The Rise and Fall of Busch Gardens Tampa (Part 2) | A Complete History

Busch Gardens Tampa is one of the most unique theme parks in the world with its African setting, excellent animal exhibits and a world class coaster line-up. However, the park is not at all what it used to be and so I was interested in doing a deep dive into its history, covering its rise and eventual fall into the state it is today. This is part 2 of the series
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[@garrettreganhobbs6949]

One thing that everybody tends to forget about Akbar's Adventure Tours is that, when you leave the building, they had a TV set up showing bloopers. It showed Martin Short and Eugene Levy actually cracking each other up and proved that they filmed they're parts together.

[@SegwayBossk]

I forgot about Akbar's Adventures! I loved that

[@LordofLiquorice]

It was great. This guy had an issue with the actors being Canadian and not Egyptian. What a weirdo? Name that funny English speaking Egyptian that you'd rather have please

[@plusah1268]

​@@LordofLiquorice you don't know any Egyptians and you say this lol

[@sidneywren5315]

Aw, man this was such a nostalgic watch. I've lived in Tampa for most of my life with regular trips to Busch Gardens well into adulthood, even working there and at their sister water park Adventure Island during summers when I was in college. I had forgotten about so many of these rides you covered until now. Such a thoughtful and well researched deep dive into a place that will always have a special place in my heart.

[@SRQmoviemaker]

Same, I started going in 94 or 95, many times a year since I lived so close, moved south of skyway when I was 13 and only went 2 times a year if lucky after that. But when I went to USF and decided to live in Tampa I worked at BG for a year or so. I went to adventure island so many times in college lol great spot for "people watching"

[@3mbracetheSh4dow]

Same bro worked at adventure islands too crazy to watch this video documenting it like its history

[@zoso279]

Always fun to see comments from theme park employees in these type of videos. Get a unique perspective on these rides compared to us guests and all of you helping with the magic of theme parks and bring joy to thousands.

[@willmc42]

I worked for brewery, the catering company, and in the parks as well. Began in 1988 when many of the 'new' exhibits were fresh and possibilities seemed endless. Loved Adventure Island and had lots of employees only events there, working catering for other companies there and at Sea world. I lived directly across the street behind the Putt Putt Golf course/ PizzHut on 40th & Busch Blvd. Good times 😊

[@thecasualatvguy617]

Damn adventure island. I remember going there in 1989 or 90. Lol. I think they had just the 2 coasters then which were fun on 1989. I lived in key west from 88 to 91. The navy sent my dad to Orlando every summer and we got to tag along and do Disney, Universal, then Tampa. We had season passes in Williamsburg until we moved to FL.

[@Rolo555]

The problem is that Busch Gardens has nothing to do if it rains. No dark rides and also the food there is horrible (I do like the pretzels they serve however). I think they could also use a on site hotel resort which will add value to the park.

[@LakeHowellDigitalVideo]

They desperately need a dark ride. I always thought the food at the Smokehouse near Sheikra was pretty good, though.

[@baconmantube]

this is a lot of heavy investment for a company who are happy to run skeleton crew on all rides, which is, historically, when accidents happen. They don't want to put more money in for later, they want money out, NOW. and they'll bankrupt the park to do it.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

If they worked on really bettering this park, I think a resort would be perfect too. Their old plans seemed interesting and would make sense if the park was still drawing people in.

[@cc_snipergirl]

To be fair, all theme park food used to be like that. Just a step up from the carnival's, on par with a movie theater's. I went to Disney earlier this year and was stunned that they had so much real food in their parks, and such a variety of it.

[@cjones3710]

When is Busch s food horrid.? Swiss house, festhaus. Not true at least not pre 19!

[@Skylerstories]

As someone who worked for the company many years and was in management! Thank you, I watched my home fall apart over the years without me being able to do anything because nobody said anything, thank you for speaking the truth and if you have any questions I have answers! 👍🏻

[@MrMac1138]

Scorpion is an underappreciated gem. Compact and fun. Would love to see something similar from a modern manufacturer elsewhere.

[@SolarMoth]

It was the first coaster with loops that I ever went on! Broke the seal for me to try Montu.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I agree, Schwarzkopf coasters hold up really well (at least the ones I've been on) and would make for great compact additions if someone wanted to tackle those track designs.

