Bush Gardens, Show Palace Dinner Theater, Riverside Dinner Theater Review

Overall super fun and super enjoyable.
The mask patrol was VERY over the top. Felt as if I couldn't get a breathing break.
Also took my refillable cup there and lots of bees were around the soda dispenser. The she proceeded to spray the bees with something which immediately killed them. When I asked about her spraying the dispenser nozzles, she told me it was just water and was fine to spray on the drink dispenser. When she was done filling my cup she gave it to me and there was a dead bee in my drink. We went to another fill up station and told the lady what happened. She informed us that what they were spraying was peroxide mixture and it kills the bees. The workers completely lied to us at the first station. Overall pretty fun but they might try to spray for bees.

My favorite theme park in Florida. It is just an overall fun place to visit. They are always making upgrades to the park with new rides and adventures! The roller coasters are the best and so much fun! It is great for the family or just for a couple to enjoy some fun time together. And , if you are a Florida resident you can get a Fun pass for a year to visit as many times as you want for around $100. Very well worth the money! I could visit this park once a week just for fun!!

I really love this place the attractions at the Safari they are awesome!!!!

Went during the Christmas season. Beautiful lights. Had fun on the rides as well. Highly recommend coming here.

The Christmas displays were absolutely beautiful! We had a great time. The shows are just as amazing as the light displays. Christmas town at Busch Gardens, in my opinion, blows Disney out of the water; from the price of admission to the park itself. We had a great time!

Rides are great, however the people working there are NOT helpful at all. They seem to have a really bad attitude and don t have a clue as to what customer service means or is. It should be mandatory that all employees get trained by Disney staff, there s a workforce that strive to make your visit special.

The ideal mixture of thrilling rollercoasters and lovely sights of animals. Every member of the family will enjoy it at his/her way. 100% recommended and barely a 90 minute ride from Orlando.

More crowded than I thought it would be since we had to make reservations and space was limited. Fun as usual though.

Great alternative to Disney and Universal. Food and wine festival is well done and not as crowded as you would think.

We love Busch Gardens. We are pass holders and feel that out of all the parks in Central Florida that this is the best deal. Certain events and times of the year make it busier but we are happy just to visit, look at the animals and meet with their keepers when wait times are too long. Service is very good and they try to find ways to make things more efficient. Zambia Smokehouse is a must try if you are looking for good barbecue in a theme park.

Enjoyed it. Wasn't busy at all so could go on all rides with 0 queues. Was able to see all animals, some close up! It was really fun.

Awesome price due to the payment options specifically for a big family.
Went there so good service you feel safe Covid precautious. A lot surprises for kids
Good luck

The holiday lights were amazing and the park was very clean. Just a bummer when a good handful of rides are closed. Definitely was let down to hear Cheetah Hunt was not in operation when I got there. Otherwise a wonderful park with lots of great attractions and food for everyone.

One of my favorite theme parks in Florida. Wild rides and fun times.

Great amusement park for roller coaster lovers. Otherwise not comparable to a Disney World. Everything on property has inflated prices. Ex. $3.50 for a bottle of water. Nice kids area with Sesame Street theme. Not as many animal shows as back during the Budweiser ownership. No more free beer either.

Gorgeous gorgeous Place very very very big I'm disabled so it was hard for me to get around but if you have a wheelchair or cards we will have so much fun. Great place and the prices are good because they are good for all year long. Five star recommendation

Much to do,great food,beautiful even just to walk around.Loved the Congo river rapids,all the rides were great,.very little waiting time.
Recommend the critter show also.

First and foremost, Tigris is phenomenal. We enjoyed the evening with our company holiday party, along with catered food and beautiful decorations for the holidays. Thank you, Busch Gardens, for allowing private events. It was spectacular.

One of the best Florida's theme parks and so much cheaper than Disney world

Kinda over priced. But it was cool to see all the animals and the riders are always fun. You can spend the whole day here. The BBQ place is the place to eat at. Really good BBQ.

