Busch Gardens Tampa Bay


Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a African-themed animal theme park located in the city of Tampa, Florida. The park is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and has an annual attendance of just over 4.1 million a year, making it the second most visited among all SeaWorld-owned parks behind SeaWorld Orlando, and eleventh overall among the 20 most visited amusement parks in North America.
The park has been home to many notable roller coasters and thrill rides, including SheiKra, the first Dive Coaster in North America and at the time of opening, was the longest, tallest and fastest in the world; Tigris, the tallest launch coaster in Florida; Montu, which was the tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster in the world at the time of opening; Falcon's Fury, the tallest free-standing drop tower in North America; and the upcoming Iron Gwazi, a hybrid roller coaster which is expected to become the fastest and steepest in the world and tied with Zadra for tallest in the world when it opens.

History

Busch Gardens Tampa opened on March 31, 1959 as an admission-free hospitality facility which provided guests with the opportunity to taste the beer. In addition to various beer tastings, they had a bird garden and the "Stairway to the Stars", which was an escalator that took guests to the roof of the brewery where the tour began.
Over time, as popularity in Busch Gardens grew so did the company. Just as it is today, the birds roamed free, where the guests were free to pet them.  Millions visited, and in a stroke of brilliance wildlife-lover, August A. Busch Jr. added the 29-acre Serengeti Plains in 1965, which eventually expanded to 70 acres. The gigantic Serengeti Plain allowed the African wildlife to roam freely and became the largest, free-roaming habitat outside of Africa. It remains one of the most unique features of the park to this day and has received numerous upgrades and expansions. Busch Gardens continued to focus on its tropical landscape, exotic animals and amusements to draw visitors.
Busch Gardens began charging admission as the entertainment became more complex, with extra fees for the thrill rides, such as the roller coasters for which Busch Gardens is now known for. The very popular "Sesame Street" kid area was once "The Land of the Dragons" area, the second kid-friendly area introduced in the park. The first roller coaster introduced the park was the "Python", which sparked more and more business. From then on came Scorpion, Kumba, Montu, Sand Serpent, etc. As of recently, Busch Gardens opened its newest roller coaster in April 2019 called "Tigris," which is labeled as a "Skyrocket." Tigris is said to be the tallest launch roller coaster in Florida, thus giving Busch Gardens more attention. An upcoming attraction that is under construction, is called Iron Gwazi, which is to be finished by Spring 2020. They announced that it is a hybrid wooden-steel roller coaster, and is located where "Gwazi" once stood. It is said to be the world's fastest and steepest hybrid roller coaster.
Not only do the roller coasters bring in loads of visitors, but with the introduction of events, such as the famous "Howl-O-Scream", "Christmas Town", and "Food and Wine Festival", it drew even more attention to the park.

Themed areas and attractions

The park's main entrance. Treats can be purchased at the Sultan's Sweets and the Zagora Cafe. The Moroccan Palace is located here, as well as the outdoor Marrakesh Theater. Gwazi was the major ride in this area and a new hybrid roller coaster ride will take its place.
Former "Land of the Dragons" children's section of the park. Land of the Dragons, which itself replaced the Dwarf Village in 1995, was replaced by Sesame Street Safari of Fun on March 27, 2010. It contains all the attractions from Land of the Dragons which are now re-themed. It also contains four new attractions.

