Busch Gardens Tampa Bay – Ticket Discounts and Deals

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is an excellent zoological park and an excellent park for roller-coaster fans, located about an hour and a half from Orlando. There are animal exhibits, as well as safari tours and animal encounters. Guests can stop by the Animal Care Center and observe veterinarians providing care for the animals. There are also a variety of roller coasters, kid friendly rides and live shows, including interactive kid-friendly shows at the Sesame Street Safari of Fun.  

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is actually older than Walt Disney World! It opened in 1959 as a beer garden and Anheuser-Busch brewery tour. Over the years, Anheuser-Busch slowly added animal exhibits and rides, and also built up a portfolio of other theme parks, including SeaWorld. In 2009, Anheuser-Busch sold off their theme park division as a separate company, which now runs Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Adventure Island (a water park in Tampa Bay), SeaWorld Orlando, Discovery Cove and Aquatica Orlando. 

With a car, it’s only about a 90 minute drive from the Walt Disney World area to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, which makes it a reasonable day trip from Orlando. There is a round-trip shuttle from Orlando to Tampa if you don’t want to drive, but make sure you book online to reserve your spot; advance reservations are required. Shuttle transportation is FREE with any valid Busch Gardens admission ticket, Fun Card or Annual Pass.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is cashless. Busch Gardens only accepts card and mobile payments at all locations including their restaurants, retail stores, games, ticket windows, and parking toll booths. If you only have cash you can convert your cash to a Visa prepaid debit card at one of the multiple kiosks located throughout the park at no charge.

Busch Gardens runs many promotions that can save you money, and there are authorized ticket resellers that offer discounted tickets. Check below for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay discounts and offers. All offers are subject to change without notice. Always call ahead and confirm before driving out of your way to take advantage of a particular offer!

Jump to:

• Tips and Advice about Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Tickets
• Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Ticket Discounts
• Tampa Bay CityPASS

Tips and Advice about Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Tickets

All regular paid admissions to Busch Gardens includes FREE Mears shuttle transportation between Orlando and Tampa. Book online to reserve your spot; advance reservations are required. 

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has date-based tickets, so the cost will vary depending on the time of year you visit. Single Day tickets are only valid on a specific date and are non-refundable, so be sure you have the specific date you want to go locked down before purchasing. Busch Gardens does offer an Any Day ticket that is valid for 1 admission up to 6 months after the date of purchase, however it is more expensive than any date-specific Single Day ticket. So, unless flexibility is really important to you, you are better off buying a ticket for the date you plan to visit. If your plans change, you can change your ticket to a different date; you will have to pay any cost difference and there is no refund or credit if you switch to a day with a lower price. 

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay multi-day tickets are good for visits to Busch Gardens and/or their other parks (SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando and Adventure Island). But note that you can only visit one park per day. So, with a Two-Day ticket, you can visit up to 2 different parks, with a Three-Day ticket you can visit up to 3 different parks, etc. The multi-day tickets do not have to be used on consecutive days, but they do have slightly different policies, so be sure to check how long your ticket will be valid before purchasing it.

Both of the regular Discovery Cove admissions (Signature Dolphin Swim Package or Day Resort Admission) give you the option of adding 2 or 3 visits to to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to your Discovery Cove pass admission at a huge discount. If you plan to visit multiple SeaWorld parks this is a very good deal! These tickets are available on the Discovery Cove website. Be sure to compare the final cost of a multi-park pass to the combined cost of the individual tickets; the best deal varies depending on the specific attractions and the discounts that are currently available.

There are several Annual Passes that include one year of admission to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (some with blockout dates), along with discounts on parking, merchandise and other benefits. An annual pass may be worth purchasing if you think you will visit more than once this year or can take advantage of the other perks and benefits. Busch Gardens also offers a Fun Card which is good for unlimited admission only to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island and does not include any other perks or benefits. Please note: Annual Passes and the Fun Card may have blockout dates.