The overall experience was nice. Since we are in a pandemic I believe the park did a great job of making sure people wore their mask and keeping plenty of sanitation areas available! Many of the attractions we closed but the rides we were able to get on were fun. My children also enjoyed seeing all the animals. It was a rain day so the rides got shut down because of the weather twice, and the last ride we were going to ride shut down because of "technical difficulties". The lines weren't long and even the ones that were still moved along well. The only negative I have is I didn't know about getting a pass to walk up to the exit with my children so they could wait for me until I arrived at my final ride. I asked when I got to a few rides and was told the kids would have to wait for me in an area away from where I would be able to see them as I waited to get on the rides. Finding out about this after 5 hours of being at the park and walking away from multiple rides was disappointing. Other than that, my kids and I had a great time!

Would've gotten 5 stars, but it rained all day and rides were shut down numerous times. But the rides, the food (we had all day food passes), the atmosphere, and let us not forget the animals, were all excellent. There were full size Gators right off the main walkway, which Busch Gardens called "The Keepers of the Gate".

One of the best parks in the area, if you visit Orlando take the time to visit, the shows are great and the rides and Rollercoasters, six of the are hard and super fun.

Love the animals, fun rides...good food...great family fun!

Almost all of the rides were not working or kept having technical difficulties throughout the day. Even the laptops taking customer service surveys didn't work. Par for the course. Don't waste your hard earned money and/or precious time with family here.

Fantastic place. Definitively worth a visit in Tampa. Don t eat to much or you will throw up your breakfast after several rollercoasters.

Busch Gardens was absolutely amazing!! There s so much to see!!! The animals looked content and healthy. I really enjoyed the safari tour. We got to feed the giraffes and get really up close to the animals which was a lot of fun. Can not wait to return!! Loved it here!!

Excellent day. The best amusement park by far. A mix of well cared for animals and roller coasters. Was busy, everything moved well and queuing time was minimal.

Great experience and variety of rides. Staff is courteous and friendly. Food is a tad overpriced but same as every other park. Lots of gorgeous attractions and events besides the roller-coasters, however roller coasters are their strong suit.

Went there yesterday with my family! We had the quick queue pass, which was absolutely worth it, because we got to basically skip all the lines, meaning we got to go on more rides. We went on all the major rollercoasters, and weren t disappointed on a single one. The theming of the rides was spectacular, along with the elements of the rides. The layout and design of the park is also beautiful, with many special things and features everywhere to enjoy. We also really enjoyed looking at the animals and walking around on the trails. It was a hot day, and even though we had to wear masks, it didn t at all ruin the fun experience we had at the park. Busch gardens Tampa bay is my favorite theme park, and highly recommended.

I love the rides, the kids area, the animals. It's a great park. I can go on weekend with just my partner and we get an all day food pass and snack and ride roller coasters all day. I can also take my two young kids and whether we make it a Sesame Street day or an animal day, we always have an excellent time.
My biggest complaint is they're seriously lacking in diverse dietary options for food. If the park is going to your that they care for animals, they should offer more than just animals to eat.

Other than the clueless security guard who said I could wear my Cape with my son and when I asked why he literally said "I dont know", this place is always great.

Wanna have some fun? Head on down to Busch Gardens. We had a blast. Park was great. Rides great and lines not to long. Animals were a site to see. Maps were a bit confusing but if you have time to explore the park you'll be fine. Wildlife is abundant so keep your eyes open wherever you go.

There are a lot of things to do here. There seems to be one way in so make sure you don't bypass your GPS. We love taking walking dates at Busch Gardens, and what a Pleasant one here at Tampa. A Safari hidden in the middle of the city! Don't forget to shop at any gift shop, each store has something interesting. A lot of shade and wildlife. Never a dull moment here. So many birds and beautiful colors.

To us Busch Gardens in Tampa is still a very good experience, however it has lost a little luster in our eyes. We visited this time end of July, 2019 and there was no snake lady near the entrance like before. Also we expected to see plenty of gators like we were used to in the past, but this time saw very few. Of course the price is up and for us the value is down, but we have been to BG a few times and have enjoyed it in the past with our son. If you have never been or have children, then definitely go! Now if you have been to Busch Gardens then you know. Maybe we shouldn't be having zoo's as you look at this hungry White Tiger!

My kids always love going to Busch Gardens! I love it too! There is a lot to do with kids, or just as adults. Before I had kids, we would go and ride the big rides, never thinking about kids rides. Now that we have kids, I never realized how many kids rides there actually are! This last time we went, we went to the ice skating show, which we have never been to, and they loved it! And the animals are always a hit! I highly recommend for all ages!

