Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County, Florida

Photograph: Eos bornea -Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida-8a.jpg by Ricardo Mangual from KISSIMMEE, US · CC BY 2.0 · Restored from the credited Wikimedia Commons file, normalized to the consistent attraction-card frame and converted to WebP by 1stFlorida.com. Portrait originals retain their complete composition over a softly blurred extension of the same photograph.

Hillsborough County attraction

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Hillsborough County · Gulf Coast

A 335-acre African-themed park on Tampa's north side, running since 1959 and built around roller coasters and a large collection of animals.

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ABOUT THIS PLACE

Anheuser-Busch opened the gates on March 31, 1959, as a garden and hospitality center beside its Tampa brewery, and admission was free for years. The park grew into one of the larger attractions in Florida, and it now covers about 335 acres under the ownership of United Parks & Resorts. The theme is Africa, divided into areas named for regions and cities, and the animals are a real part of it rather than decoration. The Serengeti Plain is a wide open range where zebra, giraffe, rhinoceros and antelope live together, and visitors cross it by train, by skyride or on a guided truck. The coasters are what draw the crowds. Montu and Kumba have been running since the 1990s, SheiKra drops riders down a vertical face, Cheetah Hunt runs a long circuit driven by linear motors, Falcon's Fury drops standing riders facing straight down, Tigris launches three times, and Iron Gwazi rebuilt an old wooden coaster on a steel track. Phoenix Rising opened more recently for families who want something gentler. There are also live shows, a children's area and places to eat spread through the grounds. Expect a full day and a great deal of walking, and expect heat from late spring through early fall

GETTING THERE

Get Directions ↗Official place website ↗

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