One Of America's Best Amusement Parks Offers Thrills And Family-Friendly Fun In Florida

For theme park lovers, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay might prove that there's more to sunny Florida than just Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. The coaster-stacked zoological park could be overlooked by some vacationers, since it's about a 90-minute drive from the main theme park hub of Orlando. However, the park — which started as a bird sanctuary and hospitality garden, connected to an Anheuser-Busch beer brewery — first opened in 1959, meaning it even predates the Magic Kingdom. Before there was Disney's Animal Kingdom, there was Busch Gardens.

U.S. News & World Report named Busch Gardens one of the best amusement parks in the country in 2025. The definition of "amusement park" is loose here, since it includes parks with highly immersive theming, like Disney and Universal, and those that are more segmented yet thrilling, such as Six Flags. Busch Gardens lies somewhere in between, with its Swahili-named coasters rising over different Africa-themed areas in a way that gives it a cohesive feel, as it caters to both thrill-seekers and families. For its part, Busch Gardens advertises itself as "Florida's ultimate theme park," while Tripadvisor's list of the best U.S. amusement parks, sorted by traveler favorites, puts it ahead of both Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure.

Those two parks rank in the top five for attendance nationwide, with each one bringing in over 10 million visitors a year. Busch Gardens, by contrast, sees less than 4 million visitors a year. It can be much less crowded there, with shorter lines reducing your wait time and the need to buy extra line-skipping passes (though those are still an option with Quick Queue). With single-day tickets starting at $61.99 as of this writing, Busch Gardens could also be more affordable for families who think Disney vacations are too expensive now. Just remember that this is one of those theme parks where your cash will be useless — because it's a cashless venue.

One thing that helps set Busch Gardens apart from a run-of-the-mill zoo is the sheer number of thrill rides it offers. This includes the 300-foot Falcon's Fury drop tower, where you'll have a view stretching across Tampa before you plummet to the ground, face down. The classic Congo River Rapids attraction, open since 1982, sends families whitewater rafting — but even those who can't ride can join in the fun by shooting water cannons at rafts from the sidelines.

The bread and butter of Busch Gardens, ride-wise, is arguably its eight roller coasters, which should appeal to tweens and teens. In August 2026, the park's oldest coaster, Kumba, closed after 33 years of operation, but Busch Gardens has a replacement lined up called Kumba's Revenge. In the meantime, you can enjoy the next oldest coaster, Montu, which features seven inversions, and which has been operating since 1996. The wood and steel hybrid coaster, Iron Gwazi, often tops the list of the park's best rides. It and the dive coaster, SheiKra, both reach speeds of 70 miles per hour or more, climbing 200 feet or more to steep, vertical drops over Busch Gardens.

In terms of length, the looping cat coaster, Tigris, is outdone by its triple-launch cousin, Cheetah Hunt, which barrels along a 4,400-foot track near an animal enclosure where actual cheetahs can be seen. For families with younger children, the kid-friendly coasters Phoenix Rising and Cobra's Curse (the latter of which features spinning trains) only have a minimum height requirement of 42 inches. That's lowered to 38 inches for the Air Grover coaster in Sesame Street Safari of Fun, a play zone where kids can sometimes meet characters like Elmo and Cookie Monster (or see them in shows on weekends).

Don't forget to see the animals while you're at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. One way to do that is by hopping aboard the Serengeti Express Train. It will take you around the park's 65-acre Serengeti Plain, where zebras, giraffes, ostriches, and antelopes roam freely. On the SkyRide cable car, you'll get an elevated view of the Serengeti Plain and the Congo River Rapids. Unlike Animal Kingdom's popular safari, the Serengeti Safari Tour isn't included in the price of your park ticket at Busch Gardens. However, if you're willing to pay the $39.99 upcharge, this tour lets you ride an open-air vehicle across the plain and even hand-feed giraffes there.

Busch Gardens offers several other tours as optional add-ons, where you can get up close and personal with certain animals. There's even a behind-the-scenes tour of the Animal Care Center, which once hosted its own reality show, "The Wildlife Docs," centered on the park's veterinarians. That said, Busch Gardens has many animal habitats that are free for guests to view, including the Cheetah Run, Tiger Lodge, and Kangaloom. Walking around the park, you can also see gorillas in Morocco, elephants in Nairobi, and hippos and lions in Edge of Africa.

When Busch Gardens first opened in 1959, it offered free tours of the Anheuser-Busch brewery and free beer samples at the Hospitality House (which later became the Garden Gate Cafe). Today, that facility is the Springs Taproom, where you can sip craft beer and frozen cocktails — though the drinks are no longer complimentary. Anheuser-Busch sold the park back in 2009, but in a nod to tradition, Busch Gardens still sometimes offers guests a free beer during summer promotional events. The Springs Taproom is located in the Bird Gardens area, where you'll see real live flamingos, like the giant fiberglass one that welcomes passengers to Tampa International Airport on the way to Busch Gardens.