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Busch Gardens

Head down I-4 (central Florida’s main motorway) to Tampa and you come to SeaWorld’s sister park Busch Gardens, where ‘animals and coasters are king’!

Summer of 2007 brought a new element of fear and excitement to Busch Gardens when mega dive-coaster SheiKra underwent renovation and returned as Floorless SheiKra! Although the track remained the same, the experience is quite different, leaving riders with nothing to brace against as they hang for a full .04 seconds at the top, then scream their way down the 90-degree, 200ft plunge. The unobstructed view is stunning and a great ride is now even better.

Debuting Spring 2008, the new Jungala, a 3 storey family adventure play area, is the biggest addition to Busch Gardens since the park opened in 1959. Spanning 4 acres in the Congo section of the park, Jungala represents a village hidden deep in the jungle where animals and humans live in harmony with nature. The village’s centerpiece, a towering rock formation, houses the area’s big-thrill attraction which shoots riders up and out of a crater, rising 35ft above the waterfall before plunging down again. Nestled at the foot of the crater, stilt-walkers and Jungle Animal Ambassadors wander the village interacting with guests while the sound of traditional African music fills the air.

High above the village, rope bridges, climbing structures and zip-lines give visitors a birds-eye perspective, while crawl tubes and climbing nets span the treetops and a nearby tree house viewing area invites interaction with the resident orangutans. Unique animal encounters abound, including one-on-one connections to endangered species, such as a pulley system that allows guests to feel the awesome power of the Bengal Tiger playing on the other end of the tug-rope. The youngest explorers are not forgotten; there is also a children’s splash area . But this is first and foremost a fully immersive place where families come together to explore the animal kingdom, which Busch Gardens consistently accomplishes in grand style.

Mirage Canteen replaced Moroccan Roll at the Marrakesh Theater, harkening back to the 1940s Broadway musical reviews. An enthusiastic piano player pounds out tunes from yesteryear while high-energy dancers brings Hollywood’s glittering heyday to life.

Wild Wings of Wonder took flight in 2007, leaving Bird Gardens Theater free to welcome a menagerie of familiar family pets and exotic creatures in a fun, family friendly show, Castaway Critters. A cast of 80 animals and their human friends, having survived a shipwreck, carve out an island paradise by making the most of their unique talents, learning valuable lessons about each other in the process. The dogs tend to steal the show, but it’s a real Wow moment when the kangaroo shows up!

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