[@ACE37man]

First real coaster for me, not counting water coasters. Re rode a couple of months ago and it feels like a spine disintegrator now.

[@bruns-o-tron]

As with @PoseidonEntertainment, Scorpion was my first inverted ride experience, and I agree it's a great coaster.

[@cc_snipergirl]

It was also my first loop. I think it was probably a lot of people's first because it's basically a kiddie coaster with a loop, perfect for testing the waters and plenty of fun.

[@trientertainment7628]

Hour long Poseidon videos never disappoint!

[@whydidntigetanysoup]

As a person who grew up going to Busch Gardens and even had an annual pass for a while, this video (even more so than part 1) made me so sad. In fact, I was feeling the nostalgia and wound up going in February of last year, and everything you’ve said rings so true. If someone who knew anything about theme parks and the theme park going community were at the helm of the parks division, I think they could really do something. But what I’m seeing is that the only real audience it’s attracting is young (see: high schoolers) folks with not much money to spend because of the emphasis on coasters (which I do love, but even those are…in need of some TLC). Anyway, thank you for archiving this historic park. Oh didn’t know so much of that because it was before my time so not only was it fascinating, it also just hurt my heart to know what it could be now.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

The biggest disappointment with Busch is that it would be so easy to fix. Pay the operators and train them better, get better food options, invest in more family rides and shows alongside the coasters, etc. It's a fantastic and well themed park but just run poorly.

[@whydidntigetanysoup]

@@PoseidonEntertainment 10,000% that. Like…that’s exactly what I would recommend.

[@carlyh4315]

I’m a camp counselor at Busch gardens rn. Super cool learning about this stuff because kids always ask a lot of questions about the park so now I’ll have answers !

[@Captain_E0]

This is a great video. As someone who has grown up going to Busch Gardens, it hits all the nostalgic spots in all the right ways. It's refreshing to see such in depth content for this park as Disney and Universal always get the spotlight. The ending was quite sad though because I've also seen a rapid decline as well and have worked for this park during this and am now at SeaWorld and watching the same happen there. I know these Parks could really be amazing and I hope to see them make some radical changes to reverse their current course. I'd love to see something like this for SeaWorld Orlando because I do think there is a lot to talk about there and a lot of history that can be covered.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I agree that SeaWorld would be interesting, though it seems much less documented and more difficult to research. Even looking at the park in Jaws 3, it seems unrecognizable from what it is today.

[@WulliameJukerbage]

Yeah

[@phillips2683]

Ditto, great video. I remember Bush Gardens from 1972 when I visited my Aunt and Uncle in Clearwater Florida. It was fun and exciting for a 12 year old visiting Florida for the first time.

[@bab008]

Nov. 2022 it was almost empty and many rides were closed due to "tech difficulties" but seemed more like they lacked staff. 2 out of every 3 restaurants were closed. It seemed tired. In May 2023 it was much better however and had a lot of it's old zing back from past years. Still, have the feeling they are in survival mode.

[@DreadedWhiteKong]

This was a sad watch because I went there a few weeks ago and I felt the exact same way about it. The park just seems to be deteriorating. I’m happy that I grew up with this park in the 90s and early 2000s which I would argue was their most successful times of expansion. The park just isn’t the same anymore. I hope they can turn it around. Great video, as always.

[@WarGuy19]

Agreed

[@Gibbypastrami]

I worked there too, termites flying everywhere at night in the spring and no talks of how to solve the issue because it was so widespread when I was there

[@genxskeptic5816]

Thanks for the history. We visited Busch Gardens/Tampa back in 2015 and had a great time. The animals and attractions were wonderful. The one thing that was EXTREMELY irritating happened at closing. We were told the park was open till 6 pm. At 5 pm, we had one last coaster we wanted to ride. It was closed down. We asked an employee why and he said they shut down all attractions at 5 and wanted everyone out of the park by 6. It was the only park we had ever visited from Texas, Ohio, California, Tennessee, Missouri or Orlando that ever pulled that kind of nonsense.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I didn't know it was happening back then, but I definitely had that experience at SeaWorld throughout 2018 and 2019. It's a scummy thing to do, but not surprising since AB doesn't run the parks anymore.

[@mattlawson6995]

I've been a season pass holder for 2 years and they aren't doing this anymore. Sorry this happened that night.

