Don't beat around the Busch (Busch Gardens (Tampa Bay, Florida))

Member Name: xalala

Product:	Busch Gardens (Tampa Bay, Florida)
Date:	09/02/05 (1786 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great rides, Wild animals to see, Plenty for all ages to do

Disadvantages: Poor vegetarian food, Queues in high season are long

Busch Gardens isn't perhaps the most obvious theme park attraction in Florida - that honour must surely go to one of the many Walt Disney World parks. Nor is it the most convenient to get to if you're staying in Orlando, since it's situated further west than the other parks, close to Tampa and over an hours drive away. So why bother going? Quite simply, it's the best day out in Central Florida, and manages to find something that should appeal to all ages, a mix of thrilling rides, gentle safari experiences and live shows.

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The details:
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At 335 acres, Busch Gardens is huge (Epcot, the largest Disney park, clocks in at 200 acres for comparison). It's also not that easy to orient yourself in the park, as there isn't a central point to set off from. Instead, imagine the park as a clock face, with the entrance at 6 o'clock. The three main rollercoasters are at 4, 7 and 11 o'clock, and the main animal preserve area between 12 and 4 o'clock.

Getting from one side of the park to the other is either by walking or catching the sky ride (which closes in bad weather or high winds, as we found out to our cost with aching feet and a long walk back to the entrance). There is a train track with stations at various points around the park, however when we visited, only the Nairobi station was open (see below for details), as part of the park was being redeveloped.

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Arrival and Parking:
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Getting to Busch Gardens from Orlando was fairly simple, it's about 55 miles away down the I4. However the signing to find the park wasn't that great (as it seems is the case with all road signs in America) and you do have to just remember to keep driving until you see the next sign. The park address and a road map does help!

Once you find the park entrance, it's all fairly straightforward. Parking, as you might expect, is plentiful and at just $7 for the day is very reasonable too. Each parking area has a letter, although there are no row numbers so it's important to remember where you parked up in relation to various landmarks (eg middle of the row near the third tree etc). This compares unfavourably with the Disney parking arrangements, and I'd imagine that Busch Gardens get far more people forgetting where they've parked.

There's a free tram that takes you from the car park to the park entrance, which runs every few minutes. The car park stays open an hour after the official park closing time, to give you time to get back to your car at the end of the day, too.

Processing through the gate is efficient and fairly quick, although expect to queue for a few minutes - especially in high season. Due to increased security in the states all bags are searched on entry, but we didn't have a problem with taking in some snacks and drinks, a camcorder and camera and other bits and pieces.

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The Rides:
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There's a wide variety of rides, from huge rollercoasters to little kiddy rides like a carousel. A couple involve the animals, but most are more traditional theme park rides. I've given a brief impression of the rides that we managed to go on below.

Gwazi:
The first big ride (of three) that the park offers is found in Morocco, to the left of the park's main entrance. It's a huge, wooden rollercoaster, and actually has two tracks intertwined - Lion and Tiger. Only the Lion track was open when we visited, and it appeared to be a continuous length of twists and turns, although there are no loops on the ride. The tiger track is apparently less twisty and turny, and more like being on a bobsleigh than a rollercoaster, with its slalom track. The ride is very bumpy, and although it doesn't have any loops in it, it actually feels more dangerous than either of the other two big rides, Montu and Kumba, with their computer-controlled g-forces and rapid exhileration. The wooden structure means you're rattled around in the restraints the whole way through the ride.

Obviously the bouncing around means you can't take any loose articles on with you, but there are lockers at the entrance and by all the big rides. The lockers by the main entrance cost $1 (non-refundable), but the one at Gwazi was 50c. And there's no time limit on the lockers, unlike those at Universal, so we ended up leaving our things in a locker for most of the day and just carrying around what we needed - a camera, a park map and some cash.

Kumba:
Kumba is about as far away from the park entrance as it's possible to get, so isn't the first that many people head for. With a top speed of 60mph, it's definitely not for the faint hearted either, and has a height limit of 54" (4ft6) minimum as a result. Having said that it's not for the faint hearted, it is still a much smoother ride than Gwazi and therefore somehow feels safer.

Montu:
My favourite ride in the whole park! This is another BIG rollercoaster, again with a 54" height limit. The ride is inverted, so your feet are hanging loose throughout - rather like on Nemesis at Alton Towers. You sit in your seat, the restraint comes down and then the floor lowers away to leave you dangling.

