Although its heart-pounding thrill rides get much of the ink, this venerable theme park (it predates Disney World) ranks among the largest zoos in the country. It’s a don’t-miss attraction for children and adults who can see, in person, all those wild beasts they’ve watched on Animal Planet—and they’ll get better views of them here than at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has more than 2,000 exotic animals living in natural-style environments. Most authentic is the 65-acre plain, reminiscent of the real Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, upon which zebras, rhinos, giraffes, and other animals graze. Unlike the animals on the real Serengeti, however, these grazing creatures have nothing to fear from lions, hyenas, crocodiles, and other predators, which are confined to enclosures—as are the hippos and elephants. Located in the area that formerly housed the Budweiser Clydesdales, a cheetah habitat gives visitors the opportunity to get closer to them than ever with elevated, glass-paneled viewing areas.

But back to those thrill rides. The park’s seventh roller coaster—there are currently ten in total—SheiKra, was the nation’s first dive coaster, carrying riders up 200 feet at 45 degrees and then hurtling them 70 mph back at a 90-degree angle. Cheetah Run, a Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) Launch Coaster, uses the force of repelling magnets to launch riders from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds. For the real thrill seekers, the wood-and-steel hybrid coaster Iron Gwazi plunges brave riders from a 206-foot-tall peak into a 91-degree drop at 76 miles an hour. Experts voted it best new coaster in 2022 and best hybrid coaster in the world in 2023. A more family friendly (read: slower) coaster, Phoenix Rising, opened in 2024.


The park has eleven areas, each with its own theme, animals, live entertainment, thrill rides, kiddie attractions, dining, and shopping. A Skyride cable car soars over the park, offering a bird’s-eye view of it all. The first “world” many visitors hit is Morocco, which is just beyond the entry gate to the right. A walled city with North African architecture, it features crafts demonstrations, and an exhibit of alligators and turtles. Over in Egypt, a replica of King Tut’s tomb is the big lure; youngsters can dig for their own ancient treasures in a sand area. Adults and kids 54 inches or taller can ride Montu, once the tallest and longest inverted roller coaster in the world until its Williamsburg, Viriginia sibling Alpengist opened, with seven upside-down loops.

From Egypt it’s a short stroll to Edge of Africa, home to most of the large animals. Go to the Adventure Tours tent and see if you can get on a Serengeti Safari, one of the park’s best zoologist-led wildlife tours. Added up-close experiences are also available, including a 6-hour zookeeper-for-a-day program and a nighttime safari by lantern light.

Next stop is Nairobi, where visitors see gorillas and chimpanzees in a lush rainforest habitat (the Myombe Reserve) as well as a 270-gallon aquarium that focuses on fish breeding methods (outside of collecting them from the wild). In the middle of all the excitement, you will find Pantopia, where Scorpion, one of the smaller roller coasters, is located along with the horrifying freefall ride, Falcon’s Fury.

The Congo is next geographically, where the highlights are the rare white Bengal tigers that live in Jungala, the park’s 4-acre attraction within the Congo featuring up-close animal interactions, multistory family play areas, rides, and live entertainment. The Congo is also home to Kumba, which plunges riders from 110 feet into a diving loop, where you get a full 3 seconds of feeling weightless while spiraling 360 degrees, before tearing through one of the world’s largest vertical loops (54-in. minimum height for riders). The Congo River Rapids is here: round boats that float down a swiftly flowing “river” (42-in. height minimum). Most riders get drenched on this one.

From the Congo, Stanleyville, a prototype African village, is next, with a shopping bazaar, and the Stanleyville Theater, featuring shows for all ages. Three rides are here: Tigris, the park’s ninth coaster, Stanley Falls Flume (an aquatic version of a roller coaster), and the floorless SheiKra, which goes 200 feet up and 90 degrees straight down. It has a water-feature finale. Tip: Zambia Smokehouse here serves some of the best grub in the park (chicken and ribs).

Up next is Sesame Street Safari of Fun for the young ones and those, ahem, too frightened to partake in some of the other rides. It has tiny tot-friendly attractions like the Air Grover junior coaster, Elmo’s Tree House (a jungle gym on steroids) and Bert and Ernie’s water play area. The Sesame Street characters take part in shows, and you can have a meal with them.

Final stop, if you’re doing this geographically, is Bird Gardens, the park’s original core, offering lagoons, and Florida flamingos. In 2024 Walkabout Way, an immersive Australian animal attraction, opened here. Visitors can hand-feed kangaroos and wallabies in Kangaloom during scheduled feedings throughout the day. Kookaburra’s Nest is a free flight aviary. Springs Taproom, a casual restaurant and bar, also opened here in 2024.