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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Tips

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Now that I’ve been back from this trip for a few months, I thought I would give some Busch Gardens Tampa Bay tips in case anyone else is planning a trip here.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Tips

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Tips

I previously posted about the Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours. So, I won’t go in to as much detail about those tours in this post. This is a general visiting and planning tips post.

  • Choose your hotel wisely. I had initially planned on staying near the park. However, some folks on Reddit made me change my mind. Once my mom and I visited the park, we realized what those people were saying was true. It’s in a safe area, but we much preferred the area near the airport. We ended up staying at the Hyatt House Tampa Airport Hotel and were pleased with that decision. The hotels near the airport were much nicer and it wasn’t too long of a drive/ride over to the park. Understand that it can be quite the drive from Orlando as well.
  • Download the park app and get acquainted with the map. The park no longer gives out maps of the park or a list of entertainment options. So, you will have to use the app to navigate the park. I didn’t realize that a portion of the park was closed and we had to backtrack at one point to get where we wanted to go. I might have known that if I had studied the app’s map a little closer.
  • Ride the train. While you will see lots of beautiful animals on the ride, it will also help you get acquainted with the layout of the park. We wished we had ridden the train earlier in the trip to get a better understanding of the park sooner.
  • Look at the park calendar. You can view the park hours on the website ahead of time. Be sure to look for any special events happening.
  • Book tours ahead of time. Some tours are popular and fill up quickly. Also, be on the lookout for specials to save money!
  • Arrive early. The park gets more crowded as the day goes on.

So, these are my Busch Gardens Tampa Bay tips. Do you have any others?

Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours

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My mom and I were lucky enough to do several add-on Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours when we visited the park back in January. Today, I thought I would tell you what you can expect if you book one of these tours and provide a few tips.

Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours

Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours

You can see lots of animals with a regular ticket to this Tampa Bay theme park. So, don’t feel pressure to buy the add-on Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours. However, I can say from experience that these tours really add something to your theme park day. Plus, lots of these are unique experiences I’ve never seen at another theme park! Granted there is a penguin tour, which looks similar to the SeaWorld Orlando tour we did back in 2022. However, by and large, this park has lots of unique offerings!

Serengeti Safari

I think one of the must do’s when you visit this park is the Serengeti Safari! You can typically get this one for around $50/person, sometimes less, sometimes more. However, it’s the only place I’ve been to where you literally ride a truck out and get to hand feed giraffes! My mom and I absolutely loved this one! It’s so unique and fun! If we ever go back, we will be doing this one again.

I will say, the tours earlier in the day appeared to have fewer people on them. So, we will try booking one of those as our tour was completely full and there were a few too many people in our group in our opinion. Some people attempted to hog time with the giraffes and kept trying to film themselves with the animals instead of moving out of the way. Nonetheless, we were able to feed the giraffes and got awesome pictures from this experience!

Australia Insider

To be honest, my mom and I booked this one on a Black Friday promo and weren’t even sure what we booked. Haha! It ended up being really cool though. We got a personal tour of the Kangaloom area, including meeting some birds. Then, we got to feed some kangaroos! It was neat to hold a cup with food while a kangaroo approached and then put their paws on the cup too as they ate! This one is around $50, depending on when you do it. Personally, it’s only worth it if you are a fan of kangaroos and/or want to feed them.

Aldabra Tortoise

The other add on I was most excited for was the tortoise! I love turtles and tortoises! So, getting to feed and be up-close with one of the world’s largest tortoises was amazing! My mom wasn’t really looking forward to this one, but quickly found herself enjoying it! They remind me of dinosaurs with their ancient looking skin and bodies. So much fun! For around $20/person, it’s one of the more affordable options and it’s well-worth it in my opinion.

Hippo Insider

This one took us behind the scenes to a special area to pet a hippo! You don’t realize how big these creatures are until you are right beside one! I don’t recommend wearing long sleeves or anything fancy on this one though as the hippos secrete “blood sweat” which can stain your clothes! They hand you wipes immediately afterwards to clean your hands, but just something to keep in mind if you book this one. It costs around $40, but is a neat experience for sure!

Tips for Animal Tours

  • Look for deals. These tours can be pricey. We booked most of our experiences during their big Black Friday/Cyber Monday special. The Safari wasn’t on sale during that promo, so we used an annual passholder discount on it.
  • Make a schedule. Some of these tours are offered only 1-2 times a day. So, check out the various tours of interest and see if times conflict before booking them.
  • Arrive early. All but one of these experiences (the Australia Insider one) met at the same location towards the back of the park. The tour check in features a nice tent with some shade to wait for the tour under. They also have some free water you can drink while you wait. It was nice to sit and relax for a few minutes before our tours in this area.
  • Wear comfortable shoes. By this I mean closed toe shoes. You will want your feet protected from both animals and the environment when you enter an animal’s habitat. Trust me.