We have passes and go at least once a month. All ages will enjoy

It was amazing one of the BEST rides is Cheetah hunt it's so fun. BUT be aware that it takes a long time to walk so bring stuff to prepare for the heat.

Animal sanctuary. Ive seen different bird species here that i never seen before. Did not take a lot of pic but you will definitely enjoy it. Oh and the rides are enjoyable definitely. Bring extra

This is a nice theme park with a good selection of rides. Africa theming was well done. It s a reasonable 1 hour drive from Orlando if you re already in that area at Disney or Universal. My only complaint is the lack of places to cool off on a hot day.

Bush Garden is a team park, children's will love it.

Excellent. Very well covid practices throughout the park.
Only problem is no rides or shows which is good in one way

First of all, I love Busch Gardens, been a platinum member for years. While here, stepping into the park, there was no social distancing in lines, even at their main entrance outpost purchasing center inside the park. After speaking with the two employees at the window and pointing out the issue , all they said was it was securities job...they did not even call security to point out the issue. Same problem noticed through out the park. Just keep that in mind when deciding if you want to go.....

To all my military families please take advantage of the discount for the all you can eat passes. Then make sure you check out the smoke house Thank me later lol. It was busy at the park but we had a good time once we got moving around the park. The animals are amazing to see

Howl-O-Scream was awesome! I recommend every experience it. The rides at Busch Garden are great...Loved them. The show are Fiends was NOT kid friendly which was a bummer

Busch gardens is just as good as it used to be. The parking is a lot more expensive though.

The animals and rides are great.

There is a decent amount of shade.

The staff is cheerful and helpful.

The Opening Night Critters Show was much better than expected. They did a great job, and my whole family was entertained. The Sesame Street Show was not as good, even for my 2 year old.

Get a souvenir cup when you walk in because refills are 99 cents or free for water and it s hot out there.

Im guessing cause of Covid alot of stuff wasn't open.......... but it wasn't crowded

We're are annual passholders, have been for about 8 years now. We love Busch Gardens! It's close enough to visit even for a few hours, and we always experience something new each visit!

We like the mix of the fast rides and wandering looking at the animals. We had lunch at the smoke house and an afternoon beer at the beer fest

We were very disappointed when we were there. It's as if nothing were opened you couldn't ride the train you couldn't go on the Skyride anything to do with water was closed

Great place for friends and family plenty of rides with new rides coming out almost yearly. Summer nights free fireworks. wine tasting and concerts. Foods for every taste. Recommend getting the yearly passes the bonuses you can earn make going throughout the year totally worth it.

I have a silver membership and because of Covid I haven t used it personally.
I have been trying to purchase discount tickets with my pass for friends for 3 days. I have spent hours on hold then told to go to Busch gardens and purchase the tickets had to make reservations just for that then I went waited in line 30 minutes to be told I could not purchase advance tickets. When I was told to do this to get the tickets
So I Went home another hour on hold then told they should have sold me the tickets at Busch gardens and the people who could sell me the tickets on the phone went home!!! To call back tomorrow and here I sit again an hour on hold still... you have to do better this is horrible customer service

The park was clean and the food was delicious! Walked onto all the rides and got to see some animals too. It was a great day!

The best park in Florida for who likes roller coasters and adventures ;)

Was there in oct there was 9 of us but me and my 10 year old had a blast. Bought fast passes and food and we left family all day and went on all thrill rides and loved every minute. Only bad thing was there wasn't enough time to go on everything again. Definitely be back again. Wish I stayed there we would buy annual pass 5 stars and worth the Money

Great fun for the whole family too many kids games and rides and too many pretty animals also a very six awesome rides for adults. for the price and the wedding line I think it's much better in my opinion than Disney. Just great over all.

I love Busch Gardens! It is my favorite of all the theme parks. They have something for everyone. Have been coming since there were only 2 roller coasters. My family almost always has season passes. Can't wait for iron gwazi to open. Will definitely be back again and again!!

We LOVE the animals BUT they are not making people wear their face mask. Do not feel safe there as we are older. People eating and drinking walking all over with face mask down.

