Busch Gardens Tampa with Toddlers & Preschoolers: Local’s Guide

As a theme park known for its epic rollercoasters, you may be wondering if there are things to do with toddlers at Busch Gardens Tampa. Well, you’re in the right place.

We’re two local Tampa Bay moms and Malena’s been a Busch Gardens annual passholder since she was a kid and Elizabeth’s family also got passes for the first time this year.

Busch Gardens have a really fun kids area, lots of animals, and some unique things that make this a fun theme park for little kids. Plus, Busch Gardens offers free preschool passes for Florida residents, meaning Florida kids under 6 can visit for free.

Below we give some tips for visiting Busch Gardens with toddlers, and then highlight our kids favorite things to do at the park.

Let’s go to Busch Gardens!

Tips for visiting Busch Gardens with little kids

Smuggle in food

This is my biggest tip for going with little kids. The website says you can’t bring in food but they don’t really check (Disclaimer: this is subject to change and depends on the employee you get at security). I pack kids snacks and Uncrustables discretely in our diaper bag or stroller.

Because listen, Busch Gardens food is stupid expensive. Like an Uncrustable meal was over $10 on our last visit expensive (for reference, that’s about $3 more than Disney, so it’s really expensive even for a theme park). We paid $15 for a pretzel on our first trip because we didn’t smuggle in food once. It’s wild and honestly kind of offensive that they price gouge so much.

Get a free preschool pass

If you’re a Florida resident, you can get a free annual pass for kids under 6 years old. You have to register for it at the beginning of the year.

Guide to Free Preschool Passes for Florida Residents (multiple theme parks do these!)

Pack a change of clothes

There is a splash pad area for little kids and in the Florida heat, getting soaked is a blessing. Either bring along a change of clothes or a swim suit for kids.

Heat & Sunscreen

The kids area of Busch Gardens is lacking in shade in parts (it’s really a shame they didn’t add more shade cover). Plan accordingly for heat if visiting in the summer and know you’re going to need a lot of sunscreen.

There are free sunscreen dispensers throughout the park which is a nice touch.

The kids area opens later

The kids area doesn’t open with the rest of the park, it actually opens 30 minutes after park opening. This isn’t obvious as you enter the park.

Hopefully this spares you the hike we made to get to the kids area in the morning only to be turned away.

Buy tickets in advance if you see a deal

First, if you’re buying an annual pass that includes free parking, you’ll want that free parking for your first visit because parking is really expensive ($35 on our last visit)

Also, they may change the online prices if your location is at the park. The first time we visited, we checked the prices at home for an annual pass before leaving the house. We had some questions so we waited to buy it at the park. The online the price jumped up at the park from when we left the house. Maybe the deal had ended but the date online said it went through that day 🤷‍♀️.

Things to do with toddlers & preschoolers

The Busch Gardens kids area is really good and the highlight of the park for little kids. There’s a lot to do there so make sure to budget enough time for it.

NOTE: there are areas in the kids section that are sorely lacking in shade. It felt like we were on the surface of the sun in some of the climbing playground. Consider planning around the heat of the day in summer months.

Kids area climbing structures

The kids area is full of cool rope bridges and climbing structures. What I like about the play areas is that there are rope bridge options AND stair options. We have one bold kid and one anxious kid and having multiple staircases like both my kids access the play areas.

At the top level of the play area, there’s a cool obstacle playground structure. Don’t miss that.

This cool bounce pillow

There’s a big bounce pillow that’s probably my favorite part of the whole park. It’s fully shaded and there is lots of shaded seating around it for parents.

My kids are obsessed with it. But the best part? They limit you to about 2 minutes of jumping when there’s a line. No fighting trying to drag kids out when you’re ready to go, the Busch Gardens teen employee does the dirty work for you.

Kid-only rides

There’s a nice selection of kids-only rides in the kids area. Rides like a tiny water flume, flying swings, race cars on a little track, and more. The lines are often short too.

Sesame Street characters

You can do meet-and-greets with Sesame Street characters in the kids area. They also put on a cute Sesame Street show throughout the day, which can include getting up with the characters at the end for a picture.

Splash pad

There is a splash pad in the corner of the kids area. This is much appreciated on a summer day.

It’s not an incredible splash pad but it gets the job done. Again, this is something we wish they would have built some shade over.

Carousel

The carousel is outside of the kids area so you may miss it if you only stay in that corner. It’s located in the middle of the park by Pantopia Theater.

Mist machines

What kid doesn’t love a mist machine? They’re a true simple pleasure.

They’re scattered throughout the park but our favorite one is the tunnel going into Pantopia.

Animals

Busch Gardens is basically like visiting a zoo inside a theme park. There are lots of animals throughout the park.

We actually skipped having a zoo membership this year since our Busch Gardens pass gave us a similar zoo experience.

Animal education talk

In addition to animal exhibits, you can often catch educational talks and experiences happening throughout the park. There’s even an animal care center that you can go into and see things like a vet procedure talk.

Skyride

The Skyride is a little gondola ride across the park. This is a chill ride for little kids (if they are okay with heights). It is a one-way ride, so keep that in mind if you are at the park with a stroller.

Mold-a-Rama machines

I cannot explain how delighted I was on my first Busch Gardens trip to see Mold-a-Rama machines throughout the park. I have such strong 90’s memories of these machines at our zoo and I did not think they existed anymore (here’s a history of the machines for any nerds like me).

They are just as magical for kids today as when we were little. It’s a lot of fun finding the different animals throughout the park and deciding on which one to get at the end of the day.

Bird aviary – Lory Landing

There’s a nice bird aviary near the kids area. It’s a good chill spot. Note that you can’t bring your stroller inside.

Shows

The most little kid-friendly show is a live Sesame Street show that happens a few times a day. There are also shows for the whole family, like an animal show and an ice skating show.

Train rides

There’s a cool train that goes around the park. It’s really a no-brainer with the toddler set.

Christmas things

This is seasonal but it runs for almost two months each year so it’s worth mentioning. They do lots of Christmas lights, Christmas-themed shows and more.

Here’s our full guide to Christmas at Busch Gardens if you’re going during the season.

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Don’t miss how to get free passes for your preschooler to Busch Gardens