[@sytaelf]

As a ride operator for the park im sorry that happened to you. That's not a normal thing to do. Normally the cut off is the closing time of the park meaning if you're in line before that you get to ride

[@SRQmoviemaker]

I just wanna say as a lifelong (95ish to now) attendee of BG Tampa, these videos were great to see. Very cool seeing how it all started and looked before all the changes. Hell its wayyyy more different than I first remember. Somewhere theres hi8 tapes of my first visit, as well as many other visits. Not to mention the hundreds of photos over the years. I used to go 8 times a year [maybe more as a kid living 30min away] then slowly less to where I'm lucky if I go more than 1x a year for howl-o-scream

[@HowAboutAHug]

Same, I used to go at least yearly when I lived on the east coast of Florida in the early 2000s (three hours away), now I live in Clearwater and I haven't been more than once in years because it just is not the same

[@charlieintampa6769]

Thanks for the video. We used to go a lot when my daughter was little, but have not been for some time until this summer with a visitor. I was shocked how run down and pedestrian it looked like compared to 6-8 years ago. Just as you say, the draw was the variety and very high quality entertainment. Much of that is gone, replaced by dust and and mediocracy. Hope once the current owners run it into the ground someone who cares about the city and about quality buys it up and restores it to its former glory.

[@HugoToledo]

I found this as I was looking for footage of the African Queen boat ride circa 1980 when I worked there in high school. It was a lot of fun. Right before I left at the end of my senior year of high school, we had drained the water there to clean out the algae. It was pretty cool to actually get to walk by parts of the waterway we normally wouldn’t get to see ourselves. It was the first time I got to see the “native hut” were the entertainers hung out, waiting for the next boat to come around the corner and scare them. (and, no, we did not *always* smell weed when we went by there. 😆) I love the blue and gold, macaws and scarlet macaws that we would have on the back of our boats. I think that’s the only time they letting non-zoo personnel get anywhere near the animals and, even then, all we were taught to do was hold the stick out so they’d hop on it so we could move them from the purchase on the boat back to the dock and vice versa. One thing you might find interesting is the boats had no steering, so just after the village , there was a gate where we would stop. The boat press a Hidden button and divert the track so we could park the boat in the back where we would clean them and they would be serviced overnight. Because you couldn’t steer them, there was a trick by which we would use the stick for moving the birds on and off the perch to push us off in the right direction then, by alternating forward and reverse, we get the boats to line up and go into the dock. OMG had not thought about this in probably 40 years. Anyway, thanks for posting these out here. I haven’t had a chance to look at the second part yet, but will do so. After I saw the first part, I was going crazy, hoping there was someway to leave a note for you guys. Thanks!

[@monicahuck]

So much research and work go into your videos. I feel like I am watching a professional documentary when watching your videos. Thanks so much for your hard work and I can’t wait to watch your channel grow.

[@abigailhoover2058]

^^ Couldn’t agree more!!

[@LetsbeFrank38]

It's been about 10 years since my last visit to Bush Garden's. About 15 years ago, we were yearly pass holders. We did enjoy it at the time, and the Cheetah Hunt was just introduced, making it my favorite coster.

[@jaball77]

It's been a rough few years, but I feel like things are starting to turn around. Attendance seems like it's back to normal for a regional park, and with the Flyer and the new family coaster it seems like they're back in the groove with renovations and improvements... I agree that they need to lean into the non-ride side of the park though! They've brought back the seasonal shows at Dragon Fire which is great, but there needs to be more. The new animal show is so-so, and the ice show is a weird fit for the park.

[@tyler1783]

is BGT considered a regional park, its known countrywide

[@TrainsWow]

Attendance is definitely lacking, I feel like this summer was one of the slowest ever.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I don't know how weekends are because I generally try to avoid parks then, but the place is empty during most of the week. I remember it being a lot more crowded 20 years ago when my parents would allow me to skip school and we would go a few times a year.

[@AmandathePandaBooks]

BG forgot millions of us cannot ride roller coasters! Getting rid of the sky rides and the monorail and sit down rest., was a great mistake!! Buy buy profits!

[@alexisyoung9372]

@@PoseidonEntertainment The past few years have been really slow, especially on week days. But I went multiple times this summer and it is getting busy again! Every time I went this summer wait times were at least 40mins for every ride, because the park was packed.

