Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[Hilltopper39]

FYI if anyone is planning a trip to central Florida in the next few months, despite all the Coronavirus scare, BGT and SW both launched a pretty good flash sale on single day single park and two park tickets yesterday, and the sale runs through this Monday. Kind of odd timing to launch a ticket sale when everyone else in town is preparing to shut down but hey, get em while you can! And if they do end up closing then I'm sure they'd find a way to honor tickets past the expiration date.

[PKI Jizzman]

FYI if anyone is planning a trip to central Florida in the next few months, despite all the Coronavirus scare, BGT and SW both launched a pretty good flash sale on single day single park and two park tickets yesterday, and the sale runs through this Monday. Kind of odd timing to launch a ticket sale when everyone else in town is preparing to shut down but hey, get em while you can! And if they do end up closing then I'm sure they'd find a way to honor tickets past the expiration date.

 

Right now it says you must visit before May 17th. That's a pretty tight window.

[Hilltopper39]

FYI if anyone is planning a trip to central Florida in the next few months, despite all the Coronavirus scare, BGT and SW both launched a pretty good flash sale on single day single park and two park tickets yesterday, and the sale runs through this Monday. Kind of odd timing to launch a ticket sale when everyone else in town is preparing to shut down but hey, get em while you can! And if they do end up closing then I'm sure they'd find a way to honor tickets past the expiration date.

 

Right now it says you must visit before May 17th. That's a pretty tight window.

 

Yeah it is, but again I feel like if they close the parks for 2 weeks they'd probably find a way to extend that deadline out, then again maybe not who knows at this point. I've been telling my friends here locally to grab some tickets since the window as is if you're close enough for a weekend or day trip is pretty doable, but yeah if you're coming from far away and don't have a trip already scheduled buyer beware I guess.

[tndank]

I'm going to bet we some strong sales and offers from parks if/when this blows over. Not suggesting this is a bad play at all, but I think we might see some out of ordinary deals this year.

[bgtlover]

Sorry folks, park's closed.

 

[RollerManic]

So much for that March 14th opening date now.

[CarolinaJay]

Watch out for it .... SUCH A FREAKING TEASE.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-sPIUFF4fZ/

[djcoastermark]

I haven't seen much on this, but BGT lit up Iron Gwazi blue on Thursday, along with the front gate signage, as part of the "Light it Blue" campaign honoring those risking their lives to help others. Pretty cool look. Here's a link to the short article and a pic. https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/attractions/2020/04/17/busch-gardens-turns-iron-gwazi-blue-to-honor-health-care-workers

[DoinItForTheFame]

^ Wow!! What an amazing photo!! It doesn’t even look real! (Even though I know it is.) Looks like something out of NoLimits. LOL

[bachir]

Was really hoping to find an African Queen video on YouTube. No Luck. Anyone know of one? That ride used to scare the he11 out of me as a little kid.

[Hilltopper39]

Looks like Busch Gardens has their calendar updated, June 11th opening. Ironically it looks like they're going to be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays instead of Tuesday Thursday like SeaWorld.

 

If Iron Gwazi opens with the park on the 11th I'll probably try to get down there shortly after.

 

Busch Gardens Tampa Theme Park Hours

[A.J.]

If Iron Gwazi opens with the park on the 11th I'll probably try to get down there shortly after.

Same, probably a week or two after the initial opening for me. We'll know how good the prospects are once random internet people start posting photos / video of Iron Gwazi testing again. Here's hoping!

[Hilltopper39]

If Iron Gwazi opens with the park on the 11th I'll probably try to get down there shortly after.

Same, probably a week or two after the initial opening for me. We'll know how good the prospects are once random internet people start posting photos / video of Iron Gwazi testing again. Here's hoping!

 

Yeah, my initial thought with going to parks after they re-open was to either wait a little while maybe a month or two, or go ASAP while the capacity is still being limited and people are, you would hope atleast, still being a little more cautions. I'll be keeping an eye on how things go the first couple days then figure it out from there.

