Key Takeaways
- Quietest months: September, October and November. Busiest: July, March and June.
- Saturday averaged 81%, Wednesday 31%: go midweek if you can.
- October half-term averaged 31%, against a park average of 48%.
- For most UK visitors Busch Gardens is a day trip from Orlando, so a quiet weekday makes the journey worth more.
Busch Gardens Tampa crowd levels by month
The table shows Busch Gardens Tampa's average crowd level for each month from 2022 to 2025, on Queue-Times' 0 to 100% scale where higher means busier. The park's average across all four years was 48%.
| Month | Average crowd level | Compared with the park's average |
|---|---|---|
| January | 45% | About average |
| February | 43% | Quieter |
| March | 59% | Busier |
| April | 50% | About average |
| May | 46% | About average |
| June | 58% | Busier |
| July | 77% | Much busier |
| August | 41% | Quieter |
| September | 25% | Much quieter |
| October | 34% | Much quieter |
| November | 39% | Quieter |
| December | 50% | About average |
Like SeaWorld, Busch Gardens is busiest in the summer, with July at 77%, and quietest in the autumn: September averaged 25%.
The best and worst days of the week
| Day | Average crowd level | Compared with the park's average |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 43% | Quieter |
| Tuesday | 34% | Much quieter |
| Wednesday | 31% | Much quieter |
| Thursday | 33% | Much quieter |
| Friday | 49% | About average |
| Saturday | 81% | Much busier |
| Sunday | 62% | Much busier |
No park we track has a bigger gap between weekend and weekday. Saturday averaged 81% and Sunday 62%, while Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all averaged under 48%. Wednesday was the quietest at 31%.
The quietest and busiest weeks of the year
Averaged over 2022 to 2025, these were Busch Gardens Tampa's five quietest and five busiest weeks. Dates are shown for 2025; in other years the same weeks start a day or two earlier or later.
Quietest weeks
- 8 to 14 September: 20%
- 15 to 21 September: 25%
- 22 to 28 September: 20%
- 29 September to 5 October: 23%
- 27 October to 2 November: 27%
Busiest weeks
- 10 to 16 March: 77%
- 30 June to 6 July: 81%
- 14 to 20 July: 77%
- 21 to 27 July: 81%
- 22 to 28 December: 84%
Busch Gardens Tampa in the UK school holidays
UK school holiday dates vary by area and year, so these are the typical weeks. Averages cover 2022 to 2025.
| UK holiday | Average crowd level | Compared with the park's average |
|---|---|---|
| February half-term (mid February) | 55% | Busier |
| Easter holidays (the week either side of Easter Sunday) | 64% | Much busier |
| May half-term (the late May bank holiday week) | 59% | Busier |
| Summer holidays (late July and August) | 50% | About average |
| October half-term (late October) | 31% | Much quieter |
| Christmas (20 to 31 December) | 78% | Much busier |
October half-term (31%) and early December (30%) are the quietest times for UK families. Christmas (78%) is the busiest, followed by Easter (64%).
How long are the queues for the big rides?
Average posted wait in 2025 for Busch Gardens Tampa's longest queues, with 2019 alongside where the ride was open. Posted waits are the times the park displays at the entrance to each queue, averaged across every day of the year.
| Ride | Average posted wait, 2025 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Cheetah Hunt | 42 min | 35 min |
| Cobra's Curse | 37 min | 30 min |
| Iron Gwazi | 33 min | Not open |
| Congo River Rapids | 22 min | Not open |
| SheiKra | 21 min | 17 min |
| Phoenix Rising | 18 min | Not open |
All 3 of these rides that were open in 2019 had a longer average posted wait in 2025.
Queues for the big coasters are moderate: Iron Gwazi averaged 33 minutes in 2025.
Is Busch Gardens Tampa getting busier?
| Year | Average crowd level |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 47% |
| 2021 | 59% |
| 2022 | 49% |
| 2023 | 45% |
| 2024 | 47% |
| 2025 | 49% |
Busch Gardens Tampa's average crowd level was highest in 2021, at 59%, and was 49% in 2025. 2020 is left out because the parks were closed for months that year. So far in 2026 (January to August), the average is 47%, against 53% for the same months of 2025.
Tickets for Busch Gardens Tampa
Busch Gardens is included in the SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens 3 Visits with All-Day Dining ticket, from £150.26 per adult, and the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens 2 Visits ticket, from £147.79 per adult. Both include free transport from Orlando to Busch Gardens, so you can pick a quiet weekday. For more visits, the 14-day unlimited ticket is from £157.12 per adult. See our Busch Gardens Tampa tickets page for every option, and Busch Gardens tickets from the UK for how to get there.
How we measured this
Crowd levels are the daily 0 to 100% crowd level published by Queue-Times for each day Busch Gardens Tampa was open from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025, 1,434 days in all, averaged by month, weekday and week. Ride waits are average posted standby waits for each year. We update this page each month; the data runs to 1 September 2026. For today's queues, see Busch Gardens Tampa wait times on ParkPulse.
More on Busch Gardens: the best rides at Busch Gardens Tampa, and the SeaWorld Orlando crowd calendar if you are planning both.
Current Prices
Prices vary by travel date. Click a ticket for full pricing and availability.
Frequently Asked Questions
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