[@happgood]

And thanks again for this thorough and thoroughly entertaining historical study. As always the editing and script are top notch, definitely created by a true devotee. Your videos are always a highlight. I had the pleasure of working closely with the BGT Entertainment Department in the 90's and early 2000's. A great bunch of passionate people, most are gone now. One interesting thing... many of the people in leadership positions had started at the park as teenagers working concession carts and the like. This created a real local family of creative people who loved the park, kept abreast of the competition and traveled frequently to be up to date on rides, entertainers and trends. I loved the chance to be a tiny part of that era (and years of free visits!)

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Traditionally, I did get the impression that a lot of management legitimately liked the park and its experience, so that makes sense that they would have started from the bottom.

[@kylecristino3378]

I'm a simple man, I see Poseidon entertainment and I watch

[@Ataraxia462]

I believe they opened the third floor of the Serengeti Overlook as a passholder lounge. Scorpion is great because of it's low height requirement which allowed my son to ride his first looping coaster when he was only 5 years old

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I think I do recall hearing something about an AP lounge but I didn't realize it was the top floor. I wish they would reopen it as an actual restaurant.

[@lance2465]

So excited to watch part 2 of Busch Gardens history.

[@rayquasticstudios]

bruv this was part 2, part one has already been uploaded :]

[@lance2465]

@@rayquasticstudios I know

[@rachelwilliams8340]

Watching this brought back to me so many good memories as I went their as a kid back in 1990s. 😊

[@shinkoryu14]

I went to high school in Hernando County, so my family used to go to Busch Gardens at least once or twice a year back in the early 2000s. I moved away for college in 2009, but got a job in Tampa in 2021 and decided to go to Busch Gardens again for the nostalgia. I remember enjoying the coasters and the vet care exhibit, but feeling like the park wasn't nearly as I remembered it, but not being able to quite put my finger on why. This was a very nice and insightful deep dive into the park history, and helped me to contextualize why the park seemed so much more lackluster than I remembered it being. Well done! As an aside, I also do not enjoy Tigris- I get migraines, and the whiplash of the back and forth ride start reaaally mucked with my head and very nearly triggered one the day I went, not a ride I ever plan to go on again.

[@zemwazhere1489]

I’ve just finished part 1 and 2 being an annual pass member for the past 3 years and going when I was young with my mom but wow so much history about this park truly is fascinating to see how it was over the decades

[@ashleyferguson9287]

What a treat!!! Thank you for all your hard work.

[@mirkozanda]

I admire your ability to explain things in a interesting yet solid way. Literally looking up to you man

[@harmonyharris777]

So well documented & detailed. Perfectly done thank you 💜🦁🦓🦒🌍🌞

[@cheetaking243]

Akbar's Adventure Tours is still the most intense/dynamic simulator I've ever ridden. It was relentless in how violent, scary, and immersive the motion was through the entire film. It was certainly an amazing experience. I wish it didn't have the problematic brownface and cultural stereotypes, but the ride itself was incredible. My teenage coaster-enthusiast self rode it a LOT because it was one of the most thrilling rides in the park.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Yeah, it seemed wild for sure. I've been on Wild Arctic and even as someone with a strong stomach it bothered me, so I can't imagine Akbar's lol. It was definitely really unique conceptually though and despite the issues, I did think Martin Short's performance was really funny.

[@dr.maples]

Absolutely love that your earliest memories are at an amusement park. Same for me: my first memories were at the 1982 World’s Fair. Would love to see other viewers share their early amusement park memories below!

[@debrawray7463]

Went to Disneyland the day it opened in 1955. I was only 4. I do remember a lot of it. I've been there over 100 times.

[@kratze1738]

Cedar Point at around age 11. I remember being terrified of the coasters and refusing to go on any, requiring at least one parent to stay behind with me while the rest had fun, till my sister talked me into one of the tamer ones JUST as we were done. I LOVED it and then we had to go home immediately afterwards. I also remember being the biggest whiner at that age and my parents probably wanted to smack me as I moaned about how I missed the rest of the coaster rides on the several-hour car drive home. PS, I got slightly better about the whining over the years.