 

I still hope they do something for passholders maybe, I wonder if that's maybe why both SeaWorld properties are staying closed a few days a week. Not days specifically for pass holders only, but I wonder if they're maybe planning on using those days to do something different operationally, private tours, private events, limited capacity special events or something.

[Mr Stratosphere]

With the announcement of Busch Gardens Tampa Reopening on Thursday, June 11, 2020. The park has announced today that advanced reservations will be required to visit the park.

 

To manage capacity, guests with tickets, Fun Cards, or Annual Passes must make a reservation prior to visiting the park. Guests must bring their reservation eticket and their original ticket, Fun Card, or Annual Pass to the front gate for entry into the park.

 

Reservations will be accepted starting Monday, June 8, 2020 at 10:00AM EST.

 

https://buschgardens.com/tampa/reservation/

[pǝʇɹǝʌuı]

The park did say in their instagram comments that Iron Gwazi will not be opening with the park, but to keep your eye out for further updates.

 

While Iron Gwazi won’t be ready for our reopening on June 11, we have a ton of other great park attractions that will be sure to keep you busy. Be sure to check back for updates on Iron Gwazi’s opening date. Believe us, we’re as excited as you are!

 

This is the post I'm referring to.

[Mr Stratosphere]

Reservation requests started this morning, was super easy to complete. Just need to have your barcode numbers handy for your Passholder ID Number, Fun Card Number or Ticket Barcodes ready for validation though their system. Excited to get down to Orlando later this month.

[WolfBobs]

Was planning on hitting up BGT on a Sunday in November before a cruise (planned well before COVID) as of now the park will not be open on Sundays, even in November. Well that sucks, now not only is the cruise a question mark so is my day before activity lol. sighhhhhhh

[Erik Johnson]

Reservation requests started this morning, was super easy to complete. Just need to have your barcode numbers handy for your Passholder ID Number, Fun Card Number or Ticket Barcodes ready for validation though their system. Excited to get down to Orlando later this month.

 

 

Might be easy for some people. The system does not recognize my ancient 9 Park Plat pass even though the web site still says it still is valid. There are a lot of people on Facebook that are reporting the same problem. I’m sure things will be fixed soon.

[A.J.]

The system does not recognize my ancient 9 Park Plat pass even though the web site still says it still is valid. There are a lot of people on Facebook that are reporting the same problem. I’m sure things will be fixed soon.

Right, the only reason I can think of is that they waited until now to process everyone's pass upgrades and all current pass barcodes were "expired" as a result. I still have my original proof of purchase so I'm not too worried about it now.

[VaCoasters]

Was planning on hitting up BGT on a Sunday in November before a cruise (planned well before COVID) as of now the park will not be open on Sundays, even in November. Well that sucks, now not only is the cruise a question mark so is my day before activity lol. sighhhhhhh

 

How do you figure? I'm looking at the operating calendar and it's open every Sunday.

[bgtlover]

Was planning on hitting up BGT on a Sunday in November before a cruise (planned well before COVID) as of now the park will not be open on Sundays, even in November. Well that sucks, now not only is the cruise a question mark so is my day before activity lol. sighhhhhhh

 

The park is open every Sunday in November and are available to be reserved right now. They are only closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

[Erik Johnson]

The system does not recognize my ancient 9 Park Plat pass even though the web site still says it still is valid. There are a lot of people on Facebook that are reporting the same problem. I’m sure things will be fixed soon.

Right, the only reason I can think of is that they waited until now to process everyone's pass upgrades and all current pass barcodes were "expired" as a result. I still have my original proof of purchase so I'm not too worried about it now.

 

It worked later that evening.

[A.J.]

It worked later that evening.

Still dingus for me... When I use the bar code from my proof of purchase I'm told to "use the latest bar code" but when I use the barcode on my pass itself I'm told it's expired / invalid. I bought my pass in October of 2019, so it shouldn't be expired.

[WolfBobs]

^^Alright alright alright. I could've sworn when I looked Sundays were not available. I'll give it a double check. Thank you

[coasternut]

I'm curious. Did anyone go yesterday? Interested in your thoughts and observations. How did it go????