Tampa and Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens uses date-based pricing. These are the prices on the official ticket page on September 22, 2026:

Parking is extra on single-day tickets: $35 general, $48 preferred on the parking page. Busch Gardens notes that rates start at $30 and change by season. A couple paying the lowest online price and general parking spends about $159 before food, plus fuel and tolls.

The multi-park tickets are the better deal if you also plan a SeaWorld Orlando day. The Two-Day Two Park ticket is $100 total for a Busch Gardens day and a SeaWorld day. That is less than two single tickets on most dates.

The dining bundle adds $40 to the lowest single-day price ($101.99 against $61.99). It is the same structure as the SeaWorld All-Day Dining Deal, and the same rule applies: it pays off only if you eat two full counter-service meals in the park.

• Iron Gwazi: hybrid coaster, 206-foot peak, 91-degree drop, 76 mph. Minimum height 48 inches.
• SheiKra: 200-foot climb, 90-degree drop, 70 mph. 54 inches.
• Montu: seven inversions. 54 inches.
• Tigris: triple-launch coaster that runs forward and backward. 54 inches.
• Cheetah Hunt: triple launch, 4,400 feet long. 48 inches.
• Cobra's Curse: family spinning coaster. 48 inches alone, 42 to 48 inches with a companion.
• Phoenix Rising: family coaster up to 44 mph. 42 inches.
• Air Grover: junior coaster in Sesame Street Safari of Fun. 38 inches.

The four headliners all need 48 or 54 inches. A family whose youngest is under 48 inches gets Cobra's Curse, Phoenix Rising and Air Grover, which is a thinner day than the price of the drive suggests.

Run the numbers against staying put. A Busch Gardens day costs about $97 per adult in ticket and a share of parking at the lowest prices, plus roughly three hours in the car. A single-day SeaWorld Orlando ticket starts at $59.99 on SeaWorld's site, with no highway.

The difference is the ride list. Orlando's big thrill rides are spread across Islands of Adventure, Epic Universe and SeaWorld, and they cost more to reach. Busch Gardens puts five major coasters in one park, and its lowest ticket price is below the $124.99 and $139.99 starting prices for Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe.

Go if you have at least five days, a car, and riders over 54 inches. Skip if your group is under 48 inches, if you already hold multi-day Disney or Universal tickets you are struggling to use, or if you do not have a car.

Ybor City, Tampa's historic cigar-making district, is about 8 miles and 20 minutes south of Busch Gardens. It works as a dinner stop before the drive back, not as a separate day trip from Orlando. Tampa claims the Cuban sandwich as its own, and Ybor is where to order one.

Be realistic about timing. Ybor to International Drive is about 73 miles and 86 minutes without traffic, so leaving at 8 p.m. means a 9:30 p.m. arrival at best. If the park day ran long, skip Ybor rather than drive I-4 tired.

From International Drive or Disney, take I-4 west for about 60 miles, then I-75 north briefly, and exit to SR 582 (Fowler Avenue) west to the park. OpenStreetMap routing puts it at 75 miles and 95 minutes from the Orange County Convention Center and 70 miles and 90 minutes from Disney Springs. From downtown Orlando it is 84 miles.

Without a car, the Discovery Cove three-park package includes a free bus shuttle to Busch Gardens. For everyone else this is a driving day. Read do you need a rental car before you book one just for it.

Tampa: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Ticket & Multi-Park Options

Admission only: no transport from Orlando, parking extra. Cashless park. No refunds once the ticket is used.

1 day (multi-park options)

4.0★★★★★★★★★★(387 reviews)

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