Stanleyville

This section of the park is home to one of the park's water rides, Stanley Falls Flume. It is also home to launch coaster Tigris, and SheiKra, which was the first and only Dive Coaster in the United States until the addition of Griffon at the sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The section opened up in 1973 with the addition of the Stanley Falls Flume. The African Queen Boat Ride opened in 1977 as Busch's version of Disney's Jungle Cruise. The African Queen featured live animals, including alligators, crocodiles, rhinoceroses and spider monkeys. A colorful South American macaw rode on each boat as a first mate. There was also a cast member, dressed in African warrior regalia, who surprised each boat as it passed through a riverside village. The warrior was featured in television ads for the park in the early 1980s. In 1989, the African Queen Boat Ride was transformed into Tanganyika Tidal Wave with the addition of a drop that generates a giant splash. The section remained unchanged until 2005 when SheiKra opened and the surrounding area was renovated.
This section, themed to the jungles of Congo, contains two of the park's most popular rides, Kumba and Congo River Rapids. In November 2006, Congo underwent a major renovation, including the removal of the park's classic Python corkscrew roller coaster. Other former Congo attractions include the Swinging Vines, family swing flat ride closing in the early 1990s and the Monstrous Mamba octopus flat ride closing in the late 1990s. And the Pygmy Village kids area featuring three children's rides, a teacup ride, a kiddie swing ride relocated to Sesame Street Safari of Fun and the Gwazi Gliders moved to Morocco.
Opened on April 5, 2008, Jungala is a family attraction featuring up-close animal encounters, rope bridges to explore three stories of jungle life, and a water-play area for children. Also located in this area are two family attractions: Jungle Flyers, a zip line that offers three different flight patterns above the treetops of the new area, and Wild Surge, a shot tower that launches guests above a waterfall. Another attraction is Tiger Trail, which is a walkthrough with tigers where there is also a glass turret where you can look out right in the middle of the tiger enclosure. During the Kareebu Jungala atmosphere show, stiltwalkers perform with puppets and interact with guests in the heart of Jungala.
A section originally themed after the malls and bazaars of Africa that opened up in May 1980 as Timbuktu. The Phoenix was built in 1984 and remains a popular ride to this day. The section was renovated in 2003. Important elements added during this facelift included the enclosing of the Timbuktu Theater, which replaced the park's Dolphin Theater with an indoor 4-D movie theater. The dolphins retired to other locations. The 4-D theater premiered with "R.L Stine's Haunted Lighthouse" film in 2003, followed by "Pirates 4D" in 2006 and "Sesame Street Presents: Lights! Camera! Imagination!" in 2010. In 2004, Das Festhaus was transformed into the Desert Grill, and the park's family-friendly Sand Serpent wild mouse roller coaster opened, replacing the Crazy Camel Trabant flat ride. In September 2014, Falcon's Fury, a 335-foot drop tower, opened, replacing the former Sandstorm orbiter flat ride. This section of the park was re-themed to Pantopia alongside the opening of Falcon's Fury.
Alligators and crocodiles can be observed here up close. In Curiosity Cavern, guests can view mammal and reptile exhibits. Visitors to Nairobi can meet the Animal Ambassadors who travel the country and make educational appearances at Jambo Junction. The area also contains Myombe Reserve, a tropical rainforest that is home to Western lowland gorillas and common chimpanzees. In 2012 the Animal Care Center opened, allowing guests to observe actual veterinary procedures, as well as meet the stars of Wildlife Docs, Busch Gardens' Saturday morning television show. The main train station at Busch Gardens is located at Nairobi. Another popular attraction here is the Asian elephant exhibit. Nairobi used to have a safari truck ride called Rhino Rally, similar to Kilimanjaro Safaris at Walt Disney World. The attraction closed in 2015.
Edge of Africa, otherwise known at Cheetah Hunt Plaza, is the smallest section of the park. It features a restaurant, The Serengeti Overlook Restaurant and Pub, the Cheetah Hunt roller coaster, and the Skyride station.
tents, authentic handicrafts and art create an Egyptian marketplace feel. The primary attraction of the Egypt-themed area is Montu, an inverted steel coaster. Tut's Tomb, a former audio guided walk-through tomb excavation closed in Winter 2013 and the interior was gutted to make way for the queue for Cobra's Curse. The former Golden Scarab Gift Shop was converted into a gift shop at the exit of the attraction.
Busch Gardens is Tampa's largest zoo, with more than 200 species of animals.

Animal Care Center

A state-of-the-art facility that allows visitors to view animal care being conducted from treatments to x-rays.
A free flight aviary that shows over 500 tropical birds from around the globe including parrots, flamingos and others. The original section of the park opened in 1959. The area for the most part remains mostly gardens and animal exhibits. A staple attraction that once stood in this section was the brewery. However, the brewery closed in 1995 and Gwazi now sits where the brewery was located. In 2014, the Bird Gardens theater was demolished and the former show is now housed in the Pantopia Theater under the new name "Opening Night Critters".
Opened in 1997, Edge of Africa is a walk-through attraction where guests can observe African animals. Among the exhibits are a Nile crocodile named Sobek, meerkats, two prides of lions, a pack of spotted hyenas, three hippos named Moyo, Kita and Devi, vultures, and a troop of lemurs.
The three newest members of the lion pride include a male named Kembe and two females named Shaba and Shtuko. They arrived at the park as cubs in 2013 from a zoo in Africa. Another pride of lions at the park include a male named Simon and two females named Rose and Iris. Iris and Rose are unable to have cubs as they have been spayed.
The hippos Moyo and Kita are never exhibited together, being father and daughter, and being unaware of this would try to mate with each other. Therefore, both are rotated into the exhibit and holding area day by day to avoid accidental inbreeding.

