Busch Gardens Tampa Overview
An hour west of Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa is an African themed adrenaline junkie’s dream destination. The park is home to several record-holding roller coasters and attractions as well as being a world-class zoological park.
Basic Information
Busch Gardens Tampa
A few facts on Busch Gardens in Tampa. For more information on the attractions please scroll to the bottom of the page.
Vital Stats
Park Size:
335 Acres
Demographic:
Families & Teenagers
Annual Visitors (2019):
4.18M
Avarage Daily Visitors:
11,500
Address
10165 McKinley Drive
Tampa
FL, 33612
What 3 Words
Busch Gardens Tampa Attraction Mix
- Roller Coasters & Thrill Rides 50%
- Family & Children’s Attractions 35%
- Shows 15%
Busch Gardens Tampa Location
Busch Gardens Tampa Main Entrance
Busch Gardens Tampa
Walking Distances
The physical aspect of walking around theme parks almost every day for 2 or more weeks comes as a surprise to many people. To illustrate the physical exertion, I use my Google Fit app to track my step count and distance walked in each park. I’ve crunched the numbers and the figures below represent my most recent visit to the park.
Steps Walked
21,612
Distance Walked
12.24 km (7.61 miles)
Busch Gardens Tampa
Attraction Count
An overview of the attraction types you can expect to find in Busch Gardens Tampa
Roller Coasters
Thrill Rides
Water Rides
Immersive Rides
Children's Rides
Shows
Busch Gardens Tampa
Photo Gallery
A small selection of images taken by me in Busch Gardens Tampa
Busch Gardens Tampa
Park Downloads
Free guides, maps and tools to help you plan smarter!
Park Map
An up-to-date park map to give you an idea of the layout and know where your favourite attractions are in relation to one another. Days in the parks can be long, don’t walk further than you have to!
Park Guide
A handy overview of the park. Download and read at your pleasure and use in conjunction with the park map and attraction tick list to plan your day.
Attraction List
Set your priorities for the day by knowing the must-do attractions and ones to avoid. Set expectations so there is no disappointment when you arrive and know what else you can do if there is time.
Hassle Free
OPG Premium
Not sure where to begin? Let a travel professional handle the planning so you can get on with enjoying your day.
Busch Gardens Tampa
Attractions
Roller Coasters
Rollercoasters are where Busch Gardens excels. You won’t find a more varied collection of roller coasters in Florida.
Thrill Rides
Thrills tend to come on rails at Busch Gardens but there are a couple of standout thrill rides that provide a little variety.
Water Rides
Despite the blessing of space and great weather, aside from 2 ageing staples, water rides tend to be left to Adventure Island opposite.
Immersive Rides
With weather this balmy most attractions are outdoors. There are currently no dark rides at Busch Gardens sadly.
Children's Rides
Generally concentrated on one area but gradually new development and investment is spreading the fun around the park.
Shows
While you’re not going to find the variety and frequency of shows that Disney offers, what you will find is excellent quality.
See Busch Gardens Visually
FREE VISUAL GUIDE
Busch Gardens Tampa
Insider Tips
Getting To The Park
Busch Gardens ticket holders have 2 options in how to get to the park. Driving is the more popular choice, especially if you plan to spend some time in the area on a twin-centre holiday.
You can also book a free return coach trip from Orlando. Places are limited and so is the time in the park. It’s a great service if you don’t want to drive, I use it every time I visit Busch Gardens.
Find out more information and reserve your spot on the Busch Gardens Express page
Consider Your Priorities
If you’re not such a fan of the big rides but want to see the animals head for some animal habitats early when the animals are more active.
If the aim of your day is to get your adrenaline rush on and you can arrive early and head right after entering the park. A short walk will bring you to 2 of Busch Gardens’ biggest roller coasters, Cheetah Hunt and Montu with a bonus of Sand Serpent thrown in.
This is a popular choice for many visitors so another tactic is to head right to the back of the park where you find Kumba, Tigris and on the way SheikRa and 2 water rides.
Big rides are scattered all over the park with a lot of walking in between so if it’s in your budget consider a Quick Queue to avoid a lot of the queueing you would have later in the day.
Visit During The Week
Busch Gardens is much more of a local park than Universal Orlando or Disney World. Annual passes for locals are great value and are very popular in the Tampa area.
Because of this the park is generally a lot quieter in the week when locals are working or at school. If you plan on visiting outside of the main holiday periods a visit on a weekday is a prudent choice at limiting your queueing before you even arrive.
How Busy Does Busch Gardens Tampa Get?
Good Question! Have a look at my Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar page to see predicted crowd levels throughout the year.