The Busch Gardens website often has special offers on tickets, and sometimes on annual passes or their Fun Card. These special offers and sales are frequently extended. However, be sure to compare the total cost of their offer with the cost of the same ticket from Undercover Tourist; you may find you get a slightly better deal through Undercover Tourist.

If you need tickets to Busch Gardens and other Tampa Bay area attractions, it’s worth checking out the TampaBay CityPASS to see if it can save you extra money. Be sure to compare the final cost of this pass to the combined cost of the individual tickets; the best deal varies depending on the specific attractions and the discounts that are currently available.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Ticket Discounts

Jump to:

• Discount Tickets from Undercover Tourist
• AAA Ticket Discounts
• Discount Tickets and Annual Passes for US Military
• Florida Resident Ticket Discounts
• Florida Resident FREE Preschool Cards
• College Pass
• Air Miles

AAA Ticket Discounts

If you are a member of AAA or CAA, some Auto Club offices have deals on Busch Gardens tickets. Check with your local office or visit your regional website.

Discount Tickets and Annual Passes for US Military

FREE 1-day admission to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is available for active duty military, reservists, and National Guardsmen and their families. This offer extends to the service member and up to three direct dependents for a single visit. Find more information and get Busch Gardens military tickets here.

US military personnel get 50% off up to 6 Single Day Busch Gardens Tampa Bay tickets. Find more information and purchase Busch Gardens military tickets here.

Specially priced Busch Gardens and Adventure Island Military Silver Passes are available for U.S. active duty military or U.S. military veterans. Up to 6 Military Passes can be purchased per service member to share with their family. This pass provides unlimited admission to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island and other benefits for the current year. Find more information and purchase Busch Gardens and Adventure Island Military Silver Passes here.

Please note: You must register in advance using the links above for these offers.

Florida Resident Ticket Discounts

Florida residents sometimes get special discounts, which can be purchased on the Busch Gardens website. Resident ID is required at point of park entry. Make sure you compare resident pricing with the regular ticket prices; some the regular discounts are better than those offered for Florida residents.

Florida Resident FREE Preschool Cards

Each year, FREE Preschool Cards are available for a limited time. The Preschool Card grants kids 5 and under living in Florida unlimited visits to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island for the current year with no blockout dates. Please note: all children must be accompanied by an adult with valid admission; adult admission is not included in the Preschool Card. You must pre-register online and your child’s age will be verified at the park entry. Read the complete details about the Preschool Card. 

College Pass

Specially priced Busch Gardens Tampa Bay College Passes are available for students actively enrolled in an accredited, government-recognized public or private university or college that grants degrees or certificates in the US or Canada. This special pass includes unlimited admission to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay for almost a full year, FREE parking and other in-park discounts. You must pre-register online. Read the complete details about the College Pass.

Air Miles

Readers report that Canadians can redeem Air Miles for Busch Gardens tickets. Thanks to Dawn N for info.

Tampa Bay CityPASS

If you are staying in Tampa for several days, you may want to consider a Tampa Bay CityPASS® ticket. The Tampa Bay CityPASS ticket includes your choice of admission to any 5 of the following attractions:

• Busch Gardens ® Tampa Bay
• The Florida Aquarium
• ZooTampa at Lowry Park
• Clearwater Marine Aquarium 
• The Tropics Boat Tours
• Museum of Science & Innovation (MOSI)
• Glazer Children’s Museum

The pass can save you up to 54% the cost of admissions purchased separately. The pass gives you one-time admission to 5 attractions and is valid for 9 days from first use. There is a mobile ticket option available so you can purchase and use the pass immediately!

The Florida Aquarium, near Busch Gardens, is home to some 20,000 sea creatures, including sharks, otters, penguins, lemurs and alligators. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is home to another 1,000 animals, ranging from manatees and koalas to elephants, tigers, orangutans and more.