Which Is Better To Visit, Busch Gardens Or Disney World?

Planning A Trip To Central Florida And Wondering Whether You Should Visit Busch Gardens, Disney World, Or Both?

While living in both South Florida and Central Florida, I’ve been able to visit theme parks in the Orlando and Tampa areas multiple times, and although I have a personal preference between Busch Gardens and Disney World, here are more details between these two parks so you can decide if one, both, or neither are worth adding to your next Florida itinerary.

🦁🐭 Which Is Better To Visit, Busch Gardens Or Disney World?

Both are fun theme parks but very different in size and cost.

Although these two amusement parks are located in two different cities and it’s pretty hard to compare anything to Disney World, here are all the details about these two attractions so you can decide if one, the other, both, or neither are worth checking out on your next trip to Central Florida.

Why Visit Busch Gardens Over Disney World

You might want to visit Busch Gardens over Disney World because of the cost and size difference.

While both attractions have certain similarities regarding animals, here are a few reasons why you might want to choose Busch Gardens in Tampa over Disney World in Orlando:

🎟️ Cost – compared to Disney World, Busch Gardens is definitely the more budget-friendly option

🚌 Free Transportation – if you’re visiting Orlando and don’t have a car to drive yourself to Busch Gardens, the park offers a free transportation shuttle to/from the Orlando area that’s valid with any admission ticket, fun card, or annual pass, but you do have to make advanced reservations

👥 Crowds – although Busch Gardens can get crowded at certain times of the year, it doesn’t compare to the amount of people that visit Disney World so if you want a much less crowded experience, Busch Gardens is the better option

⛈️ Weather Assurance – since the weather in Florida, especially Central Florida, can be pretty crazy during certain times of the year, it’s nice to know that Busch Gardens offers a do-over for weather-related instances like early closures, over an hour ride closures, late park openings, or above 110 degrees heat index

🎢 Theme Park – this is a full theme park with rides, rollercoasters, and shows on top of it’s animal exhibits

↔️ Size – this is one of North America’s largest zoos with over 200 species and thousands of really healthy-looking animals, plus 8 rollercoasters, 1 water ride, and multiple kid-friendly activities/play areas

🦁 Animals & Encounters – Busch Gardens is home to 200+ species and thousands of animals (including favorites like cheetahs, tigers, gorillas, lions, hyenas, etc.), plus special viewing and animal encounters like the safari train, rhino-encounters, giraffe encounters, a sensory-friendly animal insider tour, and much more

🦒 Special Tours – aside from the extra animal encounters, Busch Gardens also offers a VIP tour and special animal insider tours that give you more behind the scenes access

🎃 Special Events – particularly during the holiday season, Busch Gardens has a few special events like a Halloween Spooktacular, Howl-O-Scream, and Christmas Town

🎪 Nearby Attractions – Tampa is also home to the famous Tampa Zoo, interesting circus history, beautiful beaches (my favorite being Anna Maria Island), and some healthier food options like True Food Kitchen or Poppos Taqueria

➡️ Trying to decide where to visit in Florida? here is a comparison between Miami, Orlando, and Tampa to help you out

Why Visit Disney World Over Busch Gardens

Disney is just magical so nothing really compares to these parks.

While Busch Gardens is definitely still a fun and interesting place to visit, no other theme park really compares to Disney World, and these are a few reasons why I think so:

🪄 Magical – I’ve been to theme parks all over the country and even a few out of the country, but nothing quite compares to the magic of Disney World (not even Disneyland in California)

↔️ Bigger & Better – in every way, Disney World is bigger and better than its competitors with 4 parks to choose from and so many rides, shows, and other attractions

🦁 Animal Kingdom – compared to Busch Gardens, the Disney World park of Animal Kingdom is very similar with both rides and animals, but I like Animal Kingdom quite a bit more, mostly because of the Avatar ride

🦏 Special Tours – similar to Busch Gardens, Animal Kingdom also has a few special tours that get you closer access to the animals and behind the scenes of the park (like the Wild Africa Trek)

🎃 Special Events – between all the Disney parks, there are tons of special events throughout the year

🚀 Nearby Attractions – while Disney World and Universal Studios are usually the main focus of Orlando for most visitors, there are quite a few other interesting nearby sites/activities like hiking, the Everglades, Cocoa Beach, the Kennedy Space Center, or even the historic town of St Augustine

Should You Visit Both?

If you have enough time in Central Florida, aren’t on a restricted budget, and want to experience two of the country’s most popular theme parks/zoos, then I would say definitely visit both Disney World and Busch Gardens, especially since Busch Gardens offers a free shuttle from Orlando.

But if you have to choose one or the other, I would always say Disney World is the way to go because it really does feel like the most magical place on earth and if you choose to go to Animal Kingdom, you’ll also get the theme park/zoo experience.

🔁 Sum Up: Busch Gardens Or Disney World

Although it’s hard to compare anything to Disney World, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is still a wonderful place to visit to experience both animals and theme park fun, and do it at a much cheaper price compared to Disney, however if you have to choose one over the other, I would definitely still say that Disney World is the best theme park to visit, my personal favorites being Animal Kingdom and Epcot.