[@lindseysrandomvideos7035]

My mom and Dad loved to talk about how good of a show Katonga was and how they need to bring more shows like that back. I was 5 when they stopped showing it so I don’t remember it but I think about it often

[@virgilmatos5638]

Busch Gardens was my introduction to theme parks and started my love for animals. What’s happened with Sea World and Busch has been so tragic. They’re a shell of what they used to be and it sucks not being able to justify the trip out there.

[@blu3622]

My dad and I went to Busch Gardens in Tampa over an eight year span, traveling from Birmingham, Alabama, during the spring break week in March. Starting in 1990 through 1998, I also have many of the same memories of the park.

[@anacampanita21]

I used to love going to Busch Gardens growing up, especially going with friends on weekends. I haven’t been since 2013 and have been wanting to go to relive my teenage memories, but seeing the state that it’s in now breaks my heart. I hadn’t heard much about the park after the opening of cheetah hunt, but I didn’t realize how barren it is now. Loved this 2 part series that brought back so many good memories!!!

[@bethfrompa]

You brought back a memory of Rhino Rally, when you ride down the river!! And I remember the beer school, and how you could get 2 free beers per visit from the hospitality house. Now no more🙁

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Ah, did they not bring back free beer though? I thought they did for the summer at least.

[@Kreege]

I'm glad you got to ride Gwazi during its early years. My family had season passes in the late 90s/early 00s and I also agree that it was an incredible ride early on. The last time I rode it in 2013 though was downright painful, and not in a good way.

[@JamesCobalt]

Went to Florida on vacation near the very end of its run and I literally thought maybe some of the wheels had gone off the track. I couldn't believe they were letting people ride that thing. It was only mid day and we immediately left the park due to pounding headaches.

[@minxlabrada]

Amazing content. In the 80s Busch Gardens was the must-go vacation destination that everyone loved. Appreciate all the effort you put into this doc.

[@bruns-o-tron]

The guy in the fez guiding guests in the queue is Scott Swenson! He also appears in the ride safety film wearing a hat and a khaki vest. When I worked there, he was a director, and eventually became Entertainment Department VP. Today, he's at the Florida Aquarium, and directs a ton of other entertainment in the Tampa Bay area. He also regularly performs at Tampa Fringe. (I'm not being paid by anyone to say this. I just think he's awesome.) I worked at Akbar...sort of. There were two queue areas (and possibly two entire simulators, but I forget). During the first two years of the Florida Fun Card, I picked up extra hours selling them in the second queue area, since it wasn't used during the winter. Most of the Mystic Sheikhs of Morocco Band were FAMU students and alumni, at least when I was there from 2000-2002.

[@dustinkennedy2238]

Wooo another entertaining watch! Keep up the great work y’all 🤠🫏

[@MarcoSpelde]

We went there a couple of weeks ago. I remembered from an earlier trip that there were a LOT of animals during the train ride. This time, practically the only thing I saw on this ride, was roller coaster structures. And, as mentioned before, when there is inclement weather, the park shuts down for 99%. For us it was a huge dissapointment. There are enough parks with huge coasters in Florida. We went there to have a quiet animal observing day. Only positive thing about that day is that I ate the most awesome funnel cake I ever had. :) But, for future vacations, we probably won't visit Bush Gardens anymore....

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I think the animals are hit or miss depending on the time of the day for the train and it's always kind of been like that since I can remember.

[@robhamilton8993]

We went to Busch Gardens Tampa in 1975 on our Honeymoon. We were Platinum pass holders for 15 years & always loved Busch. After it was sold we have only been back once in last 5 or 6 years. We really were disappointed when they removed all the Clydesdale horses and closed/removed some of the more interesting things to see. Oh and back in 1975 we were able to see the belly dancers before that was stopped

[@unboxinghype813]

Thanks for covering this. Especially QUESTOR! Loved that ride and the air condition lol. Brought back some great memories!

[@CharlottePaigeWarren]

Crazy how many duplicate rides there are to the Williamsburg location! I’d love a video going over that park- it’s a big part of my childhood❤️

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I think it's a good video idea eventually.

