this website: https://buschgardens.mears.com/ It's worth checking, again, though depending on when your trip is.

 

[stephk1981]

How old are your children?My preteen loves Busch Gardens, but my nearly 3 year old prefers Lowry park zoo. The animals at Busch Gardens are much closer for viewing, but for young children, there isn't much else to do. If I were an adult going without children, I would base my decision on if wanted to do thrill rides( Busch Gardens.) Good luck, hope you have a great time!

 

[WorldOfPooh]

Is there any free parking near Busch Gardens? It's $25 to park there which is more than half the ticket price.

 

[hertamaniac]

The Florida Aquarium is in downtown Tampa. I've been there a couple of times and might be worth a visit if you're still in planning mode.

 

[TamaraQT]

My vote is for Busch Gardens since it includes animal exhibits along with theme park amusements. I think the Serengeti Express and the SkyRide would be enough for me to choose BG over the zoo. I am a water ride fan, so the Stanley Falls Log Flume and Congo River Rapids also leans me towards BG over the zoo. IMHO, the zoo can't be compared to BG. They have Animal exhibits in common, but the zoo lacks rides and amusements.

 

[kathy884]

When does that leave. How long do you get at Tampa Busch Gardens with that shuttle?

See post #12 (with COVID-19) the shuttle isn't running right now. Things could change, though. Like so much of travel life with COVID-19 it's a wait and see. When we last took the shuttle and I'm talking about January of 2019, so almost two years ago, we were at Busch Gardens from about 10 a.m. which was the opening time (perfect) till and I don't know if I have this right, but I think it was 5 p.m. (one hour before park closing). This was a perfect amount of time for us. I met my cousin from Tampa there for the day (He and high just did shows and animal exhibits and were able to see everything we wanted. We also did the little Giraffe safari (extra charge to go our in a little truck and feed the Giraffe's lettuce - lots of fun). My son who likes to do all the coasters was with us too and I forked over for a extra charge fastpass for him. That meant he could do all the coasters pretty quickly which meant he got to spend a lot of time with us too. He didn't do the shows we did, but hit the majority of the well done animal exhibits and was able to join us for the mini Giraffe safari. It was a great day. Our only bummer is that on the way back the drive was slow due to an accident, but I was thinking I was in better shape and in a less stressful situation just chilling out on the bus vs. driving.

 

[kathy884]

My vote is for Busch Gardens since it includes animal exhibits along with theme park amusements. I think the Serengeti Express and the SkyRide would be enough for me to choose BG over the zoo. I am a water ride fan, so the Stanley Falls Log Flume and Congo River Rapids also leans me towards BG over the zoo. IMHO, the zoo can't be compared to BG. They have Animal exhibits in common, but the zoo lacks rides and amusements.

I'm with TamaraQT on this one. There are plenty of great fun things in Tampa to do like the zoo and aquarium if you just want a less expensive chill out day which would be perfectly enjoyable. Busch Gardens though is like a world class zoo with lots of extras (more special IMHO if you have the inclination and budget). If it were me, I'd fork over for Busch Gardens if I were in Tampa.