The amount of people smoking in non designated spots is disgusting. Half of the smokers were smoking weed pens. I m pregnant and breathing in all this cancer. Be more strict with the amount of people just smoking around the parks please. Disney is significantly better than this place, as they keep everything and everyone in line with the rules.

We always enjoy Busch Gardens. Enjoyable for all ages. It is ONE of our favorites.

Have to wear masks all day and on rides. Some rides are still closed as part of their "phased re-opening". Highly recommend purchasing all tickets, reservations, parking pass, quick queues and meal vouchers in advance online. It really helps cut down on waiting and lines all throughout the park.

Nice place with good variety of rides and attractions. Several rides were closed "for maintenance", a lot of the train stations weren't open, and due to high winds the Skyride was shut down. However, the waits were fairly short for most rides, the staff was generally friendly and helpful, the food was truly excellent and the rides that were open were excellent. Will definitely be back.

Roller coasters are good but I think having animals in cages is not interesting anymore

This place is huge! We purchased an annual pass and this was our first visit to Busch Gardens. We have only seen half of the park so far! We went on roller coasters, saw animals, saw a show on ice, saw tons of restaurants. Very clean atmosphere, park is well kept. Very friendly staff and very helpful! Alveria was so helpful from the moment we walked up to the kiosks outside the gate. She helped us obtain our passes and also gave us our lanyards and draw string back packs. She was so friendly, it was infectious! We can't wait to go back again and see what we missed!

You can spend all day here with your kids or with your hobby, with friends or even by yourself and you will never get bored. I absolutely love it!

We absolutely loved this place! Everyone should go at least one time. Eat and drink every hour then go ride around the safari....

The rollercoasters are great! My 7 yr old got on all but 1 ride due to height restrictions so they all do not measure the same even tho she met the 54" requirement. Lots of animals and a super fun kids climbing area! Food is great! Really needed 2 days to see it all. Had to wait 2 hrs for lightning in the area but better safe than zapped! Would do again in a heartbeat!!

Worst amusement park experience we have ever had. Went today and nobody asked for any reservations (I was on the phone for about 3 hours the week before stressing if we'd even be able to get in, so frustrating to find out it didn't matter) it was overly crowded, (especially considering what's going on with Covid-19) we only rode 3 rides in 8 hours, rides kept shutting down with no explanations. The whole day felt stressful. Seemed like every ride we would make it to was either shut down or had a 90 minute wait. We totally regret spending our time and dollars here. Would never return back.

I've gone to Busch Gardens many times. I've even worked there. And this is the best they have ever been. Very friendly employees and helpful employees. Short wait times for rides. Food was fantastic! Best day at Busch Gardens ever with my family! Can't wait to go again!

Even with all of the restrictions and requirements, there is much to do. Employees are very friendly and helpful!

So much to do here. I highly recommend that you arrive at opening gate time. Even if you stay from open to close there still may not be enough time for you to see and do everything here. Definitely recommend getting the food passes they are well worth it. My favorite ride was the cheetah ride. It was a very long wait but it was worth it.

Issues: 1. Misleading Signage; Having spent a very significant amount of money for the Craft Brew Club membership, were dismayed that the sign outside of the Serengeti Overlook Pub showed hours of operation were 11:00 am-3 PM. Luckily a visit to the pub clarified pub was open until 8pm. Sign outside of Zagora Cafe stated "Live music today at 5,6 7, pm on patio." Rushed back to check out the music, to find nothing. Staff said music was on Saturday. 2. Now charging for Christmas on Ice show which was included in pass in 2019. 3. Decreased Christmas lighting displays. Christmas Town had a few white lights. 4. No 20% pass member discounts on merchandise.

I had a great time with my granddaughters and daughter's. The attendants were great. I really enjoyed my day today. We will be back again.

Busch Gardens is one of my favorite theme parks because it's not just rollercoasters. I love that they have a zoo type atmosphere integrated into the theme park. I don't ride the rides so having the option of walking around looking at all the animals is amazing. I also love stopping by the animal hospital theres always something fun going on. I've made hyena food, to seeing animals up close to watching a medical procedure live and in color. Definitely a must see if you're an animal lover. My friends and I got there at park open and they were able to ride all the rides the wanted to in a reasonable wait time. After lunch (late lunch) we were able to take the train towards the exit while we saw the beautiful scenery.