[@dandrnachmusic]

This is a great 2 part video. Well Done!! I worked for Busch in the early 2000's and it was a very special and important time in my life. I hate seeing the rapid decline of such great parks! Thanks again for a fantastic set of videos

[@DollywoodShows]

Fantastic video as yours always are. Thank you. We moved to this area 10 years ago and live near Disney. At the time, we visited this park more than any other. And I go to them all. The park had so much entertainment, and we enjoyed the rides even though their operations were poor even then. The shows made the park stand out to us. We went monthly to the park and supported it in many ways and brought many guests with us. Today, the lack of quality entertainment has made it that we basicly stopped going. I hope the park returns its entertainment as if it did, we would go again.

[@IAMBENNYBLANCO.]

Great work as always!

[@STSGuitar16]

I've never even been to Busch Gardens but love learning about stuff from your videos. Definitely enjoyed this one!

[@vcracing]

Excellent video. Well done. Thank you for putting this together. It's really disappointing to see how quickly Busch gardens is declining

[@tobeornottobe9533]

From land of the dragons to he Egyptian digging sights next to coasters, this video brought back so many good memories. I was in elementary school living outside of Orlando and we went to Busch gardens every summer. Nights before phones, where you couldn’t fall asleep the night before, to leave super early and take a road trip of 3-5 hrs to the park to stay all day and sometimes, overnight. Thanks for this. Gained a sub.

[@tobeornottobe9533]

When you mentioned lorys landing and scorpion, both pinnacles of my childhood. The scorpion also being my first inverted roller coaster. And I have some good memories feeding nectar to fuzzy-tongued rainbow parrots. Wow. I miss the days before the internet. I never thought I’d say that. =(

[@Zoove1]

Such a good quality video

[@saranyabiswas2057]

These videos are so enjoyable

[@rjsmedia69]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I spent many of summers there with a season pass in the 80"s

[@Tampa_tom]

My memories as a kid in the mid 90s was the park very crowded with hour plus lines to wait in taking all day to only experience half the park of lucky. Never been back since 98

[@Mugiwaradatabase]

Oh boy!!! I’m excited!!!

[@mintchevvv1834]

I still think this is the best park I’ve been to theme wise, please do a video on the history of howl o scream Tampa

[@magixd]

This was a trip down memory lane for me; I had been part of the Adventure Camp summer programs twice between 2012 and 2016 (which to this day are the best summers I ever had) so seeing what it has become of now does really make me a little sad. Thank you so much for your thorough research and timeline; I never knew it used to be a brewery! LOL

[@Mockingdragon]

Oh my goodness, I love the idea of a comedy film inside one of those simulator rides. Whether THIS is the best one or not it is a great change of pace.

[@lindseydean3568]

Growing up in Wesley chapel, Busch gardens was always my park. Scorpion was my first roller coaster. I remember measuring myself every visit until I was finally tall enough.

[@shawnat.3677]

Great video. I really appreciate your research. As a TPA resident since 2010, I've always been disappointed with this park. It feels old and dirty and the food has always been horrible and boring -- same thing offered at every restaurant (the ones that are open, anyway). I will say the smokehouse was good the one time I ate there. I've always been shocked by all the dead space. Your videos helped me understand some of the mismatched themes throughout, as it never felt like a cohesive park. I really hope management can get it together because there's so much potential. You can tell management just doesn't care. Thanks again!

[@CaptainGrackle]

Such a nostalgia trip. Practically grew up at BG in the 90s and worked at Congo River Rapids back in mid-2000s.

[@joshuakirdy6542]

The bridge mentioned over the first part of Tidal Wave used to bring guests to Orchid Canyon.

[@centralfloridamommies897]

We go to Seaworld at least twice a month, its truly one of our favorite places.

[@mattgonzalez4457]

When I was little (In the mid 80s) Python was the best ride in the park. When it got older the head restraints would give nearly give you a concussion as your head would ricochet from side to side. I still rode it every time I went. I'm glad Scorpion still remains

[@rayraycontray]

Loved this series, amazing job! I grew up in Tampa and I cant tell you how many times I rode Tilde Wave during summer break!

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

Tidal Wave was so unique too. Definitely wish it was still around.

[@StraightOuttaBangkok]

I've only visited USA 1 time, which was two weeks in Florida back in 2007. We visited a lot of the Disney and Universal parks, but Busch Gardens remains my favorite park in that state. To this day, Sheikra (or Shakira as my friends called it! 😂) is my favorite ever coaster ride.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

It's a great coaster. I think a lot of people dismiss it because they think it's not really anything more than its initial drop, but it adds so much kinetic energy to the area.