So, have you ever done one of the Busch Gardens Tampa Animal tours?

Hyatt House Tampa Airport Hotel Review

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Last month when my mom and I attended Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, we stayed at the Hyatt House Tampa Airport/Westshore Hotel. While it had lots of good reviews on Google, I didn’t see many posts about it online. So, I thought I would do a quick review in case someone else is considering staying here.

Hyatt House Tampa Airport

Hyatt House Tampa Airport

Initially, I wanted to book a tickets and room package with Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. However, we nixed that idea when we realized it was cheaper to buy an annual pass as it came with free bring a friend passes and parking. So, then we decided it was a good idea to stay in a hotel near the airport. After reviewing several options, we went with the Hyatt House Tampa Airport/Westshore hotel. It is pretty much next door to the airport! So, if being near the airport is important, I highly recommend considering this hotel.

Den Guestroom – Two Queen Beds

We booked a standard double queen room (also called a Den Guestroom) and were pleased with the accommodations. The beds were quite comfortable and there was amble room to spread out. The little couch was an added bonus place to sit! It was a nice extra that not many hotel rooms provide. The bathroom was sleek and modern. Overall, it was the perfect place to rest our heads at the end of a long day.

Food Options

One of the main reasons we ended up choosing this place over others was the food options. The Hyatt House Tampa Airport/Westshore has a bar on the first floor! This is where we ate dinner two nights! It was just the thing we needed when we were too tired to find dinner elsewhere. Plus, the onion rings with beer cheese was really good!

Another added bonus of staying here is the free breakfast! I liked that they mixed up the options from day to day. On Sunday we had pancakes (frozen, but still edible) and on Monday we had French toast sticks! I preferred the French toast sticks, but that’s personal preference. I wish they had a waffle maker or something besides the frozen mains, but it’s good for a free breakfast buffet. They also had sausage and/or bacon, if you are into that. Ha!

Overall

If you are looking for an affordable (around $200/night) option near the airport with a bar and breakfast, then this may be just the place for you! Plus, I have to say that everyone working here is super nice! They were all very helpful and kind!

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

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Earlier this month, I visited Tampa, Florida for the first time with my mom. While there, we were lucky enough to experience Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay! Today, I’m going to give you my review of this fun event!

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a seasonal event held on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from mid-January to early March. It includes special food items and entertainment! We visited the park on Sunday and Monday. I can honestly say that the park felt like it was missing something on Monday without the event going on. So, I definitely think it’s worth it to visit when a seasonal event is going on.

Event Special Food

One of the biggest pros of attending during a special event at the park is the additional food options. Personally, I found the park to be lacking in the food department. The park mainly offers chicken tenders, hamburgers, and pizza at its restaurants. So, the addition of the event food booths really gave the park some much needed food diversity.

We purchased an event food and beverage sampler for our visit. It was worth it as the food was a little pricey at the booths when purchased individually. Plus, the sample sizes were pretty small. So, it was easy to eat a whole card’s worth between the two of us. I also appreciated that the booths opened around noon, instead of later in the evening unlike SeaWorld Orlando’s Christmas event did last year.

The food options were mostly good. I liked the sausage Po’ Boy, even though it had a bit of a kick. It was too spicy for my mom. She preferred the jambalaya. We both liked the muffuletta, but thought the sandwich was really small. We tried most of the desserts with varying degrees of success. The beignets were undercooked and doughy. The cupcakes sounded exciting, but the flavors didn’t exactly match the given descriptions. They tasted good, but didn’t match expectations.

Mardi Gras Entertainment

We were able to experience all three entertainment add-ons for Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. First, we listened to the Sweet Beignet Brass Band while enjoying our food. It was nice to listen to as we relaxed in the middle of a busy theme park day. Then, later in the day we caught the parade. Having experienced Mardi Gras at Universal Orlando though, this parade was just ok. It began with a guy on a decorated bike and two ladies carrying a sign. Then, some people on stilts came through as well as the band. So, it was fun, but we were used to floats.

Immediately following the parade, three ladies got up on the “Bead Balcony” and tossed beads out to the crowd. This seemed slightly dangerous as everyone is going for a few beads. My mom and I managed to grab a few beads and then quit.

Overall Impressions

I think that Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay really adds something to the park. It gives much needed additional food options as well as entertainment. However, you may be a touch disappointed if you go in expecting the caliber of another theme park’s event. Keep your expectations in check and be careful catching beads and you’ll have a great time.