The ride manages to generate a g-force of 3.85 during a couple of minutes of loops, dives, twirls and climbs. It's smooth and feels safe, too. I preferred riding this at the front, as I could see where we were heading next, and you get a really good (if brief) view of the park from the top of the first climb, but my husband preferred riding at the back, where the g-forces are maximised since by the time you are flung round corners and loops the front of the ride has accellerated away.

There's a handy shoe holder at the start/end of the ride for all those who (like me) wear their trainers loose enough to fly off onto some poor spectator's head part way round. So make sure you're wearing nice socks if this applies! You can also put shades etc into the holder if you're concerned about them. It seemed very safe, as nobody else has access to them during the ride - however if they ever ran more than one car at once, for example during peak season, then I might be less willing to leave things there.

Tanganyika Tidal Wave:
If you go on this ride (and we did) then you will get WET. You've perhaps been on the normal log flume rides before, but not like this one. The sadistic ride designers have gone out of their way to make sure that you don't leave the ride with a dry article of clothing - so make sure that either the weather is warm enough for you not to care, or you have a change of clothing of some sort hidden safely in a locker. The exit is cleverly completely seperate from the entrance to this ride, so at no point do you get warned about how wet it actually is.

The ride has a 48" height restriction, and each car seats about 20 people. It starts out nice and peaceful, floating through a "jungle" setting, with various props along side the river. Then, however, you begin to climb - and it's a long way up. You are dropped into another short river flow (most people scream, but you'd want to save the real screams for another minute or so). The boat then simply *crawls* forward, giving ample time for you to realise just how far down you're about to fall. Then, teetering on the edge, you finally plunge 55 feet down, creating a huge tidal wave.

Normally the wave created sprays outwards from the boat you're sitting in, however on this one the designers have created a splashback, which deflects the wave back into the boat itself, and soaks everyone on board. There's also a spectator's bridge across the bottom of the drop - this also gets absolutely drenched, so don't get your aged relatives to stand there and take pictures, they may not survive...

Python:
A more standard rollercoaster, which after the big rides seems positively tame. Still good fun though. 48" height restriction.

Cheetah Chase:
This ride features hairpin bends, but no loops or really big drops, so is suitable for all the family. Good fun, but don't expect it to really take your breath away.

Carousel Caravan:
A really nice, traditional carousel (just like the one in Mary Poppins). Has the standard horses that travel up and down and round and round, but this one also has static camels (for reasons that aren't entirely clear, I suppose they're vaguely African) too. Music was slightly irritating and twinkly, but OK for the few minutes that the ride was in operation. I imagine that if you had to queue for any length of time to go on this that a) you probably wouldn't bother and b) the music would really grate.

Phoenix:
Better known as a good old Pirate Ship. This one works it's way up and eventually flips completely over the top, doing one or two complete rotations before being brought back down to earth.

Scorpion:
A less intense rollercoaster, with a 42" height limit to reflect this. It still manages to twist and turn with the best of them, and is easily spotted in the park with its bright red track.

R L Stine's Haunted Lighthouse:
One of the increasing number of "4D" rides available in theme parks - this one gets you slightly wet as you watch a 3D film about 2 childish ghosts who live in a lighthouse, and the lengths they go to to get some new friends. The story is funny, sad and sweet in parts, and should appeal to most families.

Rhino Rally:
I'm not sure whether this should be in the rides section, or under the animals heading. It's really a cross between a true theme park ride and a mini safari among the animals.

Basically, you take your seat in a landrover type vehicle, and are taken on a rough and bumpy tour of some of the parks animal enclosures - you get the chance to see elephants, zebra, antelope, buffalo and many others. The driver is also the guide, and points out the sights as you go, but also dramatises the trip, with some unexpected side effects. Good entertainment, and impressive animal viewing.

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The Shows:
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Irish Thunder:
We accidentally watched part of this as it came on as we were eating lunch in one of the park restaurants. It seemed like an American version of Riverdance, only not as good. The shoe sounds were effects rather than real (the dancers appeared to be wearing soft-soled shoes) and the music was, at best, diddly (if you know what I mean). Going all the way to Florida to be shown a romanticised version of what Ireland is like didn't to me seem like a good use of time, so we left.

Bird Show Theatre:
Again, this could fit equally under the animal section. An educational (in a good way) show that shows off various bird species and gives the chance for the audience to get up close with some of them. The birds ranged from parrots to vultures, and many in between, some performing tricks and some just happy to sit there on display.

After the show, the trainers stayed around to let people take pictures and also talk about how to attract birds into gardens at home. I imagine that this would appeal best to fairly young children (up to age 10 or so), although I certainly enjoyed watching it too.