My family and myself always enjoy spending time with one another here theres things to do for everyone. The food is great. My kids love the children area and the kids water play area. My husband and i are foodies we love to try different thing so we explore the restaurants and we love roller coasters "of course!" All in all great family park we get are pass every yr and will continue

Had a good time, lines where short since it was a Sunday afternoon. Several rides and habitats were closed. The "restaurants" closed early and some of the food is just gross. Be careful where you go with you all day food pass. Look at the food! Half of the train stops where closed by 4 and the train stopped soon after. Miss that part. All in all not a bad day.

MY WHOLE FAMILY HAD LOTS OF FUN! THE RIDES DIDN'T HAVE MUCH OF A LINE, UNLESS IT WAS ONE OF THE NEW ONES. MY DAUGHTER WAS ABLE TO RIDE THE CHEETA HUNT TWICE WITH THE BABY SWAP FEATURE!

The best theme park in Tampa Bay. If you love roller coasters and animals, it is definitely worth having a season pass for. The benefits are great!

I really liked this amusement park. They have good variety of the roller coasters and most of them a pretty extreme. You go to this park if you want some extreme. They also have a safari park and several pavilions with animals. So if you don't want to ride the roller coasters, you will find a lot of other things to entertain yourself.

Went for our fifth grade field trip today! It was amazing.....minimal lines, AWESOME coasters and rides both for the brave and the not so brave lol. My favorites were Cheetah Run and Shiekra. My team has already decided that we will be coming back next year for our field trip.

They have been doing everything they can to keep the park safe from covic 19

Rides that were open were good. Barbeque chicken was great.
Family had fun.

There are many amazing rides and attractions here. As an honest review, first this theme park has a lot of shade for those who would ask. Many of the rides are extreme but there are also rides for children. Recently going, I bought the dining pass. This was an amazing deal. I got the pass for 25 dollars at the time and it saved my life. Each entree, drink, and dessert or side came to be around 22 dollars but we got this for free. Every hour we were allowed this meal. Fountain drinks and bottled water were unlimited with this ( no time limit). There were many animals to see. The only complaint was that when we entered the park, we wanted to ride Kumba which is at the back of the park. They let everyone enter at 10:00 and we rushed to the back. Sure enough we were stoped at pantopia to wait 25 minutes. We waited then they left us in. We arrived at the ride but there was a sign that said opens at 11:00 . We were disappointed so do your research. Overall I say go.

LOVED IT, it definitely can store more animals I would love to see more animals there, but outstanding place, good restaurants, a lot of thrilling attractions, gotta try Falcon for sure y'all!!!

I love busch gardens!!! I also love the animal habitats and the feeding sessions with so much information. The Christmas town lights are always so beautiful.

We had a great time. Food and wine festival was going on. The employees at the park were taking things very seriously with sanitizing the rides, bathrooms, even at wash stations throughout the park.

Had the best time with my family. Even as an adult I became a child and enjoyed every part of the day from rides, food and animals. A must go!

Lovely place, great for a family, we spent a really good time together

It was my first time and I had a blast. Furthermore, Nikki at the ticket booth was amazing. She wasnt sure if I was eligible for the active duty discount because I'm a combat wounded guy that got medically retired. When she asked the manager, she came back and thanked me for serving and let the other two in my group in for free as well. The park is super clean, prices reasonable and super clean.

Clean. Staff was courteous and helpful. All wore masks and made sure the customers did too.

The park was great but I recommend getting your hand stamped to go out the park and either packing a cooler of food in your vehicle or leaving to go eat and go back in. We spent over $70.00 at the Dragon fire restaurant in the park for 2 burger and fry meals along with chicken strips and 1 Chinese Orange chicken meal with 4 drinks. Burgers were dry and had no flavor, the texture of the chicken strips was not like chicken not sure what kind of meat if any it was.

Please pack a cooler & keep it in your car or go out to eat and come back. You can get your hand stamped sit in the car and eat or go out to eat and then go back in.

Took the day off and took a date to Bush Gardens. I used to take my kids all the time and haven t been in a while . It was so fun to just walk around and see all the animals . Got my courage up road a roller coaster . Won a stuffed animal and had a great lunch . A fun date place as opposed to the typical dinner and drinks