The Serengeti Plain

In 1965, the park opened its Serengeti Plain animal habitat, the first of its kind to offer animals in a free-roaming environment. Over the years, the habitat has expanded from to its current size of. It is home to the Grévy's zebra, Grant's zebra, sable antelope, reticulated giraffe, Ankole-Watusi, addax, white rhinoceros, eland, impala, ostrich and marabou stork. Also, in a secluded area of this region is a solitary female black rhinoceros named Jodi.

Events

Real Music Series

From January to March, Busch Gardens hosts a weekly concert series which invites popular bands either in big band music or pop to perform classic or contemporary songs.

Food and Wine Festival

For the months of March & April, Busch Gardens hosts a series of concerts in Gwazi Field, mostly from classic rock and country music acts. Sometimes the event includes alternative rock, pop, hip hop and R&B acts as well as comedians. Also, there are special culinary offerings that include a variety of ethnic food and wine samplings from various local vendors along the walkway from the Gwazi Roller Coaster to the gate in Gwazi Field.
The documentary film Blackfish and a subsequent online petition led to several popular musical groups cancelling performances at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens "Bands, Brew & BBQ" event in 2014. This caused the removal of the event in Tampa, which was replaced by the annual Food and Wine Festival, resembling the one currently at Epcot in Walt Disney World Orlando.

Viva La Musica!

In March, several Latin music acts are hosted on the stage in Gwazi Field. There is a similar culinary setup with special offerings for the concert days as there is for Bands, Brew & BBQ.

Summer Nights

In the summer months, the park stays open later and includes concerts by performers like David Cassidy and Starship with Mickey Thomas. The park's Independence Day festivities add fireworks to the entertainment lineup.
In 2010, Busch Gardens added a new nighttime show called Kinetix, the first special effect-heavy show put on in Gwazi Field. Also, they added many new special effects to the existing rides just for the Summer Nights season. Kinetix discontinued after the 2016 Summer Nights
Since 2017, Busch Gardens Summer Nights now includes party zones where guests can dance with Party Starters and DJs to the music and compete for special prizes. The most major party zones are ¡Fiesta Festa! in the Cheetah Hunt Plaza and Tigris's Party Zone in Stanleyville. On every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, guests can compete in the “Dance Challenge“ at Gwazi Park to win 4 FREE tickets to Adventure Island as well as an epic fireworks show directly afterward.

Howl-O-Scream

Every September and October since 2000, Busch Gardens is transformed into Howl-O-Scream. This event contains haunted houses, scare zones and shows. Howl-O-Scream is one of the top rated Halloween events in the United States. Howl-O-Scream has featured some attractions of the park turned into "horrified" attractions at night. This includes Serengeti Safari Tours, which was turned into Evening Serengeti Safari Tours and Curiosity Caverns, which was turned into Dark Cavern, both in 2000. In 2012, Howl-O-Scream celebrated 13 "unlucky" years.

Christmas Town

From November to December, theaters throughout the park are transformed into Christmas-themed shows in celebration of the holiday season for an event called Christmas Town. The whole park is decorated with over a million Christmas lights and theming. Among the more popular attractions is Snow World, in which guests can play in real snow and ride down ice slides. This event was first introduced in 2012. At Santa's House, guests can bring their little ones and have pictures taken with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and Santa's Elves right next to the Nairobi Train Station which circles around the Serengeti Plain as the Christmas Town Sing Along Train featuring select Christmas carols and songs. Also, guests can meet the stars from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer over in Rudolph's Winter Wonderland since 2016. Plus, two Christmas Town princesses can be spotted in the Icy Forest, and the poinsettia trees which guests can also have pictures taken. Princess Fae, a sugarplum princess made her debut during the 2019 Christmas Town season. The poinsetta, sugarplum and icy princesses can also be seen together there near closing time.

New Year's Eve

During New Year's Eve, Busch Gardens celebrates the new year by hosting live music throughout the park, thrill rides opened through the night and fireworks located at the Gwazi Field. Including a park-wide countdown to the new year.

Awards and recognition

Rankings

The following is a list of roller coasters at Busch Gardens Tampa that have placed on Amusement Today's award or nomination list, along with the highest ranking and year awarded or nominated. Busch Gardens Tampa has also been nominated for best landscaping in 1998 and 2007.

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