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Busch Gardens Tampa: General Discussion

I went to Busch Gardens for 2 days about 3 weeks ago. Most rides were 1 or more hour queues with only Kumba and Montu having shorter wait times. The throughputs were absolutely shocking with most rides waiting 4 minutes plus before being dispatched. We also waited nearly 20 minutes for 3 trains to be dispatched on Iron Gwazi. On the whole, the staff seem mostly disinterested in their jobs. Most were just stood around and chatting whilst trains were waiting empty on platforms. I definitely wouldn’t hurry back for another visit.
 
I went in 07 and 08. I loved my visit in 2007 and been overcast all day and the park been empty we got on everything. The following year the day started off well and get on many rides and we went for lunch and there was a storm and it rained for roughly just over a hour but we didn’t mind as we were eating and watching the live entertainment on the stage in the restaurant. The rain stopped but they couldn’t reopen the outdoor attractions to the storm was 5 miles away from the Park and they didn’t open for another 2 hrs which only gave us a hour before rides closed and been a 3 hr round trip we thought it was a wasted day and not been back since.
 
If the threat of lightning is close they'll keep the rides closed.

We got 2 hours there on our first ever visit with storms keeping rides shut the remainder of the day. It didn't put us off and we've returned many times and really enjoyed the park. Unfortunately our visits in late 2021 and this year have left a sour taste in our mouths.
 
Austin Towers said:
If the threat of lightning is close they'll keep the rides closed.

We got 2 hours there on our first ever visit with storms keeping rides shut the remainder of the day. It didn't put us off and we've returned many times and really enjoyed the park. Unfortunately our visits in late 2021 and this year have left a sour taste in our mouths.
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I know that but like Universal, Sea world and Disney they still got lots to do when the weather goes bad with all there indoor rides and shows. Busch gardens just had there 4D cinema and shows.!
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I know that but like Universal, Sea world and Disney they still got lots to do when the weather goes bad with all there indoor rides and shows. Busch gardens just had there 4D cinema and shows.!
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100% agree. Both parks are crying out for indoor attractions. If they're trying to move away from animals then they need to change their game plan. It's no good just throwing up coaster after coaster. I guess it comes down to cost, indoor rides demand a huge budget.

When Epic Universe opens and there's even more to squeeze in during a Florida holiday I don't think Busch and SeaWorld will be very busy.
 
But couldn’t you argue that Busch and SeaWorld’s focus on coasters differentiates them from Disney and Universal far more than a focus on indoor attractions would?

In the ever-competitive Florida market, I think that differentiation is important, and with Disney and Universal having cornered indoor attractions on a far larger budget, I’d argue that thrill coasters are a good, open niche for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens to move into, personally.
 
Yes, but the parks are in Florida where storms are nearly a daily occurrence, meaning there's a high chance you will be left with no rides for hours on end until the storms are far enough away. When I was at BGT last month, every ride was closed from 1pm until we gave up and left around 4pm. They should have attractions available in any weather, never an issue at Disney and Universal.
 
Davezilla said:
Yes, but the parks are in Florida where storms are nearly a daily occurrence, meaning there's a high chance you will be left with no rides for hours on end until the storms are far enough away. When I was at BGT last month, every ride was closed from 1pm until we gave up and left around 4pm. They should have attractions available in any weather, never an issue at Disney and Universal
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Like if it rains at Universal IOA you got lots of indoor rides at US.
I just felt driving a 3 hr round trip wasn’t worth it as with the bad weather in Florida it’s tough to pick a good day when you really got your park days sorted weeks before. Also now to keep costs down I don’t hire a car as you got to factor in over $300 just for parking charges and the Lynx bus system is so cheap and a smooth operation.
 
Davezilla said:
They should have attractions available in any weather, never an issue at Disney and Universal.
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It can be an issue at IoA, the line for Spider-Man gets very long when there is a storm because over half of that park does shut down. IoA still needs a few more indoor attractions.
Themeparksandy1981 said:
Like if it rains at Universal IOA you got lots of indoor rides at US.
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Only if you have a two-park ticket, or if you've already done the studios park then its frustrating!

Busch Gardens is definitely the worst park for storm shutdowns and the zoo is looking a bit rubbish now too, so if the rides do close for storms there isn't much left. They do really need to invest in a dark ride and a new 4D show.
 
Phoenix Rising, B&M Family Invert opening at Busch Gardens Tampa 2024.
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From: https://twitter.com/OrlandoInformer/status/1708831713420337638
 
With the number of B&M’s SeaWorld Parks are getting, they must either have some killer deal or far more money than sense. Probably the latter.

Can’t complain about the number of investments but I do worry about the sustainability of keeping this up for so long. I keep thinking about Six Flags with their early 2000’s mad spending spree and subsequent bankruptcy.
 
Building a new coaster at Busch Gardens and Sea world for next year really makes good sense as many could be saving money to Epic Universe opens the following year but to get there coaster fix for next year could just visit sea world and Busch gardens as on average Americans only go away for 5 to 7 days.
Orlando really now has become a minimum 3 week holiday as you want to visit every theme park and water park and ride all the major attractions.
 
Leigh said:
With the number of B&M’s SeaWorld Parks are getting, they must either have some killer deal or far more money than sense. Probably the latter.

Can’t complain about the number of investments but I do worry about the sustainability of keeping this up for so long. I keep thinking about Six Flags with their early 2000’s mad spending spree and subsequent bankruptcy.
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They had to make a long term plan, to move away from the "(human killing) Killer Whales in glass boxes" entertainment market.
Staying the same wasn't really an option.
 
Leigh said:
Can’t complain about the number of investments but I do worry about the sustainability of keeping this up for so long. I keep thinking about Six Flags with their early 2000’s mad spending spree and subsequent bankruptcy.
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There are considerable differences between SeaWorld’s current strategy and that of 2000s Six Flags. The other things that 2000s Six Flags did that SeaWorld thus far hasn’t repeated are massively slashed entry prices and season pass prices (I think I remember hearing that Six Flags’ season passes fell to something obscene like $25?) and bought up a huge quantity of new parks and chucked $100m+ in ride hardware at them in one go. It’s worth remembering that while Six Flags was giving out new coasters like sweets, they were also slashing entry prices and buying loads and loads of new parks; this was the period where you had loads of unsuccessful Six Flags acquisitions like Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and their brief venture into Europe, each costing an amount comfortably into triple figures when you combine the hardware purchases and initial park purchase outlay. To put it simply, 2000s Six Flags’ strategy was kind of like the theme park equivalent of Trussonomics; vastly increase expenditure while simultaneously slashing prices.

SeaWorld, on the other hand, has not notably reduced its prices, and the company has been reporting record profits in its recent financial accounts, so I don’t think there’s too much to worry about.

I’m also under the impression that the obscene rate of investment has slowed somewhat outside of Florida, with the Florida parks mainly continuing to get so much attention due to the impending threat of Epic Universe.
 
SEAS parks are also open year round - while this is a gross oversimplification you essentially get two seasonal parks worth of revenue out of one park. (Orlando, Tampa, & San Diego especially.)
 
highly likely part of a multi ride deal. plus existing relationship with B&M plays a part, delivery time frames, proven track record with their strong previous relationship with b&m. Also as the park already have multiple b&m’s it might make it easier in terms of maintenance , their teams already have a lot of experience with operating and maintaining b&ms so that could also play a part.
 
Given that SeaWorld are currently adding their 2nd B&M in as many years it seems a safe bet they've got some sort of multi-ride deal. Vekoma would normally be the obvious choice but if you want high capacity B&M might be more sensible
 
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