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 have lower crowds than 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.
January 2025 Crowd Calendar
The new year at Busch Gardens Tampa begins with high crowds as the holiday vacation period wraps up, followed by mostly low & moderate crowds for the remainder of the month. Once Christmas Town ends, expect low crowds on most weekdays for the rest of January. MLK weekend in the middle of the month will see higher crowds, but the second and fourth weekends of the month should see more moderate crowds compared to recent holiday season weekends.
Real Music Series returns on January 6 and continues Mondays through Saturdays throughout the month. While the tribute act concerts bring in some crowds for the shows, the audience typically does not have a large impact on thrill ride lines but may increase waits for the train and Skyride.
See any scheduled attraction closures on the park’s website.
See more news on Busch Gardens Tampa in our recent articles! For even more coverage on Busch Gardens Tampa and other theme parks, attractions, and more across the region, follow Touring Central Florida on Twitter @TourCentralFL, and like our Facebook page.