Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

January 2025

Aside from the first week which remains busy thanks to the ending of the holiday decorations, January is typically a lovely month to visit Busch Gardens Tampa.

Crowds are heavier at the weekends’ thanks to aggressive pricing for annual passes for Florida residents who like to visit outside of work hours although Busch Gardens is trying to entice more people to visit during weekdays in January and February with their Real Music Series that runs weekly from Tuesday to Sunday. Click the link above to check out who is playing on your visit. 

Weekdays are typically very quiet and the best time to visit in January with a marked difference between Saturday and Sunday crowds compared to Monday to Friday.

Busch gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

February 2025

In contrast to Orlando area theme parks who see February as one of their quietest months, February in Busch Gardens Tampa is moderately busier than January, especially on weekdays during the middle of the month.

Saturdays draw the heaviest crowds especially around President’s Day weekend. 

Generally weekdays are still quiet despite the Real Music Events taking place for most of February. They are still a good time to visit even with a slight bump in crowd levels in the middle of the month.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

March 2025

A later Easter break pushes Spring Break back in 2025. Some places break on March the 8th but it can be much later in the month meaning late march and a lot of April could be more congested than usual although to a much lesser degree than the parks in Orlando.

If you are looking for a quiet time in the parks you might want to give late March (and April) a bit of a wide berth.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

April 2025

To avoid the peak Spring Break crowds, try to visit Busch Gardens Tampa in late April in the week and to a degree even Sundays. Its a great time to visit for warm weather without the humidity of the summer months.

BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA Crowd Calendar

May 2025

Low to moderate crowds coupled with fantastic weather and no significant public holidays until the end of the month make May a brilliant time to visit Busch Gardens Tampa if you want to avoid peak crowds but still have the weather.

Busch Gardens is typically a lot quieter at the beginning of May than Orlando’s theme parks as school holidays loom towards the end of the month.

If you are visiting in early May, Monday to Friday are your best days but even the weekends for the first fortnight shouldn’t be too crowded as people wait for the official holidays to start.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

June 2025

June heralds the start of the US School holidays in many US States running through to the first week of August.

Expect busy crowds, although still only moderate levels compared to Disney and Universal. The  weather is more turbulent, especially in the afternoons, as the park is a lot closer to the Caribbean coast than Orlando so heat and humidity are particularly prominent during the summer.

Summer Nights brings extended opening every day from late May plus a fireworks finale usually not seen for the rest of the year. If you opt for the Busch Gardens Express, a free shuttle from Orlando to Busch Gardens you may not be able to stay late enough foe the fireworks.

Busch gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

July 2025

Now every US state school is guaranteed to be off you can expect crowds to be uniformly busy throughout the whole month. Weekdays are still a tad quieter than weekends with the park remaining open until late to deal with the extra crowds.

If you want to guarantee your attraction is going to be operating your best months to visit are June and July to coincide with the US School holiday system.

Remember that the heat and humidity remain particularly pronounced throughout the whole month. If you don’t deal with heat well you may want to avoid Busch Gardens between June and August.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

August 2025

In line with other Orlando parks, the first week of August is the busiest at Busch Gardens. Crowds are noticeably quieter later in the month once all US schools have returned for their autumn term.

US School term starts the second week of August but allow a week or two difference depending on the state. If you want to experience a lot of the fireworks and entertainment you will be better sticking to early August as park hours and entertainment budgets will be cut when US schools return to their classrooms.

Remember that hurricane season in Florida runs from June through September so there is a small chance your holiday may be impacted but it’s usually only one or 2 days as a worst case scenario.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

September 2025

September is one of the quietest months in Busch Gardens. Howl-O-Scream runs on select nights but is a separately ticketed event so days in the parks are very quiet compared to the preceding 2 months.

If you would like to experience Halloween in the parks without the associated crowds, pretty much any week day in September is a good time to visit.

Weekends in September, usually when Howl-O-Scream is running are also very quiet so any day in September is good to experience Busch Gardens Tampa but please remember the park will shut earlier than usual to day guests on Howl-O-Scream nights.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

October 2025

Continuing September’s trend, weekdays in October are noticably quiet, particularly on Howl-O-Scream event days but weekends are markedly busier.

Howl-O-Scream is second only to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights but the distance of the park from peoples bases in Orlando keeps many visitors from attending.

If you visit in the day, Busch Gardens run their ‘Sweetacular’ event, a family friendly offering included with your park day tickets.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

November 2025

Like October at Busch Gardens, Weekdays in November are a very good time to visit with November being largely another buffer month in between two popular holiday celebrations. As soon as Halloween ends you will see the park preparing and launching Christmas celebrations soon after.

Saturdays in particular are busy as locals flock to the parks outside of work for some Christmas cheer. Thanksgiving, a hugely popular public holiday in America, brings crowds but nowhere near as bad as how packed the parks in Orlando can get.

Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar

December 2025

The first fortnight is a great time to visit to see Busch Gardens in full on Christmas mode without the crowds of the last fortnight but bear in mind the park may close earlier in December than later when budgets are expanded to cater for larger crowds.

If visiting later in December, and its within your budget, consider premium queue options. Busch Gardens has a very impressive choice of roller coasters, its main draw, but crowds in the last fortnight could prevent you from seeing everything this wonderful park has to offer.

If Quick Queue isn’t in your budget, don’t fret, pick out your headline rides and try to get to the park for rope drop to do as many as you can before the crowds get too bad, usually around mid morning.