[@carlosg1165]

I agreed 100 percent with you😢😢😢😢😢😢😢on the latest running of the park just came from there I’m a annual member it’s the only park I can afford to go with fun card deals at 89 dollars that’s the only reason I still go 😢😢great video 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👋👋👋👋👋👋

[@DL-rl9bd]

Years ago I maintained season passes, and loved it. But, in recent years it’s become so crowded there’s nowhere to park and it’s shoulder to shoulder people and lots of long lines in Florida heat.

[@Rambl3On]

Katonga (sp?) is the best show I’ve ever seen at a theme park.

[@Vorloru]

Man, this is reminding me I've been to this park maybe twice pre-2011. My mental was particularly rough at the time so I can't remember much of anything about the park, just that I went a day or two while visiting my dad in Clearwater. I do have good, albeit fragmented, memories of Williamsburg's Big Bad Wolf, was my first ihigh speed coaster, ignited a love for coasters in me as a kid.

[@russ4moose]

Dude. Questor was so cool. I loved that thing when I was a kid. Days of Thunder was even better just cause I loved the Mellow Yellow car, but Questor was dope.

[@carlycruise]

Thanks for an exceptional History view

[@stevezee5568]

Liked and subscribed. Phenomenal job on this documentary!!!

[@pureorganiclove6627]

Thank you!! Great video. I watched both parts. I forgot about bush gardens, and I don’t live too far. I’m inspired to go check it out.

[@Molly98Pitcher]

Scorpion was my first rollercoaster with an inversion too!

[@johanna7254]

Thanks for another great video! I hope you'll reach 100k soon!

[@akcalo]

Was there a few months ago. I hadn't been there since I was a kid. And it was so depressing to see what it had become. No shows not many attractions aside from coasters. We rode the rapids ride, walked around a bit and saw a few animals and had chick fil A. And the early closing time, at the time we went didn't help. I agree with your assesment "Six Flags of Tampa".

[@sarahsusan3753]

Questor was my favorite ride omg I loved the footage!

[@KAYoLEE]

Loving this series so far- I can't believe I've lived in FL my whole life and have never been to Busch Gardens before. I somehow been to the one in Williamsburg lol.

[@mercilessnewt7242]

Rhino Rally was super scary for me at one point, because the water had been drained, but the ride was still going. You could see that you were completely on a track, but at one point, you were in the middle of this giant empty pool, on this 1 line track, much smaller than your vehicle. It was probably completely safe, but my small child brain was afraid we would just fall into this big empty pool 😅

[@whisper180]

So sorry to see that Rhino Rally closed! I rode it in 2007, and it felt like a "real safari" to me as a tween. The bridge collapse was a real thrill. An unforgettable experience.

[@jacobselleck9750]

I could not imagine the park before Edge of Africa. The access across the park and large immersive exhibits must have been mind blowing back then and really expanded the park

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

It's an awesome area and thankfully fixes Egypt's dead end problem. I wish they would bring back the Skyride though. It's a great transportation option.

[@jacobselleck9750]

It will be coming back at some point thankfully. Can’t come soon enough

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

@@jacobselleck9750 Did they announce something or is it just a rumor?

[@jacobselleck9750]

They posted a small video about a month ago confirming they are working on it but nothing since. A lot of work had to be done since it’s an old ride that didn’t operate for 3 years

[@sg9414]

Excellent history - tons of work, much appreciated. I wondered what happened to it..used to be so nice. You're line "the six flags"..is exactly what I thought when there's no theming, no shows, and everything is roller coasters...not exactly a family friendly approach. Great job.

[@Skye-Cabbit]

There was ONE SINGLE SPOT directly in the center of the Tidal wave splash bridge that was dry and it was a great spot to chill out. I do miss it, but tigress is a huge improvement

[@ryeinc]

My biggest flex in life is I was once chosen as the navigator and sat in the passenger seat on Rhino Rally. And we did the water section!

[@casebarreoltt5990]

Rhino Rally...did that feature an animatronic Desantis?

