Welcome to our Busch Gardens Tampa Crowd Calendar page, with a monthly look at estimated crowd levels, park hours, and general tips on crowds throughout the year.
Our crowd calendar for Busch Gardens Tampa is meant as a guide and is only an estimate of anticipated crowd levels. The calendar does not take into account weather, which can have an impact on attendance since most of the attractions at Busch Gardens Tampa are outdoors. Please verify operating hours directly with the park before you visit, as they can change without notice.
General Crowd Info
Saturdays are usually the busiest day of the week at Busch Gardens Tampa. Sundays, holiday weeks, and event days also tend to draw in larger crowds than weekdays through the rest of the year. On those days, avoid arriving at the park between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Instead, arrive earlier (lots open about 30 minutes before the park opens) or come mid-afternoon and you won’t spend as much time waiting in line to enter.
Mid-week visits, regardless of the season, typically will have lower crowds compared to the surrounding weekends. The summer season, spring break, and the weeks around Christmas are generally the busiest times of the year. Winter, late spring, and fall weekdays typically have the lowest crowds.
Because most of the attractions at Busch Gardens Tampa are outdoors, a day with extended inclement weather will often reduce crowd levels. It’s worth keeping an eye on the weather in the days leading up to your visit – a few rainy days in a row will often mean the following day (especially if it’s a Saturday) could end up being busier than usual as guests who put off their visit all come on the same fair weather day.
May 2024 Crowd Calendar
Spring break is over, and the crowds at Busch Gardens Tampa return to a relatively low level for most weekdays this month. For the lowest crowd levels, stick to mid-week visits. Do keep in mind that May is a popular month for school field trips – expect to see busses in the parking lot and school groups in the park. The first two Fridays of the month will see shorter hours as the park holds special after-hours grad night events.
Weekends will remain busy all month with Food & Wine Festival and headline concerts, and then the kick off of Summer Nights and the new Red White & Brews event over Memorial Day Weekend. Summer Nights will continue daily. As of the beginning of May, the park has not yet announced specifics for Summer Nights or the new brews event, but along with extended evening hours each day, expect additional entertainment, food & beverage options, and fireworks on weekends.
See scheduled attraction closures on the park’s website.
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