Adventure Island
Busch Gardens' sister water park across the street, with slides and a wave pool.
22Rank
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Score7.5
🇺🇸United StatesHybrid resortNorth America (USA)
Tampa, United States
A Florida park combining big roller coasters with a large zoo.
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Best for
Best for Thrill SeekersBest for ValueOpened
1959
Size
335 acres (136 ha)
Rides
28 attractions
Avg. visit
8 hours
Ticket range
$55–$60 USD
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay overview
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay at a glance
A Florida park combining big roller coasters with a large zoo.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is an African-themed animal park with one of the deepest thrill line-ups in the United States — Iron Gwazi, SheiKra, Montu, Cheetah Hunt and Tigris — set alongside a 65-acre Serengeti Plain and one of North America's largest zoological collections.
Our editor's recommendation
Yes, if you already have a reason to be in the region. It ranks #22 of the 50 parks we score, at 7.5/10 with 28 rides and attractions and a typical visit of about 8 hours. Tickets run $55–$60 a day. The strongest reasons to go are its big-ticket thrill rides and value for money. The honest catch: queues average around 27 minutes. Best time to visit: Winter.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay highlights
Rides & attractions at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
These are the top attractions at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay — 14 rides and experiences hand-picked and verified by our editorial team, including 8 signature rides you shouldn't miss. Use the filter bar below to narrow the line-up by rider height, zone, category or thrill level.
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Tiger Trail
MILDNo height requirement
Plan your visit to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
- Operating hours
- Typically 10am-6pm, extended to 9pm or later on summer weekends and during Howl-O-Scream
- Operating calendar
- Hours vary by date and are published on the official park hour calendar.
- Seasonal closures
- Open year-round
- Queue-skip pass
- Quick Queue and Quick Queue Unlimited skip-the-line passes, roughly $35-$110 depending on date and tier. From about $60 USD.
- How long to stay
- Full day
- Multi-day tickets
- 2-park and 3-park tickets bundle Busch Gardens with Adventure Island and SeaWorld Orlando; a Fun Card gives unlimited visits for the rest of the calendar year.
- Season pass
- Annual or season pass from about $165 USD.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay map
Plan your visitBusch Gardens Tampa Bay events & shows
Christmas Town
Holiday overlay with millions of lights, seasonal shows and festive food across the park.
Food & Wine Festival
Tasting cabins around the park paired with a weekend concert series.
Howl-O-Scream
Separately ticketed after-hours Halloween event with haunted houses and scare zones.
Summer Nights
Extended summer hours with fireworks, street entertainment and late ride operations.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay reviews & ratings
Amusement Park Ranker overall score
7.5
An aggregate of 3 public review platforms, each normalized to a 0–10 scale and weighted by review volume.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay wait times
- Typical day
27
- Crowd & wait score
3.1
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay records & achievements
World's steepest hybrid roller coaster
2022Iron Gwazi opened in 2022 with a 91-degree first drop from 206 feet, the steepest drop on any hybrid steel-and-wood coaster.
North America's first dive coaster
2005SheiKra opened in 2005 as the first Bolliger & Mabillard dive coaster in North America, with a 200-foot vertical drop and later a floorless conversion.
World's tallest and longest inverted coaster at opening
1996Montu opened in 1996 as the tallest and longest inverted roller coaster in the world, records since surpassed elsewhere.
Attractions near Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Hands-on science centre a few minutes north of the park, with a planetarium.
ZooTampa at Lowry Park
Conservation-focused zoo known for manatee rescue and Florida wildlife habitats.
Ybor City
Historic Cuban-Spanish cigar district with brick streets, cafes and nightlife.
The Florida Aquarium
Downtown Tampa aquarium with coral reef galleries and wild dolphin cruises.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is part of our index of theme parks ranked worldwide. Planning a shorter shortlist? The top 20 amusement parks in the world narrows the field to the essential stops.