Busch Gardens Tampa is an often overlooked theme park in Florida. With its proximity to multiple Disney and Universal Studios parks, the Tampa Bay theme park can easily be forgotten. However, it shouldn’t be! Busch Gardens is quickly becoming my favorite Florida theme park for multiple reasons.
Ethical Animal Practices at Busch Gardens Tampa
Busch Gardens is known for its adventurous rides and its animal exhibits. A perfect combination of a zoo and a theme park! The park is AZA-accredited, which is the highest accreditation a zoo, or similar organization, can achieve. This means that Busch Gardens provides stellar care for its animals in terms of medicine, husbandry, and welfare. To learn more about AZA accreditation, check out the Association of Zoos and Aquariums here.
The park is home to more than 200 different animal species, which makes it one of the largest zoos in all of the United States! Each animal exhibit is placed in an area of the park that most benefits the animal, and has some of the largest, natural enclosures I have seen in any zoo. There are multiple educational keeper talks and animal encounters that you can experience during the day. Busch Gardens is also a major contributor to animal conservation! Visitors can experience everything from observing veterinary procedures, assisting in feeding animals, or simply touring the 65-acre natural Serengeti Plain.
Busch Gardens Tampa Rides
Busch Gardens is home to some of the best roller coasters in all of the Florida theme parks. With 8 large rollercoasters, it beats out Disney World’s 7 smaller coasters (spread over 4 parks), and Universal Studios‘ 3 large coasters (spread over 2 parks). In addition, there is a huge kid’s play area with multiple rides and shows, as well as other adventure rides, water rides, and shows.
I last visited Busch Gardens at peak season (late June) during a weekday. The crowds were nothing compared to those at Disney and Universal! The larger rides’ wait times rarely exceeded 45 minutes, and many were 30 minutes or less. Smaller rides were often less than a 10-minute wait!
Food Options at Busch Gardens Tampa
Busch Gardens also offers something to help with your budget: an all-day food pass for $25. This allows you to eat from nearly every restaurant in the park without paying extra and allows you to get an entree, a side or dessert, and a drink. Get this: there is no cap on the number of meals you get! You can eat as often as once an hour using the meal pass for free! That means unlimited water bottles, food, and snacks throughout the day. The meal pass does not cover snack kiosks or alcohol.
As a pescatarian with a food allergy, it is often difficult for me to find food I can safely eat in theme parks. I was astonished to find the Impossible Burger served at Busch Gardens! Every restaurant at Busch Gardens had a vegetarian/vegan option, as well as snacks such as fruit to munch on. I was very impressed!
Overall, I was highly impressed with this park, and recommend it to thrill-seekers, animal lovers, and families with small children. The tickets are cheaper than other parks in Florida, and you get a major discount for purchasing them online in advance. You can get a day’s ticket AND a meal pass for the same price as a single-day ticket to Magic Kingdom!
What’s your favorite Florida theme park?
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