[@mattlawson6995]

Thanks for putting this together. I grew up going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg in the 80s and 90s and now I live in Tampa and have season passes. I thought the run down look of the park was an intentional part of the aesthetic! Thanks for sharing the history, next visit I'm going to check out a few things I didn't know were there. I echo your major points, there's less and less to do if you don't want to ride coasters the whole time. I have two older kids that love coasters and two younger ones that can't ride them. Pantopia used to be a good area for everyone because there were some older flat rides for the younger ones, but they just shut those down and removed them. If they put a coaster there then that'll be a big disappointment.

[@bigsweetz9384]

It's finally here boys

[@pjny21]

Big Bad Wolf in W'Burg and the Python were legendary.

[@D3ADLYTHI3F]

Florida native here. I've always loved going to Busch Gardens, but I do worry about it's future. Fun fact... Python was the first rollercoaster I ever went on. I also still have a pin from the Haunted Lighthouse 4D movie that they were giving away at the time.

[@Zero8880]

Busch Gardens had some of the best commercials in the early 90's when they had the African themed jingles. I always remembered one in particular that started off with a guy saying "Father said" and then it went Only giraffes can lick the clouds only lions can be so proud only bucks can beat the breeze only birds can tickle trees only elephants have such might only tigers fear no fright only hippos can tame a stream but only you , can dream dreams I can't find this commercial anywhere on the internet, but I can find all the others.

[@ryano913]

Yes! Thank you for no longer making me think I was crazy for remembering a pit of crocs at the launch of Montu. My friends don’t believe me and I started to question myself thinking yeah that was probably a misfire of my memory, what if a croc jumped up to grab a leg. Ha!!

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

They definitely wouldn't have stuck around today. The number of people that would drop phones on them would be a problem. Still, it's interesting that they initially tried doing something unique.

[@paalbr]

I think Phoenix Rising's addition is a really good sign, that they're becoming aware of the need for smaller scale attractions, so maybe things are looking up?

[@Huntly23]

For me I’ve been going to BGT more than ever but that’s only because of iron gwazi. I usually will pop in towards the end of the day, get rides on gwazi when there are no lines, then leave because I don’t feel like making the trek through the park just to find more awful operations. BGT is so close to being a phenomenal park since it has the ride lineup for the most part, but the operations and overall cleanliness of the park is just not it right now.

[@jonny-b4954]

Yeah, their operations are their worst right now. 4-5 minutes for Gwazi man, it's nuts. Even for an RMC. That and then their food options are lacking. I did like the Chik Fil A addition though. I just eat there every time or the barbecue place.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

@@jonny-b4954 I think it's a problem when your best food location is run by an outside fast food chain. I would really like to see them reopen the restaurant at the top of the Serengeti Overlook with a better sit down option.

[@jonny-b4954]

Yeah, for sure. That's what I was telling my mom, their best food is fast food haha. I've never eaten anywhere but inside Pantopia food court, the ribs in Stanleyville and Chik-Fil-A the last couple of times. Didn't realize there was a restaurant in that building, hmm. Yeah, I've always wanted a theme park that has like an actual, legit, sit down restaurant. That's built to handle 1000s of people. In the same vein as a Buc-ee's, but a restaurant instead of a gas station haha.@@PoseidonEntertainment

[@bjvincent8786]

Excellent second part of the video history on Busch Gardens Tampa. Again while I have never been to this theme park; it seems like even though it was not a Walt Disney World and/or Universal theme park it was still a fun theme park to go to.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

It's still worth a visit if you get the chance, but just don't expect much from the operations. If you go on a weekday, the park is empty and it's easy to overlook most of its problems.

[@iamdigbick4675]

I'm pretty sure the Komodo dragons in the Congo River rapids queue are the same ones from when they closed land of the Dragons. Scorpion was also my first coaster with an inversion!

[@RandomGaki]

This video is awesome!

[@kyleh698]

YAY!!!!! SO HAPPY! loving this series

[@MrG024]

What a fantastic video. Thank you

[@jasonbelt3624]

Noticed some of the plumpest squirrels I’ve ever seen when eating at Zagora Cafe. Watched them make their way to the condiments table and sneak off with mayo packets.

[@VannahSavage]

My partner and I went to Busch Gardens on a company-paid trip last fall. It had been nearly a decade since either of us had gone for anything other than Howl-O-Scream, and we found it so depressing. The condition of the lone tiger there was so miserable and he showed obvious symptoms of zoochosis.

[@fishfilms8633]

This and the SeaWorld video got me to sub. Great vids!!