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.
March 2024 Crowd Calendar
Spring break season is rolling in at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay during March. Expect elevated crowds all month long, with peak crowds on weekends. Mardi Gras has its final weekend to kick off the month, then it’s right into Food & Wine Festival season, happening each weekend until early May.
In addition to spring breakers visiting the Tampa Bay area for much of the next two months, local schools will also have their spring breaks on various weeks, adding to the crowds at Busch Gardens. Stick to weekdays for lower crowds – after the first week of the month, however, even weekdays will see higher crowds.
If you plan to enjoy the Food & Wine Festival (and you should!), be sure to arrive early to miss most of the crowds waiting to get into the parking lots and entrance. If you can’t get there 15-45 minutes before park openings, consider coming in the afternoon to avoid the busiest arrival time of late morning. With concerts in the evening, there will be traffic into the park through much of the day on Food & Wine Festival weekend dates.
See scheduled attraction closures on the park’s website.
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