Stanleyville Theatre:
This theatre has a range of shows on, depending on when you visit. We were lucky enough to catch a couple of shows in the real music concert series (until March 27 2005), playing big band music and a tribute to Benny Goodman (who I'd never heard of before the trip). Definitely worth a break if you can find a seat - even though the park was fairly empty, seating in the theatre filled up fairly quickly.

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The Animals:
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Serengeti Plain:
The Serengeti Plain has a number of herds of African animals effectively living wild in a managed environment. The plain takes up a significant area of the park, however you are allowed access to it either through an organised tour, or on the Serengeti Railway.

The railway is a real steam train that circles the plain, giving ample opportunity to see the animals in their habitat. There's a commentary on board, however we sat in the front carriage and couldn't hear it over the noise of the engine.

The trip takes around 20 minutes to complete, and is best done early or late in the day, as most of the animals take a siesta in the midday heat. We were held up slightly by a giraffe standing on the train tracks and refusing to move for a couple of minutes - which meant we got some great photos. Some of the animals you're likely to see are giraffes, zebras, buffalo, gazelles, antelope, rhino and more.

Edge of Africa and Myombe Reserve:
These are walking tours through some of the animal enclosures in the park, more like visiting a zoo than anything else. You can see a crocodile, hippos, fish, vultures and baboons among others in Edge of Africa, while Myombe Reserve concentrates on primates.

I enjoyed this because I could take my time at the parts that interested me and spend less time at the parts that didn't. There were plenty of park staff around to answer questions about the animals, and each enclosure had an information board to read too. There were also plenty of chances to get some great photos to remember our visit by.

Flamingo Island:
Like any zoo, this is a small island enclosure where there seemed to be hundreds of bright pink flamingos. Definitely something that attracts children, as an adult I found it slightly less gripping.

Claw Island Tigers:
Busch Gardens has a number of endangered tigers, and some of them were out on Claw Island for visitors to view. I love tigers, I think they're incredible animals, and I spent ages looking down at them in their enclosure. As you might expect, this enclosure was slightly more secure than most, given the tiger's natural instincts, but there was still plenty of opportunity for viewing unobstructured by glass. It continuously amazes me that tigers make exactly the same movements as my own cats at home, despite the difference in size.

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Facilities:
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Toilets are plentiful throughout the park, although not always signed terribly well. They always appeared clean and well maintained, and had plenty of cubicles - although that didn't always prevent a queue. They're also themed, depending on what area of the park you're in at the time.

Food was fairly standard for a theme park - concentrating on chips, burgers and ice cream in many places. I was very disappointed with the restaurant we tried at lunchtime, as despite the park map claiming it offered vegetarian food, they didn't have any on the menu. They refused to sell us a jacket potato with cheese despite having all the ingredients prepared, as jacket spuds were only available with an irish stew filling. We eventually finished up with jacket potatoes with no filling, at a cost of $5 each. The girl on the checkout took pity on us and only charged us for one potato though (very nice of her too!).

Souvenir shops are pretty much everywhere you look in the park, however we successfully avoided all of them. Prices again seemed fairly standard when compared to the Disney or Universal parks.

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Conclusion:
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As I said at the start of this review (which has turned out longer than expected!), I thought that this was the best of the Florida theme parks. Whether you like animals, big rides, small rides or a combination, there should be something to suit.

The only caveat I'd have is around the height limits on many rides, which seemed rather steep - it's perhaps a park more suited to teens and upwards if you want to try out all the rides. However there are rides and activities aimed at younger children (which I haven't reviewed since we didn't use them), so it's worth investigating if you think a visit would appeal.

So, how many stars? I'd love to give it a full five, but the confusing carpark, poor vegetarian food (even by US standards) and rather high height limits on rides lead me to dock them a star, so it's a 4 out of 5 from me.

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Other information:
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Admission to Busch Gardens is part of the 5-park Orlando Flex Ticket, approx $225 for a 14-day unlimited admission ticket per adult ($190 for children). Otherwise, a one-day ticket will set you back around $55 (adult) or $45 (child aged 3-9). This ticket also includes transport on the Busch Gardens shuttle that goes from various places in Orlando - a good option if you don't have a car or don't fancy driving out to Tampa.

It's on Busch Boulevard in Tampa, about 10-20 minutes off the I4 depending on traffic.

Open from 9am-6pm off-peak (although check with the park), and longer in peak season.

Pushchairs (strollers) and wheelchairs are available to rent near the entrance in Morocco.

Website available at www.buschgardens.com.

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