RV Vacations & Camping Ideas
Southeast USA-Florida-Busch Gardens
Experience Africa at Busch Gardens by
Howard Farmer
Busch Gardens originally opened in 1959. The original name of the park was Busch
Gardens Tampa Bay and the park had an African theme. Later, it was called The
Dark Continent and finally Busch Gardens Africa. The park is home to 2700
animals and a variety of great rides. Your family will enjoy learning about
African animals and riding thrilling coasters in this park.
Rides at Busch Gardens
Kumba is a well known roller coaster in this
park. The name means roar in the language of the Congo in Africa. This is a
steel coaster that is 143 feet tall. The coaster reaches top speeds of about
sixty miles per hour. Kumba has multiple inversions throughout the ride. If you
love roller coasters, you need to ride Kumba during your visit to this park.
There are four roller coasters in addition to
Kumba in the park. The Python and Scorpion coasters are very popular rides. The
Gwazi is an eight hundred foot wooden roller coaster. Montu is a steel, inverted
roller coaster that is also very popular. There is plenty here to keep the
roller coaster enthusiast in your family happy all day long.
There are several water rides to help you cool
off on a hot Florida day. You will find that some are great for younger kids,
while others are better for the older children and adults in your group. The
Tanganyika Tidal Wave, Stanley Falls Log Flume and Congo River Rapids are some
of the more popular water rides in the park.
The park has several rides that are geared toward
the younger guests. The Congo and Timbuktu areas have rides for children. The
bumper cars are always popular with children. Your kids may have fun digging in
the sand in the Egypt section of the park. The sky ride is fun for the whole
family.
Animals at Busch Gardens
The park is home to approximately 2700 African
animals. You can view the animals on rides such as the Rhino Rally. This is a
jeep ride through the animal habitats in the park. The safari and river ride
takes you on a land and water safari to experience the animals from both vantage
points.
The Myombe Reserve is home to the Great Apes of
Africa. Here you will see chimps, gorillas and many more ape species. The
Serengeti Plains area is home to free roaming African animals. In this area, you
will see elephants, giraffes, zebras and more. The Edge of Africa is where you
will find rhinos, white Bengal tigers and hippos.
Busch Gardens offers one feature that the other
amusement parks in Florida do not offer. They have a rain guarantee. If your day
at the park is spoiled by rain, you will be given free admission to come back to
the park another day. This is a great feature, especially in the summer. The
weather during the Florida summer can be very unpredictable. You will not have
to worry about missing out on the fun with this guarantee. To save even more
money, ask about flex tickets that include admission to other parks, such as Sea
World, Universal Studios, Wet and Wild and Islands of Adventure.